[Pilotless]

Great forum. Glad to be a part of it.

Now for my story.

I live in Central New Jersey and was in the market for a SUV back in March. Was pretty much set on getting a Mountaineer and was about $300 away from finalizing a deal. On the way home I noticed a Acura MDX. Loved the car. Did a little research and found out about the Pilot.

The following Saturday 3/23/02 I went to the local Honda Dealership, David Michael Honda in Freehold NJ and inquired about the Pilot. Turns out they were just starting a list and I would be second on it. Plunked down $500 for the EXL and was told I would pay MSRP when they come in. For the next 2 1/2 months I was in constant contact with my salemen James and was repeatedly told I would be the second person to have the choice of any Pilot that comes in.

Well almost 2 weeks ago, I get a call that the Pilots arrived. We immediately went to the dealership and saw a couple looking them over. They turned out to be number one on the list and were looking at an LX. Well we find my salesman and we start walking to the back of the lot where the rest of the Pilots are. As we are walking, he notifies me that the dealership has decided to get over msrp for all Pilots. Of course I have a signed contract and that doesn't apply to me right? WRONG!!! Well we get to the SUV and I like it and want it. I told him we'll take it for the agreed upon msrp. He then informs me that the SUV was sold.. How can it be sold if I'm second on the list and couple number one is buying an LX I ask. Says the owner sold it and the managers sold all the rest. OK, well now its time to go ballistic. I ask to speak to the sales manager and was informed that their is no list. I was never number two. The manager said the salesman was misinformed and shouldn't have told me about a list. I then asked if there is no list why were they holding my money for 2 1/2 months? The manager had no idea when one will become available for me to buy and offered to give me back my deposit.

I have since called Honda of America and reported them. A case was opened and I'm dealing with a case worker about this issue.

I was recently informed that David Michael will have a silver available for me in a month or a sagebrush pearl in 10 weeks guaranteed at MSRP. I'm going with the Sagebrush. Lets see if I get this one.

 

[pjl56]

Wow, brutal. Here's to you, David Michael Honda :30:.

Pilotless, if it was me, I think that I would rather flush the money down the toilet than give that dealer a red cent. What about pushing Honda of America to guarantee you a MSRP at a nearby dealer ASAP?!?

Dch Academy Honda
1101 US Highway 9 Old Bridge, NJ, 08857-2839
Phone: (732) 721-3333 Fax: (732) 721-8102

Dch Kay Honda
200 Route 36 Eatontown, NJ, 07724-2512
Phone: (732) 542-5900 Fax: (732) 542-4350

Coast Honda
Rt.34& Spring Lake Cir Allenwood, NJ, 08720-
Phone: (732) 974-2211 Fax: (732) 974-1779

Monmouth Honda
1085 Route 88 Lakewood, NJ, 08701-4513
Phone: (732) 370-9700 Fax: (732) 370-9789

Open Road Honda
50 Route 1 Edison, NJ, 08817-5095
Phone: (732) 985-0290 Fax: (732) 985-9387

 

[Pilotless]

I've been in contact with them. Most want way above MSRP, Coast Honda might work out though. If they can get me a sagebrush sooner, then I'm going with them. I will be talking to Honda today and I will suggest that also.

Thanks for the list.

 

[pjl56]

I'm suggesting that you push Honda of America to get this done! If the person you are dealing with says "no,'' ask to speak to his/her manager. If that person says "no," ask to speak to his/her manager. If that person says "no", ask to speak to Honda CEO Hiroyuki Yoshino. Write down everyone's names and titles as you go along and then send a letter as high up the chain as you care to, copying everyone down the list, including the owner and sales manager at David Michael Honda. As a minimum, you will shed some light under the ugly dealings at David Michael.

Fired up down south of NJ,

pjl56

I've been in contact with them. Most want way above MSRP, Coast Honda might work out though. If they can get me a sagebrush sooner, then I'm going with them.

Thanks for the list.

 

[Pilotless]

I am going to discuss it with Honda of America. You have a valid point and I will move it up the ladder if need be. I wonder if Honda of America can force a dealership to do anything though.

I was already told that Honda is not liable for any shenanagins the dealers pull, tho they do want to be informed about it and can try and mediate it.

 

[pjl56]

You GO, Pilotless. Be Strong!

