[johnnyw]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum, but definitely intend on purchasing an EX in the next couple weeks. I'll be hauling around lots of wood and furniture, and seeing as pickups are not quite my style, the Element is a perfect fit.

I was going to go down to the dealership this week and negotiate on a one-owner, Carfax clean, '07 Honda Certified 4WD EX. It has 23,095k and is in really good condition, except that it has very soft brakes that would likely need replacing. They have priced it at $17,985.

My question is, what sort of room do I have to negotiate a better price? I KBB'ed the model and they have a suggested retail price of $21,600, which seems super high. The trade in price is $15,675. Do you think I could negotiate down into the 16k's given the whole economy, state of the auto industry etc? Or is it priced to sell already?

Any advice would be highly appreciated,

Johnny

 

[GaryS]

I was going to go down to the dealership this week and negotiate on a one-owner, Carfax clean, '07 Honda Certified 4WD EX. It has 23,095k and is in really good condition, except that it has very soft brakes that would likely need replacing. They have priced it at $17,985.

Is this at a Honda dealer? If so tell them that you'll buy it for the asking price if they will put new brakes on it.

My question is, what sort of room do I have to negotiate a better price? I KBB'ed the model and they have a suggested retail price of $21,600, which seems super high. The trade in price is $15,675. Do you think I could negotiate down into the 16k's given the whole economy, state of the auto industry etc? Or is it priced to sell already?

You're the buyer. Offer $1000 less and see what they say.

Remember-

He whosoever can walketh away,

Controls the deal

(From the Gospel according to Biff)

 

[johnnyw]

Thanks for the quick advice Gary!

It is indeed at a Honda dealership...just curious, how much would a brake replacement generally cost through a dealership?

 

[E's E]

The car you are buying is a certified car, which means it needs to be up to higher inspection standard rivaling the purchase of a new car. If the brakes are soft, tell them that this needs to corrected. You shouldn't have to factor a brake job into your negotiation.

I purchased an '07 CPO Element SC, and they had to make things right for me. I would try to look at the report they did on the required inspection to make this vehicle a CPO, and see if they did anything on the brakes.

Best of luck! Loving my Element. - Eric

 

[glynrd]

Purchased '07 recently

I recently purchased my '07 from a private party off craigslist for 12K because it is salvaged. I was finding comparable ones not salvaged for 16-19K. My brakes felt soft to me, but I had to have a brake inspection done because it's salvaged, and they checked out fine. It may just be the way they feel. I've gotten used to it now, but the brakes on my '05 E I had before did feel different. With the miles that are on the one you're considering, worn out brakes would mean it was driven pretty exclusively stop and go miles. I understood certified Hondas are supposed to be perfect! There is definitely room to deal in this economy. I say offer $1000 less. Depending on what state you are in you could be surprised at the license, fee, tax total. Mine was $1400. :-(

 

[johnnyw]

Bad news...but really good news too!

So as I described earlier, the dealer had an asking price of $17,985 on their website, allegedly marked down from $18,985. But as soon as we sat down with the salesman, he told us that they best they'd be able to do on the '07 was $18,985! Apparently, he "didn't do the website" and wasn't aware of the correct asking price. We just outright told him that this was a terrible start to the negotiation. We offered $16,500 with a new pair of brakes thrown in. He came down...to the original asking price of $17,985 and wouldn't budge! Unfortunately, we just didn't trust this guy from the get-go...he was either completely unprofessional and unprepared or just untrustworthy.

Good news, however, is that instead of the '07, I came home with a '09 EX! After the terrible experience bidding on the used, we figured what the hell, lets make an offer for an '09 below invoice and see what happens. I was prepared with the latest purchase prices from the pricing thread and when we offered $22,000 they accepted! It's polished metal and she's an absolute beauty. I couldn't be happier.

Thanks for all your help folks!