Hard Time Getting a good price

1567 Views 13 Replies 12 Participants Last post by boxcar1, Jun 12, 2003

Little E

Discussion Starter · Jun 10, 2003

Hello all,
I really appreciate all the good info on this board. My wife and I have decided on a 4wd SOP ex. The best price I have been quoted is 900 off msrp. I have read some threads of people getting some really good deals, I just don't know weather to believe them or not. The dealers say theese are realyy in demand blagh blagh etc. Please let me know of your experiences.
Thanks,
Jim

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vornon kolts

· #2 · Jun 10, 2003

Up in Alaska I can tell you that you cannot get a good deal... well... I cannot get a good deal. I would say $900 off msrp is pretty darn good considering the small markup of these autos.

Heres the best I could come up with here. Someone returned thier Element with 4000 miles put on in only a few months. The dealer tried to sell this thing to me for $1000 OVER msrp. they used the excuse that the customer had added the fancy wheels and stereo, but since the customer added those themselves I really doubt the dealer paid much to get them back. Basically I was disgusted and walked out. That was a few months ago and I figure ill try again in the fall when the new ones are coming out. If I have to ill just take a nice vacation to seattle and drive one back up here.

Anyway, Im jealous. That sounds like a decent deal.

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Staggie

· #3 · Jun 10, 2003

Actually, I think that sounds like a pretty good deal for a 4WD SOP. I don't think I'd have done any better around here--the auto 4WD EX's are selling really well. I suspect I was able to get a better deal than some only because I wanted a 2WD EX 5-speed. They don't ship many 5-speeds to Northern California since they don't sell all that well here.

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frenchtoast

· #4 · Jun 10, 2003

We went to many dealers but never priced anyone out. We were regulars at one dealership where we did our test drives. we had a nice relationship going there. they knew we were just waiting for my current car to sell and we were good to go. Last thursday we went in said "We want AWD SOP EX, we $1,000 off the sticker and free keyless." He went to manager for like 2 minutes came back and said "you have a deal." End of story Now my husband is suffering over how easy it was and should have asked for more.
I learned from this site that the more time you spend with your sales guy the more he is invested in the sale to justify his time spent.Also we went right at closing , 8:30 pm. We had lots of cash with us but they only needed $100 that night. Today i picked up my car at 5:30pm they had to send someone 87 miles away that morning to get it even. I heard on this site $1,000 off sticker was decent and a dealer zillion miles away who knew he'd he didnt have what I needed told me over the phone to be happy with $500 off even in a second choice color anywhere else. Other dealers told me to expect nothing off "it''s a hot car". Hope this helps. Shop shop shop.
good luck

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buckaroo99

· #5 · Jun 10, 2003

Little E if you can get 900 off MSRP, buy it (assuming it's still there when you get back).

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mlwschultz

· #6 · Jun 10, 2003

I think it depends on where you are and how hungry the dealers are. I think I got a good deal because no other dealer would match it, or come close to it. That's when I decided that I had the best deal I was going to get. I called several dealers in 3 states that are within easy driving distance for me (also at month end). Surprisingly, I got my best deal in my own state, but not at my closest dealer (who is the one that services my vehicles and has for years). I paid $810 below sticker (EX 4wd auto SLM) with keyless entry, mud flaps, cargo net, all weather floor mats & the tail pipe finisher included and they delivered it to me. If $900 off sticker is the best deal you've found, and other dealers won't match or better it, then that's the best deal you're going to get. Once you get the E you'll really know that you've made a great choice!

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SteveO

· #7 · Jun 10, 2003

I second what Bush and the others said...you might also try as it's minimal time invested on your part: before you shop, email or fax all the dealers you plan to shop at (and tell them you're talking to several dealers), put it to the attention of the sales manager, and go from there. Start by giving the exact model and color you want, and if you want to throw out a number, tell 'em you'll do something like $500 or $700 over invoice. You'll get the deal you want, maybe even a better one. Just road trip to another dealer who respects you. Sounds like yours doesn't and therefore doesn't deserve your business.

I signed my deal yesterday on an SOP AWD 5speed. Got what amounted to $600 over invoice with a few coupons thrown in; seemed like a fair deal for all parties.

Good luck!
Steve

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boxcar1

· #8 · Jun 10, 2003

Just make a list of everything you want and itemize it piece by piece. Then go to all of the dealers in your area or farther, and compare, but don't let them know what you have so far. They'll ask what your lowest price is. Tell them, but don't show them. If they can go to invoice on mine, others can do it. Plan on doing that for a week or so and let them know you are buying, just don't know from whom you will be buying from. It took me awhile, but we got a heck of a deal. It's not a joke, it can be done, just depends on where you're located as well.

PS. If you get in a wreck with it, plan on a 3 week wait for parts. My recommendation is to ensure you have rental coverage on your policy. The wife parked hers in the trunk of a 96 Taurus.

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possumlady

· #9 · Jun 10, 2003

As with everyone else, I think it really depends on what part of the country you live in. Here in the DC area, at the end of March I bought my silver EX AWD with keyless remote for $20,400 out the door. When I checked my pricing sheet, it came out to $19,313.00 for the car, then the added taxes, etc. It was the end of the month and I took what they had on the lot.

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Element

· #10 · Jun 10, 2003

$900 is a great price. I got $1,200 off and only paid like $269 over invoice. This was during March but now some dealers are selling the E upwards of $500 off of invoice. I also got a few things thrown in so i thought i got a great deal. When you have a big market like myself, dealers tend to unmind each other to grab your business

2WD BLK EX

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Little E

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 11, 2003

Thanks for all the great replies!! We got a 4wd ex SOP last night for 1610 off msrp or 19700 + 120 doc/title fee + tax.
We found a really great dealer in Beavervreek Ohio near dayton Hidy Honda. The finance mgr also got us a good rate 4.1%/60mo. The finance mgr did try to hard sell us on extended warrantys etc., but he finally got the point that I was not going to buy any thing additional he let up.
Overall a really good experience and my wife is really happy.

Jim

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chadgo

· #12 · Jun 11, 2003

may depend on the area and what color, (auto vs manual), and (2wd vs. 4wd) that you are looking for.

here in charlotte, we made several offers afew hundred under msrp. only found 1 out of 5 that was willing to sell us a galapagos green, 2wd auto, ex at a few hundred below msrp.

it's such a cheap price for what you're getting, we didn't consider it a major loss.

(the other cars we were bargaining for...were sold quickly, so we knew in this market, in order to get what we wanted, we were going to have to act quickly.)

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Tarheel

· #13 · Jun 12, 2003

The key I feel is in the options your Element comes with from the dealership. The dealer has a large profit built in for the various accessories he hangs on the vehicle which jacks up the price from the orginal MSRP. We can see this from visiting H and A. Then he turns around and offers you say $1000 off the new price which sounds like you are getting your Element at a $1000 savings. That works only if you start with the orginal MSRP, no options added, no paint protector , window security etching, etc and see if you are getting a true $1000.00 savings.
I got a discount of $1100.00 off the final price but there were quite a few options added to mine so who knows what the real "discount" was.

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boxcar1

· #14 · Jun 12, 2003

I checked out Hidy as well and at the time, they wouldn't budge much. When Castrucci offered me an invoice deal, (plus I had a lot of additional accessories put on) I jumped on it, plus Hidy said it would take longer to get the SOP in. I did end up getting the 5yr/100K for a little under $600. Our truck had a 5yr 75k extended and the head cracked at 55k. So, I'm now a big believer if I can get them cheaper.

So, I guess there are now two SOP EX Elements driving around Dayton and Wright Pat now.

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