Hi Everyone,
(I posted this in another forum as well, so I would get as many responses as possible. If you are reading this again, I apologize for the duplication.)
I have been mainly lurking here, trying to get information about the Element from the owners' points of view. Well, I have been trying to negotiate a fair price for the E and a reasonable trade on my current car. Here is the story...
6/25 - I go to the dealership, and I test drive a Silver E, 2WD DX Manual. I love it, but, after studying the stickers in the lot, later realize that getting the DX with all the added options costed more than getting the EX with the standard options, so we opt on the EX. We work all the numbers up, and I am telling them the whole time that I wanted the EBP. The finance guy locates one, but he is waiting to see if that dealer would trade with him. Another side note is that, after working up the numbers, the payment was within 9 dollars of my target payment (sorry, I cannot remember all the figures for this visit). I advise that I may want to consider financing with my credit union. He says that, in order to do that, he would have to add $300 to the price of the car. I figure, we have a decent deal here anyway, I could afford the payment, so let's just wait and see if the dealer will let him trade. I had to pick my daughter up from daycare at the time, so I told him to call me as soon as he heard from the other dealer. He never called.
In the meantime, I start thinking that it just isn't meant to be right now, and I start losing hope on getting the E right now.
7/10 - I receive a letter in the mail from Honda Finance, saying that they have approved my loan with certain conditions. I found this as strange, because none of the loan apps that he used at the time were through Honda Finance (I saw the screen in his office as he was trying to work the numbers...he casually mentioned Honda Finance, but he had not run the app by the time I left)
7/11 - I call Honda Finance Customer Service, and they tell me that, because I started the app at the dealer, I would need to speak to them concerning the specific terms...I call the dealership to inquire, and the finance guy is asking all kinds of questions about the E that I wanted, yada, yada. I ask specifically what the conditions of the loan were. He said he would definitely call me back today. By COB that day, I receive a call from the sales rep that worked my deal, and she said she had located an EBP E, and asked if I could come in and work a deal. I schedule an appointment, but when I ask about my original question, she stated that the finance guy only told her that they found the EBP E, and for her to call me.
7/12 - I call the Finance guy back, and he acts as if he does not have a clue about the terms, but, after persisting, comes back with a tolerable interest rate.
7/16 - I show up for my appointment, as promised. We negotiate a deal of $19,511 on the EBP 2WD Auto E, with Mud Flaps and Carpeted Floor mats (The one that they located already had these options installed), and I would be upside down $1200 on my current car (1998 Honda Accord with 107,000+ miles - the car has done me well, but I fell in love with the E, and I had wanted another vehicle for some time anyway - Honda's introduction of the E just sealed it). We went to Finance...his note was $437/mo. I could not get him to budge on the interest rate to bring the note any closer to $400, which is where I wanted my payment. He asks about the warranty, which I declined. He tries to hard sell the warranty, and I explained that the $437 was out of my budget anyway. We try to haggle, but he would not budge. I again mentioned that I would try to seek financing at my local bank, and he stated at this point that if I got financing outside the dealership, then he could not sell me the car. My husband asks why, and he goes on this speil that that's how they expected to make money on the deal, and they had already cut the deal too low to begin with, and they could not sell me the car at the quoted price. My husband asked what the difference in price would be if we went to our bank for financing. He then stated "Oh, about $800". He then left so we could discuss this, and we decided to walk away. He comes back, and he is asking us to put money down or go with longer financing, which we declined both. He then said that was all he could do, so we walked. As we are getting the key back from our sales rep, he asks her to ask us about leasing. We again decline and leave.
After saying all of that, I know I was getting the shorter end of the stick with the deal anyway, but I felt like it was something I could have lived with if I got the E I wanted at the payment that I wanted. All of this over $37/month. Have any of you heard of such practices by the finance guys? Is it ethical? Legal? What could I do to protect myself in the future?
Still wanting my EBP E in my driveway...
ale896
Hondas I have owned
95 Honda Civic
99 Acura Integra
98 Honda Accord (my current car)
(Did I mention that I tried putting up with all of their crap because I bought my Civic and my Accord from them before?)
