Almost bought a 2007 Odyssey LX today...

Well my quest for a new car continues. I just can't commit. I think I got a great offer on a 2007 Odyssey LX today in a beautiful maroon/red color. I love the looks of it! I was given a quote of $23400--so a bit over invoice and then a $399 doc fee over that. They were giving me more than expected for my trade, but I'm sure they were making money somewhere else. It was a rainy, stormy day today and as we were walking out, they ran after me saying that they could give me close to the interest rate that I wanted saying that the rain was hurting their quotas. The kids were melting down so I said that we would think about it. They said they were open until 9pm and DH and I considered having a friend come over and stay with the kids, but I'm just not sure. I don't feel that I have to jump on this offer tonight in order to get one if I want one.

My concern is over reading a lot about possible transmission problems, etc. with the Odyssey. We have had no problems with our CR-V so it is surprising to read negative reviews of a Honda. I did notice some very slight rough down shifting while slowing down. Not sure if that is normal or not. I guess I'm just more nervous about everything because even with a good price, our payments would be $365 per/month and $350 was really our cutoff and even with $350, I looked at our expenses and it would make things a bit tighter. I never know with all our son's problems, when some other medical issue might pop up. If we were already strapped with payments and then the van had problems, we would be in trouble.

I know that I could get a Sedona for less, but I'm just nervous about Kia. Maybe I should be more nervous about Honda though with all the problems I've been reading about. The Ford dealer is also looking for a pre-owned Freestyle with the side curtain airbags for me.

I have to say that the Honda dealer was very nice to me today. I was there alone this afternoon making initial deals, then they let me take home their printed out quotes (which they told me they don't usually allow) and then let me drive the Odyssey home alone so DH and I could talk. We came back asking for a lower interest rate, which they said no, so we left, only to have someone run out after us saying that they could get close to that, which did not make much of a difference in our payments. The kids were already in the car and melting down so I then said that we still needed to think. It is such a financial commitment that I need to be sure. Our car payment now is only $250 per/month and while we *can* afford a bit more, I want to make sure it is the best car and that I have no doubts.

I was a beautiful van though......

you were quoted $23400 for a 2007 odyssey? that's it? or is that after trade-in allowance for your old car? i had no idea they were that inexpensive. what was the finance rate they offered?

i'd say go for the honda if you can swing the payments. i would not worry about the reported problems you're hearing about from other ody owners. you will get that from every car out there... every car i have ever owned has had its own share of typical trouble spots, regardless of it was japanese, korean, or german (i never owned an american car...). and that's what warranties are for... so at least you don't have to worry about the expense of repairs for a few years, regardless of what you buy. the sedona 5/60 warranty is much nicer than hondas, but as a former owner of a hyundai with a 5/60 warranty, i am sad to say that my local dealers got to know me very well because of that warranty, if you know what i mean.

so given that, i would still choose the ody over the sedona, if only for resale value. 4-5 years down the road, if you want to sell your ody, you will get sooooooo much more for it than you will a sedona, even after subtracting the initial difference in price between the ody and sedona.

Yep, the $23400 was it (plus $399 doc fee and tt&l), but it is the LX trim so no power doors.

I was quoted either 4.9% for 60 months (Honda financing deal) or 5.25% for 66 months. The 66 month term is what we needed to go with to get our payments to $365. That is with $2881 in trade-in equity and $500 more down in cash.

Ugh, I don't know. I'm sure if I called them back tomorrow afternoon I could get them to still accept the deal even though they wanted to finalize it tonight. I hate to be rushed into anything!

i'm sure if you go back tomorrow the deal will still be there. the tactic of threatening that the deal is only good for today is BS.

have finance rates gone down since last year? the best rate i got on my mazda was 5.8% for 60 months, and that was with great credit. doesn't matter much, as it will be paid off by this september, since i've been paying 4x my monthly payments to get it paid down fast. it sounds like i have a lot of disposable income, but in reality it's just eating into what would otherwise go into our home savings fund.

I really think you'll be pleased with your Odyssey purchase. I felt the same as you when we were looking (5 years ago). We chose the Odyssey and are continually commenting how pleased we are with the choice.

IF your van ends up having any transmission problems, your warranty will cover repairs/replacement and a rental if needed. We had a bum air conditioner in ours - had to take it in the second week we had it. Even though it was a pain to move two babies into a rental, I still love my Odyssey.

