I just got home from the local Acura dealer. My friend got a 2006 TSX automatic, no navigation with "17 wheel upgrade with a gun metal rim, 5 window tint, wheel locks, rubber trunk mat, and splash guards.
He paid about $27,500 including extra options before tax and license. We are picking up the car after they add the rims and the tint. I checked carsdirect.com and the car is going for $28,121 without tint.

The saleslady was just about the WORST I ever encountered.

My friend calls me about 4 pm and we head over to the dealer. He says he talked to a woman before over there, but "it doesn't matter, I can just grab someone else if she's not there". I tell him to call first as a courtesy and ask for her ONLY. (After being in sales for so long I like to adhere to certain rules I have set. It's polite to give her first chance.) Had I known she was going to be so bad I would have kept my mouth shut.

So we walk in, say hello, ask for test drive. Now I start comparing her selling style to my own, which is probably why I started getting mad.

Test drive:
She makes us walk half a block to storage lot to get car even though she had key from key machine in her hand. It was cold out and I would have driven it over for my customer. I sit in the back so she can sit in front with my buddy to point out features on car. I ask to go on freeway and she tries to discourage us. I say you always test drive car on freeway and it's holiday week so traffic isn't too bad. She takes us across town to a out of the way freeway even though I know there's a perfect onramp thats closer. It's not known to a lot of people so its not crowded and the onramp is straight with it's own lane, not a merge lane. Perfect for a 0 to 60.
She talked the whole time until I interupted and asked my friend to please take notice the "feel" of the car. Essentially to take "mental ownership". She shut up after that.
We come back to lot and she made my friend park the car by backing it in, which of course was awkward for him. I would never ask a customer to do that.

Walk around:
This is to point out features and benefits to car and she went on and on about crap we didn't even care about. She should learn about figuring out customer's "hot buttons" and focus on that.
The worst part was she'd only been working there for 8 months. I knew more about the car than she did. She didn't know what brake assist did, I explained it to her. We were looking under the hood and I asked her how many valves? She actually said "18? or 8? Um, I'm not sure." I asked her how much torque? She didn't know. By now, I shut my ears from her pointless jabbering about the fog lights. I can't remember the last time I encountered fog in Hollywood.

Negotiating:
We sit down and she starts the worksheet. She has written MSRP. She tells my friend, thats the price. My friend looks at me. I look at her. We sit there for a minute just looking at eack other. Finally I say, "He's not paying that. Why don't you ask your manager what he can do for us?". She ignores me, ask my friend "Why don't you make an offer?".
My friend blurts out, "Can I get the invoice?" He meant could he SEE it, but she started getting attitude because she assumed he wanted to pay invoice. She says we're not selling these for invoice and I don't know what invoice is. I tell her to go ask her boss, she flash me a dirty look and goes away.
She comes back with a offer and it's pretty good. I ask her to throw in window tint and we got a deal. She gives me another dirty look and attitude. I stand up and say to her "Are we bothering you? Because if we are, we can just leave right now". She walks away. So my friend and I walk outside. She panics and chases after us apologizing profusely. I tell her "I know this is a skinny deal, but I'm trying to do this quickly so not to waste much of your time. That way you can finish with us and move on to the next customer." We negotiate one more round and agree on final price. (I lowered offer again to make her pay for her rudeness.)

My friend told me she was throwing dirty looks my way quite a bit behind my back the whole time we were there, but I could care less if she hated me. My friend got a good deal and is happy with the car. I told him to get her a little vase of flowers to give her when we come back to pick up car. He really shouldn't get her anything, but I told him the 20 bucks investment in case something goes wrong with car in beginning its good to have salesperson on his side. lol

Conclusion:
We got in and out of there in about 2 and half hours, pretty good I think.

Well that's my story. Whew, what a night.

 

I would totally ask you to come with me the next time I go to the dealership! I'm either going for the Acura TL or the Lexus IS 350! I live in Valencia,CA not too far away! Good Job on the negotiation! I'd be talking ***** to her if I was you!

