[versatility]

Hi,

I am new to the forum and am looking to get an MDX in the near future. My timeframe for getting the MDX is more guided by price/value than any particular need right now. My three basic questions all revolve around the purchase of an MDX.

First of all, what would be the best lease price I could expect to get for a 2002 touring/Nav car. I am willing to put $2500 down for a 36 month lease. Also, has anyone went through another company to get a lease, other than through the local Acura dealer?

Secondly, I hear that there could be some substantial changes for the 2003 model, specifically an upgrade in HP. While this is nice, I don't need more than 240hp and don't want to sacrifice price or mileage in order to get 30-40 more hp. Any thoughts on whether the 2003 will offer a compelling value over the 2002?

And lastly, I read that a lot of the dealer installed options are available through hondaacura.com. Is this the best way to go?Primarily I am interested in running boards, BSM, and possibly the rear spoiler. Is it definitely worth it to go through the trouble to buy these things yourself and how hard is it to install the running boards. Any DIY info out there?

Thanks for input any of you may have. I look forward to frequenting the board more.

 

[baxter]

Use Search

Welcome to the forum. I am sure you are going to find that this is truely a very valuable place - not only for the vast amount of information that is available here, but for the very nice people that are sharing that information. This site took on a whole new flavor for me when I discovered the search engine. You can wait for all the nice people to reply to your post, or you can read the many threads that are already there on your questions. I just did a quick search for "Tim" just for laughs and got over 250 threads. If you have questions about accesories, try that...... Or go to hondacuraworld.com and read around there. Good luck. You will love the 'X.

 

[scottnorm]

Go to leasespecials.com. They have the best lease deal on an acura mdx. ask for jennifer baker. i researched leases high and low, and leasespecials.com was the best value. good luck.

 

[CharlesN]

Welcome to the forum... I'm new here as well... but I can offer advice on some of your questions.

First: if you can wait to buy your MDX, then by all means do so. The MDX remains a very hot, allocated vehicle at present, so you'd be buying in a sellers market. Why do that if your primary concern is price/value? And, since you live in the densely populated tri-state area, demand for the MDX is even higher. At best, you'll pay sticker price, but wait a long time for your car. At worst, you'll get fast delivery on a car that's base-priced thousands over sticker, and THEN loaded up with wildly overpriced dealer installed options. How bad can it get? I just saw a black MDX Touring priced at $50K in the showroom... and that was WITHOUT NAVIGATION! Of course, there are deals to be made between these two extremes.

A big part of the current "shortage" is Honda's limited production capacity for the MDX. But I've heard/read that they're actively looking to ramp up that capacity, and increased supply would certainly help to cool prices. Plus, the MDX has been a hot SUV for two years running, but you know that kind of thing doesn't last forever. Again, if you're willing to wait, there's a good chance the supply/demand ratio will swing into your favor.

This all leads to your question about waiting for the 2003 model. IMHO, the benefit of waiting for 2003 is not so much about improvements in the MDX, it's about the possibility of greater supply. And when it comes time to do your lease, keep in mind that there are some distinct advantages to leasing through American Honda. There's no acquistion fee at the start of the lease, no disposition fee at the end of the lease, and--most importantly--they allow you up to $1500 worth of damage when you turn the car in. I've experienced matters turning ugly at the end of a lease, so this is a great bit of "insurance" against it. (I turned in a Saab with what I felt was no damage whatsoever--just the minor chips, dings, and scratches you'd expect after three years of driving. But Chase Bank, the leasing company, didn't see it that way--they sent me a bill for almost $4,000, to completely restore every body panel on the car.)

Now... should you buy your options from Hondacura World and install them yourself, or buy them from your dealer? Well, that's a question only you can answer. You'll certainly get a great price if you buy your options from Tim at Hondacura World. And if you go to the site, you'll find installation instructions for almost every option. You'll have to balance your parts price and your labor against what the dealer quotes you for the very same option--and only you can decide if it's worth paying the dealer's price. (And dealer prices vary wildly--when it comes to options, it's like the Wild West out there.) I have a few simple rules. Generally speaking, I'll self-install options that don't require drilling, and don't seem likely to give me problems later on. (I let the dealer install my running boards, for example, because I know they'll get a lot of use and abuse during the life of the car--so if there's a problem, i want to be able to go back to the dealer.)

