ILX Pricing: What'd You Pay and How Low Will Dealers Go With Year-End Pricing?

I think you sound like an Acura dealer or Acura salesperson.

Sure, good prices will seldom come to someone just waiting for the dealer to put a new "Sale!" price out on the car. But there's this activity called "negotiating" that's worked well in the past for me and for many others - doesn't sound like you've heard of it, though. A $1000 price drop is all that's "justified" on this car? You definitely are affiliated with Acura or an Acura dealership, or else you paid too much for your car and the only "justification" going on here is your attempts to convince yourself and others that you didn't.

I saw that someone else already posted here that they paid something like $27,700 for their 2.4l and another person said they were able to beat that price with some incentives. And then I went back and saw that the person who paid that $2,500 under sticker price on his 2.4l was named Trentimus. What kind of nonsense are you trying to feed me? This is not how moderators act on any forum I've ever visited before. For someone who is supposed to be bettering this forum, you seem to be oblivious to the concept that candor and consistency toward new members encourages them to become active, participating, and valuable regular members of the site.

Trentimus said:

Wow.. that was a really hostile response. You asked my opinion on the pricing, and I shared. I am in no way affliated with Acura nor any dealership. I was stating my opinion based on many cars on the market. I said "I think that"..

I paid 27,700 for my 2.4L due to an issue with my previous vehicle the dealer sold me; which was their fault.. There is no reason to be hostile.

Otherwise, I am sorry you feel so strongly about the pricing of the ILX and my response to your question.

Click to expand...

I made a genuine inquiry on this forum asking for real-world information. What you gave me not only did not resemble real-world information, it appeared to be both pro-dealership and highly inconsistent with what you had posted here in another thread. I did not feel that my legitimate inquiry was being treated in a reasonable fashion.

I am confident that in the last few days of the year, virtually anyone can negotiate virtually any dealer of any make of cars down by more than $1,000 on practically any car that's not a new, high demand model. But we're not talking about a high demand model, we're talking about the ILX, a car that is underselling by a relatively huge amount - at least a third lower sales than expected. At year's end, dealers very much want to get cars off their lot so they can avoid paying insurance, financing and taxes on cars plus try to make manufacturer's dealer sales quotas. A year ago, my local Lexus dealer had a new, prior model year IS250 (a semi-comparable car to the ILX) that they were trying to dump and had cut its price from around $35,000 to $27,000 during the last week of the year. Similarly, a friend bought a brand new 2011 Murano last summer for more than $9,000 off the sticker price. Why such big discounts? People didn't want older cars, they viewed them as less desirable than current model year cars (notwithstanding that they were brand new and essentially identical with the current year vehicles) and the dealers did not want them sitting on their lots for such an extended period of time. While the ILX is a current model year car, it also is not viewed by the public as a desireable car at its price point (otherwise it would at least meet, if not exceed, sales expectations) and my local dealer has had ILXs sitting on his lot unsold for months. Additionally, Honda has been hurting financially from loss of production from the tsunami and from declining interest in its Acura luxury division and while the plants are back in full production now, unquestionably Honda would like to see a boost in sales more than they normally would. Accordingly, it is reasonable to assume that Acura dealers in general, and mine in particular, will be willing to give very significant discounts to move ILXs off their lots in the next two week.

As for the special circumstances surrounding your discount, Trentimus, why would you not have stated those circumstances in your original post? You made it seem as if that was the price you were able to negotiate under normal circumstances. Were you threatening or implying you might sue the dealer? If not, then your special discount wasn't unique to you or your circumstances and a dealer would have sold the car to someone else at that price if they bargained hard enough. Years ago I chatted for over an hour with a car salesman (worked at Nissan, Infiniti, and Porche-Audi dealerships) who was a client of a friend and he opened my eyes about car sales practices. That salesman who treated you with such respect and made you feel like such a valued customer? He's the slickest conman on the staff and he's the one getting the biggest laughs out at the bar with the other salesmen when he talks about "this guy thinks we have a 'real rapport!' "

Additionally, Trentimus' claim that the ILX's pricing is "justified" - i.e. provides more than adequate value for the high sticker prices - is a rare opinion. I've talked to at least eight friends who are into cars and all of them think the ILX is overpriced at its MSRP. Look on any of the car magazine online forums and, ignoring the frequent posts from juvenile fanboi-types, one would have a very hard time finding anyone who thinks that Acura's sticker prices for the ILX represents a good value. And of course that brings us back to the previous point: if the car is such a "good value" at its current pricing, why is it selling so poorly? It's not all about the lack of promotion (which is somewhat to blame).

Given all of these factors, it thus did not appear to me that Trentimus took my initial post seriously, hence my annoyed tone.