Good luck and keep us posted.

I am going to discuss it with Honda of America. You have a valid point and I will move it up the ladder if need be. I wonder if Honda of America can force a dealership to do anything though.

I was already told that Honda is not liable for any shenanagins the dealers pull, tho they do want to be informed about it and can try and mediate it.

 

[pjl56]

You GO, Pilotless. Be Strong!

Good luck and keep us posted.

I am going to discuss it with Honda of America. You have a valid point and I will move it up the ladder if need be. I wonder if Honda of America can force a dealership to do anything though.

I was already told that Honda is not liable for any shenanagins the dealers pull, tho they do want to be informed about it and can try and mediate it.

 

[copilot]

Really sorry--but

Honda of America really doesn't care very much about you. Their client is the dealership and they don't usually get involved with how their dealers treat the ultimate purchaser. That's a really rotten thing to do to you and I hope I'm wrong and Honda Ameriaca will help----but I doubt it.:3:

 

[03pilot]

Mention about this forum and our other acuramdx.org forum with 100's of exisiting and potential customers of Honda and Acura.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I am going to discuss it with Honda of America. You have a valid point and I will move it up the ladder if need be. I wonder if Honda of America can force a dealership to do anything though.

I was already told that Honda is not liable for any shenanagins the dealers pull, tho they do want to be informed about it and can try and mediate it.

 

[ACE PILOT]

Hello fellows,

Some people just have good, dumb luck. I work at a dualed Honda/Acura store that cares about C.S.I.
My managers realize that for every Pilot/Mdx/TL/s2000 etc, there are dozens of Accords/Insight CVT and:1: pASSport.

We need you more than you need us.

Being new to online forums, can admin. inform me of the proper way to share news, if say theoretically, I had a Pilot or two to offer new at MSRP w/ no "packed" acces.?

I'm at home today and not at the ph# below.

 

[pjl56]

ACE - I believe you care about C.S.I. just by the mere fact that you're asking your questions before wading in and trying to make sales off this forum. Kudos.

Care to comment on the best method of airing egregious C.S.I. experiences back up the chain of corporate Honda? The hope for success?

Welcome aboard, your perspective is of value.

Hello fellows,

Some people just have good, dumb luck. I work at a dualed Honda/Acura store that cares about C.S.I.
My managers realize that for every Pilot/Mdx/TL/s2000 etc, there are dozens of Accords/Insight CVT and:1: pASSport.

We need you more than you need us.

Being new to online forums, can admin. inform me of the proper way to share news, if say theoretically, I had a Pilot or two to offer new at MSRP w/ no "packed" acces.?

I'm at home today and not at the ph# below.

 

[pjl56]

I agree with 03. Promise them a commitment to communicating with as many potential customers as humanly possible. Effectively done, IMO it is possbile to elicit a positive response from even the staunchest of poor service providers.

Mention about this forum and our other acuramdx.org forum with 100's of exisiting and potential customers of Honda and Acura.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Pilotless]

It appears that copilot is correct. Honda of America can't do a damn thing except mediate between me and the dealer. My rep sent a letter to David Michael regarding my issues and to resolve the matter quickly.

She told me that dealerships are indepently owned and Honda cannot do anything more.

I did mention that I posted my experience on this board, she actually thought that was a good idea, she also mentioned that I should contact the better business bureau.

Anyway, does anybody know if Sagebrush can now be ordered? I spoke to several dealerships and each one told me something different. David Michael claimed to have ordered one for me, but I trust them about as far as I can throw a Pilot. If it actually has been ordered, what is the timeframe that it should arrive to the dealer. Also is there anyway of stopping them from putting on dealer accessories? I'm not sure if they will, but I do know that many dealerships are forcing $1000 mudguards and such on people.

 

[pjl56]

Pilotless, here is another url that might be of use: http://www.njcardealers.com/hondadealers/ ; I count 16 Honda dealers total in NJ, some with links to their web sites. In Virginia it took some GOOGLE searching, but every dealer had at least a nominal web site with contact email addresses.

