[tmlca818]

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?

 

[tmlca818]

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

 

[tmlca818]

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..

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.

 

[tmlca818]

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

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.

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.