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I think it's great that you now have piece of mind. We were all very happy with our 07's and equally frustrated with the missing map light. Some of us have 09's now but I would still have my 07 had it not gotten totaled. I know you will be happy with the 07 and I know what you mean about the RPM's but just make the radio loud and do not worry about the gas mileage...unless the road is flat the MPG's will be affected. I now understand how the mpgs work since the new model has a meter in it and so i see how I lose mpgs every time there is a slight incline on the highway. I never would have said there were inclines in the greater metro atlanta area but to my surprise it is not flat like I thought. I think I must not have noticed or else it is because my old Protege ES had a very powerful engine and so it just never registered!
Anyway, enjoy the car, enjoy your piece of mind, get the sticky lights and then one day you will sell this car to someone who needs help with their situation. I think you got a fair deal from what I can tell on the list prices of 07 models with miles and also Carmax probably gave you some sort of Warranty? Anyway it's funny how we never think we will shop somewhere and then we do! I would take off any Carmax advertising or dealer license plate frames.
Have fun! Best wishes for health and happiness!
Congratulations that you got your first new car. This car will last forever. To me your OTD price of 16.364 sounds fair. I do not have all the prices memorized like you probably do but this is a great car that will keep its value and will be very reliable. It is never really a good idea to seek out opinions after you pay for a car though. The most important thing is that in 8 or more years when you want a new car, you will have more confidence because now you know what to expect from car buying. While the economy is sluggish, Honda does not normally give its cars away so it's not like there was a huge deal to be had that you might have missed. Any variation on pricing that you might have been able to achieve is minimal over the life of the car. The main thing is that you are happy with your car. Your sales tax is fairly low so that helped out a little as well...
Just enjoy your car!!!!!!
sue
Thanks for the good wishes and wisdom -- just what I needed to calm the post-purchase jitters.
Debra
Sure thing! I know you are going to be very happy with your great new car!! BTW what color did you get? I cannot remember if you said....
sue
OTD price $20212.75 with all weather mats and wheel locks .
Base Price $ 18760 ( this was Under Invoice including freight )
Fees $100.00
Title Tags $250.00
6% MD Tax $1102.75
is that a good price ?
thanks,
Josh
Please tell me the dealership you bought from. I'm in central NY, and the best quote I have so far is ~$15,700 including destination (no tax/title/registration) for an automatic base fit. Some of you seem to have bought at 15,300 or less, and I'm willing to travel for such savings.
Thanks!
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/13/how-to-buy-a-new-car.html
Watch the video, do competitive bidding. It makes a ton of sense.
Hope this helps.
In case you're wondering the dealer is in Northern VA.
I'm loving my Fit!
This will vary by the state you live in.
Could you tell us what was the price with destination charges?
Thanks
Your price seems to be around MSRP before your taxes etc...Am I right? what do you think of your price? Was there a lot of inventory? At this point just be happy with your car whether you got a good price or not because it is now your car...
Have fun in your new Fit!
I am going to just chime in even though you were not writing to me since I was one of the people that got out the door for 17000 with a sport auto 09.
I do not think there are many deals like this. I think you have to sort of fall into it by luck. Also I always read the California is more expensive than most other places...
The only way to know if you have ANY leverage at all is to know the inventory and watch it closely and see which dealerships have cars moving out. Now it could be that they have cars moving out b/c they are making deals or it could be that they are just better to deal with so it does not mean that the dealership with HUGE inventory will necessarily cut you a break since they are not moving any cars to begin with. Perhaps they are stubborn with their price or hard to deal with.
But, with all that said, you really need to have some idea if there are any dealerships who would appreciate your business due to slow sales. Here in GA I am able to check on cars.com using my zipcode. I do not know if other states load their inventory into cars.com but it is sooo great b/c i monitor movement daily and weekly.
With all my vigilance, an overloaded dealership would not budge and my deal came from a dealership wanting to move a unit for cash on that particular day in December. The mood of each dealership changes often but with Honda, I bet the dealerships do make some sort of deal to not do price lowering which is why most of the time people pay a pretty penny for a Honda...
