[DareDevil]

Hi All --
This is my first posting to this great group, though I've read quite a bit over the past few weeks. Forgive me if this has been asked/answered before, but here goes:
Our current family car (92 Saab9000) is about to give up the ghost and my wife is open to the idea, maybe, possibly of the MDX. That's the good news. The bad news is I live in NY (Long Island) and local dealers are giving me delivery times of April. We can't wait that long to get a replacement vehicle, so my question is, what recommendations would anyone have, as to the nearest dealer with the quickest delivery?
I've seen how several Boston and other folks have flown down to Florida to get an MDX within a month. I don't know if my wife would even go for something that odd (to her). Even I wonder whether it's worth the cost of a 1-way plane ticket (isn't that like adding at least a couple hundred more to the cost of the car?), PLUS the hours and hours of driving back up I-95 from Florida (as nice as that would be in a new MDX).
So, bottom line: Anyone know of a NY dealer that can deliver in less than two months?
If not, I guess ideally I'm looking for one in a nearby state (Conn., NJ, PA, even MD) that can.
Thanks in advance, and Happy New Year to all.
Duayne

 

[dmyles]

I bought my MDX from John Holtz Acura in Rochester, NY. It was exactly a 3 month wait. While there picking it up (on 12/22), I asked my salesman what the wait currently was there....he told me February-- so about 2 months. So a drive to upstate NY may be worth your while. My salesman's name is Mike Fornari. Good Luck. Oh and they also charge only MSRP and no forced options.

Dana

 

[davegood]

Delaware is only 2:15 away...

Wilmington, Delaware is only 2 hours and 15 miinutes south of you. My dealer has two fully loaded ones on the lot -- a redrock and a black. You probably would not want either one of them as they are loaded to the gills with a bunch of options you may not want. However, they can get you one that you order in probably less than 8-10 weeks.

Give them a call -- Castle Acura - 302-323-1100. My salesperson is David Keith, and I have been very happy with his responsiveness. Please give him my name -- Dsvid Goodrich, because I think that they have some sort of referral program.

Good luck, and let me know how it goes.

 

[davegood]

Delaware is only 2:15 away...

Wilmington, Delaware is only 2 hours and 15 miinutes south of you. My dealer has two fully loaded ones on the lot -- a redrock and a black. You probably would not want either one of them as they are loaded to the gills with a bunch of options you may not want. However, they can get you one that you order in probably less than 8-10 weeks.

Give them a call -- Castle Acura - 302-323-1100. My salesperson is David Keith, and I have been very happy with his responsiveness. Please give him my name -- David Goodrich, because I think that they have some sort of referral program.

Good luck, and let me know how it goes.

 

[RedMdxMemphis]

... I don't know if my wife would even go for something that odd (to her). Even I wonder whether it's worth the cost of a 1-way plane ticket ...

You are going to see and use your vehicle so much... for some more time than your family. My suggestion is to educate yourself on this car and other cars so you know what you are getting. Buying car at MSRP .. higher than MSRP.. waiting for 2 months or longer.. they all sounded so crazy to me in the beginning. So to be fair to yourself and your family, you gotta know what you are doing. If you just want to negotiate a car on the lot, the MDX is not it. To know why the MDX is the "most wanted" SUV, this site can give you a great deal of answers to why the MDX is the car worth waiting for. But you and your wife are the ones making the decision. Good luck...

 

[MDXNYC]

LI MDX

I ran into the same situation that you are now facing about a 1 1/2 months ago. I also live on Long Island and when I started looking around for an MDX I was quoted wait times around March. Since I did not want to wait that long I decided to go on several waiting lists since people back out of there deals all the time. I ended up getting an mdx within 2 weeks from valley stream acura. They seem to have the shortest wait around so check them out.

 

[jpod15]

Valley Stream Acura wanted $3,000 over MSRP just three weeks ago. If your willing to pay these ridiculous markups then I'm sure you can get the MDX ASAP.

 

[DareDevil]

thanks, gents!

First, thank you all for your amazingly fast and helpful responses.


MDXNYC -- Holy Cow! You got one within 2 weeks from a dealer that's within 10 miles of me? Okay, tell me more (or point me to an earlier post): What did you have to "take it or leave it" in doing so, in terms of price, color choice, equipment, etc. Also, is there a Valley Stream salesman you'd care to recommend?

jpod15 -- $3k over sticker is a bad thing. but what would you recommend instead? you still waiting, or did you give up and go buy a Subaru Legacy?

Dana -- I appreciate the name of the Rochester salesman. If the local guys don't pan out, he's a possible option; and I guess the roads will be back open up there in snowland once the vechicle is delivered .