That dark red is beautiful. I hope you get it. I really think you'll be happy with it and find it worth it. You're getting a tremendous deal on the price too!

Good luck,
Shelsy

honda has had special financing on their "trucks", van, for a while now. overall rates are up.... over 7% for decent credit, baring special financing deals.....

the auto trans problems were handled a couple model years ago now.... wouldn't worry about that it this point. Honda was taking care of them up to 100K miles off the record for people anyways.... as for the downshifting characteristic... Honda automatics don't operate like other companies automatics.... totally different setup, based on the design of a manual transmission vs. planetary gearset style, which gives you more of a "positive" shift. more clearly defined shift......

That does sound like a good price for an Odyssey LX. :twocents: I like to use the carsdirect.com price as a starting/reference point for new car price negotiations. The price you were quoted is lower than the carsdirect.com price for an '07 Ody LX in my area. :thumbsup: Happy shopping.

WOW, that is a great price for an Odyssey!! I say pounce LOL!!

Anyways, I have not heard of any Transmission problems. It might be helpful for you to go to www.odyclub.com, and gather some more information regarding this.

I have a 2005 and have NOT had any transmission issues.

The Odyssey has a very distinct "Down-Shift" feeling. It does take some time to get used to it, but my husband loves this feature. He drives a 5-speed and says my van acts like a five-speed(which is good) when we are going down a hill. This awesome downshift feature saves me gas and brakes when I am wanting to decelerate going down a hill of any grade.

Oh, and about that Doc Fee, that can be worked around. I have NEVER paid a Doc fee, on any of my new vehicles......

I'm going to get it!

My in-laws are giving us some more money for a down payment so we can stay within the 60 month term at 4.9% interest and our payments will be $355 per/month.

I called the salesman back and asked if the deal was still on the table. He said it was so we are going to be there at 9am tomorrow morning.

I'm so excited! No power doors, but oh well. I feel better with a new car without the power doors than a used one with them and with a higher interest rate.

I guess I'll be tethering our Regent over the *allowed* Honda weight limit, but from reading on this board that seems to be ok with everyone.

ajweeks said:

I'm so excited! No power doors, but oh well. I feel better with a new car without the power doors than a used one with them and with a higher interest rate.

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Heck, I'll take the incredible "Safety" of the Odyssey anyday over power sliding doors. Have fun with your new toy. Sounds like you have instant love of it already LOL!

That's incredible!!! Congrats!!

I am amazed because I put down $7000 and had a $2000 trade in and I still have just over $300/month payments (for 66 months) on my 2006 Civic. Your vehicle is more expensive and yet your payments are only a bit above mine. That's amazing!

Make certain the total price & complete payments on your contract are what they're quoting you.

I just did the math:
355 * 60 pmts = $21,300

And they told you it would be $23,400?

I really hope their figures remain off the mark in your favor like this

If you can get the vehicle for either amount, that sounds like an excellent deal. (even though I cringe inside to think of 5 years of monthly payments, sorry can't help it ) I"m cheering for you

Best of luck

The $355 for 60 months is with financing $18882 at 4.9% interest.

The price of the car is $23400+$399 doc fee+tt&l. I already saw the print out of all the numbers and there isn't anything else in there. The $23400 includes the destination fee. I know lovinwaves said I might be able to get them to reduce the doc fee, but I'm making it up in the extra $400 they are giving me with our trade. They are giving me $10400 for our trade and KBB excellent condition value has it at $10125 so I'm getting a good deal on that.

Hopefully they don't try to pull anything on us tomorrow morning, but I already saw their print outs on Saturday and we are just accepting one of those deals with additional money down. I'll be pissed if they waste my time. DD will be with us, so her screaming might speed them up

Patriot20171 said:

That's incredible!!! Congrats!!

I am amazed because I put down $7000 and had a $2000 trade in and I still have just over $300/month payments (for 66 months) on my 2006 Civic. Your vehicle is more expensive and yet your payments are only a bit above mine. That's amazing!

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how can that be? (300*66)+7000+2000=29,800??!! even highballing the interest on that at $3000 over the life of the loan, that comes out to a purchase price of over 26,800. that doesn't sound right...