Hype

Today I went to my local Acura dealership to possibly by an 04 TL w/Navi (~45000 km)if the negotiations went well. The asking price was 28,900 (cdn). I asked what they could throw into the deal (eg., nav disc, new front brakes, and a "b" service), but this seemed to really confuse the sales rep for some reason.

The first offer was 28900 w/ all taxes, registration, safety, e test etc etc. The rep took it to his manager and said this wasn't a realistic price. I asked him what his best line was and he came back with 32,200 (taxes in). I told him I wasn't going to pay a penny more than 30,000 and we finally settled in at a deal at 29,800 (taxes in). This whole process took about 2 hours

Heres where the story gets interesting. First of all he only has one key (with fob) for the car and the valet key. He says he doesn't know where the other key + fob went, but that he could include one in the deal. I said okay thats good and put down a $2000 deposit (the max they took on credit). I'm now waiting to talk to the big boss there and he seems to be busy "on the phone." This was kind of disappointing as it had been some time and there was no other customers in the dealership and I thought it was somewhat rude. Finally he finishes on the phone and motions for me to come into his office (to sign the final contract, discuss warranties etc etc)

NOW after all this (2.5 hours-ish) the original sales rep comes up to me and states "I just found out that this TL had been in an accident prior to the dealership receiving it as a trade-in. Now he says its just "minor" so I ask to see the file and on that it states "Front end collision. Estimated repair $15,000". Now this was obviously a big accident and the rep is going on about how it must have been something small like a bumper replacement etc etc.

So now the deal falls apart and I'm pretty steamed at them not informing me when I had first come to see the car and then claiming they "just found out" . Anyways they refunded the $2000 deposit, but I'm still very disappointed.

Sorry for the long post, but I had to tell someone. I guess my question to you guys is what should be my next move? Is it still smart to consider a accident-repaired car or even this dealership for another car?

Thanks for reading boys and hopefully you can provide me with some good comments. Looks like my joining of the acura family will have to be put on hold

Bklyn02TypeS

at least you found out before you got the car and not afterwards..

Jesstzn

My opinion.. pass on the car $15K is no littte front end mishap... I don't know where your at but in BC there is a lower limit on what damage is reported and I think its $2500 and it will show when they do the transfer so the did know when they transfered the car to the dealership name.

And it sounds like they were rude .. move on to a different dealer .. BTW the salesman going back to the manager with your offer is the scam of the day .. if the salesman can't deal on behalf of the company .. deal direct with who can. It will save you frustration and dollars.

Tonywp75

play it safe and find a TL that is accident free. Is it me or $29,800 is alot for an 04 TL?..is there a price differnt from Canada and US?

When i bought my new 05 TL..with navi was 32k. the non navi was 30k.

HawaiiTL

The best thing to do is look elsewhere. It is hard to be patient, but you don't want that car. Once a car has been in a serious wreck it is never the same. Beside in no way is it worth $30,000 especially now. Check the classifieds you can almost always find one TL that is private owner sale and private owner sales go for less than retail.

HawaiiTL

The best thing to do is look elsewhere. It is hard to be patient, but you don't want that car. Once a car has been in a serious wreck it is never the same. Beside in no way is it worth $30,000 especially now. Check the classifieds you can almost always find one TL that is private owner sale and private owner sales go for less than retail.

axiom

ADabsolutNDN,

Mind sharing what dealership was this?

datmrman

You'll be spending a large amount of money on this car, so get something that you'll have no regrets nor concerns about.

Personally, I would never put money down on a car that has been involved in an accident and I would have walked away from your dealership long before you have. The dealership should be working to earn your business, not the other way around.

Happy car shopping!

Elegant TYPE S

iTrader: (2)

I was thinking the same thing.

sandiegodrive

^^^Dido

darksom1

Yes it is a different price. He said Canadian dollars. That amount is equal to $25,342.2 US.

At any rate, this whole deal sucks! I am glad you were smart enough to leave. Don't go back, because it is evident they were dishonest from the beginning. When they showed you the car they knew then that it had been in an accident. The fact that you were in with the "closer", and THEN the salesman says it meant they were waiting to get you in a take it or leave it position after they wowed you with the car in hopes that you would say ok and take a small discount. Shady as hell!!!!

Do the guys on here a favor and let them know the dealership's name so they can be aware when they go to do business there. It doesn't mean they will get shafted, but at least they will know what to look out for.

Good luck in your search and don't let this isolated incident sour you on a wonderful car! At least you are better prepared now as I told you in your other thread!

- Ray

twinair

first of all, $28,900 is way too much for an 04 TL. I paid $28,000 for an 06 brand new. You need to find a more honest dealership. wait until the end of November 07 and buy a brand new TL and get huge clearance discounts. I saved $6,000 off the MSRP. Make your deals over the internet, forwarding offers between 2 or 3 dealerships and you will get a great deal. what is the name of the dealership you went to?

