skaven

I'm planning on purchasing a new Acura TL shortly after graduation this May. Since I already know the trim level, options, color, etc. that I will be getting, and since I will be ordering the car (not getting one off the lot), the dealership that sells me the car is irrelevant and thus I have the opportunity to get them to bid against each other for the best price.

Unfortunately, setting up a decent bidding pool of dealerships requires having contact information for these dealerships. In particular, fax numbers and/or e-mail addresses with which to contact salespeople. In general, only about 25-50% of contacted dealerships even respond to requests for bids via e-mail or fax, which means that I need a large pool of dealerships to work with.

Luckily, since my dad owns a plane, the location of the dealership is basically irrelevant (as long as it's in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, or Mississippi).

So...here's the place where the money comes in.

I stand to be able to save a huge amount of money on this car if I can accumulate a large pool of dealerships willing to bid. I don't have the time to gather the required information, however.

If you are interested in locating and verifying contact information for Acura dealerships in the states noted above, PM/e-mail me and I'll pay on the following scale:

$6 per verified* dealership contact for the first 10 dealerships
$14 per verified* dealership contact for the next 10 dealerships

* "verified" means for e-mail addresses, that you sent an e-mail and got a response from a human being within 2 business days. For faxes, it means you dialed the number and got a fax machine (modem sound)

20 dealerships should be plenty, so you stand to make $200 if you can contact 20 of them. I was able to get at least 20 hits for acura dealerships in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Baton Rouge using Google Maps (maps.google.com). However in order to get the appropriate information, each dealership would need to be researched closesly (look for info on website, call in person, etc) to get the appropriate information on where to send requests for bids.

If you are interested, please do not just start sending me stuff! Any information sent to me via PM or e-mail will *not* be paid! I will choose *one* person to work with and deal with them exclusively. Please PM/IM/e-mail me for more details or if you are interested in this opportunity.

tecoyah

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thingstodo

Buy from a company that cares about you - get a Lexus.

And since you're ordering, the bidding process won't do you much good because they'll all charge you the same thing, especially if they think you're trying to pit them against each other. Acura is one of the worst when it comes to internet sales. They want you in the showroom. On the other hand, I have purchased/leased three Lexus from the same dealer and made each deal over the phone, walked in, signed the papers and drove away.

You want a deal, go to an auction and bid on one that is a returned lease. what you're trying to do here is a waste of time. But post something later if you prove me wrong!!

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skaven

Thanks for the feedback...but:

1) I want an Acura TL. Period. I think it's an awesome car, and I'm getting one.
2) I visited two dealerships in Houston, walked through the door and asked for an immediate quote on exactly what i described above. One dealership quoted me $34,200, the other $35,100. Invoice on that car at that trim level is $31,985. If I ask 20 dealerships to sell me the car for $32,000, I imagine one will bite.
3) I'm not looking for a good deal in the long run...this is a graduation present for myself. I'm aware that buying off the assembly line is a terrible waste of money, and that I could get a much better deal buying a used or leased car. But this is not what I want. I've been driving used cars for 5 years now. I have a great new job, I'm graduating from college, and my gift to me is to get that "new-car smell". At the same time, I don't want to get raped on the price just because I'm so determined to get this particular car. I figure a $200 investment is worth a $500 to $1000 return in savings. Especially when it comes to financing, where a 1% difference in interest rates will save me a ton.

G5_Todd

u should make sure if you buy the car outta state u dont get raped on sales tax when u try to register the car in state.....

if they dont...u should find what ever state closest to you has the lowest sales tax and go for that.....1% in sales tax on a 30k car is only 300 bucks...but if the percentage was 3% lower it would be well worth it...

skaven

Excellent point. I'll keep that in mind.

msf518

TL's are very safe cars...my parents and my little brother got hit head on at 50 MPH while driving our TL (luckily I was at school and not in the car at the time). My dad, the driver, only had scratches on him. My little brother (10 at the time) only had the seatbeat imprint on his chest, and my mom had some broken ribs, which sucked for her at the time, but it should have been much much worse than it was (everyone is fine now). For reference, the other driver (who was totally at fault in the crash) was in a hospital for a long time because her smaller car did not do enough to protect her. I thank the TL every day for making sure my family stayed safe. I see you are committed to buying one, and I am just giving you another reason why it is a good decision.

skaven

Cool yeah the safety obviously isn't the primary concern for me, but its good to know that I'm getting a safe car. Should help some with the insurance premiums too.

thalakos315

i'm still a big fan of working the salesmen over

works best on used cars though.. for a new car, i'd suggest doing some research on about how much their making per sale. tell thim how much your willing to pay, and stick to it.

make it clear that you know exactly what you want, how much its worth, and what your willing to pay.. if they say they can't (or won't) work the deal, shrug it off and walk to your car (just don't be in a hurry to drive off)
a good majority of the time they'll come out and stop you while your in your car

having an internet quote isn't neccesarily effective, it can be done just as your hoping, but it takes a lot of time and effort. it also requires the various dealerships to be in communication with each other.
you'll probally end up spending about the same money anyhow.. after a while it just isn't financially worth it to spend the effort to sell 1 car for minimal markup, especially considering the time it takes to do something like your talking about.


i'd suggest just doing a little research, and stand firm on what you want, and how much your willing to pay. you'll get your car a lot faster like that anyhow

thingstodo

Like I said previously, let us know how you do. And the out of state comments are right. Plus, you might want to see how your own state handles sales tax when you try to register it there if you gave away revenue to another state.

