[Junson]

Hi all:

I recently received my base Nighthawk MDX from Radley Acura in Falls Church, VA. I placed a deposit on Jan. 15 and received the vehicle on Feb. 13. Less than a month! Initially, I had an appointment with William Taliaferro (Director of Internet Services). We arrived at the appointment time at 5pm and was told Mr. Taliaferro was "on the phone" by his assistant, who then chats with us for the next 45min! She was very nice, but we came here for a test drive not to chat with his assistant. When he finally arrives, he seems uninterested in our business and we are told that test drives are only limited to 15mins. That was very odd. We had just seen this one guy had a test drive for more than 30min. We were very upset...waiting for more then 45min and then told we are only limited to a 15min test drive. I asked him, "How are we supposed to inspect the vehicle, engine, design, interior in 15 minutes and then take it for a spin?" He answers, "I am sorry, these cars are in hot demand and many people would like test drives too." Yeah...whatever! I asked for another salesman and came across Robert Luu. He asked if we were still interested in a test drive. Of course I was! I had wasted an hour already...whats another one? He gave us a brief overview of the MDX before the test drive. Mr. Luu told us the MDX were sold out and they must be ordered with a $1,000 deposit. At first, we were shocked, but then realized Acura is only producing 40,000 of these SUV's this year. He said the wait for Silver: 3-4 months, Dark Emerald: 3-4 months, Nighthawk: 2-3 months, Mahagony: 2 months, Granite: 2 months. Which color do you want? So, we placed a deposit for 2 MDX's (One Base Nighthawk and one Base Dark Emerald Green for a total of $2,000). Three weeks later, Mr. Luu notifies us our Nighthawk MDX will arrive in 5-10 days! We were so excited. We took delivery on Feb. 13, we paid MSRP $34,850 w/no options + tax + other fees = $36,100. The transaction took less then an hour.

Please state your experiences with dealerships around the DC metro area. Due to the high demand for these MDX's, I have found that dealers are taking advantage of buyers by adding "options", "marketing fees", and other profiteering options. Do not pay over MSRP. Also, do not take any crap from salespeople such as William Taliaferro. Just because the vehicle is in hot demand, we do not have to tolerate such rude and unprofessional behavior. Especially making a purchase of this sum.

 

[Berkeley]

We had a similar experience with the sales-person you mention. Unfortunately we went ahead and ordered the car from him. Too cut a long story short he ordered the car with the wrong colors. Initially the dealership accepted responsibility, but refused to discuss any form of compensation. Later the GM changed the dealership’s position from a mistake to a miscommunication. Give me a break... We were four people there when we ordered the car and nothing was "miscommunicated".

We will definitely recommend against using this dealership.

 

[Junson]

re:

Berkeley:

Thanks for sharing! Have you accepted delivery of your MDX? You can always ask for your deposit if you aren't satisfied with your salesman. How can William Taliaferro be part of the management team? And worst, you just got a lame "miscommunication" excuse from the GM. That's obsurd! You should of gotten some form of compensation for them wasting your time. Poor service... Maybe they have low standards there? I Did you give Pohanka a try?

 

[Berkeley]

Junson,

You can get more info on our experience here:

http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=635

We decided not to use the dealership for service in the future. I think we'll use the one in Gaithersburg. Have you good experiences with any of the Acura dealerships in the DC area?

 

[cruiser26]

Berkeley,

Check 'Where to buy' in the DC Club group at
http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=500

 

[MDX Mom]

Have to Say Pohanka's Great!

After waiting for 2.5 months after placing a deposit at Radley, for a GG Touring Navi, I still no build date,etc. I then read Berkeley's posts and decided I had no other option than place a deposit at a competing dealership. Butch Murphy, head of Internet sales was wonderful. All he asked was that I be flexible about color, and give him 60 days. Butch Murphy called me Tuesday evening to say a deal fell through on a DEP Touring Navi. I asked him to have a GG MDX parked next to it so that I could make the decision to buy the truck or wait. When I saw the two trucks parked next to each other, I decided I LOVE DEP!!!! So I bought the it. He also gave me a great deal on the accessories. I picked up the truck Wednesday. The deal was completed in about 30 days. I am incredibly happy with the service Butch and Pohanka gave me. In fact, I called him from my cell driving home today (Thursday) for all the help he gave me and tell him I was thrilled with the vehicle.

 

[MD MDX]

Rosenthal, et. al.

I initially ordered my MDX from Rosenthal. The salesman - Chad was knowledgable and friendly. Not arrogant like many of the other sales people that we have had to deal with. We ended up buying from another dealer only because of the long waiting time at Rosenthal. But more on that in a minute.

If you need service, go to Rosenthal and deal with Mike Quigley. I have been dealing with him regarding some issues with the MDX (as others have discussed on this forum). He could teach a lot of people today about how customer service should be. I am now going to start taking my Honda to him too. Never have I been so satisfied by a car repair service. Great hours there and great service.

