Sorry if there is a thread dealing with this elsewhere but I did not readily find it. Anyway, now that I am more seriously homing in on replacing my wife's 2000 TL with a 2012 (versus a few other cars I am considering) I am starting to research pricing. I am in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles and there are a number of dealers from about 10 minutes to an hour of me.

What I would be going for is probably the standard FWD with the Tech Option. I would probably like the white pearl exterior but my wife probably wants the graphite or maybe the Mayan bronze. From my little bit of research so far it looks like about $37K should be my target if that is doable. The only time constraint is that I will probably want to do the deal before the end of the year (any time from maybe mid-August on but our original target was really September or October).

The last time I went through going to several dealers and also emailing a bunch of dealers with my offers. I think the way it ended up was that I came to some basic agreement via email with the local dealer and went in to finalize.

I might also check out Costco and I also discovered Zag/Amex and read some pretty good things about going that route.

Any advice others might have, particularly in the SoCal area would be appreciated.

Thanks,

 

I was offered invoice for either a FWD-Tech or SH-AWD Tech. Ther is $1750 dealer cash right now (per Edmunds). I would not expect the ecomony or market for $40K cars to change much in the next 6 months. I would expect you could do as well or better in a few months.

 

I recently used Truecar.com. It was obvious which dealer was offering the lowest price so I didn't actually submit my name for a quote online.

 

Nobody here tried Zag/Amex, Carsdirect, or any other method?

 

Zag and truecar are related. Either site will be very useful.

 

Hmmm--104 views and 4 responses (2 of which were mine). I can't believe that everyone has just gone in and paid sticker for these, or am I wrong?

 

ehem, buying a car is like buying an airline ticket. People pay all sorts of varied amounts depending on what, where, how...etc. Your seats might have cost you $500, but the guy next to you who bought then 2 months out paid $400, while the dude who had to get to the meeting for his sales presentation in five days paid $750. I paid way below sticker, but I bought a press car (which could be good or bad depending on what it is) so technically it is used. If you are looking for a Black on Black tech SH-AWD 6Speed manual with full body kit you will pay what ever they ask you to pay.
If you look at the 4G TL Owners sign in you can get a pretty good idea of what people actually paid (but add a couple hundred for the liars).

https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-2009-2014-123/4g-tl-owners-sign-689080/

 

hi everyone,

im shopping around for the 2012 tl fwd with tech package. i check out truecar.com today. i live in the philadelphia area and i been to acouple dealer ship in my area. the best best price i got so far was $36,800. what is everyone paiding for there 2012 fwd w/tech?

 

Hey Marco--thanks. I was busy searching around for a thread with a title like "prices paid" so I never found or looked at the "sign in" thread. That thread is basically exactly what I was looking for, although it would be nice to have it broken down by region.

 

I didn't respond because i bought the Advanced 6AT which fits into a different price range. Mine started at roughly $45K

 

We purchased our 2012 TL Tech for $36,437 on 7/23/11(a savings of $3,783 vs. the sticker of $40,220 which includes the new higher freight charge for new arrivals). We purchased in the Washington DC area. As of today, Truecar.com is showing $37,736 as the target price. Our price falls into the "great price" area. We got this price based on 1 email price request. Since I was happy to see such a strong discount on a 2012 model year that is still in relatively short supply, I did not counter. The dealer also included wheel locks at no extra charge and we qualified for .9% financing. We are very pleased with the pricing and the TL!

 

Hey Denvr--did you send email(s) to the internet guy at the dealer(s) or just to the dealer(s) in general? I was looking back through my notes from the last new car I bought (our 2000 TL) and it looks like I tried a few sources that were around at the time like AutoVantage and/or sent emails directly to the internet sales guy at various dealers telling them what I wanted to pay.

It's been a while so I was not sure whether or not the "game" was played the same way these days.

Just as an aside I have always thought it curious that the basic way of buying a car is still in the stone age compared to almost anything else you buy. The same stupid drama of first dealing with the sales guy, then his manager, then the finance guy, getting more nauseous with each step of the negotiation.

