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Seeking help with pricing Honda Odyssey in Washington DC / Northern Virginia
Greetings:
This is my second time buying a car--the first time was over a decade ago in another part of the country. We are looking in DC, Northern VA, and possibly Maryland and PA I've receive a broad spectrum of initial prices for a Honda Odyssey EX-L (no Nav no RES) and its been a very mixed bag with some dealers forcing the "appearance" package, while others don't have this but slap on a "regional add fee". Here's the best initial price (before fees, taxes, and any options) I have received thus far:
1) EX-L (no NAV no RES)=31,664......and I must finance through Honda...that's fine they have the best rates around
2) The typical breakdown/worksheet I am seeing is something like this:
$399 doc fee
$490 appearance package (mud guards, wheel locks, etc)
$700 for roof rails and cross bars (I stated I wanted this option and thought dealers would help with the rice...not at all it seems)
$998 or so for tax
OTD EVERYTHING about 34.5K (this is for Northern VA)
I contacted contacted Bobby Rahal in Mechanicsburg, PA: OTD EX-L (no/no NAV nor RES) = 33,000 even (taxes, title, everything included)
Any thoughts? Looking for context/opinions--thanks. I just seem like I am nowhere near what some others have gotten. If anyone has dealer recommendations please PM me--
thanks
Boris
This is my second time buying a car--the first time was over a decade ago in another part of the country. We are looking in DC, Northern VA, and possibly Maryland and PA I've receive a broad spectrum of initial prices for a Honda Odyssey EX-L (no Nav no RES) and its been a very mixed bag with some dealers forcing the "appearance" package, while others don't have this but slap on a "regional add fee". Here's the best initial price (before fees, taxes, and any options) I have received thus far:
1) EX-L (no NAV no RES)=31,664......and I must finance through Honda...that's fine they have the best rates around
2) The typical breakdown/worksheet I am seeing is something like this:
$399 doc fee
$490 appearance package (mud guards, wheel locks, etc)
$700 for roof rails and cross bars (I stated I wanted this option and thought dealers would help with the rice...not at all it seems)
$998 or so for tax
OTD EVERYTHING about 34.5K (this is for Northern VA)
I contacted contacted Bobby Rahal in Mechanicsburg, PA: OTD EX-L (no/no NAV nor RES) = 33,000 even (taxes, title, everything included)
Any thoughts? Looking for context/opinions--thanks. I just seem like I am nowhere near what some others have gotten. If anyone has dealer recommendations please PM me--
thanks
Boris
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I have a 2008 but you can use the numbers to get an idea.
2008 EX-L with nav and res. Bought in CT.
Sticker was 36k and change.
Paid 32k out the door. Taxes, registration and all other fees were included in the price.
I used Honda financing as they were offering the best rates around at that time.
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Scott
2008 EX-L with nav and res. Bought in CT.
Sticker was 36k and change.
Paid 32k out the door. Taxes, registration and all other fees were included in the price.
I used Honda financing as they were offering the best rates around at that time.
Sent from my Autoguide iPhone
Scott
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42 Posts
Moto. I contacted the other dealer you suggested. They would not give me the deal that you got. Said they didn't give you that deal so I suspect they did something with your trade in numbers. Anyway, my local dealer will match the deal Karen quoted me at Shockley so I was all set to buy UNTILL wife drove the Ody and said it didnt drive as smooth as her 04 ody. Looks like we are in a holding pattern at the moment although she is reconsidering the ODY after she drove the sienna yesterday. I am only on a need to know basis from my wife and I do not need to know right now. LOL.
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I can't say I'm totally surprised that the dealer I got my Ody from couldn't hook you up with the same price he gave me. If I had to guess, it probably has more to do with it being the end of the year than the trade-in but it could be both. Only they know. 
We had the same debate (Ody vs Sienna) as you and your wife (and everyone else considering a minivan). One factor that played a big part in the decision is that my wife is more familiar with Hondas. Plus, when we looked at the Sienna, we were disappointed with the interior. The Toyota seats just looked cheap. It was the same thing when were were deciding b/w the CR-V and RAV4 and why we ended up with the CR-V.
As far as dealerships and pricing goes, I think it's great that a local dealer can match whatever deal you find but for me, if there was a dealer willing to go out on a limb and give me their lowest price first which is the lowest price I can find, then they've earned my business. That's why I don't call back dealers that tell me to call them back after I've got the lowest price and they can either match it or beat it by a couple bucks. Again, that's just my little thing.
Good luck with your purchase. I don't think you can go wrong with either the Odyssey or the Sienna.
-Moto
We had the same debate (Ody vs Sienna) as you and your wife (and everyone else considering a minivan). One factor that played a big part in the decision is that my wife is more familiar with Hondas. Plus, when we looked at the Sienna, we were disappointed with the interior. The Toyota seats just looked cheap. It was the same thing when were were deciding b/w the CR-V and RAV4 and why we ended up with the CR-V.
As far as dealerships and pricing goes, I think it's great that a local dealer can match whatever deal you find but for me, if there was a dealer willing to go out on a limb and give me their lowest price first which is the lowest price I can find, then they've earned my business. That's why I don't call back dealers that tell me to call them back after I've got the lowest price and they can either match it or beat it by a couple bucks. Again, that's just my little thing.
Good luck with your purchase. I don't think you can go wrong with either the Odyssey or the Sienna.
-Moto
Moto. Agree 100% on the interior after comparing the sienna and ody. Ody interior has them all beat. Is real quality. The toyota dealer would only com off of msrp of the sienna about $2,700. Shockley came off msrp about $4,100.00. That kind of made us think it would be the Ody. Problem is my 04 has 148000 miles and runs perfect. Trans started whining a couple thousand miles ago but shifts great. Still think there are many more miles in it even if I had to replace the trans. What a decision. My dealer is going to see what i can get on a trade. Might try to make a private sale.
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My daughter lives in the DC area and has purchased two odyssey's when she was down in GA visiting. She got a much better deal outside the DC area
We got a decent deal at Criswell in Germantown - Shockley would have been a little cheaper but they didn't have exactly what we wanted, and we decided to hit go right before taking a quick road trip so wanted the Ody for it. It was in May and inventories were shrinking from the tsunami. The doc fee is a bunch of garbage; I had my computer and spreadsheet calculating his profit from the invoice and dealer holdback and included that in it (although I don't think their commission includes it).
In the end, you have to decide what you want to spend, what you think is fair, and try to convince the salesperson that you will walk. But it needs to be fair - if everyone thinks they got a little screwed, that's probably the fairest deal.
In the end, you have to decide what you want to spend, what you think is fair, and try to convince the salesperson that you will walk. But it needs to be fair - if everyone thinks they got a little screwed, that's probably the fairest deal.
That is the easy part. Get up from the chair and go out the door. You have to be ready to do that.
I also don't necessarily agree that everyone needs to think they got screwed to get a good deal. The dealership is in business. They have to make a profit in order to stay in business. I get that, and I accept that i have to pay to get their service, which includes the overhead of running the place. If I do my research, I can pretty well understand what they are making on a particular deal, and can determine if I think it is a "reasonable" markup. I shop that around. More often than not, it doesn't take too long for a dealership to agree that it is a "reasonable" deal and takes the bait. In my case it was discussed with two dealerships, and I wound up with a deal at invoice. Not the best deal I have heard of, but not the worst. Minimal haggling and a smooth transaction though. I think we both felt that the deal was fair.
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