[danalin26]

We are moving from Alaska to the lower 48 next month. We sold our 2008 Touring (sad sad day) recently to upgrade to the 2011 Touring. I contacted a dealer in Phoenix as part of our USAA membership and asked them what the process would be to order a van. I want the cherry pearl color and I know that can be somewhat hard to find. The sales man said no problem we will look for a cherry pearl and contact you once we find one. Well he found one today. He's wanting us to pay for the vehicle sight un seen and pick it up once we get to AZ. He said that's the only way to make it "mine." We had originally discussed putting a deposit down to hold the van, but we didn't discuss dollar amounts since there was no VIN# yet. I don't want to lose this van since it's the exact color and model I want, but I also don't want to have to pay for something a month before I need to kwim?

Also on a side note. We had asked the salesman during the .9% promotion if we could secure our financing....he said no since there was no VIN#. No suddenly 9 days later he finds our van and can no longer honor the promotion. That's another reason we wanted to wait a bit. I thought Honda might do a July 4th promotion. Sorry to be long winded. Thanks for any help you can offer me

 

[Bill in Houston]

I'd wait for the next one.

 

[danalin26]

The next Ody or promotion? The only problem is once we fly to Phx we have about 3 days before we have to leave to drive to where we will be living and we will have no car if they don't have the one I want in stock.

 

[cebu 888]

Heard of Enterprise and Hertz?

 

[jrsquonk]

You're setting yourself up to get ripped. The salesman knows you need one, and he will use that to his advantage. Find a temporary alternative so you can bargain from a position of strength. Ultimately, it will save you money. Soon they will be looking to get rid of the 2011 models.

 

[danalin26]

Yes Cebu I have....it doesn't work for our situation, but thanks for your response....

I think we have a pretty decent deal as we went through USAA and it's the best price I can come up with in any of the Southwest states. Touring for invoice. I've looked at buying one in Texas where we are moving and they are all 3-4K more.

 

[cebu 888]

Danalin, if you get persuaded to hand over your money to that salesman...he will do his best to get some more from you. He's got his eye on his $$$ commission for that sale to happen. He's not on your side.

 

[dvpatel]

I agree with others. Pass on this one. Look for one nearer to your purchase date. In this case, they know you desperately need one and hence you will definitely wind up paying more. You don't even know if they're going to tack on extra charges. Arrange for alternate transportation for a couple of weeks and do NOT show any desperation on your part to another dealership. You are going to have to switch the dealers too I suppose.

 

[William Wiles]

I would forget about Phoenix and just go to Texas and buy a beater to use while you find the van you want.

 

[tl01]

It doesn't sound like a scam to me. I heard the same story the whole time I was looking for a van. Here they won't hold the Touring Elites at all... It's first person to run to the dealer wins. They can't hold financing without a vin number to use for the paperwork and the promotion is now gone. I'd let this one go and rent a car until one comes in that you want. Hopefully there will
be one you want available during the next promotion.

If it was the van you want, at the pricing you want then I would just get it. I have bought cars sight unseen. I would just get the sales person to look over the car carefully. Otherwise I'd rent.

 

[Cntrtwnltd]

On a slight side note, why did you sell the 08? Could you have either driven it down from Alaska, or had it shipped? Also, could you possibly buy a 2011 in Alaska and then pay to have it shipped to where you need it? I know shipping is expensive, (I have family in AK and have been there so I'm familiar with the higher prices) but if you compared it to paying for a rental, it might not be so much more.

 

[megatron]

I am wondering the same thing as Cntrtwnltd...

Why did you sell the 08? Also, as for buying, why not buy in AK? I believe there is no sales tax there. Just the tax alone is probably enough to ship the vehicle to wherever you want.

But I also agree with everyone else here... pass on the one in AZ. If the dealer knows that the one you want and he already does, he will make you pay dearly... and no matter how good a deal you think you are getting, you can surely get a better deal with a dealer that thinks you are NOT in any desperate need to get a vehicle, thus shifting the burden of completing the sale to him and not you.

 

[Cntrtwnltd]

I am wondering the same thing as Cntrtwnltd...

Why did you sell the 08? Also, as for buying, why not buy in AK? I believe there is no sales tax there. Just the tax alone is probably enough to ship the vehicle to wherever you want.

But I also agree with everyone else here... pass on the one in AZ. If the dealer knows that the one you want and he already does, he will make you pay dearly... and no matter how good a deal you think you are getting, you can surely get a better deal with a dealer that thinks you are NOT in any desperate need to get a vehicle, thus shifting the burden of completing the sale to him and not you.

Good call on the tax, I didn't even think about that, but its probably the best reason to buy in Alaska.

 

[danalin26]

On a slight side note, why did you sell the 08? Could you have either driven it down from Alaska, or had it shipped? Also, could you possibly buy a 2011 in Alaska and then pay to have it shipped to where you need it? I know shipping is expensive, (I have family in AK and have been there so I'm familiar with the higher prices) but if you compared it to paying for a rental, it might not be so much more.

I am wondering the same thing as Cntrtwnltd...

Why did you sell the 08? Also, as for buying, why not buy in AK? I believe there is no sales tax there. Just the tax alone is probably enough to ship the vehicle to wherever you want.

But I also agree with everyone else here... pass on the one in AZ. If the dealer knows that the one you want and he already does, he will make you pay dearly... and no matter how good a deal you think you are getting, you can surely get a better deal with a dealer that thinks you are NOT in any desperate need to get a vehicle, thus shifting the burden of completing the sale to him and not you.

We sold the 08 because I didn't want to have to worry about shipping or driving it. It also has the complete winterization that I obviously wouldn't need anywhere else. It's also a hard to find van up here since it was a Touring and they won't sell those in Alaska so I was able to get a very good resale price.

I won't ever buy a car in Alaska because 1. they won't sell Touring or Touring Elite's up here because the Nav doesn't work in AK. 2. Dealers charge MSRP and will not negotiate. THEN I have to pay to ship it which is about $2,500. No thanks. Maybe things are different in bigger cities, but not where I live unfortunately.

The only sales tax I have to pay is city sales tax which is under $800. I'm not worried about pricing because I went through USAA's auto circle and I won't pay over what they quoted. The van doesn't have to have any of the protection packages or tint on it unless I want it on there. I did find another dealer that has one coming in mid July. If they can come down on their pricing a few hundred I will most likely go with them. Thanks for all your input.

 

[megatron]

Ahhh... at least there is some valid reasoning there. I didn't realize they didn't sell Touring up there because the NAV didn't work in AK!

Anyways, then I guess the best thing to do is to just locate your color at any dealer you can find and negotiate without letting them know you are desperate for that specific color and that you can't find it easily. If they sense that from you, they won't budge on the pricing.

Sometimes, I locate a dealer that has the color I really want, and look to see what colors they DON'T have, and then go in asking for one of those colors, just to say, "ah... dang.. I really wanted <they don't have color>, but I guess I can settle for <the color I really wanted>". Then negotiate a better price because I had to settle for their color. D It works!!

Bottom line is, don't let the wolves sense your real feelings...

Hope this helps...