Acura ILX Test Drive Gone Wrong

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adolan21

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I've been interested in the ILX since it came out and was dying to go test drive it. Luckily for me, there was a dealer a few miles down the road from me with an abundance of them. I had some time to kill so I thought to myself why not go down there and test drive one. Before leaving I thought to myself "I hope they let me drive it even though I'm young," I quickly brushed off that thought because I figured Acura was targeting my age group (25+) so I shouldn't have a problem. Nevertheless I decided to put on a button down shirt and khaki shorts. There was no way I was going to wear pants since it was 85 degrees.

I ended up at the dealership around 6PM and quickly found a row of ILX's right in front of the dealership doors. I didn't want to go right in because I wanted to see how long it would take them to come out and greet me. To my surprise a salesman came out within 5 minutes and was very friendly. I told him my intentions and told him about my interest in the ILX and that's where things started to go wrong. I asked if I could sit inside one and he told me "the keys are so small I'm going to have to a problem finding them for the right car." After he saw my facial expression he walked to one of the ILXs he knew was unlocked and opened it up for me. The interior was fantastic! Soft rubber all around, the steering wheel was nice and thick, and the seats were great. Ok I'm ready to test drive it now. He then tells me that he has an appointment with another customer in a few minutes and he would have another salesperson take care of me. Fine I thought until I realized that no salesperson wanted to help me. All of them were either busy with other customers or trying to ignore me. I wait a little longer to give them more of a chance to take care of me but I had it when an older gentleman comes into the dealership and a salesperson jumps right up to great him. At that point I left thinking to myself, "I should have worn a suit."
 
No, thats when you tell them you'll go to another dealer to make a purchase if they wanna be [censored].

You don't have to dress up to appeal to them. They sell you cars, they don't pick and choose who looks nice enough to treat properly.
 
Civic platform but nothing like a Civic inside. My only complaint about the car is the lack of head room but I'm 6'1".
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Isnt that car a civic?


Sure looks like it. Probably have to show up in an MB to get the sales guy's attention. Ridiculous. But par for the course.
 
I was very disappointed because I could easily afford those cars but now they lost a sale. Also, it sucks because the next dealer in NH is an hour away. My plan was to get the 2.4L with the 6 speed.
 
Yeah, I wouldn't touch that dealer after an incident like that. This isn't the first time I heard of this.

And yes I believe this car is basically a Civic Si dressed in nice Acura clothing.
 
Originally Posted By: jigen
Yeah, I wouldn't touch that dealer after an incident like that. This isn't the first time I heard of this.

And yes I believe this car is basically a Civic Si dressed in nice Acura clothing.


It is minus the LSD. It has the same motor and a similar 6 speed but with a MUCH nicer interior which is the reason I want it. I've narrowed my list down to the ILX 2.4 and the VW GTI.
 
To blazes with that dealer. They clearly don't want your business, so I wouldn't give it to them.

If serious about buying an ILX, start dealing with dealers outside the area, and if you still want to deal with the local yokels, swing by and drop the other dealer's prices into their lap to see if they play ball. If they still laugh you out, Acura corporate would sure love to hear about a dealer who is treating potential customers rudely.
 
Originally Posted By: johnachak
Thats when you buy a Caddy.


Would love to but I can't afford the CTS V
smile.gif
 
When I first learned of the ILX I thought Cimmaron. None the less, your experience at the dealership is terrible. You should bring that to somebody's attention there.
 
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I always dress like [censored] and take the worst car I have to go car shopping. They will drop the price more to get your business. I never let them run my credit score until a deal is signed or I will have my own financing before I go with a prequal letter.

Gets em every time.

Go talk to the General Manager and see if he will sell you a car.
 
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I'd call the Dealer owner and tell him about your experience.

No owner wants this kind of nonsense going on.

How about the ludicrous excuse about the
"keys being too small" what in the heck is that all about. Utter nonsense!


I would have laughed at him before I walked out.

If you cannot contact the owner after you buy your new car some where else make sure to drive up to the showroom and tell the first salesman out oh, this, I bought it at (X) where they wanted my business.

I agree about the VW Golf GTI...a GREAT car!

Personally I would choose it over the ILX.
 
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Their loss, I wouldn't give them a chance given how they treated you. One problem with living in NH, VT, and ME is that a lot of times you are very far from alternate dealers (if there is one at all), so new car choices are much more geographically influenced. Guess it's time to give in and buy a Subaru.
 
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Their loss, I wouldn't give them a chance given how they treated you. One problem with living in NH, VT, and ME is that a lot of times you are very far from alternate dealers (if there is one at all), so new car choices are much more geographically influenced. Guess it's time to give in and buy a Subaru.


I had a 2006 Subaru Legacy GT a couple years back and it was great but the 17 mpg city mileage was not. But the new Subarus are pretty nice. I'm looking for something that is fun to drive and gets good city mileage.
 
Originally Posted By: sciphi
To blazes with that dealer. They clearly don't want your business, so I wouldn't give it to them.


I would counter that argument by saying that in sales, judging your prospects (to an extent) is also important. They only have a limited number of salesmen, and it would be prudent to assign them to the highest potential buyers of that night. And clearly, the OP was interested, but was not ready/likely to buy immediately.
 
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Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: sciphi
To blazes with that dealer. They clearly don't want your business, so I wouldn't give it to them.


I would counter that argument by saying that in sales, judging your prospects (to an extent) is also an important. They only have a limited number of salesman, and it would be prudent to assign them to the highest potential buyers for that night. And clearly, the OP was interested, but not ready/likely to buy immediately.


If this were true I would agree with you. If someone doesn't seem interested then I would understand if they want to cut their losses and go on to someone who is BUT I never gave him any idea that I wasn't interested. In fact, I wanted to go test drive it. It's not like I asked to drive a super car or anything I asked for a normal test drive like any buyer would do.
 
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