“Oh you got a good deal. But I promised you more so I’m giving you more.”
In 2005, we were ready to replace our 1993 Honda Accord and let our daughter start to drive it. In May 2005, I talked to my mechanic Chris at Goodyear about best car makes. Toyota and Honda are both very good. Said both Accord and Camry are excellent. Accord might be slightly better. Both have good maintenance and repair records. Researched car MSRP list prices, dealer invoice/cost and target purchase prices. This is for Accord or Camry, 4 door: Trim, engine, MSRP, Invoice, target:
- Accord DX, 2.4, $16,810, $15,188, $15,788.
- Accord LX, 2.4, $21,090, $19,034, $19,634.
- Accord LX, 3.0, $24,465, $22,067, target not est’d.
- Accord EX, 2.4, $23,434, $21,213, $21,813.
- Camry LE, 2.4, $20,665, $18,551, $19,056 -$750 rebate = $18,306.
- Accord LX (vs DX) has Cruise, AC package, 6 speakers, lighted vanity, sunglass holder, Dr side seat adj, back arm rest.
- Accord positives are trunk height, cupholders, armrest sliding, passenger air bag sensor.
- Camry positives are radio control on steering wheel, cup holder.
After Karen test drove Accords and Camrys, we decided to focus our purchase on the Accord LX with a 2.4 liter engine. In June and July 2005, I went to several dealers. I told each, “I’m getting the best quote from each and then going back to the one with the lowest quote and buying from them.”
Here’s the prices we found from ads and from visits to dealers in the KC area during this time:
- 5/28/05, Lees Summit, $19,199.
- 6/11/05, John Chezik, $19,344.
- 6/19/05, Vic Honda, $19,177.
- 7/16/05, John Chezik (internet), $19,015.
- 7/16/05, O’Neill Honda (internet), $18,979.
- 7/16/05, Frank Ancona, $18,400.
As you can see, some of the prices were less than the dealer’s invoice cost. This probably indicates that at some time, Honda started offering a rebate or a kickback to the dealers that started being reflected in the pricing. We went to Jay Wolfe to get a price from them, too. I told them my purchase process. They said, “Get your best price and then come back to us.” I said, “I don’t do it that way.” They demanded, “We need a price first.” I announced, “OK. I’ll buy from you now for $17,000. I won’t even visit anyone else.” They argued, “That’s less than our cost.” I countered, “Other dealers are willing to sell for less than cost so you should be, too.” They said, “We can’t do that price.” I decided that I wouldn’t buy a car from Jay Wolfe… ever.
When we visited Frank Ancona on 7/16, we told the salesman Ron Channell that we would be visiting Jay Wolfe also. He said, “we can go lower than Jay Wolfe.” There may have been some competition between these dealers. Frank Ancona had several XL versions, a couple blue. From 7/16 to 7/23 while we were undecided and still negotiating, Ron sweetened the deal by adding a scratch off ticket for an additional $100 to $500 off the price that Jay Wolfe offered. On 7/23/25, after talking to Jay Wolfe, I called Ron back at Frank Ancona and told him we would forgo the back and forth negotiating if they would sell to us for $18,000. They agreed to that.
We completed the purchase on 7/25/05 for $18,000, 85% of MSRP and about $1000 below estimated dealer invoice. We drove our new car home.
On 7/29/05, we got a call from Ron at Frank Ancona. “There’s been a titling mix up. You car was not involved but your VIN was used for the paperwork on another blue Accord that was sold. Thus, your title record shows that there was a prior owner and we just need you to come in and sign some paperwork showing that you understand that your car is used from a paperwork standpoint.” It means we’ll get a used title instead of a certificate of origin. We thought we should get some additional compensation for it now being a used car and us not the original owner for resale purposes. They offered some accessories or options that had values of $200 to $400. We said, “We’ll think about it.”
On 8/3/05, we called the general manager. He knew of situation. We asked them to install a 6 CD changer in our car (a $659 value). He looked up the car. He said, “Oh, you got a good price. Well, we want to make good on every situation where we’re at fault, so regardless of the price you got, we’ll agree to install a 6 CD changer in your Accord at no charge.”
On 8/10/05, the 6-CD changer was installed at no charge to us. We signed acknowledgement that we will receive title from Frank Ancona instead of a Manufacturers Certificate of Origin.
The titling was never an issue for us. We kept this car for 13 years till 165,000 miles and then our son owned it 7 more years until 191,000 miles. By then, the number of owners didn’t matter for trade in values.
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