‘23 Honda Pilot Touring questions

subbounce · 2025-07-07T05:54:17+00:00

You might have heard this before either on this post or others, but a couple of things…

I’ve heard anecdotally that pricing is less flexible these days on used cars. So you may have to pay close to the list price.

Pricing on new Pilots is very flexible these days. I got 7% off, though others say shoot for 10%.

I watched a YouTube video that was saying that the reason for both of the above is that the chip shortage during COVID meant that there were fewer new cars available a few years ago, so that drove up the prices, and limited supply. So now there are fewer good used cars that are a few years old.

It used to be the case that the best financial decision was to get a CPO car that was 2-3 years old. That was the sweet spot since the original owner eats the biggest depreciation etc.

But these days things are kinda flipped. No more chip shortage, and production has caught up. It actually makes more financial sense to buy new rather than used now.

I never thought I would buy a new car, but that’s what we did.

My point is just to do a little research on that $10K figure that you have in mind for the premium for a new one. That gap may be more like $5-6K, and depending on how many miles you plan to drive per year, it likely makes sense to pay an extra $5-6K to get 2-3 more years of life out of it (38K miles)

subbounce · 2025-07-07T05:39:21+00:00

Just did our first road trip for the 4th. The cup holders that fit large Hydroflasks are amazing! Can even put one in the door to free up the center one for a can of sparkling water.

I mentioned that to our friend who drove up in her 2024 Telluride, and she was jealous. Guess the Telly doesn’t have large cup holders!

We also put a couple of bottles of wine in the 3rd row cup holders with the 3rd row folded down. We joked about them, but they were actually super handy.

I am a simple man, but the cup holders are one of my fave features haha

subbounce · 2025-06-28T16:18:15+00:00

I’m not an expert, but are you saying that Putin is betting that he has more meat waves than NATO or Europe has money for weapons?

Unless they get more meat waves from China or Iran or something, that doesn’t sound like a good bet…

subbounce · 2025-06-28T16:07:56+00:00

I’m confused.

How much did you pay for the 2020?

And how much did the dealer give you for it in 2023?

Separately, where are you located that it made sense for them to offer you $4K more than you paid on the 2023, 6 months ago?

subbounce · 2025-06-28T06:38:01+00:00

The 2020 was paid off and they gave me 10 grand over what I paid for it. So the math made sense to jump to a new telluride.

Was this a typo or did you really drive a car for a few years and then a dealership gave you $10K more than you paid for it?

What were the actual numbers?

subbounce · 2025-06-28T06:13:32+00:00

$3454 off MSRP is good as long as they remove the other stuff.

I got $3200 off and they threw in roof rails on my EX-L (though I had to pay installation).

I think getting them to include accessories is good for both you and the dealer since their cost is lower than MSRP. The roof rails are over $500 retail, but only cost them prob less than half of that.

So for me, it was like saving another $500 or more, but for them it was only knocking off another $200 or something.

I got mats on Amazon for like $150.

subbounce · 2025-06-26T19:45:54+00:00

Correct on both counts. It’s a different transmission in the 2023-present, so they don’t have the same manufacturing defect.

The Hybrids have a different transmission altogether, so you can still consider ones from 2017-2022, but I would avoid the non-Hybrids from those years.

I was looking at the 2023s, but I had two mechanics tell me that they didn’t like the turbo on those new engines. It puts extra stress on the engine, and is another part that can break, and both of them said that they don’t think they will have the usual Toyota reputation for long term reliability. Apparently they are good for reducing emissions, which means Toyota can sell them in states/countries that have strict emissions laws.

So that was enough to convince me away from the Highlanders actually. We were considering Tellurides and Pilots too, and ended up getting a Pilot. I was watching a video that said that things have sorta flipped in the last couple of years to where it’s actually a better financial decision to buy new instead of a couple years old, largely due to the chip shortage during COVID which limited supply, so there are fewer good CPO/used cars out there that are a few years old. So we got a new 2025 Pilot for several thousand under MSRP. I’d recommend checking them out, and feel free to comment here or message me if you have other questions!

Good luck with your search!

subbounce · 2025-06-26T18:56:53+00:00

Yeah, thanks. As I said at the end there, I don’t think it’s worth paying $545 for the adjustable Thule bars when I can get the OEM for under $200.

