I sure wish I had known about this forum before I cut my deal on an H2 in central New Jersey. I thought I had a good deal when I negotiated an '04 Lux H2 with sunroof and Navigation for $51,100 on a $57,740 MSRP. After I added some modest accessories, I was shocked at the mark-up. $3200 for a 3 screen DVD entertainment system; $1500 for the SMA tire carrier, $2700 for five factory chromed wheels; $1400 for the wraparound grille guard; $299 for the tail lamp protectors; $500 for the third seat; $599 for the billet fuel door...and so on. I was so disgusted that I was ready to chuck the whole deal. I did a search on the web and found a couple of H2 accessory sites and when I saw the real prices for some of these accessories, I called the dealer back and said if I didn't get at least the going web prices, I would shop somewhere else. The dealer quickly came down to the lower prices (which I still thought were borderline robbery): $2300 for a 3 headrest screen dvd system, $700 for the tire carrier; 545 for the grille guard; $145 for the taillamp protectors. I couldn't find a good price for the chromed wheels on the web. That was before I knew about this forum, so the best I could do on the wheels was $1,600 for 5. I knew I wanted my H2 so bad that I put a deposit down and told them to get the vehicle ready. It's now two more days till delivery and they cashed my deposit check already. I'm holding the certified check for the balance until delivery but I know I could have saved more if I had visited this forum first. The Edmunds site told me that $56,600 was the going rate in my area for the base H2 with the Lux package and Navigation before the accessories so I thought my $51,100 was a good deal. Oh well. I learned a lesson and I will be looking to this forum for more education and enlightenment in the future. The dealers seem to be making a killing on these rigs in my area. I encourage folks to visit this forum often so that there won't be more "victims". Thanks for all the info. God bless all!
