makata

I am planning to buy 2012 TL (FWD, Tech) and I got a quote for $37,780. After doing some research, I found that Acura offered $5000/$4000 as incentives last year around the same time. Looks like current incentives are $1250 and our dealer is only passing $500 to me. Is there any chance that Acura would increase the incentives to last year levels in the next couple of months?

I am planning to wait a month or two if that is the case but not sure if that is the good thing to do. Thanks in advance for any suggestion.

Tut747657

There are usually nice incentives going on during the holiday season when most people usually are out shopping. Not sure though if they give similar amounts as you stated though.

makata

Thanks Tut747657.

Edward'TLS

Things are different this year.

The Japanese earthquake has created a drastic disruption in Acura-vehicle manufacturing due to the shortage of some critical imported auto components.

As a result, most dealerships have been running very low in inventory these past months, when compared to last year. In order to make up for their lost sales, they have been trying to recover their lost revenues by raising vehicle prices and/or not giving any discount on the MSRP's.

So I'm not surprised if they eat up some of the factory incentives too.

shappy

It is true that inventory levels are depressed right now and incentives are not as good as they have been in the past.

The current $1250 dealer cash incentive runs through the end of October. California residents will also see an additional $500 in dealer cash.

What many people are not aware of is that Acura is offering dealers $250 FlexCash certificates. FlexCash provides Dealers with flexibility to target the specific needs of each client. Dealers can decide where, when and how many certificates to apply to help close deals, up to a maximum of 4 certificates per deal.

The number of certificates a dealer gets is based on their past sales. You have to either finance or lease through Acura Financial Services.

If a dealer is not offering you the entire $1250 in dealer cash and at least on certificate, I would find one who will.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^this is a factor.

^^as far as incentives go...if what shappy says is true about these certificates, you are best to find a high volume dealer that sells A LOT of cars. they tend to be more willing to eat commisions and take fat bonuses.

the other thing is that you are comparing last year's numbers which was for the 2011 model (pre mid cycle refresh), they wanted to get rid of the 2011's to make room for the mid cycle refresh and refinements of the 2012's hitting the lots earlier this spring in anticipation that sales would be going up. of course the tsunami hit and that changed things in terms of early inventory of the 2012's to dealer lots. add in the stalling of the economy and sales are leaning more towards used car sales over new car sales. acura dealers are trying to recoup some money from new car sales while used car sales keeps the salesman eating and paying their rent/mortgage, the service dept keeps the lights on at the dealerships.

shappy

Oh, and I can do a locate and tell you what dealers have whatever TL you are interested in, if you tell me what state you are in.

makata

Shappy, I am from Nebraska. It has been difficult to find dealers here and in neighboring states who can offer a nice deal.

As per everyone's comments here, it looks like there are minimal or no chances of incentives coming up and it is ok to buy now (provided they offer a little better deal than the current offer).

shappy

I am showing only Acura of Omaha having them in stock, but they have 7 currently and one on order.

I also checked Colorado and the following dealers had them too:

Dealer Name Telephone Model ID VIN TP OP Color Src Prod/ETA Whl Inv Cust Note OCR-t

Dealer Name Telephone Model ID VIN TP OP Color Src Prod/ETA Whl Inv Cust Note OCR-t
MILE HIGH ACURA, INC. (303)369-7800 UA8F5CKW KA BK/EN
PIKES PEAK ACURA, LTD (719)633-1500 UA8F5CKW KA BK/EN
COURTESY ACURA (303)795-7800 UA8F5CKW KA BK/EN
FLATIRONS ACURA (303)442-2544 UA8F5CKW KA BX/TP
COURTESY ACURA (303)795-7800 UA8F5CKW KA GR/EN
FLATIRONS ACURA (303)442-2544 UA8F5CKW KA GR/EN
FLATIRONS ACURA (303)442-2544 UA8F5CKW KA GX/TP
MILE HIGH ACURA, INC. (303)369-7800 UA8F5CKW KA WH/EN
PIKES PEAK ACURA, LTD (719)633-1500 UA8F5CKW KA WV/PA

Hopefully you can make that out

If I might make a suggestion, consider contacting dealers in more competitive markets, like California or Florida. If you can save enough to make up the cost of a couple hundred dollar plane ticket, it might be worth your while to travel, if you have the time.

I once flew from Florida to Mesa, Arizona to get a certain car since they were the only dealer in the country that had exactly what I was looking for. The icing on the cake was that they were willing to sell it at $100 over invoice when all the local dealers wanted full MSRP to order it.

makata

Thanks a lot Shappy, this is really helpful. I haven't thought about California/Florida until now, but I can definitely consider that.

