What is going on with these dealerships...Honda lost a real customer

I'm sadden by my experience with trying to buy a new NSX in Acura dealerships. I owned an '05 for 8 years and loved every minute of it and love all my Honda products. I waited for the Gen2 and waited for the Iron brakes. I have sat down with the Steven Creek Acura, Acura of Pleasenton, Modesto Acura, Acura Thousand Oaks, and Fresno Acura.
* 2 of the 5 would not let me and my wife sit in the NSX
* 2 of the 5 tried really hard to sell me a different Acura and not the NSX... My wife and I couldn't believe it...
* 3 of the 5 were willing to discount their NSX on the floor (still too costly)
* 2 of the 5 either did not believe I would buy one and would not take me seriously, could not figure out the online customization (showed them), said there was no cup holder (I pointed to the glove box and said, "it's in there..")

* 3 of the 4 ran lease numbers for me:
$163,300 MSRP
$30K Down w/ 7500 miles a year
36month lease
Residual 54% and .00250 MF
$1950 a month

** I am writing a letter to American Honda Motor Co. on some of my treatment at the dealership (no call backs, wouldn't let me and my wife near the car, Trying to say we needed to pay a premium to pay for service tools, etc.. **

I WAS A CUSTOMER ... I WANTED TO BUY THEIR NSX but they ruined that opportunity and it saddens me..

I walked over to Audi Steven Creek (well.. drove two blocks).. test drove their black 2017 R8 Plus which caused me to purchase a new (non plus) R8 (shipping from MA to Cali). Overwhelming better treatment, allowed me to test drive and completely changed my mind on Audi..

Lease:
$173500 MSRP
$14K Down w/ 7500 miles a year
36 month lease
Residual 71% and .00178 MF
$1560 a month

Thought I would share my experience and hope Honda hears these stories and begins to take action..

Why did you go into the dealership?

I prefer to find someone I want to do business with online/phone and order.

Many of the dealers will not let folks sit in the car for fear of damage.

Bricks and Bio said:

Why did you go into the dealership?

I prefer to find someone I want to do business with online/phone and order.

Many of the dealers will not let folks sit in the car for fear of damage.

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I'd rather not try to avoid dealing with actual people/dealerships when purchasing $160K car. When I buy a Honda, I go to the dealership, build a relationship, sit with the salesman and go over the lease/purchase and we politely negotiate a number that works. I purchased/leased my new 2001 Esprit this way, my 2005 NSX, my 2013 9114s. I did buy my new R8 over the phone from the east coast only because they beat all local offers by a large amount. I believe that I would not be buying an R8 if it was't for the great experience I had at an Audi dealership. The moment I test drove the new R8 I was overwhelmed with how amazing the car was... super comfortable, incredible speed, can't explain the feeling... amazing.. Dealerships really do have a part to play in selling these cars..

Glad that you had a positive experience.

The Acura shop I bought the NSX in WI from was great, but most of the stores in Chicago stunk on the sales side so I bought out of state.

If you haven't picked a shipping company yet, Pilot is very good.

Bricks and Bio said:

Glad that you had a positive experience.

The Acura shop I bought the NSX in WI from was great, but most of the stores in Chicago stunk on the sales side so I bought out of state.

If you haven't picked a shipping company yet, Pilot is very good.

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I did have a good experience in two of those dealerships (Fresno and Pleasenton). They were really good people and actually offered discounts on current NSX but they even said the lease numbers were horrible and were not allowed to test drive the NSX but we could sit inside.
Thanks for the tip. Actually looking right now for a good shipper. I'll call them tomorrow for a quote.

Esprit9 said:

Dealerships really do have a part to play in selling these cars..

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Yet you bought the Audi somewhere else.

I have been saying that one of the most value added things a dealership has going for it is the test drive.

If they can't follow up with a competitive deal, tough twinkles for them.

I am from MA and it's winter there. I am sure they were happy to field a request for an R8 in December. In CA R8s are a go all the time.

Esprit9 said:

Thought I would share my experience and hope Honda hears these stories and begins to take action..

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Oh we hear them. Some of those stores you visited are actually pretty big dealers. Big enough to get allocated more than the one or two NSXs for the year and that's it. They got that big for a reason so it's sad to hear they've lost their way and treated you and your wife like you don't matter.

Not that I expect you to back out of your R8 deal and come give my dealer a chance, but let me explain what's possibly happened here. Every NSX dealer has to have dedicated personnel for the NSX. Sales consultant, service advisor, and a master technician at a minimum. Notice that I used singular titles? If you walk into an Acura showroom at a time when the one salesman who was trained to sell this car isn't there, and damn does that sure happen quite a bit at my store, then someone else who isn't the best person for the job will fill in as best they can. But they don't know stuff like the car actually does have a cup holder. At my store, there is a NSX specialist on the property at all times, just in case a potential customer has questions and/or needs to be shown the car.

