You can use that to negotiate with the Austin dealers. If they know you are getting a better offer from San Antonio, they might be pressed to offer you similar or better offer. If they know you are serious about buying it, they might as well figure to sell theirs. Just my opinion. Good luck!

 

Sadly, that's what you'd expect. I bet Austin dealers were the last ones in the country to go below MSRP. I remember a year or two back, it was pointless trying to get them at MSRP when you could go down to SA and walk in, ask for it, and walk out with a car.

The Austin dealers got a REALLY bad wrap for that...

 

i got mine from fernandez honda in san antonio. it is a certified sebring 03 with 19k for 24k. i traded in my modded 02 civic si, and they gave me what i wanted for it.

 

Conspiracy theory of the day: Maybe they are colluding with each other for their mutual benefit. I.E. "everyone agrees not to go below $X. Or maybe Austinites are not
as willing to negotiate for this particular car for whatever reason.

Downhil: Did you go to S. Antonio b/c they were better dealers or just b/c they had the used car that you wanted?

The advantage of buying a weekend car as I see it is that feeling of being able to walk out of the dealer anytime b/c I will always have that first car to get to work.

Can anyone recommend a sales associate at an Austin or SA dealer?

 

John Connor at First Texas is a good guy. He is very knowledgeable and won't hound you. His office is in the used car division but I believe they sales deal with both.

 

I'm pretty sure its no the latter. I seem to recall several members going in and having the sales people pretty much laugh when they said they wouldn't pay a penny more than MSRP. Several members had to go out of state to get the car they wanted at the price they wanted.

 

In this day and age when everyone has access to the internet, dealers ought to be fighting to sell their cars. They have to make money to stay in business but if demand in general is down, the price should reflect that. If any dealership displays signs of smugness or arrogance, one should simply wallk out the door. Once the dealerships realize they are losing customers to different dealerships outside of their immediate locale, they'll be more accomodating. As long as consumers take what the dealerships dish out, the beat goes on.

 

I've found Austin to be a horrible market for finding deals on new cars and motorcycles - there's just not enough competition in this town.

I don't know the current going rate, but it s/b easier to find a deal nowadays.

As for the CD changer, why would you want one nowadays? I just plug in my Creative Zen Micro to my car, truck, and home stereo - it's an 80 CD changer that fits in my pocket! I had a CD changer in my S2K, and don't miss it, plus still have one in my Tundra that goes unused.

 

I bought my MY 03 2 years ago and tried to get invoice and got basically laughed at which was fine because that was what I had heard and had expected. I didn't ask FTH to test drive because the S spoke for itself (and at the time I hadn't driven a manual since I was 16). Basically my advice would be - test drive or no - that you ask yourself what you want the car for. If it is handling you already know from thousands of testimonials out there that you've come to the right place. If its for straight line you already know it holds its own but isn't an Elise or Viper. If its for fun then you already know that the S2k is the most fun you can have with any car on the market at $32k.

In terms of the austin market as a whole after I bought the S 1 year later we bought an SUV for $100 over invoice so its not all bad in this market and since we're so close to Dallas, SA and Houston going to another market is a good threat to make and easy to do. Remember walking out the door or threatening to walk out of the door when a sale is about to be made is the best thing you can do - if you do that watch how quickly their attitude changes and they try to work with you becaues they know in reality there are 10s of dealers to go to within driving distance.

One other thing you could do is and tell them that another dealer (don't say where) offered to sell at invoice and you wanted to see if they'd meet that. If they don't then buy from Ganley . Classic has a Berlina on the lot I saw yesterday...

Chris S also has a great point - CD Changers are a dead or dying technology. MP3 capable CD player, IPOD connector, Zen Connector, whatever - my Alpine HU can hold 10 CDs on one standard data CD and that is more than any CD Changer

Just my 2 cents.

 

i got mine in san antonio because they gave 3000 more for my trade than what i was offered here in austin. i didnt really want a silver car, but couldn't pass on the deal.