[armycop]

I've been in the market for a small truck since the refreshed Chevy Colorado came out, then I heard it would get a diesel version.... if you order $6-7K worth of option packages. Then I held out to see the "new" Tacoma redesign, and was underwhelmed with Toyota's conservative "all new" refresh.

Then I saw a few reviews of the new RL. I admit, that I really don't like the styling of the 1st Gen and that was a big reason why it wasn't even on my radar. But when I saw the pictures of the Gen 2, I really liked what I saw. There were 4 of them at the nearest dealer in Olympia, WA and I rushed down to check them out.

I actually like the styling more in person than I did in the photos, it seemed to look more proportioned in the flesh. The dealer had one optioned up with accessories, and I'm glad I got to see some of the accessories in person, I really don't like the look of the "Sport" grille, fender flares, roof rails or the running boards. They kind of had the "tacked on at the last minute look" and didn't integrate well with the modern styling of the Gen 2 RL.

The test drive was incredible, after testing the Colorado and the Tacoma, it was light years more comfortable and quiet. I didn't like the '80's minivan-like armrests, but they did function ok. I was looking for a stripped AWD model, either the RT or RTS, but most of the ones they had were fully loaded upper models. I joked that they would have to discount the heck out of one to fit in my $40K budget, and was flat out told no deals.

Oh well, I'll keep driving my Jeep for another year until the prices start falling on the Gen 2's. I really think the dealer didn't want to sell the ones on the lot so they can have some test mules for everyone. I definitely would choose the new RL over any of the compact trucks.

 

[zroger73]

I think your observations were spot on. Deals can be had on the G2 if you visit enough dealers. Right now, it's probably best to approach a dealer and make a firm, yet reasonable offer. Otherwise, if you ask them "what's the lowest you'll go" they'll tell you MSRP, if not more. I got a relatively good deal because the GM at a local dealer is my neighbor. Someone else here got a heck of a deal due to a dealer pricing error. Those are rare exceptions, however. Many have reported a few hundred dollars off MSRP.

Ridgeline sales have exceeded expectations by a significant margin the last couple of weeks, but many of those sales had been waiting for years. In all likelihood, sales will stabilize over the next few weeks and the numbers will become more meaningful. However, since this is a "filler" vehicle for Honda, they'll decrease production as necessary to prevent a glut of Ridgelines and deep discounts - just as they did with the G1 for a decade, although there were at least a couple of times that Honda offered some nice cash incentives.

Most dealers add overpriced accessories and/or dealer markups to vehicles these days. There are also dozens of additional trim level and color combinations for the G2 compared to the G1 making it significantly more difficult to find exactly the one you want. If you're going to be paying anywhere near MSRP for a G2, you might consider a factory order which will take longer (anywhere from weeks to months), but you'll get exactly what you want, avoid paying for accessories you don't want, and get a vehicle that hasn't been used and abused by customers during test drives. If I were going to pay MSRP, the last thing I would do is settle for any trim level or color combination simply because that's all the dealers had available at the time.

 

[25 Year Honda Owner]

Sad that the Mom and Pop auto dealerships are going away in a hurry. Nothing but the big conglomerates now. My log time Honda dealership was recently gobbled up by one of the big time dealers and first thing I noticed was oil and filter changes doubled in price. The $799 add on for pinstripes, paint sealant, and mud guards is a good indication of a big time multi location dealership.

 

[zroger73]

Yep. That's exactly what happened to my local dealer. I got great deals with little to no haggling when they were owned by a local family. When they sold out to a regional auto group, prices went up and service went down. When they built a huge, new facility and later got bought out by a national auto group asking prices went through the roof and are currently at $3,490 above MSRP on all new Hondas.

 

[speedlever]

asking prices went through the roof and are currently at $3,490 above MSRP on all new Hondas.

Are they actually selling them at those prices? Is there no other Honda dealer around that competes with them?

I'd fly/drive a long way to save that much dough.

 

[zroger73]

Are they actually selling them at those prices? Is there no other Honda dealer around that competes with them?

No way for me to know for sure. My brother bought his first of two Civics there when they charged "only" about 2K over MSRP. He still paid several hundred over MSRP and they almost "got him" on financing. They first came back with 15% "due to his credit", but later were magically able to get him 2.9% through Honda after I grabbed his arm and told him we were going somewhere else. I've also sent two friends there and the dealer wouldn't negotiate below MSRP - they both walked and ended up buying from another dealer.

The closest 2 dealers are an hour away. It's not like Dallas where you have 9 Honda dealers less than an hour away from one another. So, there's not much competition.

You just never know where you're going to end up with the best deal. When I bought the CR-V, the Dallas dealers wouldn't deal, but an isolated dealer in Lufkin, Texas did.

 

[armycop]

I am pretty lucky that the Seattle- Tacoma area has quite a few Honda dealers within an hour from my house. I'm probably still going to wait for all the bugs to be worked out over the next few months and buy one next spring. I just hate dealers that put crazy second stickers on cars with huge markups. I mean they are $30-40,000 vehicles already. Unfortunately most dealers in my area have markups but not as big as $2,999.

 

[zroger73]

I am pretty lucky that the Seattle- Tacoma area has quite a few Honda dealers within an hour from my house. I'm probably still going to wait for all the bugs to be worked out over the next few months and buy one next spring. I just hate dealers that put crazy second stickers on cars with huge markups. I mean they are $30-40,000 vehicles already. Unfortunately most dealers in my area have markups but not as big as $2,999.

I'm not overly concerned with buying early. The G1 was pretty good its first year. Honda is generally somewhat decent about addressing the rare design problem - even if it takes a while (like the vibration issues in the 2015 CR-V). Most of the G2 (engine, transmission, interior) has already been on the road for over a year now as the 2016 Pilot. Most of the issues popping up so far on the G2 have been trim or minor mechanical issues which are easy to fix. As has been said before, I'd rather have a first-year Honda than a last-year GM.