My new '07 Galaxy Gray Si Sedan w/Nav and summers
Hi, all. Here's my story. Get the popcorn now - even this short form is pretty long:
I did the blanket email requests for quotes method, getting a few dealerships to go for $20,200 + destination, tax, tags, etc on an '08 Galaxy Gray Si Sedan w/o Nav and w/o summers.
That was on a Tuesday evening; that night, on a whim, I checked eBay. There, I found a dealership listing a new '07 Galaxy Gray Si Sedan, with Nav and summer tires... but in Boston (I'm working as a contractor in North Carolina). The listing had pretty much just started. I gave them a call the next morning, and laid it out - I was all set to move on one locally, all negotiated, etc, but couldn't in good conscience delay until the end of the auction. The salesperson replied with 19,900 including destination. Next surprise: insurance (though Geico) was $220 less per year on the '07 vs. an '08.
I put a down payment on it via a card Thursday morning. They should have cancelled the auction then, but didn't. By that evening, it had made reserve (and I was told later they had another person call to put a deposit on it that afternoon). It ultimately "sold" for something like $20,600. Someone out there is probably pretty pissed; if that someone is on this board, sorry.
So, I advised the local dealerships I was working with what was going on and why. It was a bit of an adventure to get it:
- I registered it in NY, to my permanent address...
but the dealership doesn't have any association with NY...
so they had a driver ride with me and another follow in a chase car to register it.
- That was fine...
except they neglected to bring the Certificate of Origin, making it impossible for me to register it that day.
- That cost me another day of lost work - as a contractor, I make good money, but I make nothing when not working.
Still, all told, I got effectively the same car, for about $1K less, plus Nav, and cheaper on insurance. They told me that they will get two '08's to replace it, and the '08's are going for MSRP or MSRP - $500. They also will (of course) no longer have carrying costs on my Si. So, they were happy to sell it, even at an apparent loss.