Is anybody else struck by how bad/nonexistent the marketing has been for this car? I’ve dealt with multiple dealers who don’t want to come down off of a price that’s grossly marked up from the MSRP. Even the ones that have it listed at MSRP end up trying to do that dealer thing where they add a lot of extras on at the last minute and hope you won’t get up and leave. According to their online inventory and what I’ve anecdotally seen driving by, none of these multiple dealers have sold a single Passport . Is there a longer-term strategy here that I am not fully grasping? Is there a reason that Honda would want these dealers to just sit on these vehicles?
Top 10 Reasons to Buy the 2019 Honda Passport
This is a Honda promo piece.
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I think that if you're in the market for this kind of vehicle or something remotely similar (in size or features), then you're going to know about the Passport. YouTube channels reviewing other makes and models have mentioned the Passport. Pilot and CR-V forums have mentioned the Passport. Honda will do marketing when they need to.
Perhaps you’re right, and perhaps it’s just far too early in the release cycle to really make a judgment at all. I know anecdotally that I have not seen a single passport out in the wild, and I’ve been looking. Maybe they just aren’t selling that much in Southern California and more so elsewhere
Hey tm, you are dead on my friend, I'm in So. Cal. too and I have been checking at least 5 dealers around me and they might have sold a couple between the 5 of them in 3 weeks! Honda World Westminster had 30 (while most dealers have between 4 and 7) and I just saw it go down to 29 over the weekend.
You can use this to your advantage: I sent an email to two dealers that both had the model/color I wanted and I told them what I was willing to pay (Invoice + $300) with NO added accessories and told them I was willing to wait until May and that they might be more willing to meet my price after the car has been sitting on the lot for 90-100 days! OH and BOTH called me back and seem somewhat willing to deal, but them are both over an hour away from me, so I may know more come next weekend..
Dealers KNOW these are not selling and I think Honda has mis-calculated its sales target- 30-somethings are NOT flocking to the dealers to gobble them up...!
You can use this to your advantage: I sent an email to two dealers that both had the model/color I wanted and I told them what I was willing to pay (Invoice + $300) with NO added accessories and told them I was willing to wait until May and that they might be more willing to meet my price after the car has been sitting on the lot for 90-100 days! OH and BOTH called me back and seem somewhat willing to deal, but them are both over an hour away from me, so I may know more come next weekend..
Dealers KNOW these are not selling and I think Honda has mis-calculated its sales target- 30-somethings are NOT flocking to the dealers to gobble them up...!
BTW: nice video, gocheckout the comment I left under it, I'm sure you'll be able to figure out which one is mine..lol
I’ve gone on in to three dealerships so far. All said they were “willing to work with my number” ( I told him I wanted to work with the MSRP as the out the door price, so around $40,000, for a fwd Touring). I wasn’t pushy at all, and said I was more than willing to wait a few months if they couldn’t do it for my price, but I was well aware of the fact that they haven’t sold a single Passport yet (which they all confirmed). All three of them immediately changed their stories once I got there and sat down (every dealer trick came out; hidden fees, extra taxes, non discountable accessories, “I checked with my manager and he won’t let it go for that price, but he will for $45,000”). At this point I’m feeling so burnt by manipulative Honda car dealers that I am looking much more seriously at the Subaru Forrester or Ascent.You can use this to your advantage: I sent an email to two dealers that both had the model/color I wanted and I told them what I was willing to pay (Invoice + $300) with NO added accessories and told them I was willing to wait until May and that they might be more willing to meet my price after the car has been sitting on the lot for 90-100 days! OH and BOTH called me back and seem somewhat willing to deal, but them are both over an hour away from me, so I may know more come next weekend..
Don't blame the Passport. Most(not all dealers) play that game. I would simply boycott that dealer. When I get that treatment I ask for the GM, and tell him the antics of the sales team cost them a sale. and yes, last time that happened I drove 50 miles to another dealerAt this point I’m feeling so burnt by manipulative Honda car dealers that I am looking much more seriously at the Subaru Forrester or Ascent.
tm and everyone else, have you used Car Gurus.com?
You can look for the exact model and color you want 10, 20, 50, 100 miles within your zip code, look for someone who has a discount on your model and then EMAIL your dealer with them info. Tell them you will ONLY buy from them if they can match...
You can look for the exact model and color you want 10, 20, 50, 100 miles within your zip code, look for someone who has a discount on your model and then EMAIL your dealer with them info. Tell them you will ONLY buy from them if they can match...
When I re-read my post it sounds like I need a therapy session, haha. I just dealt with some particularly manipulative salesmen in a row which makes me feel pretty burnt about the whole thing.Don't blame the Passport. Most(not all dealers) play that game. I would simply boycott that dealer. When I get that treatment I ask for the GM, and tell him the antics of the sales team cost them a sale. and yes, last time that happened I drove 50 miles to another dealer
StevenD, I’ll check out that site, maybe I’ll have some better luck, but I am going to test drive a number of other cars again. I’ve loved the look and the idea of the Passport from when I first saw it. But, for a car that slots between the CRV (Touring around $33,500) and the Pilot (Touring around $42,500), $40,000 for a Passport always seemed on the high end for what you get. Maybe that’s just me and I need to adjust my personal expectations.
Whoa! Just saw the first Passport commercial on TV this morning.
I don't think those are the stock wheels in the snow scene.
They
Is anybody else struck by how bad/nonexistent the marketing has been for this car? I’ve dealt with multiple dealers who don’t want to come down off of a price that’s grossly marked up from the MSRP. Even the ones that have it listed at MSRP end up trying to do that dealer thing where they add a lot of extras on at the last minute and hope you won’t get up and leave. According to their online inventory and what I’ve anecdotally seen driving by, none of these multiple dealers have sold a single Passport . Is there a longer-term strategy here that I am not fully grasping? Is there a reason that Honda would want these dealers to just sit on these vehicles?[/QUOT
They are only making 45k of them this year. It's just a test balloon to see if they sell without much of a push...and if people are crazy enough to pay more for the Passport then the Pilot they will continue making them. But I don't think they have visions of selling a ton of these vehicles. Make a few, sell them high.
I doubt the Passport will be around more than a few years. That is , unless they make significant changes to it.
OMG - I'm trading in my 2017 HR-V for a 2019 Passport Sport tomorrow. I have not seen a SINGLE Honda Passport in real life. It's the reason I chose it over the CR-V....I see 100 per day. All the reliability of a Honda with the exclusivitiy of a Bugati.Perhaps you’re right, and perhaps it’s just far too early in the release cycle to really make a judgment at all. I know anecdotally that I have not seen a single passport out in the wild, and I’ve been looking. Maybe they just aren’t selling that much in Southern California and more so elsewhere
(WELCOME!): Quite a few Passport owners here previously drove CR-V's...!
Also, quite a few PP owners that previously drove Pilots too!
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