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

pass on the car- 15k worth of damage is no joke. glad to see the stealership did the right thing and informed you of the accident. albeit- it was about 3 hours late....

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

he lives in canada.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

its good that you walked away... go elsewhere... there are plenty of TL's available... just take your time and find the right one for the right price... i understand that you wasted alot of time at the dealership, but IMHO you shouldn't rush it when you buy a car, it is a $20k+ investment you are making...

jmbnova

You got lucky... Be happy and look elsewhere for a TL... even here on the boards...

Knockz

15k in damage. Pass on that car. Thats about half of what you are paying. That was a major accident.

I believe its against the law for them to hold the accident info back from you. That should be the first question you ask them when you walk in. And that is something the salesperson knows before even trying to sell you the car. It was sneaky of him to throw that in last minute. Good thing you backed out.

What dealership was it?

sol-tsx

The dealership may have been rude, but they did you a favor. Make sure you get a Carfax search run for any car you plan to purchase (I'm assuming that Carfax is in Canada) - that report should have picked up the accident and the damage.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

or better yet---have the dealer give you a copy of the carfax.

Hype

Hey guys,

yeah next time I go in to look at a car that's going to be my first question. i never thought of asking that before though as i thought the dealer would have told me right away. also (someone correct me if i am wrong) isn't the dealership legally required to disclose this information if they indeed did know?

the one thing bothering me is that the dealership claimed they didn't know and someone just "saw" it while taking the car file to the manager. the accident was is sept.06 and the car was traded-in around nov06. i find it very hard to believe that a dealership would take a trade-in without doing the research on it . i can probably go in and get a fair amount of money taken off but it seems like a gamble to me in the long run.

oh and the dealership was the only Acura one here in Ottawa - Camco Acura (http://www.camcoacura.com/en/index.spy)

TL1999

you should it have a carfax report in hand before went into this deal.

But as least the dealership was honest with you, you got lucky.

Rearden

If Carfax is available in Canada, definitely use it. But keep in mind it only shows what's been reported and not necessarily everything there is to know.(which is better than having nothing, I agree)

Many dealerships in the US have free links to full CarFax reports, use them if possible, but consider paying for one if not if you really like the car after seeing it.

CarFax is: http://www.carfax.com/

Never buy a car that's been in an accident if you can avoid it. It'll lead to problem downo the road that will be yours.

Here's some tips I've gotten from dealers on what to look for (it's what they look for when someone tries to trade in a car that's been in an accident). I negotiate new cars for a living, and recently went through the used car buying process to get my '05 TL, so it's fresh in my mind.

Things to check for on used cars:

- check rubber sealing around doors/windows. If any paint overspray onto them, car was repainted.

- try to ask for a paint meter at dealership - it measures thickness. Can detect uneven paint job on specific spots/body panels, which is a sign of an accident, because factory paint job would be even all around.

- check that VIN # is every place it should be on the car (or that's it's there at all). It should be on the upper left corner of the dashboard in front of the driver, and somewhere in the engine compartment as well. If missing in either place, they might have forgotten to put it back on after fixing that spot (which means it needed to be fixed, and is a warning sign). Never buy a car without a VIN in both places. It's like a person without a social security number. MEans the car doesn't exist, and can't be traced history wise.

- feel paint on trunk/doors/hood. If bumps, bad. (uneven, sign of a non-factory paint job)

- get service records if possible

Some dealer sell Acura accessories cheaper over the net. Here's one (in case you need to buy an extra remote and/or key. I checked with them on that because I too needed to do just that). You could always get quotes here and get a local dealer to try to match them to avoid the shipping if you prefer (which I was able to do).

http://acura.niello.com/accessories.php?category=4
800-350-2299 - Chuck - parts mgr

darksom1

It seems that selection, or lack thereof is a big problem in Canada for this car. Can you order it and have it shipped to your dealership of choice from the US? Or does it have to be from a Canadian dealership? I am not in tune with all that has to be done. You know, here, if the car is not available locally, then they will swap with another dealer. Can you do that there? I hope that doesn't sound stupid, but I do wanna know.

Stevie B

run, don't walk from that Dealership, I don't trust them any further than I can kick them

liltonm

Shop around - not all dealership will string you along hoping that you will settle for a inferior deal. While visiting Canada I had services performed at the Acura in Markham dealership. The experience was one to remember, while performing my service they made a mistake and performed a lot more work than they should. I pointed this out and they removed this off the bill without arguing. There are a few good dealers that beleives in the customer experience.

Type S Zero

thought you were farther,
on google maps, Camco is : 168 km (about 2 hours 12 mins) from my acura.

i work at Acura Plus in Blainville, we have a few 04-05 available, but none are Navi for now. sometimes we get one with it, but most of them are non-navi.

for example, current inventory (all NON-navi):
- blue 04 5AT, 51 000km, $28 995
- anthracite 04 5AT, 59 600km, $27 995
- silver 04 6MT, 80 000km, $27 900
- blue 05 5AT, 74 000km, $29 900
- anthracite 05 5AT, 136 000km, $22 995

MTVtec

After an accident with repair costs of $15 000, the car will never be the same again. Pass on this particular TL, you'll find a better one down the road.

