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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Acura MDX Prices Paid and Buying Experience
7069 messages, Last post on Sep 05, 2008 at 7:24 PM
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In Arizona we are limited to four Acura dealers and good prices are hard to come by. I decided on an Acura MDX w/Tech package and started sending emails to 3 of the 4 Metro Phoenix dealers. Having purchased 2 previous vehicles from Scottsdale Acura they were my first choice and also the first to respond to my email. They offered a paltry $1,000 off MSRP. But my confidence was elevated because their email stated and I quote: “Once you have contacted me I guarantee that you will never pay a higher price then quoted and if circumstances allow me to sell at a lower price I will. If you can show me written proof of a lower price I will match it and include free oil changes for your first year of ownership. “ At the end of the day it is all about Truth Integrity and Honor. Scottsdale Acura also tried to protect me from deceptive tactics warning me about other dealers: 1. “they will quote you a selling price with an asterisk * - hiding something to make their price seem less 2. they will quote you a selling price not including the destination fee – again to make their price seem less 3. they will not include the mandatory dealer installed accessories that they add to every car that they will require you to pay for 4. dealerships will quote you on a lesser model then what you requested 5. dealerships will quote you on a car that they do not have or cannot get for you – whether equipment or color combination” The second email from Scottsdale Acura stated: "Let me know how I can help you. I am here to help you just let me know how. REMEMBER – I WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD." The bolding was from the internet sales person not me. I then received correspondence from Acura of Peoria. They offered a price of $41,500 which included a cargo mat, window tinting, wheel locks and door edge guards. I was pleased with this price even though other parts of the country are getting the MDX at or near cost. Acura of Peoria had the Dark Cherry color I wanted. Armed with this information I thought my job would be simple given the previous emails from Scottsdale Acura that stated. “If you can show me written proof of a lower price I will match it and include free oil changes for your first year of ownership.” and "Let me know how I can help you. I am here to help you just let me know how. REMEMBER – I WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD." I forwarded my (written proof) Email to Scottsdale Acura. Although they responded immediately to prior emails I had to send several and finally got the response: "The boss said he will pass. We are selling these cars at higher numbers." Scottsdale Acura is their own worst enemy; they are quick to warn against competitors but practice the same ethics they warn you about. So much for Truth, Integrity and Honor. But hey we are talking about a car salesman here. I was shocked that Scottsdale Acura would not honor their promise and end a relationship with a customer who had purchased two prior vehicles (dating back to the mid 80’s) and provided thousands to the Scottsdale Acura Service Department over the years. Why put false promises and guarantees in a written document if you are not going stand up to your word like a man? Enough about Scottsdale Acura and their lack of integrity. We found Acura of Peoria to be less stuffy than Scottsdale Acura and genuinely interested in our business. They made the buying experience very easy and we were in and out in an hour and 15 minutes. No pressure, very professional and true to their word. If you are in the market for an Acura in Arizona I would highly recommend Acura of Peoria, because at the end of the day they stood by their word and conducted business in an honorable manner and they offered the vehicle I wanted for significantly less money. Scottsdale Acura left me feeling like a life-long friend who did something despicable which ended what had been a good relationship. Good relationships don’t just happen. Remain true to your word, honorable and conduct business with the same type of people. If you are in Arizona I would suggest you give Acura of Peoria a shot. |
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Hi, I am looking to purchase a base model 2007 MDX in SoCAL/L.A. Keyes had a good selection but still 3K over invoice and Santa Monica didn't have much in stock. Thanks in advance for any help. |
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Friends, Finally, I got my MDX/Tech for $39,800 including destination from Motorworld Acura, PA. The only additional charges were 6% PA tax and $100 dealer/registration/tire tax etc. On the road price is $42,300 something. I was hopping to haggle and get it down to $39,500. However, the dealership is very generous and so I ended up doing no haggle/no hassle kind of business. |
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This is what is written by the general manager of Acura of Seattle on their website: “Whether you are contemplating owning an Acura, or you're already a proud owner, we know that you have the highest expectations of the vehicles you drive and the people you trust to help you out. Our teams consist of people who care and who take the time for on-going training to be certain we're able to meet your needs with full confidence, providing the highest quality and user-friendly service available in the Pacific Northwest…. When you walk into our dealership, whether to purchase a vehicle or visit our service department, you should feel like a guest in our home. Please contact me directly if you ever feel we could have done better, or if our staff has not addressed your concerns to your satisfaction.” And this is my experience dealing with Acura of Seattle: I first contacted Acura of Seattle in January initiated by a form in Edmunds.com. Since then, I have been emailing back and forth with the Internet Manager, whose initial is RF. Last Friday, I wrote an email to RF with an offer price to buy one of the in-stock cars (new ’07 MDX – Sport w/ RES). The price that I offer was above invoice for the car, and at MSRP for the $1700 total of accessories. I believe my offer is reasonable. After several emails and several phone calls on Saturday and Sunday, we concluded that we couldn’t agree on the purchase price. A gap of $1221 was unbrigdeable. On Sunday afternoon, RF sent me an email and stated that my offer is impossible. The deal would just make her “go into the negative”. ((Well … Let’s pause here a moment … I wonder why other dealerships can sell even lower than that. No dealers are in the business of losing money)) Anyway, that’s