SoCal Honda Dealers with and without markup over MSRP

[chrisw42]

When I bought my Pilot on June 2 (Sunday), the following dealers quoted re MSRP:

1. Riverside Honda - I bought from them. No markup on MSRP, but several forced options (cargo mat, running bds, and roof rack crossbars). Also, they insisted I finance thru them for slightly(.25%) higher rate than my credit union. However, when I also bought the extended care and Lo-Jack they gave me 5.9 APR for five years. Bought those two options for good price.

2. Spreen Honda (Loma Linda off I-10) I bought my 99 CR-V new from them for price below MSRP in JUne of 99. However, over the phone they quoted a mark-up of $2500 over MSRP and some forced options. Even when I talked with the sales mgr and told him this would be the second SUV I bought from them, he still would not budge on price. His loss...

3. Moreno Valley Honda - Over the phone the sales person would not tell me if they were marking them up. Said come on over (one hour drive for me) and "they would do their best" on price.

4. Norm Reeves Honda (Temecula) I-15 just S of intersection with I-215 and I-15. Would have bought from them as they were same as Riverside re MSRP and forced options. However when I went there on Sunday 6/2 to look at the ones they had in stock, they were adamant that they could not show me the Pilots until Monday, the official launch day. They do have lots of EX and EX-L (esp in Silver, White, and Black) on their allocation for the next few months. However, not sure how many are now already spoken for. Their ad in todays (6/15) Inland Press Enterprise for the Pilot states: "No markup over MSRP"; but expect forced options and they have no Redrock Pearl except the demo (which is the color I wanted and bought from Riverside).

One thing I did not realize is that forced option prices may be fiction and much higher than "official price" making the "no markup over MSRP" a fiction if they are charging substancially more than list for the forced options. Suggest reading the posts on that and check out Honda.com site for suggested Pilot option prices before shopping. I think I paid a few hundred more than retail for my options as I did not realize that.

Botom line - great vehicle and all that I expected from Honda. No regrets.

[Threadhead]

Originally posted by chrisw42
Suggest reading the posts on that and check out Honda.com site for suggested Pilot option prices before shopping. I think I paid a few hundred more than retail for my options as I did not realize that.

It might also be a good idea to check Tim's prices at Hondacuraworld.com. He is much lower than the 'Honda.com' prices, his shipping prices are very low, and he is a really nice guy

[jcamarillo]

My wife and I picked up our Pilot (Red EX-L) on Saturday. We purchased from Barber Honda in Bakersfield at MSRP with no dealer options. We had put in our deposit last March, and the dealer came through as promissed. They had one other Pilot (white EX-L) on the lot which was also selling at MSRP.

For those of you in SoCal, bakersfield is only about 110 mi north of downtown LA. Scott Brown is the person to ask for.

[heng5]

Metro Honda in Montclair, CA has a large markup posted on the window sticker. They have a much higher price than the Honda website for the various accessories,too. They use the sticker to start the negotiations.

The last time I checked with Santa Ana, CA (Brandon), he was able to do about $1,000. over MSRP. Norm Reeves in Cerritos, CA(Carter) was still over MSRP, also.

[Jasper]

FWIW, in today's LA Times, the follwing dealers claimed to have inventory on Honda Pilots...

Riverside Honda - "2003 Pilot 15 In Stock! We Are Dealing!"

Honda of Hollywood - "The 2003 Pilot LX & EX Models Now In Stock!"

Might be worth a call or two, just to check it out, if you are in the market over the holiday weekend.

[joshr]

we live in south orange county, and between my wife and i i think we called every dealer within a 50 mile radius (if not more). i ened up buying from Honda World in Westminster. paid MSRP on our EX-L w/DVD, and $500 for running boards installed. overall it was a good experience.

there were several other dealers we were happy with initially, but we were able to get what we wanted right away with Honda World. Riverside seemed reasonable but they wanted me to sign the contract before the car arrived.