Anyway, good luck to you in your car hunt. If you have time, take your time. You might not want the FIT anymore if you wait b/c the new Insight is coming out next and I think it is an improved Hybrid that will be slightly more expensive than the Fit but under 20000 and in my opinion, this car will be the "next thing"...
have fun!
sue
Yes, I'll try checking cars.com and see if I can make some sense of it and who might have some excess inventory they are anxious to sell. If anybody else has found some great deals within 100 miles or so of Santa Barbara, CA PLEASE let me know..my old car is practically dead and I want to get something before the taxes go up April 1st! If I have it right, I hear registration fees will also double...gulp!
This was my first car purchase and I had no idea what all those numbers meant. I put $1,800 down and will be paying $215 a month for 72 months @ 6.9 APR in case anyone's interested. Anyone think I overpaid??
The real money you are over paying is in the terms of your loan. Take a look at how much interest you will be paying at 6.9 for 72 months! Run one of those calculators or really the finance person sometimes does this for you...
This is a very long loan! This might have been the only way you could afford the car but you are going to spend quite a bit in interest! I thought 60 month loans were long but 72 is very long! I hope that you can get this car paid off in half the time...when your financial situation improves maybe you can increase your payments but you have to check for early payment penalties, some companies charge you extra if you pay it off early.
Good luck and this was not a bad first experience! My first experience was much worse but that was before the internet. Honestly, people should really spend time understanding what they are doing before making large purchases but real life is the best school!
have fun!
sue
Happy new Fit owner. Yeah!
Here is an example:
2009 Honda Fit Sport Automatic
$17480.00 Selling Price includes the destination charge
+$1200.00 Sales tax
+$350 Plates and reg
+$100.00 Dealer Doc fee/processing fee
=$19130.00 OTD
Here goes the deal I got
2009 Honda Fit Sport Automatic silver from Paragon Honda in Woodside Queens, they really have a great staff.
$16,599.00 Selling Price includes the destination charge (yes destination included)
$79.00 Wheel locks No charge for full tank of gas and 2 years of needed oil changes. (not sure if this is from dealer or from honda.)
$1396.78 Sales tax
$12.50 Tire fee (recycling)
$205 Plates and reg
$45.00 Dealer processing fee (quibbled over it but in the end, I processed the sale in 2.5 hours at dealer on the same day I told them I was a go. ( by doing Geico on the phone in morning and going to Municipal Credit Union for loan.
No documentation fee that I see often on the web site and from dealers
=$18,337.28 OTD
Thanks all. I must admit the prevailing price among dealers was around 16,799-16,999 for sale price including destination but because of all your suggestions one nyc dealer went lower. I parked the car this evening in NYC and two guys were crossing the street and they just said to me they liked the car, what kind is it. NICE Enjoy.
PS What is Honda Care I got it for free but could not tell if that is just something that everyone gets when they buy the car. Oh, also because of your comments I had them give me the bridgestone tires instead of the Dunlop. Every little bit helps in keeping road noise down. But alas it is not a Lexus or a Rolls. who suffer from deafening silence in the cabin
2009 Honda Fit Sport Automatic Black
with window tint
Price : $17,250.00 (Including destination Fee)
Sales Tax: $1078.13
Vehicle Inventory Tax $28.27
License: $75.80
Title/Registration: $33.00
2 year State Inspection: $23.75
Document Fee: $50.00
Drive out Total : $18,538.95
I financed through my credit union and was out of there in about 2 hours.
Thanks,
Chintan
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com
First about me. I wanted to buy a Honda Fit to pull behind my Motor Home. I had a 2007 and it was totaled. I have my vehicles registered in Montana under a LLC I formed there. This allows me to register the vehicle there and not pay local sales taxes in Texas. I get a temporary 30 day permit and then register and License the car in Montana. No sales tax there. I live in Hawaii and I'm about to retire and travel full time. Keep in mind that I am in Hawaii and plan on flying into Dallas and picking a new car up in May and then continuing my travels.
I contacted several Honda Dealers in Dallas and Shreveport La, because that's where my Motor Home is now. I made the contacts by emails telling them I wanted a Fit Auto Sport and no options.