Supply and demand....there isn't that strong a demand for the TL compared to a few years ago when the price point was under $30K. If wholesale is ~$32K like you said, they won't sell for that because there are currently very few dealer incentives on the Acura line.

Good luck!

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Stangers have the best candy.

OFKU0

Rather than starting a bidding process in order to save a couple of thousand bucks, why not deal with a dealership that is willing to throw in a few extra options or entended warranties. If you stood to save 10k on a car then fine, but a couple of g's and you'll be laughed at.

You know the wholesale, they know the wholesale, I doubt you'll get a dealership or dealerships bidding over 2k. But if you were a company investing in a fleet of cars that might be different, but most companies lease anyways.

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Cynthetiq

seems like it should be easy enough to catch your local dealer for $32,000 firm on one day during the month, esp. close to month end.

seems like an awful lot of energy expended for so little return, but then again, when daddy has a plane, maybe what baby wants is what baby gets.

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cyrnel

Buy a home yet?

-StickInTheMud

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skaven

Well the $34,200 quote was at month-end.

As for expending the energy, the final selling price is not the key deciding factor. I'm going to be including financing information in the requests for bids. So although yes, most dealerships would laugh about bidding against each other over $2,000, I don't think they'd be so quick to laugh about their dealership financing the loan. An 8% rate on a loan over 5 years for a $30,000 prinicipal comes out to over $6,000 that goes into the dealership's pockets for virtually zero work (all they have to do is order the car). I think they'll take the time to bid for that. If I can find a dealership willing to give me a really good rate, say 5%, that saves me $2,500 just on the financing. Combine that with possibly getting the actual car for at or under invoice, and maybe some extra options at reduced or no charge, and it looks more and more like a good idea to get dealerships to bid.

And to be a bit clearer, I'm not planning on taking all these quotes, combining them, then resubmitting them to the dealerships for revised bids. Basically they'll get one shot to be the best price, and then they win. Not that much work for me or for them.

Finally, I'm not sure what you are insinuating by "what baby wants, baby gets", but if you're implying that I'm going to all this trouble just so my dad can buy the car for me, you're wrong. I'm getting the downpayment as a graduation present, but everything else, from the payments to the insurance to the maintenance, are all coming out of my paycheck. I've been wanting to drive a TL since I first saw one two years ago, and now that I've got a good job and finished 13 years of education, I'm ready to drive a "real" car, as opposed to the piece of junk I've been driving since high school.

skaven

No, I'll be renting for the first couple years at my new job. I know it's not the best way to be spending my money (essentially throwing it away into a new car instead of building equity in a home), but this is my "I made it through college in one piece and even got a job at the end" present to myself. I'll be putting away a significant portion of my paycheck every month toward a downpayment on a house, then take on a mortgage when I've got the capital built up to actually buy a house.

Astrocloud

I used to work for a car dealership. In fact I used to respond to internet bids. The car dealerships all know what you are up to. You won't be able to get the lowest price by simply asking them for it.

The first step is figuring out what the lowest price is before you step on to the lot. Then go to the dealership towards the end of the month near closing time. Hold firm on your best price and you will get it.

jorgelito

Astrocloud, what do you mean by:

1. "figuring out what the lowest price is"?

2. How do you do that?

Thanks.

skaven

FYI, I got a response and somebody is now working on getting me the information. So in effect the point of this thread is now moot.

In response to jorgelito's post, what I did was to get a car buying report from fightingchance.com, which includes the actual dealer invoice price. Obviously dealer invoice is *not* what they paid for the car, so the report also includes a number of reports as to what people around the country have been paying for the came car. For the '05 TL, the best deal was $500 under invoice with many paying at or marginally over invoice. I imagine anything around invoice is going to be the lowest price I can get.

But like I said before, the price of the car is only half of the deal. The financing and "extras" are what are going to set the bids apart.

Astrocloud, interesting to hear from somebody that's actually been out there doing it. I figure if none of the bids I get back are suitable enough for me, I'll resort to actually walking onto a lot and dealing with a salesman. Negotiation has never been my strong suit though, so if nothing else having more information at my disposal can't be a bad thing.

Astrocloud

Invoice price is the dealers cost plus holdback. Holdback includes things like advertising costs. Dealers get incentives after the end of the month for the gross number of vehicles that they move during the month. This is why some dealers are willing to sell for under their invoice... They are making up for their loss by getting an allowance from the manufacturer.

BTW... You should stick with the larger dealers for this reason. The more they sell -the more that they can discount.

Oh yeah, you should be able to get the invoice price from www.cars.com or www.kbb.com .

Cynthetiq

Sorry the meaning doesn't imply that daddy is going to buy it for you. While the first part I understand now suggested that, it implies that you will settle for no less. I was actually trying to get across (but did it rather poorly) that since you live a particular lifestyle and you are looking at an upscale vehicle that you aren't going to settle for any less than what you want.

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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

crapshoot

I helped one of my buddies get a new car a few months ago. I would also suggest going at closing time. Our strategy was to pick a younger salesman so that we would communicate better. It will be harder to negotiate if you are financing. My friend had the money to pay for the car that night. I love their tactics like getting the sales manager to come in and try to get more money. DON'T BUDGE. They will sell the car to you at the price you want...you just have to be strong. I would not be afraid to walk out on them if they are not willing to deal. Working the deal in person is the best way that I know. More personal.

skaven

Just an update on this -- went and picked up my new car on Friday! w00t w00t!!!

I've got some pictures posted here:

http://www.djskaven.com/public_pics/new_car_8-13-05/

Cynthetiq

nice.. congrats... did anyone get to collect your $200 bounty?

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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.