New Owner

[AndyB]

Within the next 2 weeks my license will come off suspension. The TSX is one of the options i can go with for a new car. At my local dealer i found an '04 (obviously) TSX listed at 29k for the 6speed w/ navi w/ 12k dealer demo miles. My father, a business man, has been talking with one of their sales reps and got the price down to about 1k over wholesale. So if i were to go with the TSX i'd get this 6spd w/ navi w/ 12k miles for around 25k. Good deal or Not?

[larchmont]

Welcome, Andy! In my extremely biased opinion, a TSX is always a good deal at any price. :D
But that doesn't much answer your question, does it?

I think it's a good deal, provided that the car is in tip-top shape -- but not a great deal. Figure it this way: MSRP for the new car would be about 28.5 K, then there's the $500-something destination charge, which makes it 29K. In most areas people seem able to get $500-$1000 off, so that would make it maybe 28-28.5. As soon as a new car gets driven off the lot, it probably loses 1K value right there, so we're down to 27-27.5 for a "pre-owned" car with basically 0 miles. How much extra depreciation for 12K miles? I'd say a couple thousand. That puts it in the area you're talking about. Good luck -- let us know what happens!

BTW don't get suspended again. :D

[AndyB]

yeah was a shame what happened to my license, was suspended for a charge that wasn't even driving related. total bullsh*t. but yeah hoping my pops can get the car down to around 23-24 which would make it a really nice deal. like i said they've just started haggling over the last week or so. my dad told me he wants the final price to be under 20k, i told him good luck. haha

[tony4311]

wow 12k demo miles is a lot. 25 with nav is adecent deal. kind giving the nav for free. I'm to anal about my cars to buy one with 12k on it though :grinno:

[Joker]

wow 12k demo miles is a lot. 25 with nav is adecent deal. kind giving the nav for free. I'm to anal about my cars to buy one with 12k on it though :grinno:
Hello, and welcome to the board :D
I agree with Tony!
I am very anal about buying anything used, not to mention a demo. The first thing people usually do on a test drive is see what she can do. That being said, it may have been driven hard :( Not to mention you do not know if it was broken in properly.
If you are set on that car, I'd try to get them down on the price. If not, I'd look to buy a brand new TSX.
For me, the wait (if need be) to get a new one would be well worth it.
Best of luck, and please let us know how it goes!

[AndyB]

actual milage on it is just under 12k. but you figure 12k is the normal allowance for most leases. i mean 1k a month isn't abusing the car when you see most honda/acura's at like 30k+ within the first 2 yrs.

[Joker]

i mean 1k a month isn't abusing the car when you see most honda/acura's at like 30k+ within the first 2 yrs.
A lot of miles no, but the unknown is "how" the car was driven during those miles.

[larchmont]

Hello, and welcome to the board :D
I agree with Tony!
I am very anal about buying anything used, not to mention a demo. The first thing people usually do on a test drive is see what she can do......
I'm with them, in that I'd be very hesitant about getting a used car -- I never have in my whole life. I've always felt I'd rather get a "worse" NEW car than a "better" USED car.

But, I'm not sure Joker's basically right about how people drive a demo. My impression would be just the opposite. Although I'm sure there are exceptions (Joker? Joker? :D ) I would have thought that most people drive more conservatively than normal on their test drives. I know that I always have. I'm able to check out everything I need to know about the car without driving it extremely hard.

[tony4311]

it really depends on what you want it for. If you just want a car you like and won't have any problem trading it in 4 years from now then go for it. I however plan on keeping the car longer then that so I'm picky. If I get a car that I plan on caring about and improving then it has to be brand new.

[dnb]

At my local dealer i found an '04 (obviously) TSX listed at 29k for the 6speed w/ navi w/ 12k dealer demo miles. ... Good deal or Not?

Welcome!

I'd be extremely wary of getting a used MT-equipped car. It's very easy to misuse and/or abuse an MT.

[AndyB]

awesome opinions guys. thx for the input. as for right now i'm looking at this brand new 04 imprezza wrx sti just incase this acura guy won't come down low enough on the 12k tsx, or on a new one. so basically, if i can't get this used tsx for what i want, we're gonna look at a new one, and if we can't get the for what we want i'm probly gonna go with the sti or somethin else. but thx fo rthe input i'll keep ya'll updated

[MarkPinTx]

The WRX Sti is a deathmobile! Wonder what the insurance runs on one of those bad boys for an early 20's single male, or teens. I'd guess as bad as a 'vette.