And let me reiterate that despite having made some negative points about the ILX, I do like the car and it's on my 3-4 car short list of ones I am contemplating purchasing in the next few weeks. I was simply making points that I think justify why a dealer might be convinced to give a significant discount on one of these Acuras.

Lol.. you sure do insert a lot subjective statements and assumptions via verbose.

You're talking in circles, you're attacking me because you don't feel like I gave you what you wanted? It's unwarranted you wanna know why? I am not your salesman nor am I your momma.. I really don't care what you feel/think.

Maybe you should go buy a Corvette or a Mercedes.. it would fit your ego much better. unk:

** oh and now I can't take anything you say seriously. **

I really shouldn't ask but since you know so much about car sales and I am obviously a fanboi with an utterly ridiculous opinion...


Why is the dealer going to be willing to lose so much money on selling you the car? Are you poor with your credit so the rate will be high? Are you buying every accessory they have available? Bumper to bumper warranty? Dealer service package? Please enlighten me.. What is the residue value on a car like this going to be? It's the first generation but you can tell the dealer what it is right (no not a projection)? You can walk into a dealer and get $5,000 dollars off a first year, first generation car? If so, why aren't you a car purchase negotiator?What is the dealer invoice? What is the value the dealer gets from selling you the vehicle without Honda sponsering the incentive discount? I now have so many questions for you.. I doubt you have any facts to respond with. How about YOU think about those things before YOU get "annoyed" by someone elses opinion, because your banter is just that.. an opinion..

Don't come onto this forum and start off with all your posts being negative.. it's not a good look. I'd rather be a fanboi than a complete jerk. (I am pointing at you)

And, you don't know the nature of my car purchase or anything to do with what happened so you can assume all you want, it's still and assumption.



And, now to wait for his response full of verbose.

You can try other dealerships to get a better price. If you don't like the price on the ILX and you don't think it's worth it.. Dont buy it.

I dont think its a very popular car to begin with so I don't blaim you.

If you see the value in the Verano go for it. Personally I don't see value in the BRAND. Haven't seen many Buicks last very long. The K24 and 2.0 liter in the ILX is pretty reliable and simple. For me as important as features and pricing is.. I also look at the cars drivetrain reliability and performance over a long period of time. I've worked at a Mercedes dealership and a Honda dealership and I can tell you that I see many beat up Hondas that still run well but I don't see many beat up Mercedes that run well.

Acuras are for people who want a more upscale japanese car over Honda or Toyota or Nissan.

That is why there is Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus.

Are these 3 japanese luxury brands better than the german counterparts? Depends what you call better. Generally performance and quality is better from the germans but reliability and long term cost is what brings them down.

All the Detroit brands are aggressive by offering great pricing, great financing, lots of features, and much better on gas. Sounds like a great package but remember all of these changes were recent. Look back 10 years and these american cars were not well featured and not good on gas either. I'll have faith in the American manufacturers 10 years from now when their cars persist the abuse and mileage and continue to be reliable, hold good resale value, have working features, and are still good on gas.

Catch my drift?

There are other things to consider apart from price and features when you shop for cars... That is something I always teach people who are looking at buying a new car. You have to know what you are getting yourself into.

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The ILX isn't my first choice. I think the Jetta GLI is a more fun car to drive, it's got more useable space for both passengers and cargo, I like the way it looks better, and it costs less. However, Acuras tend to be more reliable than VWs, their dealers give a higher level of service including free loaner cars, it gets a few MPG better mileage, and it is rather irksome for VW to charge a premium to upgrade from cloth seats to "leatherette," i.e. vinyl (but no, the GLI doesn't have the cheaper Jettas' stripped interior -its dash is comparable to the pre-2011 Jettas).

I think the smart car to buy might be the 2013 Accord with a V6. It drives more like a family sedan than the ILX on twisty roads, but it's a heck of a lot faster than any ILX (or pretty much any 4-door car getting better than 30mpg short of a Tesla S - the one I drove last month felt pretty much as fast as a WRX I drove a few years ago), it's reliable, will retain its value, is roomier all-around, and, as the saying goes, "you'll never go wrong buying an Accord." I think a V6 Accord gives more value for the money than an ILX. It just won't be as fun to drive - I like the paddle shifters on the Acuras.

My wife hasn't driven an ILX yet, perhaps she won't like it and it may be that joining this website will serve me no useful purpose in the long run. But I think the car does have potential and was quite a bit better car to drive than the car magazine reviews claimed. If my wife likes the ILX and we decide to pursue one, I'll flat-out tell the Acura salesperson that it's not my first choice, I'll have no regrets walking away, and the only way I'll buy one is if I get a significant discount. And hopefully if I buy something else, I won't find myself in that other dealer's service department too frequently, having regrets.