Freeman Honda contacted me with the following in their email.
FIT SPORT AUTOMATIC
MSRP:$17580
Free 100,000 Mile Warranty
FREEMAN HONDA PRICE:$16195
Limited time only.On all standard equiped vehicles
That looked like a very good price although some of the claims in this forum are in this range. I emailed the company told them I was interested in buying. By the way, there was never another mention of the Free 100.000 Warranty
They replied by senting me the following in an email!
"Sherry,
Your price on this vehicle is 16195+670 for destination +400 for adds that may be on the vehicle)wheel locks,( to protect your vehicle from vandalism, tint, to keep your car interior cool, pinstripes door molding, just for a stylish look, tray liner in the trunk, for those spills that might occur or to put mulch in the back of the vehicle with no hesitation. All Dealers have adds. Just ask them for dealer adds upfront and they will tell you, "yes I do have adds". If they say otherwise they'd be lying.
17265 Drive out"
I noticed the destination fee was added and no taxes or fees mentioned but I emailed back.
"Other Dealers are willing to sell the car without add-ons. Most of the options you mentioned I wouldn't want if they were free. Wheel locks maybe. Please let me know if your offer is $16,865 with no options?"
They emailed me back.
"Dear Mrs. Barnette,
That price is with all the add ons."
I then emailed back asking for clarification.
"So your saying the price I sent you of $16,865 includes the Add-ons?
(MR) Sherry Barnette
Their answer. "Yes Mam."
They were now confirming in writing the lower price and it included the Add-ons.
After a couple of telephone conversations in which I went through my desire to register the car myself and avoid fees, which were agree to by the salesman. I sent the following email.
"Hi, I just want to get the entire offer down on one page, with a signature from someone at the Dealership who is authorized to make a binding offer. I'm happy with the deal as we have discussed and agreed upon. I'd like a fax with the following details.
1, Listing the car as 2009 Honda Fit Sport with Automatic., Tidewater Blue Metallic color.
2, List the options, Tint for windows, Luggage tray mat, Pinstripes, Wheel locks.
3, Amount of Deposit at $500.00 by Credit card. deposit will be refundable at buyers choice until April 15th or car is available on your lot whichever is later.
4, Three thousand of total price can be paid by Credit card.
5, Vehicle will be titled and licensed by buyer in Montana and buyer will be responsible for Montana fees and taxes. Texas sales tax will not be charged.
6, There will be no other fees charged and the total out the door price will be $16,865."
Please fax agreement to me at 808- xxx-xxxx"
I then received a fax signed by the sales manager which stated.
"Freeman Honda
Sherry,
Freeman Honda authorizes the sale of:
2009 Honda Fit Sport Automatic transmission in Tidewater Blue with standard equipment and the options listed below:
Trunk Tray liner
Tinted Windows
Wheel locks
Pinstrip
I've run out of room, I'll post the rest in the next 1/2 hour.
I left off part one half way through the faxed signed offer from Freeman Honda.
Continued at pinstripes
Door molding
The amount of the Deposit ($500.00) to secure the vehicle is refundable at buyers choice until 15th of April or car is available on the lot whichever is the later.
Buyer may be able to put as much as $3,000 down toward the car on a Credit Card.
The Vehicle will be titled in(sic) licensed by buyer in the State of Montana. Buyer is responsible for all Montana fees and taxes.
Total drive out cost on the vehicle with no other fees applied will be $16865.
Thank You"
The faxed offer was signed by the Sales Manager. I read it carefully and I didn't like the following "Total drive out cost on the vehicle with no other fees applied will be $16865." I felt they could claim that meant there could be other fees that (could) would be applied by the dealer on the final invoice. I wrote on the offer the following signed it and faxed it back to the dealership.
"OK, with the understanding that $16,865 is the total cost and there are no other fees except Montana fees by Buyer."
