Best Honda Dealer in NEO (Medina: maintenance, law, vs)

[chofmann79]

I had great experiences with Jay Honda..best price on parts, and I was always happy when I left. I did not care for Motorcars Honda on Mayfield...they seemed more expensive and I was never comfortable there.

[maxmodder]

If you call a dealer and ask for their best price over the phone, they will do so because they are trained to do so. The idea behind this is that they know you will just simply call the next dealer so you will actually get a pretty good quote over the phone. But the best way to buy a new care is to tell them "I'm looking to speak to the sales guy that has the least # of cars this month." This will be the guy most willing to sell you the car and not make anything on it because he needs just a sale to hit his quota. He will sell at the price such that the dealership is only getting their dealer hold back. The last 2 new cars I've purchased, the dealer only made hold back. Why put money in their pocket that could be put into your own?

[ECBeastor]

Originally Posted by maxmodder

If you call a dealer and ask for their best price over the phone, they will do so because they are trained to do so. The idea behind this is that they know you will just simply call the next dealer so you will actually get a pretty good quote over the phone. But the best way to buy a new care is to tell them "I'm looking to speak to the sales guy that has the least # of cars this month." This will be the guy most willing to sell you the car and not make anything on it because he needs just a sale to hit his quota. He will sell at the price such that the dealership is only getting their dealer hold back. The last 2 new cars I've purchased, the dealer only made hold back. Why put money in their pocket that could be put into your own?

Holdback is typically all any high volume dealer will mark up nowadays. It's around 2%-3% of invoice. Plus the high volume dealers get incentivized by the manufacturer both on the number of units they sell and a wholesale finance credit; The manufacturer requires all dealers to have a finance source so to defray these interest charges, the manufacturer gives X amount of days worth of interest charges to the dealer regardless of whether they sell in 1 day or 100. I guess the manufacturer doesn't want to waste time calculating it on each car or figures it evens out in the end but most high volume dealers actually make hundreds of thousands each year in wholesale interest incentives by moving cars out fast. So high volume dealers really should be easiest to persuade to drop below the "invoice" price.

If you're slick ask to see the invoice. Likely they say no or play dumb but them knowing you know about it should be enough leverage to get them negotiating from a lower point. If they say something like "we need to make money or we won't sell" well that's just a tactic. They still make on the finance incentive and holdback and some new car salesman get just a flat $ per car, not anything they can get over invoice.

On a GM dealer, at the bottom there will be listed something like this

TOTAL MODEL & OPTIONS 37160.00 33651.20 ACT 237 33436.40
DESTINATION CHARGE 900.00 900.00 H/B 261 1114.80
LAM DEALER CONTRIBUTION 371.60 ADV 261 371.60
LAM GROUP CONTRIBUTION 278.70 EXP 65A 278.70


TOTAL 38060.00 35201.50 PAY 310 35201.50
MEMO: TOTAL LESS HOLDBACK AND
APPROX WHOLESALE FINANCE CREDIT 33591.10

The "MSRP" is $38,060. "Invoice" is $35,201.50 and (if memory serves) Actual cost to the dealer is $33,591.10

[deskjockey]

Originally Posted by maxmodder

But the best way to buy a new care is to tell them "I'm looking to speak to the sales guy that has the least # of cars this month." This will be the guy most willing to sell you the car and not make anything on it because he needs just a sale to hit his quota.

How does one identify this sales guy?

[deskjockey]

Originally Posted by ECBeastor

Holdback is typically all any high volume dealer will mark up nowadays. It's around 2%-3% of invoice. Plus the high volume dealers get incentivized by the manufacturer both on the number of units they sell and a wholesale finance credit; The manufacturer requires all dealers to have a finance source so to defray these interest charges, the manufacturer gives X amount of days worth of interest charges to the dealer regardless of whether they sell in 1 day or 100. I guess the manufacturer doesn't want to waste time calculating it on each car or figures it evens out in the end but most high volume dealers actually make hundreds of thousands each year in wholesale interest incentives by moving cars out fast. So high volume dealers really should be easiest to persuade to drop below the "invoice" price.