Dave (or is that Dsvid? <grin>) -- Wow, dealership, phone # and salesperson's name! It's great to get someone I might deal with in confidence. And I'd think that Delaware's sales tax must be lower than NY's 8.5% (on Long Island) as well. When I call, I'll absolutely tell them you sent me!

RedMdxMemphis -- Good advice. When it comes to a vehicle, I'm not so sure there is any "perfect" one, because there are so many considerations, from emotional to mechanical to financial that one must TRY to balance. I've been keen on the MDX for nearly a year now, and with three kids, I need a good 7-passenger something. So I'm ready to enjoy the MDX's great points and accept its minor faults. Just gotta get the wifey up to speed. She completely trusts my judgment on cars, but and as you can imagine, the MDX's full sticker price + delivery wait ain't helping my cause!
cheers,
DD

 

[DareDevil]

Alphabet Soup

If anyone is so inclined, I'd appreciate definitions of the following terms/abbreviations:

BSM

Wood Steering-Meter- Knob, (Wooden steering wheel and shift knob, obviously, but "Meter"??)

TH, MG (mud guards?), WL

"All-Weather front and back"

"Real HIDs"

Thanks!
DD

 

[jpod15]

Still waiting. Probably will wait till after winter when prices might start coming down and production of the MDX might pick up.
Good Luck!!

 

[davegood]

here you go

BSM = body side moldings -- the thin rubber protective strips that can be installed on the doors to protect from dings.

TH - Probably trailer hitch is my guess
WL = Wheel locks - special bolts that protect the wheels from theft.
MG = Mud Guards for Rear

All weather = All weather floor mats (rubber) most people go with the WT (Weathertech) brand.

Real HIDs -- High Intensity Discharge headlights -- also known as Xenon bulbs, these bulbs produce a whiter light.

All except for the HIDs are available from our buddy Tim at www.hondacuraworld.com for the best prices available.

 

[nikonf]

Originally posted by DareDevil
... I don't know if my wife would even go for something that odd (to her). Even I wonder whether it's worth the cost of a 1-way plane ticket ...



One way ticket from Boston to Tallahassee $99.00

Fuel for trip $65.00

24 hour ride back to Boston in new MDX Priceless!!!!

 

[metmdx]

Dave (or is that Dsvid? ) -- Wow, dealership, phone # and salesperson's name! It's great to get someone I might deal with in confidence. And I'd think that Delaware's sales tax must be lower than NY's 8.5% (on Long Island) as well. When I call, I'll absolutely tell them you sent me!

Delaware sales tax has nothing to do with your situation. When you register in NY you pay NY sales tax as that's where you live. If dealer charges NY tax, you're o.k... but if he charges you Delaware rate, you will pay difference when you register in NY.

Otherwise everybody in NY would buy their vehicle in a state with a low/non-existent sales tax and just drive it home....Sorry !
metmdx

 

[metmdx]

Dave (or is that Dsvid? ) -- Wow, dealership, phone # and salesperson's name! It's great to get someone I might deal with in confidence. And I'd think that Delaware's sales tax must be lower than NY's 8.5% (on Long Island) as well. When I call, I'll absolutely tell them you sent me!

Delaware sales tax has nothing to do with your situation. When you register in NY you pay NY sales tax as that's where you live. If dealer charges NY tax, you're o.k... but if he charges you Delaware rate, you will pay difference when you register in NY.

Otherwise everybody in NY would buy their vehicle in a state with a low/non-existent sales tax and just drive it home....Sorry !
metmdx

 

[Fireblade6]

Buying the MDX

Daredevil-

Contact Ball Acura of National City in California. There phone number is 619-474-6431. Ask for Louie Limson. Tell him that you spoke to Trent . He should hook you up REAL fast.

He can even flatbed out to New York for ya. Any problems e-mail me.

Fireblade6

 

[DKEITH1020]

In Response to your questions.....

First off I'm glad to hear that you are considering an MDX!!! I am sure everyone here will give you a million and one reasons why it continues to be the best suv on the market bar none! By way of introduction, I am the David Keith that DaveGood referred you to at Castle Acura in Delaware. I just wanted to clear up a few things in your prior posts:

1. (unfortunately) The Sales Tax on a new vehicle is based on the State the vehicle is registered in NOT where it is purchased. Sorry but it looks like you're in for the 8.5% regardless of where you buy the vehicle if it will be registered in NY!

