[jefff]

I'm working with six dealers within a 200-mile radius on getting a '19 CR-V EX-L 2WD. We know we want white with ivory interior.

I asked, via email, for them to send me a offer. Only two have. Most reply with "We'll match your best offer. Come on in".

I remind them I am 2 1/2 hours away and I would prefer working out a deal via email before coming in.

My questions are this:

1. What is a fair price for this car? I got to kbb.org and see the invoice is $28,918 and MSRP is $30,745. I live in Tennessee and tax is crazy high but should be OTD around $31,150. So far, the lowest offer has been $31,745 and that is eliminating the dealer package they put on it (pinstripping, cargo mat). I want to be realistic but get a fair deal.

2. Why do dealers not want to negotiate online? I know they think all I'll do is take their offer and go to the next time but I could do that anyway and waste hours they can be selling to someone else. It just seems like it's pulling teeth to get a fair deal.

Thanks for any tips in advance.

 

[Deckard]

I think your problem is your choice of white/white. They seem to be far and few between. I live in an area surrounded by Honda dealers and there are no 2019 EX-L FWD white/white CRVs in the thousand or so cars on the lots. Also 2018s seem to outnumber the 2019s in inventory.

Best bet is to go to all your dealers' websites and see what they have on the lot. Those are the cars they will negotiate on. If you really want white/white, you'll have to cast a wider net.

FWIW, I shopped via email for my 2018 EX-L AWD with Nav. Emailed 12 dealers in the area, got responses from about 10, managed to get detailed OTD quotes from 4, the rest were worthless... wouldn't read my emails, called and would not give an OTD price, yada, yada. However I saved $3,225 off MSRP by playing those 4 dealers off each other. But I initially only emailed dealers who had the EX-L I wanted on their lot.

 

[BigD]

At my suggestion my older and naive sister, who was 2000 miles from her home, tried the online offers way to buy a new Honda. She wanted it for when she got home. She immediately got a great offer and they requested a $1000 to hold the CR-V. Just as she was getting ready to mail out the deposit check they called and said "woops, there was a mistake in the quote and the CR-V would be $1200 higher". Said she would have to think about it and about 5 hours later they called and said "woops, we made another mistake and the V was now another $1,200 higher but it is still a great deal". She told them they needed to get a new calculator and she would not do business with them.

The second dealer quoted a price close the the first dealer's third offer. Then they came down a $1000 since she said she was paying cash for it. BUT then they demanded 100% of the price up front sight unseen to hold it!

The third dealer gave her a good price and she sent them a $500 to hold it. They said they needed a week to prep the car. She flew home a week later and as she was driving to the dealer for her appointment they called her and said "Woops, we accidently sold your car...but don't worry, we have 'ordered one specially built just for you to be made in JAPAN and they are shipping it directly to you' ! "It will take about 3 weeks!" They gave her a cheap loaner car and 3 weeks later they said "it will take a bit longer since it was being specially shipped just for you, but here is the VIN number." She sent me the VIN and I checked it out and told her it wasn't coming from Japan but it was built in OHIO! She called the salesman and he told her I was wrong and didn't know what I was talking about. She called me back and said "why would a salesman lie to me?" I sent her a few web sites and told her to just plug in the VIN number and see for herself. Then when she finally got the car I told her to check out the door jam to see where the car was actually made.

Then the kicker, she did not rate the dealer very high in a survey, and the salesman called her at her home one night and told her he lost all of the commision on the sale and could be fired because of her! She called me all upset that he might lose his job. I told her as long as she told the truth on the survey not to worry about it any longer.

 

[jefff]

Thanks for the reply.

I do see this particular color combo on the websites of most I've contacted so, hopefully, that's not an issue.

What I'm seeing is no one wants to send me a OTD quote and, in this day and age, just don't understand why. Maybe this car is in such demand, they don't have to.

Right now, the best I have is about $2,055 off MSRP but then they add a $699 doc fee. I'd love to get this closer to $3,000 off but might be dreaming.

 

[Rangerusa1111]

I just bought a new 2018 EX-L FWD in the Houston area for $ 26,911.28 with a GPS Theft Device, Wheel Locks, and a Honda Pro Pack. I did not want any of that, but it was on the vehicle. My OTD price was $ 29,319. I used three dealers and dealt directly with the Sales managers. One quoted me OTD at $ 28,866 but they were about 90 miles away and I did not want any issues with my CRV trade in. The dealer I did trade in with undercut my trade by about a $ 1,000 which I expect when trading with a dealer. They tried all the financial office add ons but, I just stood firm like at a Timeshare presentation.