 

For this purchase, I simply found the vehicle I was looking for and requested more information. They responded with the pricing. In the future, I may do one thing differently: most good dealer web sites have short bios on their sales staff along with their individual email addresses. While shopping for a couple of vehicles before going with the TL, I actually located people I knew that I felt more comfortable dealing with.

One thing I will NEVER do again: walk into a dealer without an appointment! We stopped at a BMW dealership in my city of residence and had the misfortune to be greeted by a newbie who knew NOTHING about the product she was selling. Really bad experience, especially for a premium brand like BMW.

Negotiating a car via email has worked great for me over the years. I have never encountered a dealership that hasn't backed up what they promised via email.

 

Thanks. But in my case I was really starting from a blank slate in terms of deciding what car we want. As a matter of fact, Genesis was the slight frontrunner until I actually looked at and had the chance to drive one along with a TL. So I really could not avoid the showroom/lot experience and since we can easily wait a few months to actually buy the car, I did not want to make any formal appointments.

I have to agree though that in almost all cases, I end up knowing more about the car than the salesman just by doing a modest bit of research.

 

Here is what I have as of 7/31. I am looking for a TL/Tech 2WD as well:

Glendale Acura : 36,800

Acura 101/Costco: $36,237

AMEX: 36,987

Center Acura: $36,800

I was told by Glendale Acura that there might be a Labor Day finance offer on the TL's like there was for Memorial day. .9% for 60 months. Currently 1.99% for 60 months. Saves you about $800 if you can wait to see if the offer happens or not. The current TL financing offer ends 9/5.

 

KKirk2--thanks for the info. These prices look to be in the neighborhood of $3K below sticker which pleasantly surprises me. Were these prices obtained in face-to-face situations or via emailing the dealers once you were decided on options and color?

 

Glendale was face to face (they were great - ask for Judith) and the rest were via telephone (once I knew what i wanted). Everyone seems to be eager to make a deal right around $36,800. I left color out of the equation completely and stuck to the price for the car only.

 

Thanks. The only problem I see is that one of the colors we like might be less available (Mayan Bronze). I have only seen one Acura on the road so far in this color and it really looked great. On the other hand we are not in any rush. Maybe I would start by emailing Judith and alerting her that we are in the market over the next few months. I would pass along that she was specifically recommended on one of the Acura forums (that usually gives them some incentive to satisfy).

 

Just an update. I had gotten an autoclub (AAA) commitment for a FWD Tech from a local dealer for $37,700 and another dealer I visited today started at $39,200 but quickly came down to $37,200 when he realized I wasn't a shmuck.

Of course color is the problem as we want Mayan Bronze but the manager there said he could probably get hold of one (he supposedly tracked one down while I was talking with the salesman). He said he would make the call and start an arrangement with the other dealer who was willing to trade this dealer for an MDX if we could seal the deal today. My wife and I said okay and he made a phone call but came back saying the other dealer had actually obtained that car for his customer. Sounds odd since it originally seemed like they had already worked out a swap and I am half-thinking that the whole episode was just a test to see how committed we were. He discovered we were very committed and promised that he would search one out for us.

We'll see.


Doug

 

I bought a 2012 TL Advance FWD a month ago for $39,153.61, before taxes, license, etc. which included locking wheel nuts, trunk mat and front/rear splash guards. The difference between the Tech package and Advance is $2,200 MSRP, figure just under $2k invoice. You should be able to get the price BEFORE options for around $36.8k.

 

So at least it looks like I am in the right ballpark at #37.2k. I wasn't going to haggle any further since he will have to go through some hassle to try and get the color I want.

Doug

 

Sounds like a plan. I wanted White/Black, but the wife insisted on Graphite/Black. We did both agree on the FWD Advance, which is good enough to keep me quiet about the exterior color. One thing for sure, the 2012 is a really nice refresh. BTW, the ventilated seats and blind spot detection are great features. Be sure that you definitely don't want them. It isn't that much more, 5%, to get the entire enchilada.

