In my experience, you can negotiate with both but since both cars are in demand, be prepared to pay way over dealer's invoice. When I bought my 03 MDX, I paid roughly close to $2,000 over dealer's invoice. This was against my practice but like I said before, the MDX was the perfect car for my family. In my experience, you can negotiate better with the Pilot and probably pay closer to the dealer's invoice than an MDX. By the way, I bought mine through the Internet. I did not even see the actual car until I arrived at the dealer to pick it up. I test drove a few then decided on what we liked. Go out and test drive both cars. Once you've made a choice, ask for several qoutes through the Internet. Negotiate through the Internet and get the best price. Internet saves you the hassle of going to the dealer and bargaining. **Be sure you negotiate starting with the dealer's invoice then up or down. With the two cars, I doubt if you can get it below dealer's invoice or even close to it. Good luck.

 

But the Lexuses (Lexi? ) have HID's as an option...

Jean

 

There are aftermarket kits for the MDX to convert to HID's. I'd bet the 2005 model will have them standard, however (just a guess.)

 

I thought all aftermarket kits were banned by the DOT???

 

The MDX has great lease deal right now. I believe it's like $399 a month and hands down the Acura is much nicer than the Pilot. IMHO.

 

Actually, the GX and LX do NOT have HID's, even as an option. The RX330 does, but not the 2 larger truck based SUV's from Lexus.


Back to the main point, dealers around Chicago always seem to have a ton of MDX's and Pilots in stock, so I'm sure they're dealing now, especially since they've been out for a while now.

 

I think it depends on your income, and priorities. The pilot wasn't out when I bought my MDX. I decided to drive the MDX to the Honda dealer for grins/comparisons. At the end, I decided that I preferred the exterior styling, interior styling, luxury(power seats/memory seats/moonroof) in the MDX. I felt that if I had to do it all over again I would get the MDX. JMO

btw, couple of things to think about. The 2003+ MDX has the redesigned 5 sp automatic which is more reliable than the pilot tranny. The 2001-2002 MDX, and the Pilot tranny is based on the last gen. Accord trannys which were infamous for the 1.6 % tranny failures. Though there have only been a couple of MDX trannmissions that have failed(based on acuramdx.org) , it might affect your decision. Also, remember that the Acura has a 4yr/50k warranty. The honda is a 3/36. The 265 hp engine has plenty of pep. I'm sure scot is being fecitious when he states that it is barely adequate. 0- 60 in less than 8 secs for a SUV is pretty darn good. While I am at it, the MDX and the Pilot require power steering coolers and tranny coolers for towing greater than 2000lbs. This is pure BS, and makes the Pilot/MDX a fancy station wagon IMHO.

btw, the MDX doesn't have HIDS. However, there are plenty of kits/group buys in acuramdx.org. I had a MDX- it got stolen and burnt by some punks. My sister bought a MDX 6 months ago based on my experience and absolutely luves it. She got nailed by some guy with no insurance last month- the car took a big hit($7k), but she didn't have a scratch on her.

 

[QUOTE=MDXLuvr,Aug 11 2004, 10:14 PM] I think it depends on your income, and priorities.

 

here are some prices by my local dealer.. how do they look?

...btw they would not give me prices thru email for the Pilot which leads me to believe they are not dealing on them.

2004 MDX MSRP is $36,945

Your Internet price by Appointment is: $34,336


2004 MDX MSRP Touring Package is $39,545

Your Internet price by Appointment is: $36,677



2004 MDX Touring/RES MSRP is $41,045

Your Internet price by Appointment is: $38,027


2004 MDX Touring/Navigation MSRP is $41,745

Your Internet price by Appointment is $38,657


2004 MDX Touring/RES/Navigation MSRP $43,245

Your Internet Price by Appointment is $40,007

 

[QUOTE=y2ks2k,Aug 12 2004, 07:56 AM] I agree, I did the same thing. The differences between the $30000 top model Pilot and $35000 lower model MDX are well worth the $5K. But it is about finances, if you cant afford $35000 the you buy the Pilot, its the same rig, its just doesn