Honda Odyssey Prices Paid and Buying Experience

I am searching chicago market. Best quote on 2013 Touring I have so far is $37,543 plus TTL over at Valley Honda in Aurora. Anyone else have better luck recently?

#29628 of 30055 Re: 2013 Odyssey Touring in NJ for 40,000 OTD [tomamu] by vgmd

Feb 02, 2013 (7:23 am)

Replying to: tomamu (Feb 01, 2013 4:53 pm)

Is this including tax, title and other dealer fees?

Replies to this message:

tomamu (Feb 02, 2013 9:03 pm)
- amrhalem (Feb 03, 2013 5:54 am)
  - tomamu (Feb 03, 2013 6:58 am)

#29629 of 30055 2013 ODYSSEY BUYING EXPERIENCE IN NJ by vgmd

Feb 02, 2013 (8:28 am)

Alright Boys and Girls!
I have used this forum to help me pay a good price for my odyssey and help me negotiate well... so here I am returning the favor. I will include my full experience including decision making about the odyssey.

1. WHY HONDA ODYSSEY?
We have three kids now and decided to get a minivan. If you are on this forum, then we all know you need or want a minivan.
We narrowed our choice down to the Odyssey and Sienna. I read reviews, auto comparisons and then actually saw and test drove both the cars at the dealerships "with the kids".
Here's what we liked more about the odyssey (I'm comparing it to the Sienna):

+ Better seating for 8; the middle seat in the second row is more usable and convenient.
+ The seats are easier to maneuver - the second row as well as the third row.
+ Less plasticky interior
+ Better fuel mileage
+ Wife and kids liked it better.

Negatives:
- more expensive
- less options for the price
- higher financing rate.

The price matters a lot but then it has to be more convenient and user friendly as we have to live with it with 3 kids...

2. LEASE OR BUY
I actually wanted to lease a minivan so that I could get rid of it every three years as it is expected to take a beating (expect this to be our family room on the road)... but the lease on the odyssey touring was too expensive >650 with tax included. So when I did the math, it made a lot more sense to buy it at 0.9% financing for 5 yrs. I am paying a little under $700 all inclusive. So buying the Odyssey makes a lot more sense in my opinion.

3. PRICE PAID
The lowest price I was quoted for the 2013 Odyssey touring was $37450 plus tax, dealer fees and DMV fees. This was by the dealer that I had visited for the test drive and this was his final best price after his initial best price of 38269.
I still put out an enquiry over the internet but it was surprisingly not too helpful. Every response from every dealership just wanted to come in to the dealership to talk and they promised to give us a "great deal". They also promised to "beat" every "official quote" but no one really wanted to actually deal over the internet. Finally after talking to a few and having them give me quotes over email or phone, I couldn't really get any better numbers that 37400 incl Dest Fee.
Then I said that I want to pay 36500 including dest fees. Finally one dealership agreed to sell one for 37800 incl DF if we came in right now. And guess what, we did. When we got there, the internet sales person was nowhere in sight and we were introduced to the "next" sales person in line who started with "How can I help you today, what car are you looking for?" We told him that we had already completed our negotiations and just wanted to finalize the deal...
...So now they check the inventory for the car that I want, and they tell me they have only one of that kind in stock (The internet sales person said they have two in the same color with a different interior and I could choose between the two).
...Then I said, I will just pick another color with the interior that I like. No problem. They have one of those in stock.
...Then they start with the price and offer to sell me the Odyssey for 39000... I was like, I have already been quoted 36800, I just want to see if you will give it to me for less... THEY WERE SHOCKED TO HEAR THAT PRICE! Then when I decided to walk out as I was already annoyed at the "bait and switch" tactics, they agreed to sell it at 37000... still off!
... then I notice all the accessories that they had on the vehicle and the dealer "package" that they had on the vehicle... unnecessary package and highly overpriced accessories. I refused to pay for those initially but they said that since the accessories have already been installed, they cannot be removed. So I offered to buy the car with the installed accessories but at a more reasonable price and without the dealer package. They agreed but still wanted 37300 in the end when I offered to pay 37100.
... so finally, NO DEAL as I was too annoyed with the poor sales tactics and I just walked out after the dealer wasting over two hours of my time.