In other words, get the TSX, the life you save may be your own :D

[larchmont]

I knew we were gonna like Mark. :D

I think we gotta say he's sort of right, Andy. From everything we hear, the Sti is an interesting car, and if that's what you're looking for, great. But really, it's a very, very different kind of car than the TSX (or any Acura, or even Honda), and I wouldn't think that too many people cross-shop the cars.

For what it's worth, IMO if both the Sti and the TSX are your kind of car, then there are LOTS of other cars that would be also, because there are a lot of cars that are in between the Sti and the TSX. So I think you have a lot of other possibilities to consider too.

[TSX 'R' US]

The STi is a sweet looking car, but the car does cost quite a bit more. Don't forget the STi doesn't come with a radio.

[ChinchillaX]

The STi is a sweet looking car, but the car does cost quite a bit more. Don't forget the STi doesn't come with a radio.
My buddy got an STi, and he got an aftermarket radio for it. I guess they don't include a radio cuz a weight or to cut costs.:donno:

[larchmont]

.....Don't forget the STi doesn't come with a radio.
Is that for real?

I know that the WRX in general does have it......

[TSX 'R' US]

My buddy got an STi, and he got an aftermarket radio for it. I guess they don't include a radio cuz a weight or to cut costs.:donno:
They don't include the radio because it cuts down on weight.
Race car + weight = BAD

[tony4311]

I thought you could add the radio as an option but I'm not sure. I thinks it's a good idea beacause I'm sure plenty of people would yank it for a better one anyway.

[TSX 'R' US]

I thought you could add the radio as an option but I'm not sure. I thinks it's a good idea beacause I'm sure plenty of people would yank it for a better one anyway.
Yup...it's an option...

According to their website:
$773 ETR-AM/FM CASSETTE 6-DISC CD CHANGER
$235 SUBWOOFER/AMPLIFIER
$82 TWEETER KIT
$165 UPGRADED SPEAKERS (whatever that is)

[AndyB]

haha no radio. probably because the market they're trying to attract with the sti would most likely plan to replace the factory radio anyways. but thanks, you got some interesting points. but for me the total cost of the car isn't the issue, its just the fact of getting the car for a good price. if ya follow me. and as far as the insurance goes, well my pops owns his own company and therefore the car would go under the companies name and i would be named only a lets say 50% driver on it. so all in all i just want to get something i'm going to be happy with for the next 3+ years

[MarkPinTx]

Careful with that insurance thing. Gettin tricky with that can backfire and result in no coverage.

[larchmont]

.....for me the total cost of the car isn't the issue, its just the fact of getting the car for a good price. if ya follow me.....
No sir -- sorry, but I don't follow.

Lots of people say stuff like that, but I don't think it makes sense. As near as I can tell, what they mean is, it's a good deal or not a good deal according to how much you're getting off MSRP, or, in the case of this used TSX, how much you're getting off the supposed retail price.

But is that a measure of value??? I say, absolutely not. MSRP prices and retail prices are somewhat arbitrary numbers. What really tells the value is what the market says. And how do you know what the market says? By what price the things are actually going for, and what price you are able to get it for.

OK, let's say the STi lists for $27K (don't know if that's accurate, I'm just picking a number) but a dealer is offering it for 25K. And let's say the supposed usual retail price for that used TSX is 25K, and the best price you can find is 25K. Does that mean the STi is a "better deal" because it's 2K off, while the TSX is nothing off???

Of course it doesn't. What it means (in this hypothetical example) is that the list price of the STi was arbitrarily set at a level that happens to be higher than the ACTUAL value, at least as of now. And "now" is the only tense that exists in the real world, because anything else is either history or speculation.

Aren't you glad you asked? :D

[insman]

Careful with that insurance thing. Gettin tricky with that can backfire and result in no coverage.

Insurance companies are really getting picky with commercial insurance. Investigations are the norm after a claim and more claims are denied these days. Also, there was recently a case of a man who had his kids on his commercial policy to reduce premium on his personal policy. The kids screwed up and when they found out his car had nothing to do with the business, they removed the car from the commerical policy and the kid. It became very $pricey$. They paid the claim, but they weren't happy. If you do this, don't wreck!