SeismicGuy

I was also trying to predict the best timing for getting a new car (first in the running is a 2012 TL). The various weird circumstances have made it a bit difficult (e.g., more competition from other brands like Hyundai, stinking economy for as far as the eye could see, earthquake in Japan, etc.) not to mention the weird timing of the release of the 2012 model.

Anyway, I was watching Clark Howard this morning and what he was predicting was counter-intuitive to the temporary shortage of Japanese cars due to the earthquake. He said that Toyota was going out of its way to ramp up production for lost time and that the other Japanese brands were also doing so. He also noted that the usual Japanese market share had dropped from its usual 40% to about 30% and that those manufacturers would be hell-bent on regaining share. Consequently, he was predicting fantastic deals starting in a couple of weeks for Japanese models further driven by the American manufacturers competitive response.

If that is the case the timing should work out fine for me as October or later is really when we were considering buying. I guess we'll see how things go.

Doug

makata

Doug, that is a very positive news.

macguitar

Shappy,

Thanks so much for this great info! Just to clarify, you said said dealers in CA get an additional $500 in dealer cash. I'm in CA, so are you saying my dealer could offer $1750 in cash? I'm going to be financing my car (not leasing), and I know there is loyalty cash available when you lease, so I just want to clarify that this $1750 in cash is regardless of leasing or financing.

Also, these flex certs, is there a way to find out how many my dealer is getting per car? They are an awesome dealer and my gut tells me they're honest, but it would be good if I could know for sure exactly how many they get.

Thanks again!

shappy

The extra $500 in California is for leasing only. So if you are financing there is just the $1250 dealer cash and the certificates.

As for how many a dealer may have, there is no way to know for sure. I have been trying to get of of my Maxima lease early and wanted to use the certificates to make up some of my negative equity. One dealer was ready to throw the maximum of four certificates at the deal (even though it wasn't enough to get me out). Another dealer said he blew through all of his certificates already.

Dealers will get additional certificates in October, based on how many TL's and TSX's they move in September. So if your dealer doesn't have any more for this month, you might want to wait for next month. The good news is that the cash, finance and lease programs run through the end of October, so they won't get any worse.

The $1250 dealer cash program doesn't specifically indicate it is compatible with the loyalty program, but I believe it may be. However your dealer will be able to tell you for sure. It is not the type of thing they would be less than honest about.

SeismicGuy

I just got back from the Acura dealer who was referred by AAA auto referral. Basically he said the autoclub price is invoice which translated to $37,700 for a FWD Technology model. That seems to be in the right ballpark from the bit of researching I have been doing.

He claims that pricing may or may not get better since they will be gearing up to get the 2013's in in January. I told him that my understand was that the 2013 TL would not be coming out until much later in the year and he sort of backpedaled by saying that the dealers never really know what Acura is planning.

Anyway, we were also a bit curious as to what a Lexus ES350 offers compared with the TL--pricing was actually pretty comparable but of course the Lexus was 2011 so it is not really apples-to-apples. It also looked like the inventory at the Lexus dealer was much better than at Acura and the color choices were certainly more plentiful than for the TL. Why is it that there is supposedly such a shortage with the TL but not with the Lexus?

Doug

Devil Dog 21

You could check Jay Wolfe Acura in Kansas City. They have a 6spd AWD, Tech that I would love to get my hands on but wife pulled the veto card. I purchased my TL and my wife's TSX from there and was please each time.

Only about a 3.5 hour drive with I29 closed.

makata

Devil Dog, sorry for the late reply. Actually, I have been in contact with them but they are not beating Omaha's offer.

macguitar

Hey Shappy, any updated promotions or incentives or still nothing until the end of the month? Thanks!

shappy

TL incentives have remained the same as last month. However, the Flex Cash certificate program has been extended into the new year. Dealers earn 2 certificates for every TL and MDX they sell.

My personal feeling is that you will see better incentives for December as there will be more inventory and Acura will be looking to close out the calendar year strong.

If you can wait, I would.

drmike2929

I am a current 2009 TL Leasee and am considering leasing a 2012 TL. While the dealer was forthcoming in mentioning the loyalty miles program (I will be carrying over 10k miles), they did not mention anything regarding dealer cash. Is the $1250 dealer cash relevant to those re-leasing?

Mr.Skytech

iTrader: (13)

the 1250.00 dealer cash is only for purchases not leases.

drmike2929

I've seen conflicting information for current leases on a 2012 TL AWD with Tech Package. For a 36 month lease with 10k per year, my dealer stated rate of RV 58%, while another website indicated RV 61%. Both had money factor listed as 0.00166. The rate also differed on the FWD with dealer stating 60% and other website reporting 63&. What rates have others here been quoted recently?

mihink

Bumping an old thread. Anyone know the current incentives for the TL. Truecar states it si $1500..don't know if that is true. Is flexcash still available?

jayson888

They gave me $1000 in flex cash when i bought my tl. That was in december. I asked for a qoute for a 2012 awd base tl in january and there was still flex cash available, not sure if it is available now.

jayson888

^^ sorry i cannot edit my post with awd base I meant sh-awd non tech... which i got qouted 35000 excluding taxes and reg btw back in january

AcuTack

I just bought a 2012 FWD Advance, white w/ tan guts. In Philly. $40,020.00 off the lot. So that is $37,500.00 before tax and tags. Is that good?

