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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Kia Rondo Prices Paid and Buying Experience
263 messages, Last post on Aug 29, 2008 at 1:15 PM
You are in the Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Forum. Your Hosts are car_man & kyfdx
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Replying to: crewzin (Mar 22, 2007 1:23 pm)  Nice pics. Pics showing tinted windows were great too. I'm considering tint, but will see what summer brings here in Philly. |
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Replying to: crewzin (Mar 23, 2007 6:25 am) Disagree - "The Rondo has loads of head room and space on the inside whereas the Sedona is more compact...just nowhere near the interior space of the Rondo." WHAT?! The Sedona is a minivan; the Rondo is a small wagon / crossover / whatever you wanna call it. There's really no arguing that the Sedona has much more interior space than the Rondo. I have no idea how the interior space affects a sound system, but facts are facts: the Sedona is much larger inside than the Rondo. Granted, the Rondo is packaged very well -- I was impressed they squeezed in a 3rd row seat, and more impressed that I could live back there for a couple hours if I needed to (I'm 5'9"). But Rondo is still way smaller inside than ANY minivan.
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Replying to: bluedevils (Mar 26, 2007 6:32 am) 
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Replying to: crewzin (Mar 26, 2007 8:35 am) |
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Vehicle: 2007 Rondo LX, Velvet Blue, I4 w/convenience package, cross-bars, bumper protection, 5 passenger floor mats, and cargo tray. Price: $16,751 ($1,099 under invoice) + $750 cash back + 2.9% financing. (Invoice = $17,850) I used Jim Bragg’s “fighting Chance” methodology to get this deal. I faxed 20 dealers within 850 miles requesting their best price on a popularly equipped vehicle. Got six responses back mostly from small dealerships needing to make their sales quotas for the quarter. Once I had the best deal, I called the dealer and put down a deposit via a credit card until I could get to them. The finance manager admitted he was losing $600+ on the deal immediately, but would make $300 on this if he got his numbers. Edmunds numbers are correct as to invoice price and various prices for options. However, Kia throws in a $350 charge on the invoice for “regional marketing allowance”. This is the old “group advertising” charge and you usually can’t get away from it. When I started the process, I first waited for the last week of the quarter. Then I went to Costco affiliated dealers and got their prices. They ranged from $75 to $200 over invoice. I then ran a check on CarsDirect.com to see what the average going price was (averaged at invoice). I now had a trading range for the vehicle and a comparison. The next step was to start the “fax attack” and sit back for results. Three offers were at invoice, one offer at about $700 below invoice, and the offer I took, which was $1,099 under invoice. What this process does is to smoke out the “under the radar” factory-dealer incentives. To be effective though, it needs to be done at the end of the month or better yet, at the end of the quarter when the dealers are hungry. |
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Replying to: mr_orting (Apr 03, 2007 8:03 am) I applaud you for the work you've done on getting the lowest price that you could. Sounds like you got a really good deal. Myself, I believe the dealer itself has a lot to do with the buying experience, not just the price. Everyone likes to save a bit of money and I would probably had gotten a little better price by going to a bigger town dealer (a lot further away) but having the experience of traveling 30+ miles for service and warranty work is a real pain. I know you can take you car to any KIA dealer but take my word for it, the dealer you purchased your car from is apt to bend over a little more for his own customers. On my old Sportage, a loner car, special fast service when ordering parts and the overall treatment was 100 times better than the Suzuki I just traded in and traveled that 30+ miles so I could get the best deal.
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Replying to: mr_orting (Apr 03, 2007 8:03 am)
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Replying to: crewzin (Apr 03, 2007 8:38 am)
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Replying to: w9cw (Apr 03, 2007 6:41 pm) |
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Replying to: crewzin (Mar 21, 2007 12:42 pm) I'm new here but lurked quite a lot while I vacillated between the Mazda5 and the Rondo. I just came out of a 2003 Mazda Protege5 that I loved. Great exterior size, great handling although it coulda used more power. My two kids are doing nothing but growing. Watching them struggle in and out of the rear doors was painful for me. But I'm getting waaaaay too old to sit that low in a car. My tired old knees complained every time I got in and out. Ogled the Mazda5 when they first came out. And I was firmly convinced I'd simply replace my current Mazda with that Mazda...... Then the Rondo came out. And I was impressed. The more I examined it, these things leapt out at me - Useful for me - - waaaay more comfortable seats - slightly wider - slightly shorter - a huge PLUS living in Toronto - better safety features like Traction Control - better all-round visibility - better sensation of power - didn't struggle up small hills when I was alone in the car and just trying it out!! - more up-front storage spots - sunroof is situated better for my driving position - less claustropohobic up-front seating area - more room in the footwell - more room behind the third row of seats Better for my kids - - higher rear seat cushions - rear arm rests are in the doors, not on the seats only - rear glass goes all the way into the doors - rear HVAC is off the centre console with some degree of adjustment - not a wimpy under-the-front-seat plastic duct The buying experience started out great. I was in the car leasing business for 13 years and called the owner of the dealership to get an idea of pricing. He suggested a great markup in the neighbourhood of what I would have paid in my fleet leasing days. The owner told the manager about my upcoming call. Went over to do the deal. Fortunately I'd called other dealers to get bare costs. This clown agreed to the markup the owner suggested but kept moving it up by $400 when he'd be in the leasing screen on his computer. I'd catch it and tell him to put it back to the agreed-upon amount. He'd agree. Then he'd put the $400 into another area on the screen's lease worksheet. Ran the numbers on my HP when I got in. Yep. He yanked it up by the $400 again. Returned to pick up the car. "Suggested" we go back over the numbers. Some mealy-mouthed nonsense about, "Well - you WATCHED me enter the numbers....." I finally leave with my car - four hours later. All of it spent watching him like a hawk on the +/- $400 he kept moving around and small "calculation errors" in the ancillary fees. Needless to say, retail car salespeople are not exactly divinity students. You can imagine I edited this last statement over and over again - I just didn't want to sound too crazed. It's funny - the other managers at this owner's other dealerships are all straight arrows when it comes to pricing - it's just this guy was a ....... As far as the cool stuff goes - I love the car. The Rondo exhibits pleasant handling (the great handling was the only thing I LOVED about the Mazda5) and is SO comfortable! No more stiff neck or pins and needles in my right shin. Great visibility. And quiet! Howard
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