Jetfire

Hey all,
My wife and I bought a Civic at Leesburg Honda about six weeks ago, and lately I've been thinking aobut replacing my current ride (Pontiac Grand Prix) with an S2000. Would Leesburg be more willing to cut me a discount than a dealer with a history of offering S2Ks below MSRP, like Sport?

Of all the cars I've been considering, I think the s2k fits my needs and situation the best for now. The hard part is choosing a color.

moonpie

You'd think they would treat former customers better, but in my experience they don't. At least Rosenthal Honda in Tysons didn't treat me any better even after I bought a 2001 Odyssey EX. The bastards wouldn't even start off at MSRP for the S, so I went elsewhere. Good luck!

LIL RAJA

I agree with MOONPIE. To me it's almost a disadvantage cuz they know ur style of negoitating and will throw you a curve ball. I have purchased cars from College Park Honda, Landmark Honda, Rosenthal Honda & Hendrick Honda. To me none has done a decent job to come back and buy from them. And when I did go back, their discounts made me laugh on their face. Which is funny cuz no one can be as rude as me and ridicule them in front of their face. But at the end of the night I end up getting what I want.

Just do your research and if all else fails, hire me cuz I am a professional negotiater and for a small monatary value - I will do all your work. :-)

Especially with the weather warming up, it's gonna be even harder to get a good deal. What color r u looking for? And yeah u gonna love this lil car, it's a monster. :-)

LIL Raja

JAZZEDS2K

Here's a little story (true story) about the mind set of "many"car salesmen:

I have and old childhood friend that sold cars for several years. One day, I went to him for a price on a new car (I believe it was an '88 Toyota Supra). Anyway, he wanted a couple of grand more than a deal I got from a perfect stranger.

When confronted, my buddy says "Hey, it's only $20 more per month, and since we're friends, you should be willing to pay more so I can earn a good commission"

So if they think you like them, they may very well think that you appreciate thier service enough to pay a little more for your next car.

As a salesman, I have to be honest and tell you, I feel the same way. So often you have to give away the store to get a deal. Your freinds and repeate customers who appreciate your service and attention to their needs "are" those who you would expect not to beat you up over price.

HOWEVER: I deal with Corporate sales, not with peoples own money. I guess that is the difference. It's easier for someone to pay a little more for something when it's not "their" money.

xviper

In the world of big business, companies will spend millions trying to secure "new" business, but hardly anything to keep "old" business. Treat every deal on its own merits. Go to every dealer you can, including your old one. You'll probably find that your old dealer has already taken you for granted to some extent but a new one may go the extra effort to "get" you.

rocketman

buy your car from whichever dealer gives you the best price.

get your car serviced at whatever dealer treats you best:

- I bought my S2000 at Herson's in Rockville, but I take it to Jim Coleman in Clarksburg (Clarksville???) for service mainly because of Eddie, but I have found everybody in the service dept. to be nice

- we bought my wife's car at Herb Gordon (in the autopark off rt. 29), but take it for service to Euro motorcars in Bethesda: Herb Gordon gave us a great deal, but the first time we needed warranty service (for something that was a potential safety hazard) they said it would take two days to get it into the shop; we called Euro and they expressed concern about the problem and got us in right away.

Red 8683

Apparently my local Honda dealer does not care about repeat business. If he did, he would improve his service department.

After my last trip there (and I emphasize the word LAST) I expressed a complaint about the quality of the service and I made a comment that "if they can't even change the oil without screwing up, what's going to happen when I need something major done to the car?"

Their reply was "we hope we can do better next time."

And I am a customer who has bought 5 new cars from them since 1997, and my daughter has bought 3 new cars there since 1996 (two in the same month....don't ask!)

Dealing with that service department has been like

dkhl

I actually got a better deal when i returned to my first Honda Dealer. I asked a new sales person what the price for the 2002 would be, and he sake 36,500. I said ok.... and i left. A few days later, the Internet Manager called me to tell me the car arrived and would i like to see it. I said sure... and met him. The sales manager came out, and he recongnized me. He started talking about price, and i mentioned that my family has bought four cars from them, i think i am a value customer.

He said... "you're right". and gave the car to me at MSRP. Gave me a good/fair price on my trade and i was happy.