MDX from Non-Acura Dealer?

2409 Views 9 Replies 8 Participants Last post by westlake, Jan 13, 2006

MDXLooker

Discussion Starter · Dec 5, 2001

I have been researching the MDX, and here in the Boston area there are several non-Acura car dealers who have 2002 MDX's on the lot for sale at MSRP.
While they claim it carries a full Acura warranty so there is no down side to purchasing from them, I still wonder what I'm missing. An Acura dealer I talked to told me these vehicles are probably brought in from Canada and would not carry any warranty here in the States. Don't know who is really right.
Any one been been involved in a similar situation, or know what's going on here??
I would love to pick up a new MDX off a lot - no waiting - and am willing to pay MSRP, but I'm afriad of the "gotcha" that waits for me on the back end.

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ablank

· #2 · Dec 5, 2001

be very afraid

Welcome, looker.

The first thing you should read is:

http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3478

Especially the last few posts. If these dealers are sourcing from Canada, the warranty is invalid in the U.S.

But the drive from Boston to Montreal is nice.

- ablank

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TheWorm

· #3 · Dec 5, 2001

I'd be concerned/skeptical. You can check out the VINs to see if it's a Canadian MDX (do a search for 'VIN decoding' or similar). If they're claiming an Acura warranty, maybe they bought the Acuracare extended warranty which, while from Acura, is still different than the original 4yr bumper-to-bumper and won't include TSBs and potentially recalls on non-US cars.

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bdespain

· #4 · Dec 5, 2001

I looked at both Canadian and US models up in Spokane WA. The give aways on the Canadian ones are that they should still have day time running lights and that the teperature setting for the AC will be in C instead of F. This is the little window above the AC controls.

The spedometer cluster can easily and inexpensively be changed out to the US version so don't go by that.

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pacman

· #5 · Dec 9, 2001

I know what you're going through...

Hey MDXLooker:

I'm just up the road in Hopkinton and went through the same type of conundrum. I ended up going with Lease-by-tel. There's a guy in Boston who was able to locate an MDX for me out of Jackson, MS. Four weeks later, I had a 2001 Touring, Black with Saddle. I had him fax me the title, so I could make sure it was a US vehicle. The nice thing is that they delivered the vehicle right to my front door. BTW, yes it was dealer preped.

I will say that this forum was an awesome source of info, especially the thread that explains the VIN.

I also spoke to Jimmy at Herb Connolly in Framingham and he said that they would have no problem servicing my X. Routine or warranty!!!

Hope that helps.

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tdnone

· #6 · Dec 9, 2001

MDXLooker,

Whatever you are buying/leasing, make sure that it is a US version, not Canadian converted/modified for US. Warranty on Canadian version is invalid at US Acura dealers. So the sellers may throw in a third party warranty which will be a bear when coming to repair work, not counting the recall, if any in the future.

Good lucks in your search.

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dboyce

· #7 · Dec 12, 2001

Pacman, now that more time has passed, would you recommend leasebytel? I also live in Boston and would rather not wait until June for an MDX. I'd rather buy it also--they only lease and I guess that this is how they skirt the "must sell the MDX in dealer's area" stipulation. Thanks

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pacman

· #8 · Dec 12, 2001

It's really your call.......

dboyce,
I guess if you really want to buy an X, I would look all over the country. There was another post by nikonf (also from Boston), who bought his X out of FL.

Hers's the thread: http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=3858&referrerid=2231

I chose to lease from the beginning. It just made sense for me. I probably won't even put 12K miles per year on the vehicle.

Leasebytel were O.K. I would rate them a 5 out of a possible 10 (10 being the best). Why they got such a mediocre score is their lack of communication. Near the delivery, I could not get an honest answer. Because my X was coming out of Jackson, MS, of course, it was being shipped by their carrier. I was told that it would be delivered 11-16-01 (never showed up or heard from LBT). Was told maybe 11-17-01 (never showed up or heard from LBT). Was then told 11-19-01 (never showed up or heard from LBT). Driver finally called me on 11-21-01 from PA Turnpike and said he was going to deliver my X. Never mind that this is Wednesday, the BUSIEST day in the year to be traveling. Anyway, he showed up at the house at 6:30 A.M. on Thanksgiving!! Sorry to ramble, but I thought it was important to explain this situation, so your expectations are not set too high.

Hope my rambling helps your decision process.........

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pacman

· #9 · Dec 12, 2001

Oh, I forgot to add my 2 Cents..

IMO, I would not go the Canadian route. The risks far outweigh the rewards. I spoke to all the dealers around us and definitely agree with "tdnone." The dealers I spoke to said that they would put their "own" warranty on the vehicle to cover and warranty work, but NOT recalls. Also, if you ever wanted to take your X to another dealer, the dealer would not perform ANY warranty work. You'd have to pay out of pocket!

'Nough said..Don't do it. You'll find a US MDX. Just keep looking.

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westlake

· #10 · Jan 13, 2006

NEVER TRUST LEASEBYTEL!!

I recently leased a vehicle through leasebytel. The transaction went very smoothly. The problem started when my temporary license expired. I called Mike Waller and the leasebytel several times and I also sent them several emails but they never returned any of my messages. These people only care about sales. They have poor followup. Please don't trust leasebytel! learn from my experience.

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