I consumated my Pilot purchase deal largely utilizing internet web sites and email, with a few follow-up telephone calls. Once I got the first MSRP price in writing (albeit, email), I used that to get 2 more MSRP promises in short order. (I even got one MSRP guy that said he would have the car delivered to me as he was furthest away in distance of the 3 offers). It might be worth a shot working it hard from this angle. FYI, a number of places now have a "Internet Sales Manager"-type position, so you might ask for someone by this title because they are increasingly used to dealing in such a fashion.

Still interested what ACE PILOT has to say on this matter.....

It appears that copilot is correct. Honda of America can't do a damn thing except mediate between me and the dealer. My rep sent a letter to David Michael regarding my issues and to resolve the matter quickly.

She told me that dealerships are indepently owned and Honda cannot do anything more.

I did mention that I posted my experience on this board, she actually thought that was a good idea, she also mentioned that I should contact the better business bureau.

Anyway, does anybody know if Sagebrush can now be ordered? I spoke to several dealerships and each one told me something different. David Michael claimed to have ordered one for me, but I trust them about as far as I can throw a Pilot. If it actually has been ordered, what is the timeframe that it should arrive to the dealer. Also is there anyway of stopping them from putting on dealer accessories? I'm not sure if they will, but I do know that many dealerships are forcing $1000 mudguards and such on people.

 

[pjl56]

Pilotless shall overcome

From carbuyingtips.com:

"If you think you have been wronged, the easiest method to resolve it is to start with the dealer. Maybe they made a mistake, and they'll correct it. If not, file a complaint with the Consumer Affairs Division for your state."

Here's NJ's CAD web site: http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/home.htm

Another thought, my salesman made a big pitch to me regarding the follow-up Customer Satisfaction Survey. How it has ratings from 1-5(high) for various categories and that if I gave him anything less than a 5 in any category he "failed." My sense was that survey was executed by someone other than the local dealer itself. If so, somebody of some influence must be tracking these things - ?

 

[03pilot]

Admin: correct me if i am wrong here. but the offer for new pilots at MSRP (if thats what you mean by sharing news) should be under classifieds ?

Hello fellows,

Some people just have good, dumb luck. I work at a dualed Honda/Acura store that cares about C.S.I.
My managers realize that for every Pilot/Mdx/TL/s2000 etc, there are dozens of Accords/Insight CVT and:1: pASSport.

We need you more than you need us.

Being new to online forums, can admin. inform me of the proper way to share news, if say theoretically, I had a Pilot or two to offer new at MSRP w/ no "packed" acces.?

I'm at home today and not at the ph# below.

 

[copilot]

I'm sorry-

that it appears I was right. I was really hoping to be wrong. As far as ordering Sagebrush is concerned. I am waiting for a Sandstone (which I believe is scheduled for release with the Sagebrush). My dealer (who I trust as much as anyone) told me that all his orders for Sagebrush and Sandstone had to be placed by last Friday the 7th. They would be built in August for delivery between August 15 -Sept 15. Hope that's right this time.:4:

 

[ACE PILOT]

Dealers ARE free to follow their own practices, or even not to follow them.:3:
Buyers have even more freedom, they vote with their ca$h.

I'm not sure how far I can delve into CSI, but 1-5 is correct, MFCTR does this survey or has folks do it for them.

My GSM lets me know when I get a bad survey, promptly and loudly.
The good ones I don't really hear about.

Acura/Honda only cares about the money tho. I think they keep track of gross profit and get units to dealers whose average is higher rather than those who discount but have happy customers.

I think the best way to find a good dealer/salesman/car is to ask the people who drive them. (was that Packards'?)

Ask the lady at church, guy at home depot, etc. Or buy from me
Is it ok to ask PILOTLESS to contact me regarding availability/delivery?

 

[Pilotless]

How can I contact you Ace?

 

[mikeeee]

Pilotless,

Honda of America may be powerless to helping you get a Pilot from another dealership for MSRP, but that doesn't stop you from going to the dealerships and appealing to them.

Call other dealerships, or even better visit them, and let them know your story. They may be willing to let you take one home at MSRP if it means stealing a new customer from Michaels Honda. I am sure not all dealerships are trying to make "market adjustment" profits. I know many people who were able to get S2000's at MSRP when they first came out, and those are certainly just as hot a commodity as the Pilot.

In any event, good luck! Even if you do end up giving Michaels Honda your money, you certainly won't have to support them where they make an even greater profit... servicing the vehicle.

Mikeeee