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Honda Fit Prices Paid and Buying Experiences

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Comments

  • coloradocraigcoloradocraig Member Posts: 14
    I'm sure the policy will vary from dealer to dealer. Fisher Honda in Boulder, CO has what I would consider a very customer-friendly policy about credit cards. They took my credit card for my $500 deposit when I was waiting for the car, but did not actually charge to it (just held the number). When I completed the purchase, they allowed me to put $2000 on my credit card to get some milage. I can certainly understand why they have a limit, as the credit card fee would be a big percentage of their profit on an inexpensive car like a Fit.
  • fabfitfabfit Member Posts: 2
    I would suggest to all of you wanting a Fit but having a tough time finding one - don't give up! I called every Honda dealer within 500 miles and I could have had several sport a/t's but not in red like I wanted. I had a credit card deposit (that dealer only required $100 to hold a car most require $500) but was #3 on a red sport a/t. Well the first 2 buyers did not come through - for credit reasons, husband/wife disagreements whatever... so almost exactly 24 hrs. after the car arrived at the dealership I was the owner! I have had salespeople calling from all over - the cars are there - depends on how much you are willing to travel! I don't think the dealership where you buy is that big of a deal - Honda will stand behind the car regardless! Good luck to all of you still trying!
  • nhtentnhtent Member Posts: 1
    I've put down a deposit on one of the last Fits on lot in
    my area, which may mean that I've compromised my negotiating power, but I have these two questions if anyone could offer their thoughts:

    The dealership has been using this Fit as their demo vehicle--should I be concerned and/or looking for some kind of discount?

    They've offered the car at msrp with a bunch of accessories that were not yet installed (carpet floor mats, all season mats, cargo tray, fog lights), but the prices seems grossly marked up beyond the msrp for those parts. I understand they might pump it up for "installation costs", but how marked up would seem reasonable for such parts?
  • mavstang73mavstang73 Member Posts: 5
    I just put $500 on a Fit in New York.
    The dealer had a VIN and told me the car should be in any day now. It's a 5spd Sport.

    Price is supposed to be $15700. However when I got the buyer's order they had put $15900. I'm supposed to talk with the manager tomorrow to get an exact date of arrival.
    Also their administrative fee was HIGH at $379.
    I asked the sales guy why they charged so much for a doc fee and he said that wasn't the doc fee. It was a fee for financing paper work or something.
    That sounds funny to me. They should be one and the same.

    What do you think? Have I done well. I only had to call 40 dealerships.
  • bigmike91bigmike91 Member Posts: 18
    Purchasing a demo? Well, if you are concerned about buying a demo, you may want to spend a few dollars and check the VIN number through carfax.com to make sure it really IS a demo and not a car that was crashed and repaired. As far as getting a discount on a Fit? Well, you aren't going to right now; there is more demand for the car then there are cars available at this time. One Massachusetts dealer recently got four Fits in, and they are asking $1,000 more than MSRP for the base model and $1,500 more than MSRP for the Fit Sport - they call it a "market adjustment". The added "market adjustment" seems to have significantly decreased customers' interest in purchasing the cars, and they are now staying on the lot much longer than they did a month ago.
  • bigmike91bigmike91 Member Posts: 18
    $379 sounds a bit expensive. Calling a document fee a paperwork fee is like calling a used car a "pre-owned" car; two different words for the same thing.
  • mavstang73mavstang73 Member Posts: 5
    Yeah I'm going to question that a little more tomorrow.
    I'm not sure how far I'll get though. After all the car is hard too find at his point.

    Also I know exactly what dealership in Seekonk, MA is charging 1500 over MSRP.
    That tells me exactly what kind of dealer they are.
    I told them they could keep the car.
    Anything over sticker is an insult. If I'm ever in the market for a Honda again I won't be visiting them.
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    Mavstang73, if you are around the NYC area, go to Paragon Honda. I got my Fit Sport 5spd there for $15720 plus taxes, reg ($45) inspection ($10) and doc fee of ($45).

    Paying $379 for admin fees is just profit for the dealer. And include their overcharge of $180 ($15900-$15720), you are overpaying by $534.
  • mavstang73mavstang73 Member Posts: 5
    I'm actually in the CT area.
    I've put a deposit at Millennium Honda in Queens.
    They were the only dealership in New England that had a VIN number without a deposit.

