My research indicates that there is no holdback on S2000s right now but I have seen reference to a significant holdback in a couple of posts on here in the last couple of weeks, and I have seen mentions that some dealers are offering S2000s for sale at invoice. What is the real lowdown here?

 

where are you getting your research from? I think that pretty much every car has a holdback.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by turbo_pwr
where are you getting your research from?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by alex s

 

Not sure about the ALL cars but for sure ALL HONDAS have a 2% holdback.

 

Supply and demand. Lots of dealers have cars in stock. When they start running out the prices will go right back up. Go for it. Or maybe they will get cheaper yet? Who can tell. I think a lot of it is that there are a lot of nice used ones available as well for really good prices too.

Still the sports car bargain of the decade!

 

Thanks for the info! I just used it when a dealer told me over the phone "we have to sell the MY04s for $32,000 to make at least a grand profit." I asked him about the 2% holdback and he just coughed and started playing it off. Muhaha!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by haya13r
Thanks for the info!

 

To amplify further. ALL Hondas have a 2% holdback (2% of MSRP) and ALL dealers pay the same price for the cars. Most states have very strong laws that don't allow higher volume dealers to pay a lower price, in order to protect the small dealer.

Every now and then Honda will have a "stair-step" incentive progarm on A PARTICULAR MODEL. They might give the dealer $200 for the first 30 sold in a certain period, say 45 days, which increases to $500/car (retroactive to the first sale) if they sell 30, etc. This has never been done on S2000s, Odysseys or any hot sellers. It is also essentially a volume discount and probably illegal in most states therefore but they still do it.

 

As noted above they do have a holdback, but I don't think that really matters when buying an s2000. If a dealer has a slow-seller sitting on the lot, eventually s/he will want to deal heavily to get rid of it, and then you might be able to negotiate some of the holdback. But dealers can always get rid of their s2000s for well above dealer cost (even not considering the holdback), so there is no incentive for them to deal further.

Just read the forums to find out the current best price (for MY04 the best price seems to be about $30K), and find a dealer who is willing to sell you a car for that price.