Then went to another dealership down the road and told the salesman over there that this is the color that I want with this color interior and this is how much I am willing to pay and I do not want any dealer packages or accessories. After repeating this sentence about 10 times, I was able to get thru to this guy. They had the car that I wanted in stock and after 10 minutes of negotiations, we settled at 36700 plus tax and fees. Not bad but too good to be true.
At the final sales number they added $589 for dealer appearance package (which included door edge guards and pinstripe sticker that goes around the car); $60 for Nitrogen in the tires; $350 for protection package (supposed to give a free key if it is lost, etching on the windows and couple of other unnecessary things) plus $400 dealer fees.
By this time, I was exhausted and realized that all dealerships are going to be the same and they will want you to pay a certain price for the vehicle to them "regardless of what YOU buy it for"... I made them take of 500 from the "appearance pkg stating that I will not pay 500 bucks for a sticker on the car... still had to pay $89 for the door edge guards, the pin stripe sticker and installation.
I could not get them to waive the protection package and the nitrogen in the tires. So, if I take the edge guards out (Honda website lists them at $55 plus installation), the real price of my car came to 36700+410 = 37110 plus fees and taxes, which is still overall not too bad for an MSRP of 42360 and this is lower than the TMV quoted by edmunds. I was able to finance it at 0.9% and my total monthly payment is about $693 without a penny out of pocket. They also threw in some free oil changes but I don't really care about that. The finance guy also tried to sell me extended warranties - Olypmicare and then HondaCare but both were too overpriced. I declined.

I am very turned off by the dealer sales tactics at Honda Dealerships. Before this I have only had experience with Lexus or German luxury automakers. The buying experience with them whether via internet or in person is truly different and they will not try to sell you overprices accessories or "special dealer packages" and if they do, they will easily back off. But none of them make a Minivan that is comparable to a Honda Odyssey.

Bottomline: Decide what you want, do your research and decide on the final price "you will be willing to pay" and not what you can get. Then go to the dealership (Honda and toyota don't really have the internet concept down well) and just tell them you want "this car" for "this price". If they can sell it to you for that much then OK, otherwise go to the next one. Do not waste any more time if they will not get to the point.

Let me know if I can answer any questions...

Replies to this message:

satishm (Feb 02, 2013 9:45 am)
- 6passenger (Feb 02, 2013 10:00 am)

#29630 of 30055 Re: 2013 ODYSSEY BUYING EXPERIENCE IN NJ [vgmd] by satishm

Feb 02, 2013 (9:45 am)

Replying to: vgmd (Feb 02, 2013 8:28 am)

Curious, given that this is the age of the internet and we have greater transparency into actual prices people pay, why would anyone not use a site like truecar or an auto buying service thru Costco/Sams club etc and get a guaranteed no negotiation out the door price before you even walk into the dealer?

I had very similar experience to yours about 4 cars ago; ever since, I resolved to conduct all my negotiations thru fax and email direct to the sales manager or the fleet manager at 10-20 dealerships in a 100 mile radius, and never ever set foot in a dealership other than for a test drive. I negotiate the price and have them send me a signed letter of agreement (or email) on OTD price. I bought two cars this way and was surprised how well it worked and the really low prices you get especially if you choose to reach out to dealers greater than 75 miles from your home area.

The last car I bought, I used truecar and was blown away by the guaranteed price with a certificate that you can walk in with to the 3 dealers and get it without any further hassle. The truecar price was a few hundred lower than the Costco price for the same car.

Now I am in the market for an Oddy Touring Elite and my local "test drive" dealer offerred a best price of $41K; however on truecar, I can find 3 dealers that will give it to me at a no negotiation cost of $39K and one over 200 miles away at a cost of $38.5K.

The car buying mechanism has changed for the better with truecar/Costco as it gives us greater control w/o getting caught in the stealership trap by visiting them and getting the usual sales tactics that make car salesman the least liked/trusted profession in america.

Ymmv, but try out truecar, you may be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

Satish

p.s: the lease quotes based on the above price for the touring elite were about $530 + sales tax per month w/ no money down and just 1st month payment and $300 fees. A really good place to get a Honda and see how low dealers can go is weymouth honda in boston; they give their OTD prices and show your lease/finance costs based on your credit rating.
Weymouth Honda calculator

Replies to this message:

6passenger (Feb 02, 2013 10:00 am)

#29631 of 30055 Re: 2013 ODYSSEY BUYING EXPERIENCE IN NJ [satishm] by 6passenger

Feb 02, 2013 (10:00 am)

Replying to: satishm (Feb 02, 2013 9:45 am)

Thanks for the tip on truecar.

Costco is great, it sets a nice bar and eliminates the fat. I've been able to get better but not by much.

#29632 of 30055 Re: 2013 Odyssey Touring in NJ for 40,000 OTD [vgmd] by tomamu

Feb 02, 2013 (9:03 pm)

Replying to: vgmd (Feb 02, 2013 7:23 am)

Yes. I picked up the car today. Everything included in that 40k not a penny more. Pls note 40k does not include extenteded warranty and I didn't opt for any accessories.
Do u think it's a good price for NJ ?

Replies to this message:

amrhalem (Feb 03, 2013 5:54 am)
- tomamu (Feb 03, 2013 6:58 am)

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