Enjoy your new R8. I truly believe that the NSX is the better car of the two. But after all that I completely understand why we've lost your business. AHFC's absolutely crappy money factor on the lease is not helping us dealers either on customers who are cross shopping us against the R8 or perhaps the 570S McLaren.

Bricks and Bio said:

Many of the dealers will not let folks sit in the car for fear of damage.

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The leather trim scuffs very easily. Only NSX Specialists are allowed to drive or even touch the car at dealerships. And we try to keep customer contact to a bare minimum. Of course a qualified customer that legitimately interested and we're showing the car to can paw at it, open the doors, sit in it, and we might even start it up and let them hear the engine and different muffler settings. But someone just "killing time" because they're in the showroom while they wait for their RDX to finish getting an A1 service done? Sure we'll answer questions. But they ain't touching the car. Most dealers rope off the car just to pretty much imply that very thing without anyone actually saying please don't touch.

Esprit9 said:

They were really good people and actually offered discounts on current NSX but they even said the lease numbers were horrible and were not allowed to test drive the NSX but we could sit inside.

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American Honda really made it clear that this is a special car and the customers will be extra critical about things like excessive miles. Some dealers are not even test driving the car at PDI just to avoid tacking a few more miles on the clock. Let's face it, this isn't some MDX where people are more concerned about how much room is in the back seat. The power is a big selling point. So if allow the car to be test driven it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that whoever drives it is going to lay into to the throttle. For. Sure. And everyone knows it. Let a few people drive it and now all of a sudden, this car has 20-30 miles on it. Now we have a used car. A car with 30 miles that everyone knows were not the most gentle miles. This becomes a point of contention and now maybe the customer feels that the car is no longer worth full price. This is why an "open box" tv has a discount at Best Buy. Except the NSX isn't a 50" flatscreen with a $50 discount...this "open box" could cost the store $5k or maybe more.

nsx#fan said:

Yet you bought the Audi somewhere else.

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As I mentioned in my post, the test drive of an R8 made me think twice about it. The lease numbers were great also. I then was 100% on the R8 and noticed an incredible deal in MA or else I would have built one at that dealership.

Bricks and Bio said:

I have been saying that one of the most value added things a dealership has going for it is the test drive.

If they can't follow up with a competitive deal, tough twinkles for them.

I am from MA and it's winter there. I am sure they were happy to field a request for an R8 in December. In CA R8s are a go all the time.

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Just purchased my R8 at Natick Audi in MA. It's the Daytona Grey one.. They made an offer I could not pass on... They were amazing on the phone also..

I love to buy over the phone

thanks for supporting the MA economy

MasterNSXTech said:

American Honda really made it clear that this is a special car and the customers will be extra critical about things like excessive miles. Some dealers are not even test driving the car at PDI just to avoid tacking a few more miles on the clock. Let's face it, this isn't some MDX where people are more concerned about how much room is in the back seat. The power is a big selling point. So if allow the car to be test driven it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that whoever drives it is going to lay into to the throttle. For. Sure. And everyone knows it. Let a few people drive it and now all of a sudden, this car has 20-30 miles on it. Now we have a used car. A car with 30 miles that everyone knows were not the most gentle miles. This becomes a point of contention and now maybe the customer feels that the car is no longer worth full price. This is why an "open box" tv has a discount at Best Buy. Except the NSX isn't a 50" flatscreen with a $50 discount...this "open box" could cost the store $5k or maybe more.

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The issue that a demo car isn't brand-new anymore has faced car dealers forever and somehow they have dealt with it because there is nothing like a test drive to show a customer what a car is like. Honda could have gotten creative, like maybe having demo cars that rotate through dealerships so that test drives could be scheduled. Fact is, Esprit9 was able to test drive an R8 and not an NSX and he bought the car he was able to test.

I have spoken with the NSX Specialists multiple times about getting test drives in place.

They have over 100 prototype cars they could use.

I believe they are trying to figure something out but it shouldn't be so hard.

They could have a prototype in each of the top 15 cities to share amongst the dealers and that would cover most of the business.

Tom239 said:

Fact is, Esprit9 was able to test drive an R8 and not an NSX and he bought the car he was able to test.

