MDX in San Juan, PR

I believe that my time has arrived to start posting. I’ve been a member since March, 2001 but I’ve never posted a message since I barely have enough time to visit this excellent site more often and when I do visit it, I just read a few threads to keep me up to date. Anyway, this is my story: I’m an Industrial Engineer, male, turning 40 years old on Sept 12, married with 2 children and born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Anyone may have heard from this Island in the Caribbean if you know something about Tito Trinidad in boxing, Denise Quinones as 2001 Miss Universe or Ricky Martin who likes to have an MDX in his videos instead of a Ferrari or Lamborghini although he can probably afford to have a collection of both.
I have owned my MDX since March 10, 2001 and I didn’t have to wait a single day to get it. As a matter of fact, there are 2 main Acura/Honda Dealers in the Island and you can go to either one on any day and pick from several available colors and models and leave the dealer as a happy owner of the best SUV in the market. The Dealer where I bought mine still requested a deposit of $300 in order to reserve the one that I chose while I sold my previous car (a ’94 Camaro Z28). But I do have to admit that, compared to the States, the MDX is being sold here in PR at a very high price due to the duty charges established for imported cars to the Island and for sure this is the reason why the MDX is in stock at any dealer in the Island. I paid for my Touring with rear mudguards, side steps and sunroof visor $49,500. I didn’t even considered the navigational system option because you don’t need it in an island with a size of 100 by 35 miles and also this option was not available in PR. Although the dealer supposedly did not charge me extra for the accessories (yeah, right!), the price seems to be very high but when you consider that in PR the BMW’s X5 starts at $60K and Lexus RX300 starts at $45K, you don’t think twice about it. I also considered buying the MDX in the States and shipping it to PR but when I started hearing the waiting stories from buyers living in the states, I realized that I didn’t have another choice.
I must mention that, besides the high price I had to pay for my MDX, my personal experience with the dealer was excellent. The dealer name is Acura de Puerto Rico, which is a subsidiary of Bella International that sells Honda cars, motorcycles and personal watercrafts. The salesperson, whose name is Gustavo Bernard, that sold me the MDX was very polite, respectful and knowledgeable about the Acura cars and SUV. It is not that I didn’t do my homework before visiting them by searching and reviewing more than 20 main car review sites in Internet, but I have to admit that he was very assertive in answering all my questions. Gustavo didn’t try to sell me anything I didn’t asked for and we even completed the deal as good friends. By the way, he registered his 1-year-old son in my wife’s day care business (for any Puerto Ricans reading this, its name is Peek-A-Boo Daycare, 787-774-1299). I have already talked to him about this site in order for him to take advantage of all the topics covered here but I’m not sure if he is a member yet. The other experience I can talk about is that of the dealer’s maintenance shop. Again, so far it has been excellent. There was quick and polite attention when I arrived for the first 3K mile checkup. The facilities were very clean and well maintained and they even offered me a ride to my home if I didn’t wanted to wait for the service to be completed. After a 15 minute wait, my MDX was ready and to my surprise, it was also washed. I asked how much I needed to pay and they told me not to worry since I was going to receive by mail any applicable charges. One week later I received the service record sheet and everything was made at no charge (even the washing). I wonder if that’s why the MDX cost so much in Puerto Rico. Anyhow, so far I am fully enjoying my experience with the MDX and problems like the weeping mirrors feel insignificant when compared to the peace of mind you get from a well engineered SUV and the service that supports it. One last thing, here in Puerto Rico we still don’t have the option of choosing license plates. Since the format is a 3 letters plus 3 digits combination, I got mine to read EGG-938. My later red Camaro read BUD-796, it is just a coincidence that I’m a beer lover. Since I now own a 50K egg, I would like to have an avatar of an egg with wheels. I’m searching but any suggestions are welcomed.