Two days later from the Salesman. "Good morning. I hope you're having a beautiful day. Did you get the fax back yet? I can fax it to you this morning. It's already signed." I did not receive it, instead I had calls about the sales Manager didn't understand why I was requesting the signed acknowledgment of my Understanding. I was told there was no problem, vocally, we had an agreement with no other fees. I said if that's a fact then the Sales Manager should have no problem signing the fax. I sent this email. "No fax yet! I really don't understand the lack of a return acknowledgment of the clarification of the agreement. You said the Out the door price was firm and there would be no other fees or costs from Freeman Honda. It shouldn't cause any concern at all. This makes me think there is a issue here. Can you start by emailing me with your assurance that the deal is Price $16,865. Out the door, no other charges or expenses from Freeman Honda?"
Then the bomb dropped. I received this email. "No other manager wants to commit to this because the deal isn't making any profit. Xxxxxx Xxxxx want an additional $300 for the adds. Xxxxxxx is off today.
So they want more money. They weren't truthful with me I wrote them an email that said "I've been lied to. how do you explain that to me. They answered two days later that they would honor the deal with no fees. What would you do?
Sherry
"
This whole experience was very unnerving and since this dealership is the only convenient place to get Honda service we are now reconsidering buying a honda at all, even though we were very happy with our past 2 cars.
I would appreciate hearing some other thoughts on this.
Been following the blogs and read "Online Car Buying Revisited".
Having envy for the low prices the East Coast folks were paying. Used Edmund's to connect to local dealers for internet prices. Gilroy Honda replied with a great web brochure that described the car, showed a picture, schedule to set up a drive and best of all the internet price! $15,995 (destination charge included in that price)
Add taxes, $1160, and title and registration fees totaling $286.38.
It was below Edmund's TMV and below the dealer invoice price. It was as good as the deals I was reading on the East Coast. I called them. "Sir, we're a small town honest dealership, everything is as you see, no monkey business" I was quoted the out the door price, had a cashiers check made for the amount of $17,441.38 and showed up the next day. Everyone was real nice, talked story, showed us the car and in less than an hour we were on the road with our new Fit!
regards,
kyfdx
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
After calling about 20 dealerships in the Boston area and southern NH, our best bid was $19,303, including 5% tax and all fees. A couple of places offered to match that price, and one of them, Honda Village, on Washington Street in Newton, was conveniently located and offered a few free incentives (free towing, free loaner car, 10% off all Honda accessories). So we went with them.
A couple of things people should know:
-In that video, the guy tells you not to trade in your car to the dealer, because the dealer uses this to make up any loss they'd take from giving you a good price. That makes sense, however there are some reasons to trade in that he doesn't mention. For us, the main advantage was the tax. In a trade in, the dealer discounts the price of the new car by the amount of the old car, and thus you get taxed on a lower amount. For example, 5% tax on a car that costs $19,000 is $950, whereas if the car is discounted to $13,500 with a $5,500 trade in, is $650. Still, the only reason we traded in our old car was because a used car dealer who is a close friend of our family told us that our car was worth $5,500, and that he would buy it from Honda Village for that price if they gave us that for trade in value. Before we told them this, the dealer only offered us $3200! They finally agreed to buy the car for $5,500 themselves after we got up to leave.
-One thing I was fairly surprised about was how dead right the video was about the scams they try to pull once you've set a price. Accessories and warranties really are how they make their money. Before we went to the dealer, I looked on Honda's website and picked out some accessories for the car, expecting to get them at 10% off like the salesman told me. I decided on all weather floor mats, the storage armrest, wheel locks, and the protective strip on the door panels. Once we got to the point where we picked out our accessories, I noticed something strange. With the exception of the side strip, all of the prices were much higher than they were on Honda's site.
all season mats: honda-$130, dealer-$172
armrest: honda-$240, dealer-$324
wheel locks: honda-$55, dealer-$76
When I asked what the deal was, he said that the higher prices include installation. Really? for wheel locks and floor mats? Yea, well, that and shipping...
Needless to say, we didn't buy that stuff. I found the exact same items at partscheap.com, the wheel locks are $35, the mats are $72, and the armrest is $180. I can "install" the mats and locks myself, but the armrest is beyond my expertise. I called a couple of the nearest dealers and asked what they charge to install it, and Herb Chambers came in the lowest with $109. Not a huge savings, but I'd still say it's worth it. I'd rather not line the pockets of a misleading dealership.
