BrutusBuckeye

I requested a price quote from my dealer yesterday for a 5AT w/Nav, and he responded by saying that the vehicle I'm looking for is out of stock and he couldn't get me one until February or March. He said that the TSX is a limited production vehicle and is very hard to get.

I know that Acura said they were going to build 15,000 TSXs in 2004. Wouldn't the fact that they have already sold 17,000 prove that the 15,000 number was an estimate/target and not a limit. And, do they consider the RSX a limited production vehicle, too, since the TSX is now outselling it?

Are all dealers feeding this line of crap? Should I believe this guy?

gonova

One of the dealers on here will chime in soon, but I think we have established that this is in fact a line of crap. The 15,000 was a sales goal, not a production quota. That dealer may be telling the truth that he can't get another until Feb, but that is because he didn't predict his volume well, not because of a limited production run. Try another dealer.

larchmont

I don't think that relates to the guy's statement of this being a "limited production vehicle" ---- even if it's not limited to 15,000, which we always knew it wasn't, and which BTW it never was -- we've looked into this a few times and some people came up with the original quotes; 15,000 was just a projected figure, not a limit.

And anyway, is there really a technical definition of the phrase? Even if there is, what I'd get from the guy's statement is that it's basically a LOW production vehicle, which it certainly is. That's been known from the start, it's been true from the start, and it's going to be the case at least for some time -- which is why some of us (like me) were desperate to nail down a deal.

biker

I can't see how the TSX could be a low production vehicle when off the same assembly line there will be like 100,000+ Euro Accords produced with probably 90% parts being in common.
There will always be some dealers that don't get as much as they want or there are some delivery delays.

larchmont

You're saying a lot more TSX's could be produced. But what we're really talking about is whether a lot more will be produced. They won't, at least not for some time.

fdl

I hope the 2004 TSX remains as rare as possible.

Everyone who owns a 2004 TSX should take really good care of it because it might end up in an automotive museum some day. The first TSX ever sold in NA. Especially valuable will be the first run of cars, indentifiable by the green ignition hole light.


OK, I'm just dreaming.

dom

What do you mean first run of cars with the green ignition hole light? Did they stop making them with the green ignition hole light ?

fdl

They are blue now

larchmont

Well, I had the first 3-series ever sold in NA, I took care of it, and I think it ended up in a junkyard.

dom

I have the green one. What do you guys have?

Should we have a poll ?

Although blue makes much more sense with the other blue lights in the car and all. When was this noticed?


BTW, concerning production. It is a well known fact that Honda has several production issues. Lack of facories the bif concern. Just because they are producing 100K Euro Accords a year it does'nt mean they can produce 100K TSX's. A factory can only pump out so many. And who's to say they are'nt behind on Euro/JDM Accord production as well.

majormojo

No, no, no. The key to making it as rare as possible is for everyone else to thrash the sh*t out of their TSX. Then the remaining nice examples will be even more valuable.

I also have the ultra-rare green keyhole light. I think the light in the CD bin is green too. Woohoo - lookit me, headed for the Smithsonian... Wheee!

fdl

Dom, I think the ignition light was changed sometime in august. Cars with the green light are very rare


Check out this thread...


http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&threadid=2412

2004_Acura_TSX

My TSX's ignition light is also green and mines is build number #352....thats according to the VIN. I wonder if mines will have any kind of value since its one of the first 500 TSXs to come to the US. I don't see many if any Artic Blue Pearl TSXs around here, so it looks like my TSX is a rare color. Maybe its time to put it in a time capsule and find out!

1SICKLEX

R U kidding me? This is a mass produced car. A Ferrari is a limited production vehicle.

Terry

R U kidding me? This is a mass produced car. A Ferrari is a limited production vehicle.

oh to own a Ferrari, but I am happy with my TSX.

Colin

"Limited" is a relative term. It is limited compared to Accord production. It is mass produced by RL standards. The fact remains the Euro Accord is a Euro Accord and not a TSX. Saying that the car is mass produced simply because the twin is made in large quantities is quite a stretch.