Back to the purchasing. I too dealt with William Tallifero. I put a deposit down with him because in October 2000 I was told that I could get the car in December 2000. I never heard another word from him until I called him in January to cancel my order. He seemed surprised and told me that the car would be in in February. I told him that I already purchased the car from Tischer. William, thanks for the call to let me know that the date had changed by two months (note sarcasm). (Any Acura salesman reading this-- please note how important it is to keep in touch with and update your customers during the waiting period.)

I ended up purchasing from Tischer only because they got me the car first. I also never heard from them during the waiting period. The service when I went to pick up the car was reallllly slow. The salesman (Abdul) kept running off. He redeemed himself a bit by taking time in the bitter cold to go over the features of the car. But the finance guy, Tony, was a real a**hole. If I had any leverage with purchasing this car, I would have walked out right them and told the dealer to f**k himself. If I ever purchase another Acura, I guarantee you that I won't be dealing with Tony at Tischer (if I have any leverage next time).

 

[crazydog]

I had a good experience at Pohanka for my MDX. No problems.

 

[jcbc]

Pohanka Acura

That is where I purchased my Acura from. Butch was incredibly accomodating and courteous. During the test drive he was able to answer all my questions and concerns. This happend after my extremely bad experience at Radley. Unfortunately I live closr to Radley and their sales division is mtached in stupidity by their service department. I will never go to Radley Acura again!

 

[dcmdx]

I think the dealership experience boils down to the individual you're dealing with. I bought my X from Radley and had no problems. I called every dealer in the area including the new Chevy Chase dealer that just opened and they are all full of @$%!

More than demand being high, it's supply that is too low. Acura is artificially creating demand and the dealers are treating customers like they're doing us a favor. This type of demand will not last forever so we'll see who's kissing who's butt once that happens.

I know most people bought their X at sticker price. I got mine for $700 off and as far as I know, it's the biggest discount available. I did this through UBS (United Buying Service). Check them out at UBS.com. The only downside is that Radley is the only UBS authorized dealer. But for this discount, it's worth it. Also, there's only one salesman (UBS consultant for Radley) you can deal with for the UBS price and that's Tony Gavri. I give him neutral marks.

Bear in mind that all VA dealers charge extra fees not found in MD. No problem as you can have these waived. Everyone knows about the Processing Fee ($189) but be aware of the Business License Fee! Just ask for ALL VA fees to be waived in writing, when you place your order.

Here's my take on local dealers that I've dealt with:

Pohanka - sent me an email offering about a $400 discount on accessories. No other dealer has done this so kudos to Pohanka.

Rosenthal - the salesman (Chad Dorfman) matched the $400 but would not meet the $700. He claimed that any discounts would come out of his own pocket because the salesmen only make a couple hundred on each X. [email protected]%# Give me a break! Dorfman was not cordial so stay away from him and this dealership.

Chevy Chase - brand new dealership in Bethesda that's not getting off to a good start. They need customers and were not willing to budge on anything. Stay away.

Tischer, West - rude and pushy. Stay away.

Hope this was helpful.

 

[colliek]

Pedal to the Metal

DCMDX - I too am in the process of purchasing my X from Radley, via UBS. I placed deposit in October, was built today, should be enroute from Ontario tomorrow. Am curious if you placed a deposit or just picked yours up? Either way, will post my experience once I take delivery. Good luck!

 

[ChuckMDX]

Got my MDX @ Pohanka in Chantilly, VA. Terrence was very nice and knowledgeable.

 

[britestar]

hmm..

Just put in my order last Sat. 3/23 for delivery in June at Pohanka Acura. Paid the $1000 refundable deposit. They told me that because I am a Costco member and they're part of the Costco auto program, they waived the processing fee $149 and gave me $300 accessories. I thought I got a good deal.

But, after reading your post about getting discount from Radley and more $ accessories from Pohanka.. hmm.. maybe the deal is not as good as I thought.

 

[JLee]

you know if you don't want to wait, some have it in stock....

i know chevy chase acura has a very short list, if any.

no discounts or accessories, but i bought all my stuff through tim, so i saved a couple of hundred bucks anyway


jeff

 

[R Stevens]

I plan to start shopping in the next couple of weeks. Haven't even had a test drive yet. Just did a new car inventory search on the Rosenthal web site and they are showing 16 MDXs w/touring and nav - 5 in my preferred silver color! Can this be true or is it false advertising just to get me there?

 

[JLee]

its false, they always show one of every color i think

your best bet is Chevy Chase acura

when i bought mine they were a new dealer and had no waiting list. driving around though, i've seen lotsa MDXs on lots and i hear they are easier to come by. but 16 ! no way


jeff

 

[mcclendons]

It does not mean they have them in stock. Best I could tell when I was looking was that they were "allocations". They had 5 "allocations" listed on the site, but they were all sold when I called...........This was Oct 01 though.

Give them a call, but do not get too excited yet!