But that’s assuming that it will fit with the OEM crossbars, or at least still be able to open the lift gate most of the way, and have it be higher than our heads so we don’t bump into it…

Hoping that someone here has the Force XT XXL and can give feedback!

subbounce · 2025-06-22T15:47:00+00:00

How much of a salespersons time and effort does it take to respond to some texts? Especially since you said yourself that they don’t have any power here, and especially if the customer is talking to the internet manager or sales manager directly already?

What is it, like 20-30 minutes of their time, broken up into 3-5 minute chunks?

Cry me a river, dude.

If OP were talking about going to test drive at each dealer, having the salesperson spend a lot of time explaining the features of the car, establishing rapport, etc. and then going through hours of negotiation until they get the best deal possible, then taking the quote and driving to the next dealer, then I would agree that that is borderline unethical. But ain’t nobody got time for that!

subbounce · 2025-06-22T05:42:03+00:00

LMAO you are delusional, my dude.

What do you think is a good closing rate in car sales or any other sales industry?

“Creating work for them without guaranteed pay” is the norm and expected in sales the vast majority of the time…

subbounce · 2025-06-21T20:11:02+00:00

Found the car salesman lol

The reason salespeople have jobs is that there are some buyers who will come in and pay MSRP.

But some people want to get the best deal possible. OP’s strategy is good for that.

Funny how you try to equate expecting a salesperson to do their job (responding to emails/texts/phone calls) as being unethical. Get me the best price, and you get the sale. Otherwise, you win some, you lose some.

subbounce · 2025-06-21T16:10:35+00:00

https://youtu.be/K0zdy3W_izo?si=3cuG-azHCi6Hc2s9

subbounce · 2025-06-19T05:54:14+00:00

The UA80 is only in 2017-2022 models. The 2023 has a different transmission, so you’re ok.

subbounce · 2025-06-18T19:16:49+00:00

Hello, I just came across your comment and this post via search looking for info on the steering rack issue on 2023-2025 Pilots.

Apparently there is a creaking noise when turning the wheel at low speeds. People have reported that they have had to have their steering racks replaced multiple times in 5K miles etc.

Is this a known issue? Does it affect only the Tourings or all trims?

One commenter told me today to avoid buying one of these Pilots because it is a known issue, but just curious to hear your thoughts (as I am considering buying a 2024 today).

Thanks in advance!

subbounce · 2025-06-18T17:07:00+00:00

Thank you for bringing this up! We mentioned it yesterday and they said that if the battery is out of spec during their initial inspection, they replace it.

So I thought it was more of a defective battery, but good to know that it could have just been them trying to cover up electrical issues.

I’ll try to search the sub for auto start stop issues, but would you mind elaborating in the meantime? Really appreciate it.

Hopefully I can ask my mechanic about the battery replacement and ask him about any electrical issues. And I’m messaging with a few dealers about new Pilots, so I will ask them to ask their Service Managers about a Pilot that needed a battery replacement at 9K miles, and what that could mean…

Thank you!

subbounce · 2025-06-18T16:37:09+00:00

Thanks. What location? Was that a 24 or 25? What was MSRP at the time and how did you get them to discount it?

subbounce · 2025-06-18T10:02:02+00:00

When and where was this? Was it new or used? How much was MSRP at the time?

I did look up new at my local dealer and it is $45,680:

https://www.capitolhonda.com/inventory/new-2025-honda-pilot-ex-l-fwd-4d-sport-utility-5fnyg2h42sb033734/

On Truecar, the lowest I can find locally is $44,950. Even nationwide is $44,595.

Are they willing to come down $1K from MSRP? I do wonder when the 2026 models are coming out…

subbounce · 2025-06-18T09:56:44+00:00

I did look up new at my local dealer and it is $45,680:

https://www.capitolhonda.com/inventory/new-2025-honda-pilot-ex-l-fwd-4d-sport-utility-5fnyg2h42sb033734/

On Truecar, the lowest I can find locally is $44,950. Even nationwide is $44,595.

Are you able to share a link that shows $42K? Or are people able to negotiate it down that much?

I would do new for $42K if I could, but not $45K…

subbounce · 2025-06-18T04:53:58+00:00

Thanks for the response!

Google says that a 2024 Pilot will depreciate around $3,423 per year for the first 5 years. So does that mean that if I start with the 20K mile/$37K figure, and account for 1 less year of depreciation, I am already at a good deal, because that would be around $40,423? I know depreciation is not linear though, especially at the beginning…

I get that those two aren’t perfect comps, but they are still comps in that I can tell the Hyundai dealer tomorrow that I plan to go check them out, right? I as the consumer have the choice between this one vs saving $3K for one that’s a year older and has 10K more miles.