Well, I hope all this rambling helped a bit--good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[MDXtheFIXX]

Great advice

Charles - your rambling is appreciated - especially from a MDX plebe like myself. I am in the same boat as "versatility" and appreciate your suggestions. I haven't heard a peep about a lease option on an MDX and will no doubt look into it. Thanks for your advice.

Dave

 

[scottnorm]

My only comment would be that I said the exact same thing last year, that MDX prices would surely drop once supply caught up with demand. Demand remains high. The demand for the Odyssey van also remains very high, even though that model has been out for a number of years. As I've posted here before, two dealers in Texas offered me $500 below sticker. Why not just buy from a dealer here and have it shipped?

I think it is sound advice to try to wait until the initial hype of a car has died down. However, the MDX has now been out for two years now. When the MDX first came out, they were selling for thousands over sticker. The initial hype has died down. What remains is strong demand that, like the Odyssey, will likely continue.

My opinion: the MDX was and remains underpriced for what it is. Given the standard options on an MDX, it is much less expensive than the Tahoe, ML, X5, etc. Honda may realize this, and raise prices next year, thereby undermining your goal in waiting.

The long and the short of it is, (i) you can lease an MDX for far less than any other similarly equipped utility vehicle on the road today, (ii) you can be one of the few to own the vehicle, and (iii) you will be excited every time you drive it.

Boy, I sound like a salesman! The truth of the matter is that although I am quite pleased with the fact that I have one of the safest and most demanded vehicles on the road, I am more excited about the fact that it was such a great buy.

My advice: don't get hung up on how much you pay over or under sticker. Look at what you are getting, compare it to the competition, and be comforted by the fact that you are driving the best for the least.

(ok, I really need to look into becoming an acura salesman...)

 

[CharlesN]

Well, I suppose if you're one of the fortunate few who lives in an area where the local Acura dealer isn't selling every MDX he can get his hands on (or selling them to other dealers who need them!), then maybe there is a deal or two to be had--but I have to say, an MDX below sticker is rarer than hen's teeth. (And I wonder about the cost of trucking a vehicle from Texas to NYC... can't be cheap.)

If Acura can't ramp up their capacity for the 2003 MDX models, then I agree that we'll see a continuation of this seller's market. Even if demand cools somewhat, it would probably still outstrip the supply. (I think I remember reading that currently, Honda can produce a maximum of 40,000 MDXs annually.)

As for leases on the MDX being far less than other comparably equipped SUVs... well, yes and no. (Keeping in mind that most who don't want to wait months for their MDX are paying above sticker.) Yes vs. the ML... a "maybe" vs. the X5 (BMW is doing some aggressive X5 leasing--here in NYC, I swear I see more X5s these days than Grand Cherokees)... but you can find better lease deals on comparably equipped RX300s, QX4s, and Land Rover Discoverys. Now, I prefer my MDX to those other SUVs, which is why I bought it anyway... but at current lease rates, you definitely have some choices.

 

[scottnorm]

Not to beat the proverbially dead horse, but when I bought the MDX last month, the lease deals on the QX4 and the RX300 were not as good, due primarily to the fact that the ALG residual of the MDX is so high. Same holds true with the ML and X5. Although some of the advertised specials look good, when you get into the details, they simply don't compare. For example, currently x5 has a lease special of base equipped (no heated seats, leather, sunroof, etc.) $469 a month. However, that is with a $2500 cap reduction and only 10,000 miles a year. Moreover, you'll need to spend at least another $2k to get the options that the MDX has. Similarly, a lexus RX300 equipped like an MDX and allowing 12k a year with nothing down will run you $600/mo for 36 mos, whereas an MDX is around $530.

I like the MDX (alot), but quite frankly, I made the decision based strictly on the numbers (i.e., safety, reliability and price). In fact (this is going to sound crazy), our's is the only MDX I have ever sat in or driven. When we went to pick it up from the leasing company, the salesperson could not believe that we had never sat in or driven one. To this day, I have still never stepped foot in an Acura dealer. I've suffered through the depreciation on a 1995 GMC Jimmy, 1996 Suburban, 1994 Grand Cherokee, and 1996 Volvo Wagon. Although the acquisition cost of these vehicles may not have been pricey because I got "great deals", the ownership costs sure were. While BMW and the ML have low depreciation, their acquisition cost is high, making them much more expensive than the MDX. The Infiniti, Lexus and Domestic makes have lower acquisition costs, but their depreciation is greater. The MDX strikes the perfect balance.