Anyway, we LOVE the car, and wish everyone else the best of luck with their purchases!
Warranty still on, inside seems okay.. took it out for a test drive, seemed okay.. Should I offer a lower price??
Thanks
I do not see how this is a deal. Not to mention, you have NO PROOF that nothing bad happened to the car, even though it probably didn't. It's more the principal of the matter...you could get out the door with the same price new. Do your homework and shop around. I think you are attracted to the idea of getting the Sport (which is understandable, it is a nicer car) and you have lost sight of the fact that this is not a deal.
Good luck to this dealer in unloading a 1600 mile car! I am only one opinion but I think he would think you are a sucker if you bought it at that price. Some of us got out the door in the 17.000's and while you might not get that deal on a brand Sport Auto, I certainly would not be going out the door for more than 17000 with this many miles.
My advice is to do nothing for a little while until your head clears, you are too caught up!
good luck!
sue
I think your information is valuable so people can be informed but I do not think it is an emergency or crisis. Also there are sometimes good tire deals around in various places but I do think it was ridiculous the way they put a "rare tire size" on the Fit Sport.I must admit it was a really dumb move.
If I get new tires, I might move up to 17 inch tires...this is what I put on my last Fit Sport +2 b/c it was an 07 with 15 inch tires. If you go to 17 inch tires you have some choices but of course you need new wheels and in this economy it is dumb place to spend money but it does personalize the car.
Have fun and good job on your negotiating!!!!!!!!!!!!
sue
Good luck
--jjf
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Industry's Big Hope for Small Cars Fades - WSJ.com
Bookmark added by casudi on 03/23/2009
Public
Description Click to Edit
Last summer, when gas cost $4 a gallon, buyers snapped up small cars so fast that dealers couldn't keep them in stock. Now, with gas prices half that level, almost 500,000 fuel-thrifty models are piled up unsold around the country.
The turnabout comes at a bad time for the struggling U.S. car industry, which has revamped factories and shifted product plans to produce more small cars in coming years. The moves are prompted by coming stricter federal fuel-economy standards and the Obama administration's car-bailout plan, which encourages auto makers to boost their vehicles' mileage.
Practically every small car in the market is stacked up at dealerships. At the end of February, Honda Motor Co. had 22,191 Fits on dealer lots -- enough to last 125 days at the current sales rate, according to Autodata Corp. In July, it had a nine-day supply, while the industry generally considers a 55- to 60-day supply healthy.
For other models the supply situation is even worse. Toyota Motor Corp. has enough Yaris subcompacts to last 175 days. Chrysler LLC has a 205-day supply of the Dodge Caliber. And Chevrolet dealers have 427 days' worth of Aveo subcompacts. At the current sales rate, General Motors Corp. could stop making the Aveo and it wouldn't run out until May 24, 2010.
"I don't think Americans really like small cars," said Beau Boeckmann, whose family's Galpin Ford in southern California is the country's largest Ford dealer. "They drive them when they think they have to, when gas prices are high. But we're big people and we like big cars."
The logjam of small cars is caused in part by the recession, which has sapped sales of all types of vehicles. But it also underscores how badly gasoline prices have whipsawed the industry
No, people don't like the junk the companies in Detroit are making. Sucks to be a Ford dealership. And GM - shoot, they lost 25% of their stock price just today. As Obama said in the press release:
"GM has made a good faith effort to restructure over the past several months — but the plan that they've put forward is, in its current form, not strong enough."
In essence, even in a healthy economy, they would still be dying. Why? Because it's not the size of the cars - it's that nobody WANTS the cars. But they sure seem to want all the Minis and Fits that they can get their hands on. Sure, sales are slow, but they still do good volume. GM and Ford - you can't hardly give them away. After all, if you have $5 for food, why buy some TV dinner when there's so many other better options that aren't bland tasting?
Sales Tax (9.3%): $1608.90
Doc. fee: $50
Registration: $129.75
Admin fee(?): $2.50
Gap insurance: $595
Total: $19,686.15