(I posted this in another forum as well, so I would get as many responses as possible. If you are reading this again, I apologize for the duplication.)
I have been mainly lurking here, trying to get information about the Element from the owners' points of view. Well, I have been trying to negotiate a fair price for the E and a reasonable trade on my current car. Here is the story...
6/25 - I go to the dealership, and I test drive a Silver E, 2WD DX Manual. I love it, but, after studying the stickers in the lot, later realize that getting the DX with all the added options costed more than getting the EX with the standard options, so we opt on the EX. We work all the numbers up, and I am telling them the whole time that I wanted the EBP. The finance guy locates one, but he is waiting to see if that dealer would trade with him. Another side note is that, after working up the numbers, the payment was within 9 dollars of my target payment (sorry, I cannot remember all the figures for this visit). I advise that I may want to consider financing with my credit union. He says that, in order to do that, he would have to add $300 to the price of the car. I figure, we have a decent deal here anyway, I could afford the payment, so let's just wait and see if the dealer will let him trade. I had to pick my daughter up from daycare at the time, so I told him to call me as soon as he heard from the other dealer. He never called.
In the meantime, I start thinking that it just isn't meant to be right now, and I start losing hope on getting the E right now.
7/10 - I receive a letter in the mail from Honda Finance, saying that they have approved my loan with certain conditions. I found this as strange, because none of the loan apps that he used at the time were through Honda Finance (I saw the screen in his office as he was trying to work the numbers...he casually mentioned Honda Finance, but he had not run the app by the time I left)
7/11 - I call Honda Finance Customer Service, and they tell me that, because I started the app at the dealer, I would need to speak to them concerning the specific terms...I call the dealership to inquire, and the finance guy is asking all kinds of questions about the E that I wanted, yada, yada. I ask specifically what the conditions of the loan were. He said he would definitely call me back today. By COB that day, I receive a call from the sales rep that worked my deal, and she said she had located an EBP E, and asked if I could come in and work a deal. I schedule an appointment, but when I ask about my original question, she stated that the finance guy only told her that they found the EBP E, and for her to call me.
7/12 - I call the Finance guy back, and he acts as if he does not have a clue about the terms, but, after persisting, comes back with a tolerable interest rate.
7/16 - I show up for my appointment, as promised. We negotiate a deal of $19,511 on the EBP 2WD Auto E, with Mud Flaps and Carpeted Floor mats (The one that they located already had these options installed), and I would be upside down $1200 on my current car (1998 Honda Accord with 107,000+ miles - the car has done me well, but I fell in love with the E, and I had wanted another vehicle for some time anyway - Honda's introduction of the E just sealed it). We went to Finance...his note was $437/mo. I could not get him to budge on the interest rate to bring the note any closer to $400, which is where I wanted my payment. He asks about the warranty, which I declined. He tries to hard sell the warranty, and I explained that the $437 was out of my budget anyway. We try to haggle, but he would not budge. I again mentioned that I would try to seek financing at my local bank, and he stated at this point that if I got financing outside the dealership, then he could not sell me the car. My husband asks why, and he goes on this speil that that's how they expected to make money on the deal, and they had already cut the deal too low to begin with, and they could not sell me the car at the quoted price. My husband asked what the difference in price would be if we went to our bank for financing. He then stated "Oh, about $800". He then left so we could discuss this, and we decided to walk away. He comes back, and he is asking us to put money down or go with longer financing, which we declined both. He then said that was all he could do, so we walked. As we are getting the key back from our sales rep, he asks her to ask us about leasing. We again decline and leave.
After saying all of that, I know I was getting the shorter end of the stick with the deal anyway, but I felt like it was something I could have lived with if I got the E I wanted at the payment that I wanted. All of this over $37/month. Have any of you heard of such practices by the finance guys? Is it ethical? Legal? What could I do to protect myself in the future?
Still wanting my EBP E in my driveway...
ale896
Hondas I have owned
95 Honda Civic
99 Acura Integra
98 Honda Accord (my current car)
(Did I mention that I tried putting up with all of their crap because I bought my Civic and my Accord from them before?)