that. I didn’t respond to her email and thought to myself, “OK, it’s not a good deal. I am not buying the car. Forget it”, which I did. Monday afternoon at 5pm, DM, the General Manager (Acura of Seattle) called me and invited me to come down to his dealership. I told him that I am firm on my offer to Rose, so I didn’t think that we could do business. Then, he went on about wanting to sell me a car and wanting to meet his target 100 cars sold. If anytime, it’d be tonight where he can get me close to my offer. He didn’t want to disclose “how close” on the phone, which I could understand. Dealers don’t want you to bring their price to a different dealer. I told him I would be there and I asked him who should I see. He asked me to see RF. I called RF just to confirm this appointment and to stress again that I was firm on my offer. She acknowledged that and still invited me and said she would see me at the dealership at 8pm. After re-arranging my plan for the night significantly, hoping to get a good deal on this car, I finally got to Acura of Seattle at 7:45 pm. Unexpectedly, I was “handled” by another salesperson, JH. Apparently, RF and DM were not around anymore. JH wasn’t sure which car I was there for. He didn’t know about the price that I had offered. He’s in the dark – thanks to his upper management. He was courteous and offered me a test drive. After being busy for about 20 minutes with his computer, he asked for my driver license and insurance, for the test drive. Again, he went back being busy … Another 20 minutes, he came back with an email that showed my offering price and asked me “Does this price you offer include everything listed here?”. I answered “Yes”, as it is stated VERY CLEAR on the email. He said “My manager says it won’t work”. I told him “I was called by DM and talked to RF this afternoon. I told them my offer was firm. They asked me to come to discuss it”. JH was confused and said “But they’re not here and they’re not answering the phone”. He asked me to wait while he went back to his manager again. Another 5 minutes, he told me his manager just wouldn’t budge. At that point, I just walked out with disbelief. I had to clear my schedule for this appointment. All I got was “the price won’t work”, eventhough the price had been on black and white since Sunday at 2:40pm. I don’t understand why Acura of Seattle messed with a potential customer… They asked me to go there, eventhough knowing that my firm offer wouldn’t work. What’s the purpose? This experience totally ruins my experience dealing with Acura of Seattle. This bad customer service from Acura of Seattle, as an official representative of a luxury brand name: Acura, reflects very badly on Acura. During my lifetime, I have bought more than 10 cars: old, new, moderate-pricing, a couple luxury cars. I have dealt with luxury-car dealerships, non-luxury car dealerships and used-car dealers, which all showed me more respect and courtesy than what I experienced in Acura of Seattle. What a dissapointment. At this point, all I can do is to warn shoppers in the Seattle area, of this type of treatment from Acura of Seattle. If you need the complete names of the persons involved, feel free to contact me. |
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Replying to: cheapskate21 (May 01, 2007 6:12 pm) Wait for some more time if you are not busy, they will call you back with an offer 500 less. The sales are slowing down as per one salesman in NJ.
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Replying to: cvista (May 02, 2007 11:52 am) Show that you are a potential buyer but not at that price and only when you get a good deal and be specific on the same to the sales call. |
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Replying to: cheapskate21 (May 01, 2007 6:12 pm) |
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Cheapskate, I think you hit it on the head with the observation that getting an invoice deal on an MDX depends largely on what part of the country you are in. While I haven't made an offer yet (We have lots of time as my wife's FX is still on lease) I get a strong feeling from sales people in the Denver area that they aren't budging a whole lot from MSRP unless you are a "special" customer. One dealer is even adding $695 of dealer profit to the price of a new MDX and they are getting it. I'm hoping that various factors (sales slowing, new model getting ready to come out, gas prices, etc) get the price down but I'm realistically expecting to pay about 3% over invoice as a "best case" scenario. I just don't see better deals than that here at this time. Low inventory and high demand are keeping prices up.
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Thanks for all your responses. The general manager emailed and apologized for the way I was being treated. He said he's going to send me a gift certificate - dinner for 2 at a decent restaurant in the area. I asked not to send the certificate, as it is not the time to be courteous at this point. He knew I wanted the car. He just didn't want to give up his high profit. (Then why did he call and ask me to go to his dealership?) So be it... I have made it my personal "crusade" to devalue, depreciate, disparage Acura of Seattle. My first step was to send a transcript of my emails to Acura Client Service in Torrance, CA. My second step was posting on this forum. There will be many more forums and websites that will show my story. |
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Replying to: jmpage2 (May 02, 2007 2:23 pm) I don't really mind if they reject the offer ... I have a very reliable car in a very good condition. I don't need to spend 50k in a hurry. This is what ticked me off - The next day, the GM called my home, asked for my cell phone number and then called me on my cell phone. He said he's going to give me a price that is "close" to my offer..... and when i got to his dealership, he's not there. No one knows anything about what he told me on the phone. His cell phone is not answered. Tell me .. what kind of treatment is there? As far as dealers marking up their price, raking in as much profit as they want ... well, we, as the buyers, can always buy from out-of-state and ship it home. Let a more reasonable dealer earns our business. A co-worker shipped his car across the country for $1000. Invoice price vs. MSRP price is roughly $4000. You can do your math.  There are always some ignorant buyers, who would buy at $5k above MSRP. Let them be the patrons for all the high-profit dealers. Count me out.  If all consumers shop and buy smart - well .... pretty soon invoice will be the starting price, as how it is with the non-luxury cars.  --- Do you know that Ingvar Kamprad (IKEA owner), one of the richest men in the world, is a cheapskate, too? |
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