Obviously Austin has overpriced Auto Dealers right? (Houston, San Antonio: for sale, house)

[joedtx]

Everyone I had been shopping for a 'deal' on a new truck and just had to share this with everyone....too funny. I guess the best deals in Austin are actually at San Antonio

2011 Ram 1500 Outdoorsman For Sale | San Antonio TX .


Strange sidenote: google: Mission Chrysler Dodge the prior dealership I feel bad for all the people who were ripped off and people who lost their jobs. They declared bankruptcy on payday on top of that....sad story.

[dave bacon]

I have questions about this also, any input on how to get a good deal on a new vehicle (I'm thinking about a honda pilot)?

Has anybody done the costco program? Thanks!

[Trainwreck20]

We bought a 2006 Honda Pilot and loved it, but eventually had to move up to a minivan. Anyway, the pilot was a good bargain back in 2006, but they have become a bit more 'upper end' since then; in fact, we sold our Pilot 3.5 years later for about 75% of the original cost. Great vehicle, not a lot of frills, though, at the affordable price point. Very much in demand, so the prices are not as flexible as you might hope .

Some very general advice:
- Start on the internet. Get very specific, get a specific quote. If they are too vague, ignore their emails for a day or two, then let them know you need a specific price before you will even talk. Internet prices usually start very much at their lower end.
- If you have the time and inclination, San Antonio and Houston generally have better prices on ANY vehicle you are looking to buy, but if you decide on one there and are going to drive to buy it, make sure you have the VIN locked down with the price. They can try to switch the vehicle, since they might know you have traveled and are probably reluctant to walk out over minor details.

Re: the Pilot. If you are planning to use the third row of seats, they are pretty cramped and a bit hard to get into. If you have two car seats for small kids, they are pretty much useless unless you climb through the back. If you have teenagers or older kids, the third row is much more useable, since they tend to be a bit more limber .

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by dave bacon

I have questions about this also, any input on how to get a good deal on a new vehicle (I'm thinking about a honda pilot)?

Has anybody done the costco program? Thanks!

Lot's of talk about the Costco program on the Volvo forums or SlickDeals and Edmunds. Haven't seen much negative; most folks are very pleased. Don't know how it applies to Honda. At least you have a few dealers from which to choose. Looking at Volvo or Lexus means ONE local dealer. Back in Atlanta, we had multiple dealers for all marques...even the Lexus dealers were competitive on price. I remember shopping for Mom's Toyota Camry. At that time, there were THIRTEEN Toyota dealers in the Atlanta area...those folks got competitive right zippy.

Having said that, I believe we got a fair deal on our last Volvo purchase(Roger Beasley G-town), not to mention .9 financing(Volvo program). Looks like Honda has .9 financing, also.

If you know what you want, I'd go straight to the 'internet manager' at your dealer.

Good luck!

[texasgirl1]

I recommended using TRUECar...go to their website and you will find what others are actually paying and a dealer that will guarantee that price.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

We bought a 2006 Honda Pilot and loved it, but eventually had to move up to a minivan. Anyway, the pilot was a good bargain back in 2006, but they have become a bit more 'upper end' since then; in fact, we sold our Pilot 3.5 years later for about 75% of the original cost. Great vehicle, not a lot of frills, though, at the affordable price point. Very much in demand, so the prices are not as flexible as you might hope .

Some very general advice:
- Start on the internet. Get very specific, get a specific quote. If they are too vague, ignore their emails for a day or two, then let them know you need a specific price before you will even talk. Internet prices usually start very much at their lower end.
- If you have the time and inclination, San Antonio and Houston generally have better prices on ANY vehicle you are looking to buy, but if you decide on one there and are going to drive to buy it, make sure you have the VIN locked down with the price. They can try to switch the vehicle, since they might know you have traveled and are probably reluctant to walk out over minor details.

Re: the Pilot. If you are planning to use the third row of seats, they are pretty cramped and a bit hard to get into. If you have two car seats for small kids, they are pretty much useless unless you climb through the back. If you have teenagers or older kids, the third row is much more useable, since they tend to be a bit more limber .

Looks like TW types faster than I do.
'Somewhere' I read a lengthy comparo of the Pilot with the Odyssey. The mini-van won in just about all categories in terms of people comfort and passenger capacity, not to mention handling a bit better and getting somewhat better mileage. It ain't no SUV, but it sure is a popular people-hauler.

If you've found some 2011s still around, that is likely your best avenue to a 'deal', I reckon.