 

I was out in Cali a month ago and visited a Tuner shop on Holt Ave. in Pomona and saw a TSX one of the owners or employees had. Looked awesome! Has wide Body Kit, BBK, big wheels, turbo, gauges etc,

Shows that the TSX is tunable and can really look great!

Ted

 

Nice going, Liz. This is one of the most interesting posts you have ever made on CL. From the way you decscribed it you did a good job .....about as well as could be done under the circumstances. I just wonder, though, if that rude saleslady would have been less rude if she knew you were once in the same profession and knew the ropes.

BTW, did you do a check on the dealer's web site before going up there to see what cars they had in stock? Most dealerships list the new and used cars they have in inventory ( though, oddly, some Lexus dealers don't ). Some dealers are a lot better than others, though, at keeping the website inventory up to date.

Now you see why I myself spend so much time with people helping them with their car-shopping and inspecting the cars they buy. . It can be a real hassle, and a lot of people just cannot or prefer not to deal with it on their own for whatever reason. You've seen a lot it from the sales end of it.....this shows what it can be like from the customer's end. Usually it goes a lot easier, though, at places you have been to before and where they know you...dealerships are often eager to please repeat customers and show their gratitude.

It is unusual, as you say, for a customer to have to walk a long way to actually get the car. Most dealerships, as you say, at least offer to start it up, let it warm up a minute, and drive it to the showroom door as a courtesy. I usually decline...for a reason. Not to be rude, or because I enjoy walking in the cold with my less-than-perfect feet, but because I review and test-drive a lot of cars ( some for CL, some for people I am helping, and some for myself ) , I usually insist on checking all the fluids under the hood first ( or at least the oil and anti-freeze ) just to make double-sure the engine doesn't sieze up several miles from the dealership. Sometimes, if the tires don't look or feel right I will check the pressures too.......MANY new cars have them pumped WAY up when they are on the transporters and the dummies doing the PDI at the dealership don't adjust them when they are unloaded.

I assume you ( or he ) checked out all the controls and switches to see if they worked properly ( hold the wipers for a rainy day ) and gave the body a good going-over for defects and scratches......that goes without saying.

I agree with your assessment about test-driving it on the freeway, besides, of course, a twisty road as well for handling. On the freeway you get a good idea of how well the car will cruise and what the noise level will be. On the freeway is also the time to see if the car pulls left or right, has brake pedal shimmy or pulling at higher speeds, and, of course, steering wheel shimmy from bad tire and wheel mount or balance....a common problem with new cars.

As far as backing the vehicle in upon returning to the dealership...as a courtesy to the salesperson I aways put the vehicle back exactly as I found it, whether that involves backing in or not, but of course I am used to it. I usually take the dealer license plate off the back and the keys ( if applicable with today's starter buttons ) out of the ignition, lock the car, and hand them back personally....this does impress the salespeople ( who are usually impressed with my auto knowledge to start with ).
However, Liz....in a case like this, you are correct....this kind of stuff is usually not expected of the average customer.

Back inside the dealership, you can get a rough idea ( not exact, of course ) of what invoice is going to be because the average car in the TSX's class is going to be marked up about 10% or so on the car itself and about 14% or so on the options, unless there are special packages that give you a further discount on option groups.....and then add back the destination / freight charge, of course. This allows you to at least start the bargaining up from the ( roughly ) invoice/ dealer cost instead of starting at the actual MSRP like that lady wanted you do do. ( though the invoice, as you know from experience as a saleslady, is not always the actual dealer cost ) The TSX is not an extremely " hot " car from a supply-and-demand perspective and should not command full list.....you saw how they were willing to come down at least some.

Break-in on a Honda / Acura product, BTW is just like any other vehicle except that the factory usually wants the break-in oil left in for 3000 miles...so my usual recommendation of the 1000-1500 mile change during break-in to get the shavings out doesn't apply.


Again, nice job, Liz : .....and thank you for taking your time to help your friend. : Two hours, though, while it can sometimes seem like forever whan you are dealing witrh obnoxious people, is not that long at all at a dealership.....I have been through experiences, both with myself and others, that took as long as 8-9 hours.

