Dealer Markups

[monkeyshines]

I put a deposit down last week for for an Accord plugin and was quoted the MSRP: $40570 and got an actual VIN for the car I would get. Today I got an email saying that the car is arriving this weekend, and they are marking it up an additional $2995 above what they quoted me-- after I gave them a $500 deposit last week.

Has anyone else come across dealer markups for Accord Plugins?

I called another dealership that was reporting a $7000 markup! I'm tempted to just buy a Tesla Model S for a little more.

 

[Cobra]

Where are you?

The dealers I've talked to so far in NY do not seem to be doing that, but I saw a comment from someone else that CA dealers were. It shouldn't be any trouble getting your deposit back if they changed the quoted price! Care to share which dealers you talked to?

In NY, Honda of New Rochelle gave me an email quote of a little under MSRP. I've also talked with Atlantic Honda on Long Island, they didn't really give me a quote, but said pricing would be MSRP. Atlantic has a black PHEV in the showroom now. The other dealer expects a White one at the end of the month.

 

[monkeyshines]

It's a refundable deposit. But I'm disappointed that they quoted me a price, took my deposit, then changed the price.

I'm in CA-- Silicon Valley. I wonder if it would be cheaper to buy one in NY and get it shipped to CA... no tax and no mark-up.

I wonder if it would still qualify for the HOV sticker.

 

[Cobra]

I looked in to shipping across country, and it looks like it runs about $1000. So you might do better from NY.

I'm not in CA, but my understanding is that the HOV rule just require you to apply for the sticker based on car model. I can't imagine that buying it from NY would cause any problem with that. The PHEV Accord is shipping with the same emissions in all markets, as far as I know, which would be the only reason they would disallow the HOV access in CA. (But I'd certainly check with the HOV registrar, I haven't...)

 

[monkeyshines]

So I got quoted pricing from a few dealerships in Silicon Valley... with mark-ups up to $7k over MSRP. Another dealership wanted $3k over MSRP. The other one lowered it to $5k, then $3k.

I ended up going to Tracy Honda and got it for MSRP, with no hassles and a great buying experience.

I'd highly recommend shopping around. They're already making a huge profit on the Plugins even at MSRP-- don't give them more for doing nothing.

So far I love my Accord Plugin. I traded in my Camry Hybrid. So far I think it's worth the extra money. The fit and finish of the Accord is great (other than the cheap-looking wheel covers).

 

[Cobra]

Nice, congratulations!

If you have comments about the car it'd be great if you get a chance to write a little summary of your impressions, maybe in the forum.

And if you have a chance to take a couple pictures, that would be great too. A couple things I've been curious about are the rear heated seats and where the buttons are for them. Also, if you try the HondaLink EV app, how it works for pre-heating the car. I've seen claims that it can run the heater/AC, kind of like remote start, but it's not clear if it can only do that only when the car is plugged in to the wall, or if it does it any time.

Enjoy the new car!

 

[TrueBrit]

Just be willing to travel a little and make a few phone calls. I checked with 8 dealers locally and found two that would sell at MSRP in SoCal and one gave me 2 years of dealer maintenance.

 

[doctortodd]

Honda's website (honda.com) currently indicates that one with good credit may lease a 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In for $419/month. Only a few dealers in California currently have this automobile in stock. I visited 3 of those dealers on Sunday, September 22, 2013. None of them would honor this deal. Norm Reeves Honda Superstore (West Covina, CA) would only go as low as $539/month. Honda of Pasadena would only go as low as $549/month. Goudy Honda (Alhambra, CA) would only go as low as $609/month.

I showed the online Honda offer to all of the dealers (http://automobiles.honda.com/current-of ... %20Plug-In).

All of the dealers indicated outright that they simply are not honoring the deal that is posted online.

 

[Cobra]

Wow, that's pretty crazy. Did you ask them what their sales price for the car was? It may be that these are the dealers selling them at a markup. You should be able to find dealers that will sell at MSRP, and some will go lower. I'd stay away from the dealers that are selling at a markup unless you really want to spend more. The lease price is based on the sale price of the car. Some people recommend negotiating sale price, then talking about lease afterwards.

Also, an email to Honda corporate might be a good idea in this case. They sometimes push the dealers or might be able to put you in touch with a dealer that will honor they corporate pricing.

 

[bill1721]

I had a $1500.00 markup Mar. 03 which I thought was outrageous. I've seen a couple posts stating that they purchased their plug-in below list price. If you could manage the Tesla, I'd go for it.

 

[Cobra]

Yeah, dealers are all over on price. I saw that a New York dealer was offering Edmund's price guarantee at invoice for the PHEV. However, when I went in to the dealer, the salesman I talked to would only accepts MSRP, and he wouldn't come down even $500. I was pretty shocked. A dealer 15 minutes away had the same car and came down ~$2200 from MSRP.

 

[howardschrier]

I bought mine at Honda of Yonkers (ask for Ron) and he was honest and accurate. price was sticker, no surcharge.

 

[mandargb]

One NorCal dealer quoted 2.2K above MSRP, which I refused.
Other one I checked did not even quote.
I have found true car, not helpful at all at least in this case.