8-)

(Sorry if this is a little long. This is all Philadelphia area.)

I bought my Lakeshore Silver/Ebony RL on Friday. Love it!! So let me tell you about the purchase.

I used the Acura website to solicit quotes from four local dealers, including Montgomeryville Acura and Sussman Acura. I quickly received a “thanks for asking” response from all the dealers, but no price quotes. I responded to each that I needed a price quote. Only Montgomeryville responded with pricing. The quote was list price, but at least they followed up.

I knew Montgomeryville didn’t have a Lakeshore/Ebony on the lot, and Sussman did. No brainer, right? Well, not really. I bought my Mazda Millenia S from Sussman back in 1995, and the purchase was fine. However, through the years their service just got worse and worse. My last service experience there resulted in them trying to sell me on replacing my catalytic converter at some ridiculous price. I didn’t need the catalytic converter, but I guess they just wanted me to have a new one. After feeling like they tried to take advantage of me, I wrote a letter to the General Manager of the dealership asking them to justify their behavior. Maybe their Service Writer just made a mistake? Maybe I misunderstood her? Maybe, maybe, maybe. But I guess my letter ended up in their round file, because they never responded. Some years later, it helped make my Acura dealer decision easier, no purchase from Sussman, no matter what. (Why did I ask for a price quote from them? I thought I might be able to use it to negotiate a better deal from whatever dealer I wanted to use.) The real shame is that Sussman is only about 2 miles from my home.

The next day I called Montgomeryville and agreed to a price in about 15 minutes. I agreed to pay MSRP, but saved a few dollars on the accessories. They told me they could get the car from another dealer, and I knew which dealer that was! It made me weak in the knees to know somebody would be driving my car from Sussman to Montgomeryville (maybe 15 miles?), but I wasn’t about to put $$$ into the pocket of the Sussman organization.

I picked up the car from Montgomeryville on Friday. They could not have been nicer, could not have been more helpful. They were professional, knowledgeable, respectful (read that as not pushy), and pleasant. Overall, it was a terrific buying experience. Sure, for 50k it should be, but sometimes dealers can’t even figure out how to do this. Special props go to Amin Al-Laty, who could not have been more helpful.

Tons of thanks to the posters on this board for their thoughts, ideas, and insights relating to Acura, the RL, and other car alternatives. You helped make my decision easy, and right!

2veloce

Congrats on your purchase and choice of color.

I took delivery the 26th of November and there has been a simile on my face everytime I drive the RL.

EmuMessenger

Congratulations!

I do not know a single person that has had a pleasant experience as Sussman. I tried to by my 99 TL-Navi at Sussman. After telling them the price I already had, they told me how other dealers are not reputable and their offer would still be good after the other deal falls through.

Needless to say, I got the other deal and that was that. SCREW SUSSMAN!

tl2rl

I unfortunatly did buy my 99 TL Navi there, they were very smug, but it was the first new car I had purchased and I was naive. I also felt like their sevice had been declining on each visit. I haven't been back in 3 years. I got a brochure from them to come back to test drive the new RL. Instead I have been looking at two other dealers in the area and refuse to buy from them again.

Congrats on your purchase.

dseag2

Congrats! You'll love the car more with every mile that passes.

I purchased my RL from Rick Case Acura in Ft. Lauderdale. They were excellent and gave me a great trade-in on my '04 TL. I had to wait almost 30 days for my RL, but they honored the quote on my trade for whatever time it took and told me I could drive it as many miles as I wanted until the RL came in.

Nothing but positive experiences with this dealership.

8-)

Thanks, all.

Today was my first commute in the car. The RL even made the evils of Philadelphia rush hour fun. And I can see it getting even better when I stop panicking over every other driver on the road! (I was hit 4 times in my last car, all in the Philly area.)

BlueAc

iTrader: (2)

I know exactly what your talking about when u say Sussman sucks... I went there to purchase my '99 Acura 3.2 TL about 3 years ago. At the time I had a '97 Honda Accord wagon w/ $3500 a/v system that me and my dad spent ALOT of time building. Well long story short I left the vehicle with them for the weekend while I used the Acura for the weekend. The salesman promised me the vehicle would be left indoors and it would be taken care of. I came back to a completely guted car the even took the time to steal my power wire and put my alarm into valet mode. And that wasnt the worse part I showed the salesman the car and he gonna ask me was it like that when i brought it in...I was like what the f*@k??? But in the end it all worked out b/c I got a check from my insurance co., didnt have to make a down payment, and they took $2,000 of the price of the car. But that doesnt take away from the fact that they are a bunch of theives b/c I know they services dudes broke into my car. Now everytime I pull into the service bay I wanna b/c i know them bastards stole my sh*t and now they smiling up in my face.

soopa

Dissapointing that not so many dealers followed up. Time for AcuraZine to do something about that... hrmmm...

Congrats on your purchase! ... and great screen name btw

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Congrats!

dseag2

Hey, they let you take the TL for the weekend. That's a lot more than you'll get in South Florida!