Aerodaves

Just got this email from one of the sales guys I was working with to buy my new TL:
__________________________________________________ __

Through the end of this week/month (November 29, 2003) I am discounting the 2004 Acura TL models $1600 off MSRP.

This is limited to the first twenty IN-STOCK 2004 TL's sold and is only good through 11/29/2003.

IF you would like to arrange a time to come and see the new model, just email or call me.

Darren Worlow
Internet Sales Manager
Vandergriff Acura
817.467.1000
dworlow@vandergriffacura.com
__________________________________________________ __

Too bad they didn't have this sale this past weekend. I still got mine for $750 off MSRP. Enjoy.

neuronbob

Probably all non-navi.

frebay

in time, the navi will drop 1500 also

Jimmyz

Why do you want Nav anyway?

fast-tl

Because it's more than a map, especially now with voice activiation and a larger database of businesses adn map coverage. In my '00 Navi, I love to look businesses up when I only know the phone number, or when we drive to another town adn want to find the nearest movie theater, or a relative's office, without having to first consult the internet. It also makes a great base for adding DVD video or Playstation to your ride for the kids. It adds so much to the car. Well worth the price of the options.

Pack Fan

You can use the Navi screen for video games and DVD video?

wv5b

I wouldn't buy a tl without navi.. I was told by one salesman that selling used tl-typeS wiithout navi just kills the resale, so I can promise you will get most of the money back on resale. You would have to exerience using one to see all the great advantages of having navi!

acuraddict

Please...not this again.

drising

I visited Vandergriff last night. I brought in a report listing invoice price and holdback.

Sean Musser, Business Development Manager stated they simply wouldn't come of MSRP by more than $750. This means one of 3 things....

-BAIT AND SWITCH IS ALIVE AND WELL
-THE LEFT HAND DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT HAND IS DOING
-WHAT MANY SAY ABOUT CAR DEALERSHIPS IS TRUE

Coincidentally, they stated over the phone the car I was interested in was in stock.

One hour later when I arrived, it wasn't.......

Aerodaves

Well, sorry for the wild goose chase. If it makes you feel any better, I did not end up buying from these guys. I only used them to shop my trade in around, and by doing so I ended up getting additional $1500. I ended up buying from Goodson. From what I've heard, David McDavid is the current Acura volume leader for Texas despite Goodson's claim of #1 (Their claim is for past years). You might want to check them out. They are too far away for me. I ended getting $750 off because Goodson price-matched Mac Churchill's corporate discount for Lockheed-Martin employees.

Good Luck!

fast-tl

Aerodaves, how was the buying experience @ Goodson? I bought my '00 from Vandergriff, but it sounds like I won't be going back there. I do all my service @ Goodson anyway.

drising

Thanks for the insight, Aerodaves. Turns out McDavid won't come off a nickel; they'd only offer $500 in accessories. I consider myself a good negotiator, so I was somewhat stunned. But I really think they are selling them as fast as they come off the truck.

Fast-TL, I put a deposit down on a WDP/Parchment w/ navi this morning at Goodson. I've been really pleased with the experience. Sergei (can't remember last name) is a good guy and REALLY knows the car. He wasn't really hip on discounting the car. However.......when talking with Alan Foreman, sales manager on a separate visit, I told him how much dealers in Chicago and CA were discounting. I think he realized I was ready to buy and said he'd come off $1,000. If you shoot straight and show them you know your stuff, I think they'll respond favorably.

Now all they have to do is track down the car.

Bottom line? I'd rank DFW area dealers in this order:
1. Goodson - Knowledgeable staff, no nonsense professional attitude. Wife has Integra and good experience w/ service dept.
2. Mac Churchill - Not remarkably good or bad. Disappointed in inventory and second-hand feedback on service.
3. David McDavid - Not impressed with sales team here, nor their unwillingness to come off MSRP. Customer satisfaction scores in service dept are in the 96% range (saw the rolling 3 month report). Too bad......
4. Vandergriff - My earlier post will explain.

Hope this helps.

fuque

"Find nearest ATM"
"Find nearest gas station"
"Find nearest fast food"

And, last but not least,

"Go home" for my wife, who recently got lost in among the huge petroleum storage tanks near the harbor in Long Beach.

Update:

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, the 5 freeway in the Central Valley was closed in both directions due to some sort of accident. There's no finer feeling than being able to take an off-ramp in the middle of nowhere, find a little country road with no traffic on it, and fly past a 20-mile-long backup on the Interstate, all the while having complete confidence at being able to find your way back to the freeway when you're past the jam.

The nav system is worth every penny.

rude1116

I currently own 02 TLS w/ navi
can't go back w/o navi
7 million POI
IMO the most user friendly system out there

partagas

Now going for my third nav car, I can't imagine one without it. You guys who question it, don't you go out of town? Do you like being lost in strange cities? Do you like trying freeway merges while fumbling for a map? I suppose that you like askind directions or trying to find a phone book to find out where something is. Not get a nav? While we're at it, why do we need air conditioning?

expat

I would like NAV, but...

I rarely drive out of town; typically we fly if we are going more than a couple of hours away. Also use mapquest if i have a specific destination in mind.

The difference in price between NAV and non-NAV was $2000 + the discount from MSRP that non-NAV cars were getting when I bought my car ($1000).

So $3000 was the real cost of NAV for me. I could buy a lot of stuff for $3k so I opted for non-NAV. Hopefully NAV will drop in price so the next car can have NAV.

DNA

Plus about $150/year to keep the Nav database current. Plus likely greater maintenance cost due to high complexity of Nav system. Maybe Nav adds to resale value in the short term but I suspect ten years from now today's Nav will be as desirable as a ten year old PC.

Furthermore, there are a LOT of places in the U.S. that are not verified in the navigation database. Fort Wayne, Indiana, where I grew up, is hardly a small farm town. It is not verified. In fact, there are only three cities in Indiana that are. Some states, such as Vermont, are completely unverified. If you don't live in a major metropolitan area or a major tourist destination, chances are your area does not have verified roads in the database. Unverified areas show on the map but not all roads are shown, accuracy is lower, some features don't work, and the voice appends "if possible" to all the directions.

Even in verified areas, it isn't entirely accurate. I've had my TL almost 4 weeks and it tried to have me turn the wrong way into a high-speed one-way road one time and another time it told me to take a freeway exit with no warning, forcing me to cut across four lanes of freeway in less than a 1/4 mile or miss the exit.

Having said the above, except for an occasional inaccuracy, and a couple functions that could be designed better. I'm very happy with TL's navigation system. It has made driving a lot more enjoyable and virtually eliminates stress involved in getting to destinations in unknown areas. I've yet to hear anyone who has a navigation system say it was a waste of money.

As far as Nav dropping in price, maybe. However, in the few years it has been available, it has always been about the same price it is now. Instead of lowering price, they keep adding features. I think this trend will continue for at least several more years, adding, for example, navigation routing based on current traffic and road conditions as is already done in Europe.