[compSciGuy]

When I lived in Austin before (years ago), I knew several people that would go to Houston to buy their cars.

[Trainwreck20]

Well, having driven both (and not sure the not-quite-OP is even looking at the minivan), be careful you don't buy the Pilot because you just can't picture yourself in a minivan. That is why my wife got the Pilot, and when we had our second child, the minivan became much, much more practical. We have grandparents nearby, and we end up with 6 or 7 people (counting the kids) in the van at least every other week.

As for mpg, the Odyssey has gotten pretty low, but my wife has a grand total of 2.5 miles in her daily commute, which kills the mileage. She has gotten as low as 13 mpg. Even so, on the highway, the Pilot actually got a couple MPG better, for whatever reason (20 vs 22 mpg, or so, but different model years).

Back on actual buying, we have really like the Howdy Honda approach to sales - very low pressure - no 'sharking' the parking low, no 'let me check with the manger', etc - whereas First Texas seemed a bit more pressured. Could be salesman related, but seems to be more of a philosophical difference. Champion Toyota seems to really like playing 'the game', which is one reason we do not even stop by there when looking for a car. Finally, we bought a Subaru Forrester a few years ago and love it, but we almost flew to Colorado to buy it - the price difference was just that big. Texas dealers do not sell enough cars to get volume discounts, so they can't really compete. We ended up buying it fro Cleo Bay Subaru in Killeen, who is apparently trying to sell enough to get volume discounts. They actually delivered the car to my house and did the paperwork in the kitchen (we sold our old car ourselves). The Forrester is an excellent 4 passenger vehicle with a little bit of cargo room, and cheaper than the Pilot while more 'solid' than the CRV.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by joedtx

Everyone I had been shopping for a 'deal' on a new truck and just had to share this with everyone....too funny. I guess the best deals in Austin are actually at San Antonio

2011 Ram 1500 Outdoorsman For Sale | San Antonio TX .


Strange sidenote: google: Mission Chrysler Dodge the prior dealership I feel bad for all the people who were ripped off and people who lost their jobs. They declared bankruptcy on payday on top of that....sad story.

We havent ever been able to get a good deal on cars in Austin. This is what I do:
Look at edmunds and find out the invoice price
Send emails to the internet dept for whatever car you want
Narrow down to a few and begin working them down
You should always be able to end up at around 500 below invoice (invoice is the theoretical price the dealer pays, NOT MSRP).

I bought a tundra recently and emailed dealers in california, austin, houston, dallas, san antonio, colorado and oklahoma to get a sense of the price variation. I ended up buying in houston.

Different regions can have different specials - we bought my wifes car in california for about 3K less than any dealer in texas could go because of california only rebates.

I have bought three cars from dealers in houston. Ultimately they have much higher volume and so they can give much lower prices on cars and still make money because of kickbacks from the manufacturer.

Dealers make most of their money on service so as long as you get your car serviced at the dealer it isnt that big of a deal to buy the actual car from out of town.

Dealers will be much more flexible on price for a car that is already sitting on the lot vs. a mfg order or having to ship from another dealer.

[eepstein]

I don't think dealers in Austin are anymore expensive than dealers anywhere else. I do think the taxes might be the only difference, but probably not enough to matter. I would LOVE to get my hands on a new Odessey minivan!! Those are sweet rides and get close to 30 MPG on the highway! But, since the Sienna is already paid off, I guess that shuts me up .

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

We bought a 2006 Honda Pilot and loved it, but eventually had to move up to a minivan. Anyway, the pilot was a good bargain back in 2006, but they have become a bit more 'upper end' since then; in fact, we sold our Pilot 3.5 years later for about 75% of the original cost. Great vehicle, not a lot of frills, though, at the affordable price point. Very much in demand, so the prices are not as flexible as you might hope .

Some very general advice:
- Start on the internet. Get very specific, get a specific quote. If they are too vague, ignore their emails for a day or two, then let them know you need a specific price before you will even talk. Internet prices usually start very much at their lower end.
- If you have the time and inclination, San Antonio and Houston generally have better prices on ANY vehicle you are looking to buy, but if you decide on one there and are going to drive to buy it, make sure you have the VIN locked down with the price. They can try to switch the vehicle, since they might know you have traveled and are probably reluctant to walk out over minor details.

Re: the Pilot. If you are planning to use the third row of seats, they are pretty cramped and a bit hard to get into. If you have two car seats for small kids, they are pretty much useless unless you climb through the back. If you have teenagers or older kids, the third row is much more useable, since they tend to be a bit more limber .