AcuTack

and i came out of toyota/lexus. my first Acura. so very excited.

mcerve

I'm not sure if that's a good deal in Philly, but I bought a 2012 FWD w/ Tech on New Year's Eve for $34,200 before tax and tags.

I think the best way to negotiate is via email. Collect offers within a 300 mile radius and take the best offer to your local dealer to see if he'll match it. I had 1 local dealer tell me "no way" and the other said, "will you buy it today?"

I love the car so far and the Azurazine.

tuxacura

Internet shopping is the best. I hate going to the dealership and spend like forever just to knock $100 off. I used the carwoo service and it was easy. I thought I was getting the best deal from my local dealer (the best price quoted among 4 dealerships in the area.) Then at the 11th hour (after I paid deposit over the phone for my car) another dealer gave me a better price through carwoo. I asked my local dealer to match and they did. Funny thing is after they matched it the carwoo delaer cancelled his offer and increased it by $500 saying that he was running out of flexcash.

I bought the same car (FWD, Tech) for $34,275 before TTL on 12/30. I think if I have waited until 12/31 I could have gotten it for $75 less.

AcuTack

I couldn't find a used 2012 Tech for what you guys paid! The next time i buy a car, I am having you negotiate for me! You got GREAT deals. And it seems like I did OK.

For example, this is the CPO I was negotiating on (Same car you bought..http://www.gojones.com/inventoryDisp...rent=1&size=10).
They want 36,711 and came down to 34,500 plus tax title tags for out the door at 36,800.

Ronp8

I say hold off - lol. Now that Honda is at full production the TL inventories are ramping up quickly. I see that acura has increased the incentives on the TL for this month and with inventories still growing I see them increasing them further. Possibly to the levels we seen last year on the 11's. Last month the incentive was 1250 now 1500 and I think flex cash is still available. When I was at teh dealer this weekend he showed me the incentive sheet and I think it had flex cash of 250 with limit of 4. In my view it takes a lot from manufacturers to move cars in todays economy. So buyers be patient let the deals come to us - lol.

mihink

So $1500 (incentive) +$1000 flexcash +holdback = total incentives. Is everyone getting invoice minus the incentives + holdback ? My lease on my car is almost up...need to make a decision soon!

sgup

I got my 2012 TL with Tech for $34500 + dest + tax/title. 39K+ out of the door in socal a month back.

jayson888

When I bought my first acura I used the tmv value of edmunds.com. I got my qoutes from the internet managers and went on from there. Afterwards I built a good working relationship with that person and I have been able to get good qoutes from him.

I suggest you look at websites like truecar.com and edmunds.com and get your qoutes online from multiple dealerships before going to one in person.

good luck , hope you find your perfect deal!

sacherel

I think you should be able to get it for below invoice. Pick a large dealer and this gives you slightly more negotiating power with the flex cash.

dbledmndk2

What did you think of the carwoo service? Did you pay the extra $ for the "open marketplace" or just go with the free option?

I'm debating whether I should use it or not. I don't want to feel like a jackass spending $89 to get offers worse than what I've already gotten in person.

Shoot2Thrill

Paying for the "service" just sound like a extra money sucking middleman.

tuxacura

I like the carwoo service. Specially for me who doesn't like the wheeling and dealing of "dealership experience."

If you are only interested in one car, just go for the free service. You might need to wait for a few days for all the dealers you selected to respond. And you don't really have to accept the offer there as you can communicate with the dealer directly if you get a hunch that he/she is willing to work with you.

dbledmndk2

Good to hear you recommend the service. I also hate the wheeling and dealing and would like to just get get to a price and go in and buy.

I'm still undecided between a few cars so the $89 plan might work best for me, but I'm slowly talking myself out of the A4 and G37x.

mihink

Went to pohanka acura (#1 dealer in volume in the country)..test drove tl tech fwd and tsx tech. The tsx is not a bad dd car at all..really liked it. The tl was nice..just hate the 17 inch wheels. Anyways, the sales manager was really pushy..but today or else! They apparently are "running out" of cars. They had at least 100+ tl/tsx in stock! I hate car dealers..didnt talk $$$ though..told him i need time to think about it. Have to start my email blast to all the local dealers.