Is this price to high for a 2012?

[zeeman145]

Hey guys,

I am new to the forum but am helping out a friend buy a new brand new 2012 Honda Insight EX. The Massachusetts dealership is asking $21,746
(which includes the destination fee) MA sales tax, plates registration etc. is separate.

What do you guys have to say about that price? Where should it realistically be at? My friend also has a trade in, but the price above does not include that.

Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!

[alam99]

Originally Posted by zeeman145

Hey guys,

I am new to the forum but am helping out a friend buy a new brand new 2012 Honda Insight EX. The Massachusetts dealership is asking $21,746
(which includes the destination fee) MA sales tax, plates registration etc. is separate.

What do you guys have to say about that price? Where should it realistically be at? My friend also has a trade in, but the price above does not include that.

Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!

When I purchase my next car, I'm going to try using TrueCar, a site which allows for price searches without haggling. When I punched in the zip code for Abington, MA, it came up with the following prices:

2012 EX w/out NAV: $21,070
2012 EX with NAV: $22,709

Caveat: there is a new note on TrueCar's website that shows up when I did the search for a Honda:

"American Honda Motor Co., Inc. has directed all Honda Certified Dealers to remove upfront price guarantees for consumers from the TrueCar website. As a result, an upfront price guarantee may not be available for your requested Honda vehicle. TrueCar strongly believes every consumer has the right to transparent, no-haggle pricing, and we will continue to work with American Honda to resolve this issue for the benefit of both you the consumer and our TrueCar Certified Honda Dealers. In the meantime, you can still enjoy low prices by contacting the Certified Dealers on your Price Protection Certificate."

If your friend is not in a hurry and the price appears higher than he wants to pay, I would suggest waiting on it if you can. Prices drop through the year as the model gets older and their sales staff might call you back with a lower price in order to meet their quotas.

[Jayemtee]

That's in the neighborhood of a fair price. With some work, it could probably be beat down a few hundred here and a few hundred there. There are still 2011s on some lots, so those might get first mark downs.

Sometimes it's okay to pay a fair price. Sometimes the dealer will throw in some extras and remember you if you make a fair deal. Sometimes getting the absolute best "out the door" price can come back and bite you if you need the assistance of the dealer after the sale. There's nothing wrong with going for the best price, but you should know what you are getting in to.

[zeeman145]

Thanks for the advice. I'll go into the dealership and maybe knock a few more hundred. Let's see what happens!

Will keep you all posted. Thanks.

[shade_tree]

Honestly, I would pay nothing more than invoice on a Insight and aim for $500-750 below. There are some incentives out there to move them from Honda to the dealers, and another $750 in flex cash if you finance through Honda. We just bought ours for $1500 below invoice on a base 2012 but I think it was an insanely good deal that would probably be hard to replicated. In my area at least, there are at least 20 honda dealerships within 30 miles. So you simply would buy at whomever has the best price and you would do any warranty service at the closest dealership after that. Also you are never going to get your best price walking into the showroom and using a floor salesman. They work on commission off your deal which is no problem if you want more of a personal transaction. If you really are all about price then the fleet/internet manager is going to be able to offer you that. Truecar is a good tool, but they do charge the dealership about $300 for a sale. It certainly something you can use to show other dealers (via fleet manager) to see if they are willing to beat it. Each dealer may operate on a different style of discounting, volume, etc so its not surprising to have one location stay firm on what they think is a good price and another be a lot more flexible. Also you will always get the best price for an in-stock vehicle, so the more flexible you are on colors/options the lower you can go with your price.

[kchunk]

Shade tree, great post. I couldn't agree more.

I bought my 11 EX about a month ago. My price beat truecar's quote by about $300 and then Honda's $750 down payment assistance really made it a good deal (to me).

As far as being nice to the dealer and buying a car for a "fair price" so that maybe they might be nice to you someday, I say, "yeah...right!" The dealer isn't selling a car unless they're making money. EVERY sale is sold at a fair price. If you pay more than you have to for a car I surely doubt you're winning the respect of your dealer.

Stick it to them at every opportunity and know they'll be trying to do the same to you.

[MPBK]

I've found this site to be helpful.
Just plug in your zip code and see what the average price paid is for your area.

New 2012 Honda Insight Price Quote w/ MSRP, Dealer Cost & Invoice

[JamesInCorona]

Just bought an 2012 Insight about 3 weeks ago...
Best prices here in So Calif were:
EX = $21,100
LX = $19,000

I ended up going with the LX as it had everything but the nice rims that I wanted.

Good luck in your negotiations...I love my new Insight!