3 Strikes in 8 minutes!

[Outfitter]

Originally Posted by MikeT

Outfitter, you have to admit that you do look "just" a little gullible

I wasn't even wearing camo and bib overalls.
I bet you guessed which dealership this was. They had Civics marked up to the Ridgeline RTL's prices. Thiefs and crooks, I tell ya.

[25 Year Honda Owner]

Originally Posted by Outfitter

I'm mad at you 25!
Because of you I violated my self imposed rule of not going to a dealership before I had the deal I wanted in hand. I just had to see the DCP up close.
It is very sharp and may be a contender!
No more help please.

My only problem with the DCP is that it water spots really bad. Even worse than black!!

[Outfitter]

Originally Posted by 25 Year Honda Owner

My only problem with the DCP is that it water spots really bad. Even worse than black!!

You must have really hard water also. Thats why I have been sticking to whites & golds mostly on the TL's and the current Silver Ridgeline.

[Sparkland]

I love my DCP RL. It does water spot easily but any of the darker colors will. I initially wanted the Nimbus gray--but with the interior also gray--that was too much of one color. They look sharp though. Would have taken the DCP with a gray interior IF Honda had offered it.

Hope you are able to wade through all those "lies" and get the truck you want.

Brad

[Tcape]

I really liked the salesperson (lady) who sold me my RL, but she sure didn't know too much about Ridgelines. I knew more about the truck than she did. But she was very honest, and even told me I could get an aftermarket tonneau cheaper than the Honda OEM one. (Which I did...Retrax.) I really appreciated the way she handled the sale, and would sure buy from her again. (Lumberton Honda in Lumberton, NC.)

This lady had never even heard of the ROC, so I told her all about it, and she was amazed that a group like this existed. She seemed excited about passing this info on to her customers and potential customers, but don't know if she actually has done it or not. She could be thinking that she doesn't want customers showing up knowing too much!

As for dealers who tell 3 lies in less than 10 minutes.....I'd SURE call the dealership owner and tell him/her about that. The lies have to come from either ignorance (unforgivable for a salesperson), or just outright lying (even more unforgivable). Just your civic duty to expose this.

[djeaux]

There is a difference between salesmen who don't do their homework & the liars. Outfitter was up against a liar.

However, I'd cut him some slack about when the 2009s will arrive. He may well have been told "around the first of the year" which actually seems about right to me. If production is moving in November to Alabama, I doubt that dealerships in Texas will see significant numbers of '09s before January.

Same thing with the colors & body changes. He may not have known (unless he's seen the sneak pictures here on the ROC ) Of course, he did cover with an answer that would imply you ought to buy now & not wait.

But the incentive question should count for three strikes by itself. Salesmen know about incentives. My experience is that the dealerships where there's a lot of competition among the salesmen, there's a tendency to lie about incentives, hold-backs, etc. They also have a lot of turnover in the sales staff & are almost always advertising for salesmen.

That's my advice for choosing a dealership: Look at how long the average salesman has been working there. If there are salesmen that have been selling Honda vehicles for 10, 15, or 20 years, it's a clear cue. These are guys whose personal reputations depend on how they conduct business. They aren't fast talkers in between jobs or looking to make fast money off their Rolodexes.

Personally, I think it's better to spend a few hundred bucks more to support a business that's run the way it ought to be.

[Outfitter]

Originally Posted by Tcape

I really liked the salesperson (lady) who sold me my RL, but she sure didn't know too much about Ridgelines. I knew more about the truck than she did. But she was very honest, and even told me I could get an aftermarket tonneau cheaper than the Honda OEM one. (Which I did...Retrax.) I really appreciated the way she handled the sale, and would sure buy from her again. (Lumberton Honda in Lumberton, NC.)

This lady had never even heard of the ROC, so I told her all about it, and she was amazed that a group like this existed. She seemed excited about passing this info on to her customers and potential customers, but don't know if she actually has done it or not. She could be thinking that she doesn't want customers showing up knowing too much!

As for dealers who tell 3 lies in less than 10 minutes.....I'd SURE call the dealership owner and tell him/her about that. The lies have to come from either ignorance (unforgivable for a salesperson), or just outright lying (even more unforgivable). Just your civic duty to expose this.

A good knowledgeable salesperson seems to be getting harder to find. One that admits he doesn't know the answer to something is even rarer. That's why dealing over the Internet is so appealing and saves wasting time in front of some dufus on the lot.
I miss the Acura salesperson I dealt with (retired) We had doing business down to a science. He knew what I would want, how I would want it accessorized and when I would be ready for a new one. Never any surprises and I was always within a couple hundred dollars of what I knew was about the best available. He sold us a Legend, 3 TL's and a MDX.
djeaux hit it on the head, definately worth a couple bucks for the trust factor.
What I wouldn't give to have him back for one more deal.

[brich]

Great story Outfitter....
Reminds me of my fun here in this post:
Gary Flint's Ridgeline for sale!!

[OwnerCS]

Originally Posted by Outfitter

I wasn't even wearing camo and bib overalls.
I bet you guessed which dealership this was. They had Civics marked up to the Ridgeline RTL's prices. Thiefs and crooks, I tell ya.

Bubba - If you come up here wearing your Big Smith overalls and a Mossy Oak cammo cap, I gua-ron-tee we we'll get you a deal. You just need to be ready to do some horse tradin.

[djeaux]

Originally Posted by OwnerCS

Bubba - If you come up here wearing your Big Smith overalls and a Mossy Oak cammo cap, I gua-ron-tee we we'll get you a deal. You just need to be ready to do some horse tradin.

They'll treat you just like all their other customers!

(Remember, the toothbrush was invented at the University of Arkansas. Otherwise, it'd have been a teethbrush! )