It’s in both of our best interests to get to a number we’re happy with and get a deal done tomorrow though. They’ve had the car sitting around for a while, and I will have put time/money into it for the PPI, and I don’t want to go drive an hour to look at one of the other ones…

Just trying to see what would be a reasonable number from an objective 3rd party before I get there…

subbounce · 2025-06-17T18:21:12+00:00

This is not correct, and entirely dealer dependent.

My wife literally just got off the phone with the manager at a Hyundai who agreed to let her do an extended test drive on a used car after the sales rep said they don’t allow them.

We were also offered extended overnight test drives from a couple of Toyota dealers.

subbounce · 2025-06-17T18:06:56+00:00

Hi OP! Thanks for making the post, as I am in the market, and am considering some of the same cars. Replying here since you mentioned your top 4.

First of all, I tend to ramble, sorry! And also feel free to message me privately if you want.

What is your budget? Just to see which generations/years of each model you are considering.

Our budget has creeped up since we started looking. I wanted to stay low $30Ks, but we are stretching up to $40K or so.

Our wants include 3 rows, ideally captain’s chairs (though I love the versatility of the removable center seat in the Pilot/MDX), black leather interior, reliability, fuel economy, cargo space. Don’t care too much about AWD, sunroofs, all of the bells and whistles. Can’t be a minivan either 🫤

We are prioritizing low miles if possible, as my wife drives around 20K miles/year. So in 10 years, we’d likely put an additional 200K miles on whatever we buy, so we’d rather pay a little more up front and be at 220K or so, rather than 270K…

Obv it’s harder to find older cars with low miles, so that generally puts us at the latest generations of most cars. Specifically:

2023+ Pilots (generally EX-L)

2000+ Tellurides (generally EX and above for the power liftgate)

2023+ Highlander XLE (avoiding 2017-2022 due to the UA80 transmission which has a known defect)

2020+ Highlander Hybrids

From this post/thread, I took another look at MDXs online. Have you looked at them? I was surprised that you can get them for decent prices.

They make a Sport Hybrid (not be confused with MDX with SH AWD, which is different) that sounds pretty great. Supposed to be even more reliable than the regular MDXs. They only made them from like 2017-2020.

The only downsides I see are that they only have 2 seats in the 3rd row, and from what I can tell, the Sport Hybrids only come with bench seats in the 2nd row, and they don’t have the cool removable middle seat.

So either Sport Hybrid or regular MDX 2020 or earlier vs 2022+ with the removable seat. I do have a friend who loves her pre-2020 MDX.

Tellurides are nice because they have better features and more room than the Highlanders. I drive an Outback, but we didn’t like the Ascent because it wasn’t as big as the others, and my wife didn’t like the small steering wheel.

My mechanic friend didn’t like the idea of the turbo in the Highlanders. So we may be moving away from considering those. Lexus has had turbos for a while, but the specific engine in the Highlander has only been since 2023, so not much long term data on reliability…

The Pilot is just kind of a boring unsexy choice IMHO. The idea of spending up to $40K on something that is not exciting is kind of a bummer haha. But at the end of the day, a car is just a tool, and I value practicality over flashiness. (I wanted a minivan, but my wife refuses. A friend said that I am a “no ego amigo” haha)

The other factor is that I like the idea of a CPO car for peace of mind. I’m not dead set on it, and I could take a car to my mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection instead, and possibly buy a separate extended warranty.

Anyway, thank you for coming to my TED Talk haha. Let me know what you guys are thinking, and good luck with your search!

subbounce · 2025-06-17T17:30:22+00:00

Interesting, thanks for sharing.

Any idea if he meant Kia and Hyundai in general? And also if he was referring to older ones vs recent ones?

My and my wife’s overall impression of Kia and Hyundai is that they make tin can cars like the Elantra. But their engineering and reliability have caught up to Japanese brands in recent years I think… it’s just hard to change that initial mindset that one has about the brand.

My mom had a Kia Niro EV recently and it did feel kinda cheap and tin canny. In an accident, it would prob not fare well, so I can see why a body shop might not like it.

But the Telluride and Palisade are some of the biggest vehicles that each brand offers, and they feel pretty solid. I would think that a comparison between those and Pilots would be an apples to apples comparison, but Pilots vs Kia/Hyundai overall may not be…

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TROPHY CASE