2. We do have Two going on Three MDX's in Stock with No Wait (call me for more details as this board isn't designed as a sales forum)

3. If you took a poll of all the mdx owners on this sight I'm sure 90% would tell you that they had to make some compromise to be driving there MDX already.....be it paying over sticker, buying accesories they didn't need, or traveling to find a shorter wait list! I would also venture to guess that 99.9% of those people would tell you how much it was worth it to do those things in order to secure their MDX!!!!

Hopefully, you to will join the ranks as a Satisfied MDX Owner you have all my information, research it yourself, and remember I'm only a phone call away if I can help answer any questions you may have. For an UNBIASED opinion you have found the right forum to give you the information! These guys are great!!!

 

[Kap]

David,

Will you sell to our new friend at MSRP?

Sounds to me like you're prepping him for a price "compromise".

DareDevil, I urge to you shop for MSRP. You can do it with some dialing and some patience. We have a similar situation out west in Washington State, but I found that if you hold your ground and call around, you can get what you want at sticker.

Don't be gouged!

- Kap

 

[bef]

DD,

For a Nav/Touring model at MSRP and no accessories it cost me about $43K out the door (in CA). It's up to you decide if you want to pay over MSRP or for overpriced accessories you may not need/want. I decided that it was worth my while to leave multiple deposits and eventually I found the exact model(188 GG)/year(2002)/price(MSRP)/accessories(none) that I wanted with a delivery within 2 weeks after leaving the deposit. I actually waited over a week after leaving my first deposit before contacting the second dealer and about a week later called the third/last dealer.

If MDXs (or at least the model you want) are so scarce in your area, you should consider some of the other suggestions (flatbed, fly/drive, etc.) and evaulate your time/wait/cost to see which deal is better for you.

By making 2 phone calls I was able to get my MDX at least 2 weeks earlier and much more accessories and tools for $2100 than if I stayed with the first dealer.

Recently, I've seen about one MDX a day (I even parked next to a 2001 GG a couple of days ago!) rather than one every other week, so it seems like they are becoming more common in my area. As consumers become more informed they realize they have more choices and won't allow dealers to keep gouging them.

Did I ever tell you about the time I told the dealer I wasn't going to pay over MSRP for a CL-S and he quickly ended my test drive ...

 

[nikonf]

posted by dkeith1020

3. If you took a poll of all the mdx owners on this sight I'm sure 90% would tell you that they had to make some compromise to be driving there MDX already.....be it paying over sticker, buying accesories they didn't need, or traveling to find a shorter wait list! I would also venture to guess that 99.9% of those people would tell you how much it was worth it to do those things in order to secure their MDX!!!!


dkeith1020,
I beg to differ with you. I am willing to bet that not even close to 90% compromised on the purchase of a new MDX. If you are saying it's OK to pay above MSRP or pay for forced options, then you are the typical low life salesman that I would NEVER do business with. My other vehicle is a 2001 Acura CL-S and when I went back to Acura of Boston to purchase a MDX, I got the song and dance about how popular they are and you can have one in about a month if you want to pay another $4,000.00 in options. I will NEVER purchase another vehicle from them again. I will NEVER take my car there for service again. This is flat out greed and for the dealerships that are involved in it, I can only hope you get yours some day you greedy bastards.

 

[davegood]

Another compromise

If you took a poll of all the mdx owners on this sight I'm sure 90% would tell you that they had to make some compromise to be driving there MDX already.....be it paying over sticker, buying accesories they didn't need, or traveling to find a shorter wait list! I would also venture to guess that 99.9% of those people would tell you how much it was worth it to do those things in order to secure their MDX!!!!

Nikon -- let me add one more compromise to the list -- Waiting. I think that most people on this forum experienced one of the following:
1. paying over sticker
2. Traveling or having the car shipped from somewhere else
3. Adding overpriced options that they don't want
4. Just plain waiting for a couple of months to get what they want at flat MSRP.

Dkeith was my salesperson -- as Roger has pointed out, sales tactics of the dealership are typically outside of the salesperson's control (Roger's dealership sells at 2k over MSRP). My dealership sells MDXs two ways -- $1,000 deposit, get your car how you want it, nothing extra forced in 8-10 weeks (not bad). They also get about 30% of their cars in unordered by customers. These cars typically are pretty loaded up with accessories, but not sold over MSRP of the car + the accessories. Therefore, you have an option - 10 weeks how you want it, or right now pretty loaded up. If you want your car loaded, this is an easy decision. Otherwise, to quote BK 'have it your way' in less than 10 weeks. Seems pretty fair to me.

I am by no means defending slimey dealerships, but dkeith's should not be included in that group. There was zero sell for undercoating, options, extended warrantees, etc. They also provide free oil changes while under warranty (every 7500 miles).