I've done some fairly extensive research in shopping for a new vehicle that would well serve our family of five.  I considered both sport utility vehicles and minivans.  Recently, I developed enough certainty (sorry about the academic phrasing, however, I believe it is accurate) that the Honda Odyssey would best suit our needs.  I would be happier about, and perhaps less hesitant in, purchasing the Honda Odyssey were the market conditions a bit different for this vehicle (see July 31).  In summary, most Odysseys are being sold at MSRP (Manufacturer Sticker Recommended Price) or above and there is a waiting list for the vehicle (delivery could be anywhere from six weeks to six months or more).  I am not accustomed to purchasing vehicles under these conditions.

Costco came into the picture on July 23 because it directed me to a dealership that was participating in its auto selling service.  I had recalled that Costco bricks provided a service for its customers to get a "no haggle" price for a new car from participating area auto dealers, so I decided to see if this service was available online at Costco.  Under the link "membership services," I found a link for "auto sales."  I entered in my zipcode and the Costco website informed me that no Honda dealers in my area were available for this program.  Next, I entered the zipcode for the location where one of my sisters lives -- about twenty miles west of Boston.  Costco did report a participating Honda dealer for her zipcode.  Woohoo.  The dealership, Executive Honda, is located in south central Connecticut -- oh, about 100 miles away from my sister and about 120 miles away from me; I was glad that Costco liberally defines "area" dealerships and I decided that I would still engage this dealership and see if a useful exchange could be carried out.

I sent the dealership an email and Ray, a salesperson, eventually replied via telephone.  To make a long story short, he informed me that they were pricing the Odyssey at $200 under MSRP as a small token for Costco customers.  To make another long story short, I explained to him that I was engaged in this research project where I did all of my retail shopping online and I wanted to know if they would deliver the Odyssey to my home -- as it would be ideal -- and if so, to let me know the delivery charge.  We had some disconnect over time.  During this time, I pondered the significance of purchasing a new vehicle priced $200 below MSRP from a dealership that was physically located 120 miles away from my home (but was "informationally" located next door via the Internet) versus purchasing a new vehicle priced at MSRP from a physically local Honda dealership (i.e., within 10 miles of my home).

I wondered, wouldn't I get better service from a dealership at which I purchased a vehicle?  Would I be sacrificing better service for $200 were I to purchase the vehicle from the Connecticut dealership?  In the end, my belief is that, on average, it does not matter.  I could definitely find some people who would say that it matters and I could easily find many people who would say it does not matter.  Honda dealerships get paid for servicing vehicles under warranty.  In this day and age, many auto dealers are not making much money from the sale of new cars; they are making most of their profits from financing, used car sales, and after sale service.  The smart auto dealerships are girding their loins for the future of auto sales by bulking up and providing terrific after sale service.  My guess is that one of the Honda dealerships near me is smart, wants to survive and is aware of this trend.  At the least, this type of dealership will service any warranty work on my Honda that would need to be done -- oh, by the way, it's a Honda, so I do not expect to make many trips to the shop for warranty repairs (knock on wood).  Besides, what do you suppose the service system is going to be like when new auto sales are direct or essentially direct from the manufacturer?  The local Honda dealership is going to perform the warranty work.

When Executive Honda and I reconnected, they said that they would deliver an Odyssey to my door with no charge for delivery.  My decision was made and I placed an order for an Odyssey; a driver and Ray will bring the Odyssey to my house (I believe that this is very cool).  Amy and I still had to decide which model to get, the LX or the EX (the model with the power doors and alloy wheels).  I knew Amy wanted the power doors (i.e., the EX), however, she was willing to get the LX model (no power doors) in response to my value-driven analysis (though deep down, I believe that I really did want the alloy wheels and, perhaps, the high tech power doors -- it is the incremental $2600 that I do not want to part with which goes with the decision to get the EX model).  In the end, we ordered the EX and here's why:

a) I asked Amy "it will be your car, which model do you want?" She said,
    with little hesitation, "the EX."  (I kept thinking about some research done
    by Fazio and Kardes that has to do with response time; Amy's quick
    response meant that she clearly preferred the EX.)
b) I kept hearing Debbie -- an Internet Shopping 24/7 project reader 
    (scroll down a bit in the May 25 diary entry) -- saying, "I know that I said do 
    whatever an 8 1/2 pregnant woman wants...well, an addendum is, do whatever 
    your wife and mother of your three young children wants."
c) I could hear Andrew -- the Mercedes Benz guru that I met at the Acura
    MDX Townhall forum on Edmunds.com -- indicating that the alloy
    wheels will deliver a better drive, climate control is awesome, traction
    control adds more safety -- though the LX will come with it in 2001, and dual
    power sliding doors and power front seat will no doubt be a huge convenience to 
    Mom.  (Andrew also suggested that I get the EX version with the Navigation
    system.  Thank goodness the NAV system did not interest Amy -- there's $2000
    that will stay on our side of the fence, for now).
d) Jonathan Hibbard -- my dear colleague and "manager" (some say consigliari) --
    reminded me that Amy has been incredibly gracious and accommodating during
    the first eleven months of The Internet Shopping 24/7 Project (we could easily
    generalize this statement to our entire marriage -- she is amazing and I am
    forever grateful that she somehow can tolerate, most of the time, me being me).
e) I wanted no regrets and second guessing on either of our parts as time marches
    on (knock on wood -- the complexity of the power doors and the precision 
    required to make them work flawlessly still makes me a little nervous).
f) Ok, I like alloy wheels and I wanted a seat with lumbar support.  The power
    driver seat isn't going to bother me either.  Did I mention the tinted glass
    on the rear glass panels which will reduce the likelihood that Ben, Sam and 
    Kate will  squint or be bothered by the sun while motoring in this vehicle?
    (I doubt that the radio controls on the steering wheel will be useful; can't you
    tell that I am the type who leaves the radio on one station all of the time?
    I can't imagine ever using the roof rack for some large Costco purchase --
    I will be returning to stores at some point.  Won't I?  Of course I will.
    Don't be foolish.)

Tomorrow, I'll write more about my 2001 Honda Odyssey order decision.  This evening, Amy, the kids and I will be having dinner with some neighbors who live a few doors down the street -- they already signed the block party petition, however, I have never asked them about their online shopping experiences :-).
 

Luis Castillo RBI Watch (Through August 19, 2000)

Number of Hits......Batting Average......Number of RBI......Runs Scored
......139.......................357............................9........................78

Luis went 2-5 as the Marlins got pounded by the Colorado Rockies 10-3.  He leadoff in the first inning with a line out to third base; he leadoff the third inning with a fly out to left field.  Luis batted leadoff -- again -- in the fifth inning with a single to right field.  He leadoff the seventh inning by grounding out to third base.  In the ninth inning, with one out and no one on base, Luis singled to left field.  (These data are obtained from ESPN.com.)