Experience at Honda dealer

Hi,
Just to add some info on my trade-in. Although some say negotiating my
trade-in and the new car at the same time was a mistake, I still think
I got a decent price for my trade in. The blue book (kbb) amount for
trade-in was 18,800 (in good condition, not excellent) and they payed
me 20,500 (that's what I asked them). The front bumper had a dent, so
it needed to be changed, the tires needed to be replaced, etc.

Anyway I'm sure they got the difference back with my new car. I just
found out about a person in California that got the exact same car VP
automatic tranny for $600 less (he got it at below invoice). It seems
invoice price doesn't mean much anymore.

Somebody asked me for the name of the dealer, I would prefer just to
say that I'm in Southern Ohio. Actually these cars are built in Ohio,
so I think I should have gotten a better price than the person in
California.

Anyway, let me add that at the dealer they had the Kally Blue Book web
page (kbb.com) in their PCs for any customer to check on their trade-in
values. I tried to access carpoint.com but the browser sent a message
"Access Restricted", or something like that. They also printed me the
value of my trade-in from kbb. com to show me. My question is, if they
are so willing to show kbb.com values, is kbb more on the dealers side?
or on the customers side? or are they neutral as Consumers Report. I
didn't trust very much those trade-in values they showed me.

 

1) It's not ALWAYS a mistake, but it's a very weak point in the whole
deal. Eliminate the weak points.

2) you THINK you got a decent price. Remember, it's the salesman's job
to find out what your hot buttons are and where you are weak. He
discovered that he could get you on the trade-in price, while giving you
what you wanted on whatever your hot button was (new car price, discount
off of "invoice", extra accessories, interest rate, whatever).

Remember, the more things he has to work with, the more likely he--a
professional at this--will succeed at getting the TOTAL deal he needs to
send himself to Hawaii.

If you deal with him on ONE THING ONLY, like the selling price of the
car, you are on much more equal footing. And if you decide on your
maximum price beforehand, and walk out the door when he makes it clear
he won't come down that far, then you are in TOTAL control of the deal.

But, the sheeple being stupid as they are, they generally don't walk
out. And the salesman knows that. He just beats you down a little at a
time, while your weakened state of strong desire makes you just say "aw,
screw it, where do I sign".

And when he has the old car, the new car, the trade, and the financing
to work with...he finds the things that slide right past you and he
pumps those up, while "giving in" on the things you seem to want to
focus on.

He does it several times a day, 6 days a week. He's GOOD at that. You?
You do it once every few years at the most. You're BAD at it.

So you learn how not to play his game, how to turn the game to YOUR
rules. Rule number 1: you have a max price you're willing to pay.
Rule number 2: you walk out regardless if he won't make that price or
lower.

But then he wants to jack things around with the financing, so that you
end up paying huge amounts for the car. Why do you think he won't shut
up about "what monthly payment are you looking for?" If you recognize
that question as legitimate, that's what he'll go for--because he can
hide EVERYTHING in a monthly payment.

Just say no. "Well, how much does it cost?" Don't say you'll get your
money elsewhere; make him give a final selling price for the car while
he assumes you'll finance it through him. At the end, when he asks for
a credit app, that's when you tell him, "No thanks, I'll just bring a
check." He may have THOUGHT he could get a little extra by selling the
financing (he gets a commission on that, too, you know), but he was
wrong--and now he can't go back and jerk the price of the car back up,
because he's already put it in writing.

But if you let him jerk all the numbers around all at once, he'll come
out with a maximum paycheck and you'll have spent another $5K that you
weren't planning on spending.

 

Nope. Not at all. That's not how it works. The transportation fee is
set in stone, and it's the same in Ohio as it is in California.

 

BIG warning bells should have rung in your head, and you should have
walked out.

You got taken--but the salesman was so good, you think you didn't.

That's his job, and he succeeded. And you spent more money than you had
to, I can guarantee.

 

Believe it or not, some (if not all) of the Honda cars sold in California
were built in Japan. I have a 1999 Accord and I found out that it was
built in Japan. One poster told me that it was less expensive to import
them from Japan than it was to transport them on trucks from Ohio. The
poster was probably guessing--I don't know the real reason. I do know that
special pollution control equipment is on all new cars sold in California.
The reason that my car was built in Japan instead of Ohio might be related
to the pollution equipment.
Jason

 

Mine was built in Canada.

 

Believe it or not, some (if not all) of the Honda cars sold in California
were built in Japan.[/QUOTE]

Honda doesn't guarantee that the Accord you buy is from Ohio; some are
from Japan, for whatever reason.

And the sticker price and transportation fee is identical, whether it
came from Japan or Ohio.

 

----------------------------


The 'J' on the front of your VIN is the proof that it came from Japan.
It's also printed on the stickers on the driver's door pillar. I've
never owned a non-J, but I'm in Canada.

'Curly'

 

I've been able to get rid of two junk cars for decent trade ins in the
past. I love screwing dealers. My sister traded in a Neon that died in
fog of smoke as they drove it away from the front door, after she had
signed the papers.

 

I don't know exactly how they calculate the value but at least they
give you a bona fide offer to use as a basis. If the dealer discounts
the new car price and tries to screw you on the trade-in, at least you
have a minimum price that you know you can get for the old car.

 

Yeah. So you think.

Trust me, they knew what they were doing. It's their job, and their
incomes depend on it.

You didn't screw anyone. They found your hot buttons, and pushed them.

 

I am so surprised that the rates are this low. I can understand that
Honda might subsidize the loan through Honda Finance as a buyer
incentive, but 5.35% from the credit union is outstanding. Lenders in
today's paper are advertising 30-year home mortgages at 5.875 to
6.25%. When did car loans become lower risk than home loans?

I usually pay cash for my cars but at these rates I might consider
financing.

 

Yeah, same here. No penalty for the prepay is nice too. That's what I
asked, although I have yet to put any significant prepay into it. Those
sites are still useful to make sure they don't try to sneak something in.
They initially tried to put the extended warranty in but I noticed the
payments were higher than I figured. It was no problem after that.

-Dave

 

Wow, you had a $20,500 trade-in on a Civic? What was left to finance?

 

I never compared the car loans vs. home loans at the same time. Only looked
one up when I needed to. Credit unions normally have very good rates for
loans and such, vs. your traditional bank. For the 5.35%, you may be able
to get it a little lower if you do direct debit for the monthly car payment.

At the moment, I can pay cash for a new car as well - Matchbox, Hot Wheels,
etc... lol

-Dave

 

Honda doesn't guarantee that the Accord you buy is from Ohio; some are
from Japan, for whatever reason.

And the sticker price and transportation fee is identical, whether it
came from Japan or Ohio.[/QUOTE]

The fee charged is identical but for the purposes of Honda's cost, it
makes sense to avoid sending a Japanese car to Ohio, while sending an
Ohio car to California. Not always avoidable but when it is...

 

The fee charged is identical but for the purposes of Honda's cost, it
makes sense to avoid sending a Japanese car to Ohio, while sending an
Ohio car to California.[/QUOTE]

There's much, MUCH more to it than simple transportation.

 

and NOT a monthly payment price. they LOVE to ask how much you can
afford a month they can rejigger the numbers to make just about any
monthly payment fit.

 

not necessarily. is yours an accord EX? theres more margin on the
expensive models, so theyre more likely to import em and have ohio make
the "cheaper" models.

 

< Wow, you had a $20,500 trade-in on a Civic? What was left to
finance?

The loan was payed in full and the remaining was applied to the new
car.