[Simon]

Everything coming off the trucks are automatics??

I don't understand. My sister is trying to get one in another state, and her husband just told me that had 15 Elements come off the truck and not one 5 speed?

What is Honda doing? Don't offer it, if you're not going to produce it.

I turned my sister on the E, and now they may look elsewhere...

It's hard to explain why Honda doesn't turn out more 5sp, 2WDs..

 

[Mfpar35]

I found one that is a 5 speed and I put a deposit on it as soon as they shot me a good price. I think I was able to get them to drop so much partly because the people who are actually buying them don't want to fool with a 5 speed. Keep looking I was able to find a few. Where are you located? Have you asked the dealership to try to make a dealer trade for a 5 speed? If waiting a month or so is an option you might want to order one. Although I did find one dealership who told me they wouldn't even order a 5 speed if I put in an order. ??!?!?! Go figure? I guess theydon't like money :?

 

[Simon]

My sister is in Maryland. She said they told her you can't "order" a Honda like most domestic cars. They basically hold one that comes in that fits your description. I know - sounds funny.

I had to wait 3 months for mine, which I thought I had ordered..?

They are ready to buy (buy and drive) and with so many Elements coming in it's just unusual that they are all seemingly AUTOs. My dealer tried to talk me into an AUTO in December when I ordered my E.

Honda makes a great stick. They are known for them, why are the dealers averse to getting sticks?

 

[Alien Element]

Same in this area. I just swung by the Cary dealership today and they have 4 new Elements - All of them are 4wd EX automatics. I stopped by the Chapel Hill dealership yesterday and they only had a 4wd EX auto, but they had sold a DX 5 speed the day before. The Raleigh dealership has had 4 Elements, 3 of which were the EX 4wd automatic. The Oxford dealership is a little farther away, so I haven't contacted them to see if they have any at all. I'll probably wait until I am ready to buy before contacting them!

With Sanford, Rocky Mount, and Greensboro/Winston Salem only an hour or so away, in addition to the other 4 dealerships within a 40 mile radius, I don't think that I'll have a problem finding an Element like I want come June! I just don't think that I can wait that long... but I have to unload my Sidekick first.

 

[Ed]

[quote:5e9fc0b608="Simon"]My sister is in Maryland. She said they told her you can't "order" a Honda like most domestic cars. They basically hold one that comes in that fits your description. I know - sounds funny.

[/quote:5e9fc0b608]


That is the way it used to be. Now they CAN build one for you exactly like you want, if you find the right person at the dealer (the right dealer). I wanted a 2wd EX auto black. All the allocation was gone and no other dealer would trade. It took less than one month. They told me when it was being built. This was a totally new to my salesman.

Ed

 

[venture]

I would put my money on the dealers ordering as many 4wd EX, automatics as possible. Reason?........profit! Thats all.The higher the sticker, the more margin, holdback, etc.

Regarding Honda orders- The dealer ordered mine, gave me a build date, a ship date, and an arrival date at the railhead.

The 5 speed is real fine if ya dont mind shift work. I prefer to stay away from automatics in S. Florida because of the summer heat factor.

"shaka" 8)

 

[jimr140]

I think Venture is right, except that dealers order what they know they can sell. The dealer near me is loading up on AWD ex autos, the only 5 speeds are on the DX. I'll bet most of the cars they sell are autos. It's probably different for each dealer.

 

[lalabela]

Every dealership we've been to here (4) have at least 2 sticks in stock.

Now say "2 sticks in stock" 10 times really fast........

 

[Simon]

What state are you located in lalabela ?

That is quite unusual?

 

[lalabela]

We're in Oregon...

 

[lon777]

If lalabela were to be from Washington, it would be wallawallabela. Yeah, I know I get kinda mental at times. :shock:

 

[Mattaobmoc]

I bought my EX 5-speed right off the showroom floor. All the other Es on the lot were 4wd auto. Just lucky I guess :wink:

 

[jnes]

as made the webbed footed Pacific Northwesterner's kind of nutty. Who'da thunk that they needed the rain to be sane.

 

[SPACE E]

Grabbed mine then. Guess they didn't think an old lady would want a SO stick! Boy were they wrong!

 

[Simon]

Some people are lucky. I travel, so I see a lot of Elements on the lots, but around my house it seems like they only have two colors and every dag gone one is an AUTO.

I don't think they even realize that the E comes in SOP ....

One dealer has 12 and every one I spotted was blue or silver and 1 black. Think the dealer was conservative and didn't want to get any "weird colors"?

 

[isketerol]

They must all be autos, because my 5-speed is not being built until April - sometime in April, so it could be May before I am "E'lated. <grrr>

Iskie

 

[M Ornett]

Salesman told us only 10% were being manufactured with manual transmissions. Since the main colors rolling out are black, blue and silver, that explains why it's even harder to find a manual in the other three colors. We were looking for either a green or a tan one and had a hard time finding one. One dealer tried to get us to buy an orange one, but in TX unless you're a longhorn, you don't want an orange one!!

We ended up with a shoreline mist EX with a manual. It can be even harder finding one that doesn't have any add-ons. Happened to luck into a dealer that was trying to help beat the February records who found one for us up north of Dallas (we're in Houston).

And I love it!!!!! Perfect for two people, two chesapeake bay retrievers and a weimaraner!

 

[Simon]

It's funny you said that - but, that's what my sister and her husband keep telling me - that there are plenty of Black, Blue, and Silver on the market.

It seems like that really. I see pictures of the SOP, Shoreline Mist, and Green on the website - but not at the dealers.

My sister called the Biggest dealer in NC today (Leith Honda) and she said they have (something like) 3 blues, 3 silvers, and 1 black. And they all are AUTOs.

THe more I see what Honda is producing - the more I think it's going to rough going for those people that want a AWD manual tranny. Even in 04, I bet it's going to be difficult.

 

[Hawaiian E]

In Hawaii, i think its been harder for dealers to get rid of the SOP ones. The most common are blue, but most desired is green. I think the 5-spds that have been coming in were either blue or silver though.

 

[lon777]

Most of the E's here in Oklahoma have been silver automatics. A local dealer is trying to sell a silver DX for $15488.