I've made calls to a number of dealerships and have things lined up to visit four or five of them on Saturday. By visiting them it will let them know that I'm serious. I will offer them invoice, but no more. If at the end of the day I don't have a car at invoice, I will go home. Next week I'll call each dealership one at a time (starting with the one I like best and ending with the one that was most disrespectful, tried the most mind tricks, had bad breath, etc.) and up my offer by $200. If none bite, then I'll repeat the process in $200 increments until one does or I determine that they need to hold on to their inventory for a while longer. BTW, one sales guy that I spoke with offered me a silver '03 for about $1100 over invoice.

 

Sheister,

That is the exact way to do it. Want to hear something really funny? I am sitting at the desk of my salesperson at my local Honda dealer right now typing this response. I just worked a deal on a Black/Black 2003 model for $300 above invoice and they gave me $1500 more on my trade-in than I was expecting. He knows I am so happy right now that he said I could go ahead and use his computer while the paperwork is being processed. So...I am finally, after 8 long months of waiting for the right price, about to drive off the lot with my new S2000. I will post the official "it's mine post" as soon as I get back to the house.

Don't let anyone tell you it cannot be done. Just be patient like I said and good things will happen. It is the "have to have it now" kind of people that get screwed in deals and keep perpetuating the supposed MSRP price. If people would just stop thinking they have to pay MSRP, especially those in California, then the price would drop. Unfortunately California is populated with the highest amount of people falling in to the superficial, "have to have it now" group. If people were less concerned about their image and more concerned about their wallet there, the price would have dropped a long time ago.

Good luck getting the deal you are looking for. I used to live in Roswell north of Atlanta. I know how hard it is to find a good deal there as well. Keep trying and do not avoid the out of town dealers. I was up in Buford last week for Thanksgiving and they had an 03 white and silver model on their showroom. Try the smaller towns around Atlanta and you will find invoice.

 

It happened! The sales manager of the guy who offered me the silver '03 for $1,100 over invoice called me yesterday. I spoke with him for a while and explained that I would buy the car at invoice, but no more. He asked if I would pay a few hundred more and I told him that I didn't have a reason to because I have not yet gone to all the dealerships that I had lined up to see if they would do invoice. The sales guy called me this morning and told me that they would sell it for invoice. I told him to fax me the deal and VIN number in writing. He did and everything looked good so I told him that I would take it after inspecting the car. I went to the dealership and the car looked great. It is #1615 of '03 and is silverstone metallic in color. It has 8.2 miles on it and was still in the wrapper. Even the wheels had plastic wrap on them. The sales manager told me that they were willing to sell it at invoice because they are trying to get some sort of Honda sales award which will enable them to get a bigger allocation next year and they had an opportunity that if they sold the car immediately they would be allocated an additional S2000 from Honda. They sold a white one last night and don't have any more in stock right now. We went over the paperwork and they didn't try to pull any crap on me. I paid for it and will pick it up tomorrow at noon after it is cleaned and gassed up. Bottom line:

Price: $29,390.00
Paperwork Fee: $399.00
Subtotal: $29,789.00 (that's $4 over invoice)
Sales Tax (6%): $1,787.34 (ouch!)
Car Title: $18.00
GA Warranty Paper: $3.00
Total: $31,597.34

That's a straight up deal without a trade or any add-ons. So, it can be done! It just takes patience and perhaps being in the right place at the right time. Thanks to everyone that gave me advice. I can't wait to drive this beautiful car tomorrow.

 

Sheister, Wait them out...DEFINITELY wait them out. I had to take a bit of a trip for my 2003 S2000 ( got it in Joliet, IL) but I got it for $1,100 UNDER MSRP. NO haggles, no screwing around! You are right, the market is moving in your favor. Hoot

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Sheister
[B]

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by FCGuy
[B]Congratulations!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Sheister
[B]

 

Sounds like a good deal! So much depends on where you buy.

Welcome aboard, Sheister!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Maveric
[B]

What source provided your invoice figure?

 

I think GA would be an awesome place to own a ragtop, Sheister! I think your Nissans will be spending a lot of time in your garage!

I see you've been around this board for a long time too... Obviously you've wanted the car a long time (like me). Use it in good health. No hard driving for 600 mi. (but it is surely worth the wait).