We seem to be allocated for 12-14 cars a month. This is much fewer than we receive of MDXs or TLs. We are currently sold out of TSXs. Of our next batch of TSXs (arriving in a couple of days), 6-7 are sold, with another 1-2 on the fence. We'll have 2-3 left to last us all month till our January cars arrive. To me, this is a limited production car because we can't get as many as we would like.

Kwijybo19

and just for reference. the euro accord is selling like hotcakes across the pond. especially the wagon version. if i remember correctly, honda europe predicted a certain amount of accord's for the quarter (3 months) and that amount was sold out within the first month! by projection figures, the wagon sold far more than expected, compared to the sedan, which was no slouch itself. i also read a comparison between the accord wagon and volvo v70 (which is to wagons over there what the 3-series is to sports sedans over here) and the accord was procaimed the winner, knocking down the mighty volvo...

i'll try and dig up the article. but don't for a minute think that honda is somehow able to shift a production line off of euro accords to tsxs. they are way too busy for that...

tsx-mdxman

Probably explains the relative lack of advertising on the TSX of late. No need to spend money selling cars you can't make enough of.

kiteboy

I have a June build with a blue key-light.

idx

Hm, I have a june build with green. I thought the switch was around vin 9200 or 9500.

What are the last 5 digits of your VIN kite?

-r

Lycos

You guys are too funny. This is a TSX! I'm already starting to see them everywhere!

idx

Just depends on the area. Besides my neighbor who just bought one, I hardly ever see a tsx on the road.

-r

Lycos

Here is Seattle they are becoming very common. But here, BMWs and Audis are as common as Accords and Camrys. So it's not a surprise to see many of any entry level luxury car.

dirk

i've been seeing a bunch too they're all going to be gone and as common as civics by the time i get around to owning one

BrutusBuckeye

I guess my issue is with the semantics. It's not a limited production car. Acura is going to make as many as they can sell. When sales go up, they will increase production to meet the demand. Limited production, to me, means that you will make x amount of cars. When you are finished producing that limit, you will no longer make the car.

I would be much happier with a salesman telling me that the demand for this car is very high and they are selling them as soon as they get their hands on one, rather than telling me that it is a limited production vehicle. To me, this is meant to mislead.

Also, I received a couple more price quotes yesterday. One was $500 off MSRP, the other was $1000 off MSRP.

larchmont

I'm with Brutus, basically. But we can't REALLY be like that, unless we're in an English seminar. Anywhere else, you keep getting into stuff like this -- and you can't even really blame the other person, because that's just how it is. For better or worse, words and phrases don't necessarily have exact meanings in actual usage. Of course this gives some people a chance to use words or phrases in a fuzzy way on purpose to BS us, and we can never know for sure if they did it on purpose or if they have a different idea of the phrase.

In this case, sounds to me like it was probably just an honest miscommunication.

Santa Rosa Steve

Santa Rosa Steve

DEVO

Common... hardly. I see more Elements and S2000 than I do TSXs. I have seen 1 on the road since they came to market. I know it's selling well, which is why I'm confused as to the lack of them on the road.

PRESTIGE_TSX

Historically, ACURA has always produced its cars in volume. For every ten buyers, ACURA makes 7 cars. Why do they do that? According to a dealer:" To keep balance btwn supply and demand. Go to any dealership, you wont see excess capacity. At Acura you always see a handful of cars, its not like your local Ford dealership. That said, yes the TSX is a low volume car. Acura assembles its TL and MDX in USA and Canada. These are its volume sellers and since they are made locally, much more profitable. Meanwhile, it wants to continue selling distinguished automobiles that deliver value, luxury, and now performance all in one. The TSX is one of its recent products. Most of the 1990 NSX "Ferrari of Japan" technology has trickled down to this car today. I can't remember seeing Formula One features in any other car on the market. In summary, This TSX is manufactured in JAPAN, will remain low volume....due to lack of awareness in public, production volumes, and advertising. There's too many suckers out their who think rwd is the only vehicle of choice. I was one of them. For your information, after driving the TSX, i forgot about the overpriced 325i I wanted, and have ordered one. I have been waiting for 5 weeks to get my car. Satin silver/Ebony with 5 AT. I even had my friends call my dealer and others to test them on their honesty regarding supplies and prices. I am also proud to tell you guys I am paying $1500 under sticker!~ My car should be here next week! Can't wait!