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Yes and no. Yes the test drive closed a deal on getting a R8. But no, he didn't buy actual car he test drove. So now Audi of Stevens Creek now has a R8 with some miles on it. Miles that the next potential buyer might use as leverage to get a discount. Nice of that Audi dealer to allow the drive, but it may cost them thousands on the eventual sale of the car. Hopefully it built some goodwill with the customer that when his out of state purchased R8 needs service, he uses that dealer.

I've read about many people who were waitlisted at dealers for the first NSX only to find they'd be waiting longer since the dealer principal kept the first one in for themself. Perhaps if that's the case, then that car, even though it is the personal property of the principal, should still be made available by appointment or something for test drives. Because yeah you're right, nothing closes a deal better than actually putting the product in the customer's hands.

Esprit9 said:

* 3 of the 5 were willing to discount their NSX on the floor (still too costly)

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Discount off MSRP or off their asking premiums?

Esprit9 said:

(Audi R8) Lease:
$173500 MSRP
$14K Down w/ 7500 miles a year
36 month lease
Residual 71% and .00178 MF
$1560 a month

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71% Residual!?!?!? You sure? That is a screaming deal and can only mean that Audi is having a *very* hard time moving these cars. Damn. Is that a general Audi promotion? I might be tempted by a R8V10+ on those terms! The math on that is like a 35% discount on your depreciation cost. Amazing.

chrisn said:

Discount off MSRP or off their asking premiums?

Off the MSRP... It was at 197K (Had most of the options


71% Residual!?!?!? You sure? That is a screaming deal and can only mean that Audi is having a *very* hard time moving these cars. Damn. Is that a general Audi promotion? I might be tempted by a R8V10+ on those terms! The math on that is like a 35% discount on your depreciation cost. Amazing.

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Yes very sure.. It would have been 74% if I did a 24 month lease. Audi Atlanta has a Suzuka Grey (non plus) that they are doing 11% off MSRP (red interior). The R8 specialist said they don't sell much in winter and the discounts will not be around in the summer. Here in California the best I could do is 2% off.

MasterNSXTech said:

Yes and no. Yes the test drive closed a deal on getting a R8. But no, he didn't buy actual car he test drove. So now Audi of Stevens Creek now has a R8 with some miles on it. ....

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I asked the dealership I just purchased from and asked that same question if someone had test driven the R8 and they said two people did. The miles are at 43miles.

Acura should be like Lamborghini. Dealers are required to purchase a demo vehicle. And keep and USE it for X months. I'm sure the amount of sales it closes more than makes up for the discounted price they eventually sell the demo for. Dealer even picked me up from the airport in it. While I was there inspecting my Huracan as it was being unwrapped from the factory via air freight, he even tossed me the keys to an Aventador to take out. So got me thinking about and ultimately getting the SV.

Without a test drive Never would have purchased my 1st NSX or subsequent.

chrisn said:

Discount off MSRP or off their asking premiums?




71% Residual!?!?!? You sure? That is a screaming deal and can only mean that Audi is having a *very* hard time moving these cars. Damn. Is that a general Audi promotion? I might be tempted by a R8V10+ on those terms! The math on that is like a 35% discount on your depreciation cost. Amazing.

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Yes honestly that is an amazing deal. That would definitely make the R8 a tantalizing prospect. That's one great benefit of so many supercars out at once, competition creates opportunities for deals.

Great idea on the prototypes being used for test drives instead of being crushed...

As all games do this one had winners and losers. The winners were Audi the manufacturer who moved a unit and the Acura dealers who didn't risk damage or put miles on their cars. As Bricks and Bio pointed out the real buyers are on the phone and the internet ( that is how I have purchased my last 4 cars ). The losers were Acura the manufacturer who did not move a unit, Steven Creek Audi who was "showroomed", the Audi dealer in MA who had to cheap sell a unit in the middle of winter before the flooring took all the fun out of it, and last but not least the customer who was only trying to buy a car and found lots of frustration. Note that the winners acted completely rationally. These are some of the reasons that the Tesla business model is so compelling - no dealers, showrooms for kicking tires on company demos, internet purchasing, and cars built to order precisely as the customer desires. Others are no inventory rotting on dealer lots, service locations in industrial areas where the rent is lower, far fewer pissed off customers, etc, etc. The dealership business model is obsolete and needs to be gone. The only thing keeping it propped up is the car dealer lobbyist- government industrial complex.

Agree that the Tesla model of purchasing is great. When you call a Tesla store they are some of the nicest and knowledgeable people around in regards to their vehicles. They will set up a test drive for you at your request, and they do the best follow up calls around.

I do like the Tesla model regarding being consumer friendly on the learn about/try the car stuff.

But in terms of deals, you can't negotiate on the car and the Tesla employee was up front with me noting that if you have a trade, they will be on the low end regarding valuation of that.