 

Well at least he likes the car and was satisfied with the deal in the end. mmarshall it was about 8hs with my Audi haggling over this & that under a lease purchase, was pain but was worth it in the end, and they say certain things can't be done with a lease....

Hey Asiangirl I see your also in Hollywood where abouts (general area)? I'm near Greystone Park.

 

When are you getting your IS250/TSX ?

 

27K is really good for TSX. i've always liked TSX! good job Liz!

 

I am really having a hard time deciding, seriously. I thought this would be a no brainer but I underestimated. Now I'm thinking "how about i just chuck the two of them and go with a coupe" I never had a coupe before always been four doors and seeing that I have multidoor autos currently a coupe wouldn't hurt.

 

Thanks guys. It is weird sitting on the other side of the desk. My friend said he was quite entertained watching me "in action". lol
The car will look good with the rims and tint, my friend is so excited he can hardly wait. He took me out for a nice dinner afterward and sat there with a big grin on his face the whole time.

Since retiring from car business I've helped about 6 people buy cars and each experience was different, but each person got a better deal had I not been there so they're all happy which is the bottom line. It's all worth it.

Mmarshall:
I'm going back with him for final walk around inspection before delivery so I'll make sure to check everything.

Milla:
I'm in Los Feliz between Silverlake and Hollywood if you know where that is. Where's Greystone Park at?

 

Ok I'm on the otherside of 101 from you if I'm not mistaken. I'm up above Sunset in Beverly Hills, its kinda wierd Greystone sits up on the northside of Sunset kinda in the back my place is north west of the park (Hollywood side) but my back yard is basically Beverly Hills the city line kinda does this funky thing in the hills, per my old realtor.

 

This thread was some very nice reading about a TSX. I almost bought one. If it could have had the 240 HP motor from the Honda Accord, I would own one. My Acura dealership said the TSX would never get a V6, that would price it in the lower range of the TL.

The change in HP has nothing to do with the engine, it has to do with the way the engine was dynoed. I don't know if anything changed from 05 to 06, but just because the HP went up doesn't mean it has more power, it does mean it was more accurately tested. There was a bunch of Japanese cars that lost HP from the new testing, even though nothing changed. One way of getting more HP is by not putting the required amount of engine oil in the test motor. The motor won't last, but it will dyno well. SAE standards require the correct amount of oil in the engine.

http://www.sae.org/certifiedpower/details.htm

 

It is a great car for what it is, as I am sure the IS250 is. I think a lot will just depend on what you are after:

• To save money = TSX {not just on the cost of car but I think that the maintenance, tax & insurance will be less too}
• FWD = TSX; RWD/AWD = IS250
• Room = TSX {not by much tho}
• Better name = IS250
• Better service = IS250
• Reliability = hard to say since the IS250 is still new; I have only had minor problems w/ the TSX but nothing that has made me regret my decision
• Uniqueness = TSX {from what I understand, Acura is still limiting how many they make whereas Lexus intends to sell a lot more of the IS250}

I honestly do not think that you could wrong either way especially since they have simiar HP & MPG - the interiors even look similar to me. I personally would choose the TSX over the IS250 but would take a IS350 over the TSX.

Good luck w/ your decision!

 

Apples and oranges here.......the IS350 is substantially more expensive than the TSX and is a completely different class of sports sedan.

The IS250 of course does have an AWD option that the TSX doesn't, but in the generally mild, sub-tropical climate that Asian Girl and her friend have in Southern California snow traction is almost never an issue.....though AWD does help in rain too, and L.A. does get heavy rains (and mud ) in the winter. The TSX's FWD, though, should do pretty well in most conditions.

 

We don't get enough rain here to warrant AWD, imo. It was about 80 degrees on Christmas Day and it's finally sprinkling today. Go figure.

 

I know you guys get some good Pacific storms in the winter, but it's hard to tell just how many will strike and how much rain they will have. So far the pattern this year has had the winter jetstream north of the region....and L.A. has had pretty nice weather. If and when that jetstream shifts south, though (and the chances are it will before the end of the winter ) you could get some strong Pacific rainstorms.

Even so, I still agree that for most SoCal conditions, FWD or RWD is adequate.....one reason why RWD sports cars are so popular there.