Step 1: Find the invoice price and lookup any Honda incentives that you qualify for.
Step 2: Calculate a baseline OTD price, Invoice price + tax/tags - Honda incentives.
Step 3: Get your finances in order. Check credit ratings, and/or pull together cash so you are ready to buy.
Step 4: Build your Honda on the official honda website, and then look at the inventories for dealers. You may need to enter multiple zip code to cover your area. Select dealers with the most inventory. You may need to check the dealer website also, but note that some list vehicles they don't actually have in stock. More stock, means more leverage.
Step 5: At end of month, go to each dealer website chat and tell them that you are buying a car "this week" and are going with best OTD price for "Odyssey EXL, Gray, no options, no trade". Only give them an email address. DO NOT give them your phone number until they give you the lowest OTD ("I prefer email"). They will try to get you to come in, but tell them you need the lowest OTD first. Even if you have a trade, don't tell them, get the OTD without trade
Step 6: If you don't get the price you want, tell them you will wait further in the year and to contact you if they want to make a sale. I try to hold out for at or below invoice price, but this will vary on time of year and incentives/economy.
Before covid you could buy a honda below invoice. You might be able to do that near the end of the year with an old model, but inventory is still much lower than it used to be.
If I had waited until Nov or Dec I think I could have saved up to another grand, and gotten a better finance rate (rates are going down). Honda offers end of year incentives sometimes.
Many dealers wouldn't budge from MD OTD $43500 to $44000, but found a few that would. You just need to contact the larger dealers in a 100 miles radius via email/chat and not give them your phone number UNTIL they give you a low OTD price quote with break down costs. I found many will beat a quote you have. It helps if you know exactly what you want (Trim, color, options). Tell them you DO NOT have a trade, get the actual cost first, you can barter the trade later.
Trim: Honda Odyssey EXL
Color: Modern Steel Metallic
Price before TTL: $39750 (including $500 rebate from 3.9% Honda financing, no early payoff penalty)
OTD price: $42400 (6% Maryland Tax + $300 MD tags/fees)
City, State: Tysons VA
Dealer: Ourismans Tysons Honda, Koons, Heritage (DC and Baltimore metro areas)
