2019 RTL-E Obsidian Blue Pearl
- Dealer located in Northeast Illinois
- Largest Honda dealer in IL (about 30 miles West of Midway Airport)
- 36,579.30 Price of Vehicle including Destination (no trade, no options)
- 179.81 Doc Fee
- 25.00 ERT Fee
- 2,714.89 Sales Tax (7% based on above AND 2,000 Honda to dealer incentive)
- 251.00 State Licence and Title
- 39,750.00 Out-the-door
NOTE: The last 5-digits of the VIN are 31xxx, so destination at that time was $1,045)
Long story: I sent an email inquiry via cargurus to four dealers on the afternoon of Oct 1, requesting a price on a blue RTL-E. These were the only four that appeared in a search within 250 miles or so of my central IL zip. All replied either late Oct 1 or early Oct 2 with prices from 36,757 to just a courtesy email asking me to call. I sent a reply to all four verifying the VIN, their quoted price, the fact that I had contacted multiple dealers, and asked for their best "out-the-door" price with a line-item breakdown so I could do an apples-to-apples comparison (had both IL and IN dealers). The best price at that point was the 36,757 (eventual winning dealer) with 39,940.14 out-the-door. I sent all four my target of 39,750, which the winner agreed. I made a holding/down-payment just before noon on Oct 3, and finished the deal on Oct 5 after a visual inspection and a test drive.
There may have been a little more wiggle room; hard to say; but I was pressed for time (see next paragraph). The sales associate told (and showed) me that, in addition to the 1,500 Honda to dealer incentive (continuing at least through month-end),
there is now another 500 dealer incentive for October. With the RTL-E dealer cost around 38,517 (invoice 38,310 + dest 1,045 - holdback 838) and then the 2,000 incentive, the dealer cost is around 36,517. Then they get the other bonuses, etc.
I was originally going to wait until Spring or Summer of 2020, but an F-150 decided to give some love to my 2013 CR-V. No injuries and still drivable; just damage to most things on the drivers side. According to the insurance adjuster, the love (over $10,800) was 68% of the current value and they have a 65% damage-to-value threshold, so they gave it a Viking funeral and sent it to the salvage auction.
Anything other than white or black RTL-E's are getting rare, with the blue on the endangered species list (scarlet and forest mist are nearly extinct). Desiring the blue, the timing of the above funeral, and a "need" to get a deal done soon pushed me to make a deal quicker than I normally would have. However, considering everything, I am satisfied with the final deal.
The sales rep said they have yet to hear anything about the 2020's. However, with the added incentive, he said they are selling quickly. So (my spin here) ... at some point when the 2019 Ridgeline inventory is low enough and enough other 2020 products have rolled out of Lincoln, AL ... the 2020 Ridgelines have to start rolling off the factory floor.
I hope the above detail and incentive information helps others in their decision-making process!