I wanted to buy a 2005 TL, but wanted to wait until the price went down in anticipation of the 2006. Will I have to wait until the 2006 actually arrive on the lots or would I still see them drop prices on the 2005 in anticipation of the soon to be released 2006? How much would I save buying the 2005 now, vs buying the 2006 when its released?

 

This is tricky. First of all, there are not many changes for '06 thus very little incentive for most to hold out. This along with good TL sales means that I doubt we'll see many fire sales ever. You probably won't see much discount at all until the 06's actually hit the lots and by then your pickings will be slim indeed. If you care at all about your color combo, start shopping now, check out what others are paying on the 05 pricing threads, and sharpen up your negotiation skills. Make your own clearance deal while there is still selection available.

 

I totally agree with Jack. Because there are no significant changes, and because these cars continue to speed off dealers' lots, it's doubtful there will be much of a price break. You might as well buy your 2005 TL now if you're ready.

 

It may be hard (very hard) to find what you want on the lot unless
you want a balck on black auto trans car.
And if its not on the lot, forget about getting a great deal.

Brett

 

Depends if you're willing to travel. There are tons of 05s out there all over the country, you just gotta go get one. I flew to FL to get mine, dealer gave me and my wife free plane tickets and beat my hometown dealer by about 2k. Plus, we had a nice drive home zipping off the highway, using NAVI through the country roads to keep the engine revs variable for proper breakin of course!

 

If you're not choosy about color combinatiions the best time to buy is when the '06's are on the lot. The dealership can't afford to have '05's on the lot when the 06's are beginning to arrive.

That said, the end of the month is a better time to take delivery than any other time of the month. If you're picky on color combinations and since it's the end of the model year anyway, start shopping now. You'll get the exact car you want and save a great deal of money. You won't save as much as when the '06's are actually on the lot.

 

Just my opinion but I think about the best you can do is possibly $2-3,000 off on a 2005 if you shop hard. The 2006 will likely go at or very close to sticker price for a few months.

The depreciation on the 05 for model year change is about $2-3,000. Up to you from here, no bad decision.

 

Just a quick note, I was under the same dilemma. I just picked up my 2005 TL last week for an excellent price. I got a 2005 TL Auto with Navi and the protection package for $32,250 which included destination and was in NY. The dealer happened to have the car on the lot. Getting that price took about 2 months since I was going back and fourth with other dealerships. So far the car is great and the navigation is just awesome, don't know how I didn't have it before.

Hank

 

WOW! Airplane tickets for the buy, not less. I noticed your comments about using country roads to help vary engine and transaxle speed. That's the way to do it, barring using the interstates and shifting from 6th to 5th and back every 10 minutes or so. Back roads are better since they exercise everything.

Hey, the GM-SFM I installed last Sunday has managed to make some improvements. Got to reiterate that this is the easiest manual tranny car I've ever had to change manual transmission fluid with. So simple and so clean of a job.


Now for prices and deals. If one dealership is not willing to come to terms, visit another. JackSprat01 may have taken the more extreme approach, but he got what he wanted with is efforts. We have a dealer up in my area who always seems to have a boat load of TLs on his lot, with an average of 25% being manuals. For example, right now, their website is showing 122 TLs in inventory, 38 of which have manual transmissions. The place is Pohanka and it's in Chantilly, VA, not too far from Dulles Airport.

 

Yeah, I like Pohanka, but I could only work them to 1k under MSRP, but that's when 05s were hot. Nice that they have such a nice selection of 6MTs. Richmond gets one in every couple months. Glad to hear the tranny is slickening up for ya!

 

Took it out for a "TL moment" earlier this afternoon on some of the fine country roads in western Prince William County (really quite beautiful and close to home). The tranny feels S-O-O-O nice and smooth and the car is just great on warm days like this (any day, really). I didn't use the A/C because I just wanted to enjoy the moment.. was only 93 degrees anyway. This is one fine driving machine.

We got my wife's '05 SSM/Quartz/5AT/Nav in March at Pohanka for $33,299 including their $249 "processing" fee. They do seem to get quite a few manuals in, but I've written before that cars in the league of the TL (like BMW, Audi, etc.) tend to be favored with manuals in this area.