dirk

i just bought ten.. they said they were the last ten available.. eat that bitches!!!

ostrich

BrutusBuckeye, if it's not too much of an inconvenience, you may want to try Park Acura in Akron, OH. They have quite a few TSX's in stock and the internet manager also gave me a nice deal! Better than the ones that you have been quoted :-) Darrell was low key and very pleasant to deal with, unlike those incredibly rude salespeople in the dealership in Cleveland. Check out their website (together with their inventory):

www.parkacura.com

Whatchamacallit

Oh I hope I won't be flamed for saying this but. . . cut the dealer some slack.

TSX comes in 7 different exterior colors (NBP, CG, ABP, MR, MSM, SSM, and PWP). 2 different transmissions (5AT, 6MT). Choice of with and without navigation. Not to mention 3 different interior colors (EB, QZ, and PT). That's 40 different possible combinations of TSX (correct me if I'm wrong). The chances having the exact car you want on the lot is very slim.

Sounds like the dealer was just giving you the reason why they don't have the car you want on-hand. Now, if they use this as a leverage to jack up the price to an outrageous level, then it's a different story.

And no, I'm not a car salesman nor work for Acura.

TMQ

Let's hope not. the dinosaurs are there, and they are extinct.

hondaloyalist

Yeh i just checked And i got the green light #5643 never really noticed it before.

BradW

The TSX is a tough car to sell. Not in the fact that people don't want it, but in the fact that they are rare in terms of production numbers. 15-17,000 is not alot of cars especially when people demand certain combinations.

They also have very little mark-up and since I'm paid on commission selling one does not make a ton of sense unless its close to full sticker. If I have to dealer trade for one then I make even less money.

The TSX probably has more potential then every car in the Acura line-up besides the MDX but until Acura puts more margin in the car for the dealerships its going to be a hard car to promote.

You can go around and ask any salesperson at my dealership or for that matter in the state, its a hard car to sell. People want 1000 dollar discounts, if I give one I make very little for hours worth of work.

Just my 2 cents....

larchmont

But you don't have to work that hard or that long to sell each TSX. Compared to how it is with most other cars, I think most TSX buyers already know they want it, and they're pretty eager to get it, and if you do a half-decent job with them, they'll buy it. Quick and easy. As long as you're not a dork.

Doesn't sound very tough to me.

ostrich

I agree with Larchmont - when I first went to see the Acura TSX and TL, I knew that I wanted one of them already. I chose not to work with the first dealership because they were rude and sleazy. The dealership that I dealt with was 50 miles away. The deal was done over just one visit with a test drive and a few e-mails. That was it.

BradW

I agree with you for about half of the TSX customers I've had. They know what they want and plan on getting it. The problem with those customers is normally availability. They come to the dealership wanting something specific and they want it soon. It just doesn't work that way with the TSX. The most educated TSX shoppers know its a car that could potentially take months to get since it is a true import but unfortunately most buyers are accustomed to going into a dealership and leaving with the exact vehicle they had in mind.

KC 2004 TSX

I think production #'s are relative to the automaker. I sold Fords the first year the new T-Bird was released as a limited production car. They made 20,000. "Limited" is a word that is used to freely. The Acura TSX is a limited production car for Honda.

In this case it's limited to how many orders the factory can fill. I know most dealers feel they can sell twice the numbers of TSX's they get. I hated having to let someone go lease somewhere else because he/she didn't plan ahead and we didn't have what they wanted immediately.

My advise in purchasing a car is... Plan ahead and you will have a better buying experience.

BrutusBuckeye

...And an Accord is limited to how many orders its factory can fill. Does that mean that it's also a limited production vehicle. In that case, every car is limited production. The Thunderbird on the other hand is only being made for a few years. Then, production will cease. That is truely a limited production vehicle.