Went out yesterday to look for a new SUV. Heard alot bout the Pilot and wanted to get an idea on aquiring one sometime in the fall. I dismissed the Highlander Ltd. as not much there for the price...although the quality is evident at every glance. Went to the local Honda dealer in central Florida and was treated like ****. The salesdude initially quoted me $29K...an EX, just add tax and license. 5 min. later he comes back and says it will be $33K...explained with the base price, plus destination and $3300. I asked 3300 what? He replied...$3300 "bump". Now, years ago I bought 2 late 80's Hondas new and paid sticker for each. They (Civic LX and Accord LXi Coupe) were head and shoulders above the competition. This Pilot may be too. But 3 grand over MSRP? Get REAL! This douchebag railed against every other Japanese maker by name with outrageous lies. He even had the balls to say Honda's resale is so much higher. I asked how someone could recoup the "$3300 bump" at trade-in. No answer...just a stupid look on his face. So much for the vaunted Honda resale! I walked in thinking I was 99% there on buying a Pilot EX. Now I'm almost certainly going to purchase my original first choice, a Pathfinder LE. It is not as wide or large inside, but after driving it again yesterday and comparing it to an MDX, it is quieter, quicker, almost as roomy with the seats folded, and the dealer is selling for invoice plus rebate plus low APR...a $7000 savings over a mid-grade Pilot EX... that will help pay for a new speed boat to use in the Keys or on the St. Johns River. I have not ruled the Pilot out completely, so if someone out there can point me to a decent Honda dealer in Florida, just about anywhere in the state, I would be interested in hearing what you encountered. That is the ONLY way I could see getting a Pilot EX. Since those earlier Hondas I had, I've been a Nissan convert...3 Maximas and a Quest GLE. Now Honda has the opportunity to win me back for the future, and they look to be blowing me off along with alot of other decent people. The Nissan dealers have NEVER treated me so bad. My personal experience.

At that price, it makes so much more sense to get a base MDX. There are very few dealers over MSRP on MDX's and many are now coming down. Probably canceled orders for people switching to Pilots.

My prediction is that Ody's and MDX's will become a dime-a-dozen in a couple months and you will be able to start negotiating. But it looks like the Pilot is going to be the Honda dealer's ticket to ride.

Doesn't it make you wonder how Honda corporate can not see the writing on the wall? Why isn't the Pilot being built in the same plant as the Ody to keep production up with demand? Geniuses they are not.

said they are selling at MSRP over there. Confirmed this twice. Also, try Gateway Honda (New Port Richey). The three dealers in Tampa are horrible, especially Tampa Hondaland (the dealer who's genius is advertising on here).

what do you mean?

he was advertising Accords and Civics under invoice. He also replied to a post one page back defending Hondaland's $3000 premium on Pilots.

Thanks so far for the input. I would seriously consider an Acura MDX, the warranty is better and the price for a base model is reasonable. BUT, I do not want leather down here in Florida...don't like it ... don't want it... don't need it. That's one reason why I like the Maxima over the Infiniti...suede cloth is standard. That jerk-off at the Honda dealer I spoke about earlier tried to convince me (more like admonish me) that I really want leather. Nothin' like a flunky at a dealership to inform me what I need or like. Anyhoo, that's why I would prefer a Pilot EX or Pathfinder LE-cloth (rare, but out there). I will look up Crown in St. Pete and any others mentioned (I will drive to Jax, Tampa, Orlando, and maybe Miami area if a dealer can be a human and someone out there can recommend them) If not, like I said, I'll stick with Nissan for the forseeable future. But thanks for giving me an option other than this dealer here (I'd name it, but I don't need any hassle since he has mine and my wife's names and he theoretically could read this). I'll check back Monday to read any other threads that appear. Take it easy.

Loud and clear. One of my biggest gripes with Honda (as a corporation) is the control over their dealerships. They consistently make great cars, then sell them through some of the worst dealers.

ps Please take it easy with the language.

Don't buy a Pilot, go buy a Nissan. I'm serious, if you and a bunch of other people don't jump on the Honda bandwagon, it will keep prices down on the Pilot. So go buy that Nissan

I prefer Nissan over Honda but they don't have a 7-seater, which I need with 4 lil ones. The Quest doesn't cut it and Pathfinder wont seat 7 until 2004.. If you can wait maybe worth it.

I had bad experiences with the sales staff at my Honda dealer, but still purchased the Pilot. First the internet sales manager only responded to my e-mails via a secretary to told me he could not reach me by phone. After a month of no response from him I began to call all other local dealers only to find long waiting list or there allocations already sold. I decided to call my local dealer in hopes of getting someone other than the internet sales manager, but that is exactly what I got. Once I laid a good bit of the MSRP in front of them and told them I already had financing they sold me the Pilot at MSRP. Now I'm just waiting for this weekend.