Matt

sixsixsix

I am in Toronto and in the market for an '06 TL currently. Have been going back and forth with one dealer (to be honest, I've been doing all the work so far) on my trade-in. I want some of the numbers to get crunched before I seriously revisit the dealer and pick up the desired '06 (no navi).

To answer your question, dealerships can do the swaps but it is more work for them and in turn adds more costs. Usually, it is just better to shop the market and make the drive across town if you see something you like (a city like Toronto, on a day with not too much traffic and you can make it across town within an hour - so its really not all that bad).

Most dealerships are keen on using the internet and post information there as well, however, you'll find it is not always as "accurate" as it can be.

As for province-to-province (whereas it would be state-to-state, for you all) that is not so much of an option here.

This guy got lucky and walked away at the right time. Two hours of your own time invested into something where you are spending $30k (or $25k US) really isn't too much effort. The most important thing is that he found out.

Someone already stated it earlier, take your time and continue to shop.

I am in Toronto, so if anyone wants to do a "group buy" so to speak just let me know and we can hopefully get a better deal by negotiating for two (or more) cars versus each of us operating independently.

Really like this site and the feedback that comes out of the members. Thanks a lot people!

darksom1

Yeah Six, I see what you are saying. It's tough when the dealers know you HAVE to come to them because of supply, or again, lack thereof. Makes it a premium to really be prepared more than ever. Even if you bad-mouth the dealership to others, they aren't worried if they know they are the only show in town!

That sucks!!!!

brettallica

If the accident was in September 2006 and the car was traded in during November 2006 -- only about one month later -- that tells me that the person who had the car fixed wasn't exactly happy with the way the repairs turned out and wanted something else. It probably doesn't drive true to TL specs, and the person in the collision knew it so they got rid of it. I think that's a pretty logical deducement of basic facts.

Man, be happy you got out of that deal. Like everyone else has said: $15,000 is no joke...Canadian OR US dollars. I wouldn't necessarily "turn and walk away" just for hearing that a car had significant damage to it, but I certainly wouldn't pay anything near retail price for it, like they were trying to swindle you into doing.

AlexH

In California and as well as other states, that $15000 repair job would've been written off by the insurance company as "totalled" since it would cost them less to replace it with another vehicle. They then would resell it and it gets rebadged as a salvaged vehicle. Salvaged vehicles have about a 60% value. Personally I would touch it with a ten-foot pole for cosmetic value and most importantly of all safety reason.

sixsixsix

I went to the dealership over the weekend (in Toronto). They had 4 2006 TL’s available. All with zero km’s.

The best the guy could do was $38k + taxes, freight, pdi, etc etc etc.

I mentioned to him that it was a year old and getting older and that if I had driven up today in a 2006 TL with 5 km’s on it, it would be valued much lower.

I was really surprised to see that. Guess I’ll be waiting a little longer to get into a TL.

Hype

yeah they seem to hold their value amazingly well. i figured its in my best interest not to go back to the local dealership here so i'll be heading to toronto this weekend to check out some dealers and private sales. hopefully the deal will get signed (with no accidents reported afterwards!)

about the left over 06's - the dealer in gatineau gave me about the same price (38,000 + everything else) so i'm a bit surprised the dealers in TO didn't go a bit lower as it seems prices are about 2-3 grand lower on average.

Knockz

If you have time check out Acura 2000 in brampton. www.acura2000.com. You can also check out the used car section on their website to get details.

So far they have treated me really well.

jimmyshoes

I am also looking for a TL in toronto maybe the 07 type S. No way i will pay close to the MSRP. Any luck getting this price down. The 06 for 38 what kind of deal is that when a 07 msrp is 42 for the base model. I am interested in a group buy but these prices have to come way down. Lets see what we can do!

jimmyshoes

So any news

italian_spak

Thats a VGA, walk away from this car and find another one


Goodluck

Hype

There's some great news actually. I was thinking about used cars and some of the hassles/worries that they come with. I figure if I am going to pay something around 30-32k with taxes (cdn) I may as well try for a deal on a left over 06 at the local dealership (save a trip to Toronto and a new car)

I called them up inquiring on a 06 demo they had with about 6500 km, but they said that was sold but they could give me the same pricing on a new 2006. That sounded good to me and the deal was done. I pick up on Friday! (most likely)

Good luck in your searches!

Mizzeaux

Good choice, I'm sure you will love your new car!

jimmyshoes

Great to hear now i would like to hear about a good price on a 07 s manual in toronto. I wonder if they really want to sell that car and will make a deal similar to U.S. prices