If you're slick ask to see the invoice. Likely they say no or play dumb but them knowing you know about it should be enough leverage to get them negotiating from a lower point. If they say something like "we need to make money or we won't sell" well that's just a tactic. They still make on the finance incentive and holdback and some new car salesman get just a flat $ per car, not anything they can get over invoice.

On a GM dealer, at the bottom there will be listed something like this

TOTAL MODEL & OPTIONS 37160.00 33651.20 ACT 237 33436.40
DESTINATION CHARGE 900.00 900.00 H/B 261 1114.80
LAM DEALER CONTRIBUTION 371.60 ADV 261 371.60
LAM GROUP CONTRIBUTION 278.70 EXP 65A 278.70


TOTAL 38060.00 35201.50 PAY 310 35201.50
MEMO: TOTAL LESS HOLDBACK AND
APPROX WHOLESALE FINANCE CREDIT 33591.10

The "MSRP" is $38,060. "Invoice" is $35,201.50 and (if memory serves) Actual cost to the dealer is $33,591.10

Much obliged ECBeastor. Had an encounter with a sales gal from Jay Honda; she sounded untrustworthy but atleast she provided the name of the General Manager and Owner of Jay Honda.

[deskjockey]

Originally Posted by ECBeastor

IMO, if you are buying brand new, where you buy it from makes little difference, particularly for a stalwart import brand like Honda of Toyota that are usually high volume/low margin. Where you take it for service is what matters. And for service, dealerships are usually 3x as expensive as independent shops.

Most import brands are well spread out as to not have significant competition nearby, particularly for service. They make the bulk of their money in service and finance and insurance products. The stuff the Finance Manager tries to sell you when you're wrapping up the paper work. (Extended service packages they try to sell you, your bank loan that they qualify you for at the dealership). The bulk of the Honda stores around Cleveland probably have a Service Absorption Ratio of like 90%, meaning they cover 90% of their overhead expenses with just service sales. They basically don't have to sell a single new car to make money. A Honda dealer makes about 2% to 3% gross margin (profit/sales) on new vehicles, 8% to 10% on used cars and 40% to 50% on Service and Parts, 100% on F&I products (F&I is all gravy since they are selling the product for some other company - the bank, extended service company - and taking points off the top). Of the total gross dollars, 65% are service (eg if they have 5 million in gross profit, 65% of that is from service) even though about 15% of their total sales dollars are from service.

As for your question, I'd go to one of the high volume stores like Jay Honda in Bedford which sells over 50% more than any other dealer in Cuyahoga County and 30% more than any dealer in the surrounding counties (Summit, Lake, Portage, Lorain, Geauga, Medina, Stark). Simply because it is likely the best deal on price because it's the highest volume.

So the extended service warranty is not from the manufacturer ?

[SquareBetterThanAll]

Originally Posted by deskjockey

So the extended service warranty is not from the manufacturer ?

The *extended* warranties are usually from a third party. They come in after the manufacturer warranty expires.

[deskjockey]

Since Takata air bags recall is going to impact several car manufacturers, including Honda, I am gonna wait a bit to purchase a new car or until car manufacturers stop using Takata airbags or start using defect free airbags.

[tim3342]

Just to add to the tread. I bought a CRV last year. What I did was create a Form letter stating exactly the car I wanted with the options, and I stated that I was looking for their best price and to email me that quote (so I had it in writing). I then went to Hondas website and found all the dealers in the area and sent out the letter to each dealer. I have to tell you, there was a range of rates. From there when I got the 2 lowest quotes I called and asked if they could sweeten the deal a little more. Worked for me. I ended up getting the car from Apostolakis out in Warren.

[deskjockey]

Originally Posted by tim3342

What I did was create a Form letter stating exactly the car I wanted with the options, and I stated that I was looking for their best price and to email me that quote (so I had it in writing).

Whats a Form letter? Elaborate please.