Anyone shop/buy an Ody (EX-L with DVD) lately?

[JMS]

I eventually need a new car but have been all over the place trying to make a decision. I'm pretty much set on an Ody. I was planning on waiting for and buying the 2011, b/c I like the redesign, or if I don't, then trying to get a deal on a 2010 leftover.
Well, today I got something in the mail from my local Honda dealership about a special "deal", more likely a gimmick :)
I purchased a 2004 Pilot from them new and they are having this three day "special" loyalty sale with low prices and high trade ins. I plan to check it out but I'm skeptical. It would have to be a great deal to make me jump and also decide not to sell my Pilot privately.

So I'm wondering what bottom line prices people in the Ody market have been getting?
Thanks!!!

[codex57]

Be skeptical.

Check the forums on edmunds.com Yesterday, there was a thread on Ody prices. Still, things didn't look that great in the couple of pages I read. My BIL told me now's not a great time to buy cuz dealers sold off a lot of stock due to cash for clunkers. He's a shop foreman for a huge Toyota dealer, but that should still apply to Honda as well. He told me to wait for the redesign and see how we like it before pulling the trigger one way or another.

[AnnieW625]

I highly recommend going through the internet/fleet sales departments of dealers in your area and a credit union if you are a member. I also really liked Carsdirect.com for prices. I have a 2006 Honda Pilot EX-L (no nav or dvd) and I paid just over $26,000 new for my car, it's MSRP was $32,500 IIRC. It was the most painless process ever. I used the CU auto service for a price, Carsdirect and Edmunds (never actually requested a quote from them though), and one dealer near us a friend recommended. If I was to do it over again I'd most likely get quotes from a few other dealers, but since I did the ground work with Carsdirect.com, and Edmunds (I found Edmunds.com price to be a bit highter than CarsDirect) I felt like I was getting the best deal I could find. So don't ever let anyone tell you can't find a Honda on sale. Also right now if there are still any available you'll most likely get the best deal on the 2009 Odysseys.

Now for the dealer program I'd check to see what you can get if you sold the car outright yourself (highly recommend Auto Trader; we've sold two cars this way and it was painless) vs. what you can get at the dealer using KBB.com . Unless you are trading in a lease you are going to get more money for selling a car on your own than dealing with the dealer.

I will say however that I highly doubt that the Odyssey was a high seller because of Cash For Clunkers because the city miles only average around 19 to 21 and I think and you had to get 22 or better I think and more than 28 on the highway, Odyssey gets around 23-25 like the Pilot with zero traffic. I am happy if I get 21 though because I do a mix of city and highway w/traffic commuting.

[codex57]

It's not that the Ody was a big seller from Clunkers, it's just that the program depleted dealer stock in general. Most dealers didn't rush to replenish cuz the Clunkers program gave them the incentives they needed to move iron in this market. Without the incentives to offer and low stock on hand, a lot of them are just riding out this slow period.

Right now, if you look, the factory incentives aren't anything special. Your dealer may have his own sale (high trade in value is really the only thing I can think of they could offer), but nationally, Honda (and Toyota) don't have a special sale going on.

I use carsdirect.com too, but I always make the dealer beat carsdirect. Otherwise, I'd just buy from them.

And you never look at MSRP. The way to judge a car deal is how far from invoice it goes. With rebates, you can easily go under invoice for some cars. Dealers can sell at that price and still make money from something called "holdback." Ody is a hot seller tho so I dunno if you can go under invoice. That's why I say check the Edmunds forums and see if people have gotten at invoice or under and at what period in time.