I had deposits at Torrance, Cerritos, and Pasadena. All dealers wanted MSRP.
All of the sales people were nice. What differed was the amount of forced overpriced (and I mean way over web priced) accessories.
For Torrance, I paid a $1000 deposit, in person, and there was about a 2 month wait and I had to buy about $2100 in accessories (locks, rear mudflaps, running boards). It took a couple of weeks to get my deposit back but once I called to find out what was taking so long, they FedExed it to me the next day.
For Cerritos, I paid a $1000 deposit, by phone, and there was no estimate for my wait. I was told that for a GG I could be waiting 6 months or more. $228 in required accessories for wheel locks, and flaps. Deposit was via credit card and the refund was the day after I requested it.
For Pasadena, I had to pay a $1500 deposit, in person, and I received it in less than 2 weeks. No accessories are required. If you do want them, they are priced the same as on the Acura website. Ask for Michelle. No pressure to buy stuff you don't want (also true for the Finance guy who does the paper work).
If you are handy, get all the accessories from Tim and install them yourself. See the Accessory forum for installation hints and tips. You save more than enough money to buy even more tools.
FYI, Craftsman torque wrenches do not have lifetime warranties so you don't have to buy the most expensive tools available (although the digital ratcheting model is nice).
As time goes on the ability to negotiate gets better but keep in mind that this is the best SUV for the money and there are still people willing to pay over MSRP with forced overpriced accessories.
I bought my previous Acura CL in 98 and paid below MSRP and had a $1000 manufacturer "loyalty" coupon (because I had an Integra at the time).
Until there is a true competitor for the MDX or if the market becomes saturated, it's up to you to decide how long you want to wait and how much you want to pay. I could have bought an MDX the day I visited/contacted each dealer but the ones that were available were not exactly what I wanted (hey, if I'm going to pay MSRP, it had better be exactly what I want) for the year, model, color, or accessories.
See the forum on the dealer ratings and start making phone calls. Since my local dealer had a 2 month wait and wanted $2K in overpriced accessories, there was plenty of incentive to find a better deal.