Contemplating and WWYD on Type S

[Dustbunni]

Currently 9th in line on an ITS at the local dealership. They have the launch packaged ITS, that I drove and fell in love with. But since then it became officially for sale. The salesman says that it has a high chance to reach me that most above me have declined the additional add ons or color way of the White/Red. Since putting money down I have looked at the car a few more times. Once seeing a test drive where the tires were squealed, now has close to 250-300 miles, of mostly unsupervised test drives. Bumper poorly installed from grille replacement, as well as just a few odds and ends.
They have the car @MSRP plus $10,000 in launch accessories and $600 in window tint. Grand Total around $63000. It does come with the original dark wheels which would be great for winter. So after all this I still would love the car and the nostalgia that it brought back during my test drive. But I worry about the 300 miles and how it would effect the longevity of the vehicle rather then the suggested break in period.
1. If offered To me what are some things I could negotiate to bring the price back down or make it worth the asking price? Especially being toward the end of the month.
2. Would you buy or pass on this car after the mileage and imperfections?

If I pass I have no idea when I would get into an ITS as the dealer currently doesn’t have or will not disclose the number of allocations for the rest of the year. As my current lease expires in Dec and my wife’s in February. And the longer the wait the more I am afraid that the lease trade in will have less equity.
So just looking for your thoughts on this

TIA. Apologies for the long read.

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[Integra23]

Try negotiating the accessories. I know some on here have done it. I think one was able to get $2k off of MSRP and Accessories down to about $5k or so. Let them know your interested and you would do a deal today for what you think is a fair price. Worst they can say is no.

 

[Frenzal]

Maybe a free extended warranty on the drive train?

 

[Dustbunni]

I honestly thought about having them purchase, mount, and balance snow tires on the additional wheels.

 

[JohnV]

Great post Dusty! Here's my 2 cents.
1. Unless you are planning to keep 10+ years, I wouldn't worry about the questionable break-in.
2. How badly do you want/need an ITS now? You will be able to get your spec eventually, probably at or below MSRP if you are patient.
3. While the accessories add value, $10K is a lot of extra spend. For me anyway.
4. Nostalgia is a powerful drug. While there's a lot to love about the ITS, check the lease residual value on your Civic. It may be favorable to buy it versus actual value, and then flip it when your exact spec is available. Depreciation today is not exactly the same as when your lease was written. Plus you can bank the difference to offset future cost of the new car.
The big thing for me is gaming the car market. We've seen huge spikes in used cars coming down, but not to previous levels. When used car prices come down, new car availability goes up. IMO the MFR won't idle production lines to keep inventory low on dealer lots, so availability will go up and prices will come down. Supply and Demand. But how much, nobody can say for sure. See #2.

 

[eculley]

To add my small amount of value to this discussion.. the price on the accessories from dealers are inflated at the MSRP level. For instance, I was quoted $800 for the alcantara wheel from the dealer. $350 for the titanium knob.

The $800 was on the "official" Acura accessories list. With that being said, the actual part number is the same as the CTR or base Integra alcantara wheel and can be sourced for a little over $200. I did this myself and the install was super easy. If you take this approach for all but the wheels, you would save a lot of money.

So not only is it about paying for accessories you don't want, but also overpaying for the ones that you do want.

 

[RUNN1N]

I believe @eculley really hit the nail on the head with accessories--if you want them, great, but you're paying a hefty markup on all of them regardless.

I treat unaccompanied test drives similar to outings in rental cars, and because of that, I wouldn't want one that's been demo'ed for more than a handful of miles. Acura Columbus hasn't been allowing unmonitored demos, and they use the most embarrassing collection of 20-35 mph roads for their ~1.5 mile test drive route, so I'd be a little less afraid of those miles, but still. Of course, you'll quickly mask those demo miles with your own miles, but it's your call.

All that said, there's plenty of negotiating you can do, and if you like the color combo, I'd certainly give it a real try--start at MSRP plus INVOICE for the accessories and tint. If they'll eat the cost of labor and let (some/all) their profit on the add-ons, then I'd say you're in great shape. Everything taxable is negotiable, don't let perceived scarcity drive you to make a purchase you're not fully satisfied with.

 

[optronix]

It really comes down to accessories. I wouldn't worry about the break-in, honestly. I think most of that is not real science anyway. I just find it ridiculous to believe that a Honda/Acura engine would somehow be a liability because someone drove it hard in the first few hundred miles...

The accessories, unless you want them, is a tough pill to swallow. I personally like most of them, but avoided them last minute because the install procedures are pretty invasive. The bumper alignment would bug me.

It's your individual tolerance for price and getting a car now vs open timeline. I don't think it's a terrible deal, and the car will still be great- but if you feel like it's a compromise then probably best to keep waiting.

 

[BBauto]

Currently 9th in line on an ITS at the local dealership. They have the launch packaged ITS, that I drove and fell in love with. But since then it became officially for sale. The salesman says that it has a high chance to reach me that most above me have declined the additional add ons or color way of the White/Red. Since putting money down I have looked at the car a few more times. Once seeing a test drive where the tires were squealed, now has close to 250-300 miles, of mostly unsupervised test drives. Bumper poorly installed from grille replacement, as well as just a few odds and ends.
They have the car @MSRP plus $10,000 in launch accessories and $600 in window tint. Grand Total around $63000. It does come with the original dark wheels which would be great for winter. So after all this I still would love the car and the nostalgia that it brought back during my test drive. But I worry about the 300 miles and how it would effect the longevity of the vehicle rather then the suggested break in period.
1. If offered To me what are some things I could negotiate to bring the price back down or make it worth the asking price? Especially being toward the end of the month.
2. Would you buy or pass on this car after the mileage and imperfections?

If I pass I have no idea when I would get into an ITS as the dealer currently doesn’t have or will not disclose the number of allocations for the rest of the year. As my current lease expires in Dec and my wife’s in February. And the longer the wait the more I am afraid that the lease trade in will have less equity.
So just looking for your thoughts on this

TIA. Apologies for the long read.

Place in line is important now, but how will you feel in one year when you look in the driveway? This is a difficult question but I decided go for a Red ITS and I knew this would make for a wait. I was first in line at my dealership, but two ITS ( Black, White) have been delivered and sold. My dealer had an allocation of five plus the white demo car. Maybe I will be 6th to receive, but in the coming years I will be happy every time I look at my Red ITS. Also, presently there are supply and transportation issues which slow delivery...that will likely improve.

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