 

Hey Jim,

If it was up to me I would go for the white with almost any interior (umber would look great) as I have always loved white on most cars and it is the easiest to keep clean (sort of counterintuitive). But we have had a few white cars in the past and my wife definitely does not want another.

In terms of the package, we were trying to keep the price down to $40k max out-the-door and the tech package has pretty much all the bells and whistles.


Doug

 

I like white for the same reason ... dirt, scratches, dings, etc. don't show nearly as much. Plus it is more visible to other drivers in my opinion. Originally, I was leaning toward white/parchment until I got to the dealership and saw that the interior is primarily black and THEN accented with your choice of leather. At that point, I decided on black for uniformity. When that happened, my wife said it looks better with the Graphite Metallic and the discussion was over. The car DOES look stunning in her choice of color.

You are correct that the Tech package has 97% of the gadgets.

What made the difference for us (besides my wife wanting ventilation on her butt) was the Blind Spot Information System. IMO, it is one heck of a safety feature. I just knew that I would be beating myself silly if I ever changed lanes into someone because I only purchased the Tech package. This was especially crucial for us since we have been in SUVs since the 90's. We have had the luxury of a high perch providing easy visibility for us AND everyone around us.

We decided that the $2k price difference would be soon forgotten, not getting the top of the line model would ALWAYS be on our mind ... so we opted for the former and have been very happy with the decision. I actually enjoy the ventilated seats more than I thought I would, they work well in our Florida heat/humidity.

 

Jim--I agree with you in terms of spending a few more bucks and getting everything. Moreover, there is a beautiful Mayan Bronze with umber all-wheel-drive advance model at a local dealer that we looked at just to see the color combo and, if it was totally up to me, I would just bite the bullet and spend the few extra bucks and grab it. My wife, however, is the ultra-practical one (aren't they always) and actually did not even want to go up to $40k on this car purchase so there you have it.

The same dealer that had the Bronze/umber combo had a slick looking graphite/taupe combo in the showroom. The graphite is undeniably stunning, especially when clean, but you see that color (or similar colors) all over the place here and we wanted something a bit different. That is basically why we ended up with the dark metallic blue on our 2000 TL. That was also a difficult to find color at the time but looks great with our parchment interior. You hardly see any of these around and it is basically because of the color that we already have a buyer for the car.

Doug

 

My wife and I traded our 2008 Mitsubishi EVO MR, 25,000 miles, nav, Rockford system..in nice shape for a 2012 TL SH-AWD (Advance). Since the dealer had to do a dealer trade (not many AWD cars in southern Alabama) with an Acura store in Texas, the numbers are probably a little off but it went like this. Sticker on TL $45,970, ACV for trade 24,000=21,900 trade difference. Bought the car for $20,000 out the door. That includes tax, $700 cost to ship car from TX, everything. Not to mention we got 1.9% APR for 60 months. The dealer was really cool and put us in a 2012 TL Advance until ours makes it in, (hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday).

 

A possible candidate car I found has about 236 miles on the odometer. However, the price the dealer is offering is pretty good. Would this amount of mileage be a deal-killer for you more savvy guys?

Thanks,

Doug

 

It wouldn't even slow me down. As long as it hasn't been titled, the mileage on the odometer is meaningless. That is LESS than 1/2% of the warranty length. Get that discount!!!

 

Thats only about a tank of gas, actually less than that. Ours car made it in yesterday, 7 miles on the clock, and actually I'd almost rather the car a couple hundred miles on it, you don't feel so bad driving it and watching the miles rack up that first week.

 

I sort of agree and were it not for the added hassle that the car is a few hundred miles away and I need to add in cost/effort for getting it back here, we probably wouldn't give it a second thought. But my wife was already skittish about buying a car unseen and the fact that there is even this negligible (but still noticeable) amount of mileage does not make it any easier for me to convince her.

It really comes down to how much we feel we have to have this color. Our second choice is Red and there is a local dealer getting one of these in shortly.

Doug