    It took 6 phone calls too get one of the sales managers too talk with me today.
    I was trying to get a better idea of an arrival time.
    Someone was supposed to call me earlier today (06-06-06).

    The first sales manager wouldn't return my calls.
    When I called later in the evening he wouldn't speak with me because he was on a cigarette break.
    I finally got the other sales manager to talk with me.
    He told me he'd have a better idea Friday.
    We'll see about that.

    I've gone from maybe in a week too maybe in a month.
    They wouldn't budge on the price and stated "They were charging $2000-$3000 over sticker for most people. I got a great deal”.
    Believe me when I say I'm still looking.
    I left a voice message with their General Manager. Maybe he’ll care about how his employees treat people. Probably not though.
    I'll try Paragon Honda tomorrow but I think I already called them and they couldn't get any.

    Thanks for the info.
    Keep me posted if you know of any other dealers in New England that aren't a bunch of jerks.
  • carfanatic007carfanatic007 Member Posts: 267
    My advice? Forget it. Don't buy now. Wait 6 months, even a year. The Dealers have the upper hand. They are getting to arrogant. If you want to throw away hard earned $ just to get a first year model early, then do it. I didn't. I paid MSRP, but not 1 cent over. I would never. This will end eventually.
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    I'm actually in the CT area.
    I've put a deposit at Millennium Honda in Queens.
    They were the only dealership in New England that had a VIN number without a deposit.

    Yikes. My sister bought her Hyundai Elantra from Millennium Hyundai years ago and I would say we will not be bringing our business there ever. They use all the tactics that Edmunds states to watch out for. You think they are overcharging you on their doc fee? Wait till you get to their finance department. :D
  • dotseuratdotseurat Member Posts: 14
    I put down 1K to secure a base model fit in storm silver. They told me they were getting more in stock in a "few weeks." Well, literally 2 days after I give them a check for 1K, it's already cashed. I call my salesman to get a better idea of when it will come in, he's conveniently with a customer and they tell me he'll call me back. Think he does? Of course not. I try again, he's not in that day, so I speak to a so-called inventory person. He tells me he cannot give me a specific date because there are two storm silver base models on the "pre-assigned" list. I told him I had no idea what this means, and he said "well this is information we don't normally give people." Hmmm slick. He says that it seems that these two models will be coming off the list within this week or next, then it should take about 30 days to get the car. Huh? Should I believe this crap? What do you suppose I should do? Hound my salesguy or a manager constantly to get a VIN number? Should I threaten to go to another dealer and demand my 1K back? Or is this really standard procedure and I should just be patient? I just have a very weird feeling about these guys. I think that if someone comes in and is willing to buy the car above MSRP (I made it in just below) they'll go and give it to them and make me wait because I got a good deal. I felt that the second I signed on the dotted line, they were done with me. But they'd obviously want more than 1K from me so I'm probably just paranoid.

    Sorry it's so long...but I'm new to buying cars and I'm very apprehensive here!
  • gearhead1gearhead1 Member Posts: 408
    Well, dealers make only about $600.00 on a fit. It sounds like you already gave them their profit. All they have to do is give you your car, and you'll get it when you get it. What do they care?

    Honestly, I don't know why people lock themselves into a dealer like that. Sure you can get your money back with or without a lot of complaining I imagine (depends on the dealer). The simple fact is a dealer will tell you anything to secure your business. I never give them anything that will give them the upper hand and cause me anxiety.

    At this point with the Fit I think people are better just calling around and finding Fits that are already on the lots that have just come in and just go buy one. If you want a specific color, you are just making it ten times harder on your self in obtaining one. They are all good colors. We bought a Blaze orange Fit Sport which was our last color choice, but it turned out to be our favorite. It was in front of us, so we bought it. Problem over, we are Fit owners. Honda says they are only shipping 40,000 to North America this year. If you see one I would grab it. Better a blue Fit than no Fit. Who knows, you could be just as lucky and land a Storm Silver. Good Luck!

    They are all great colors.
  • fitman548fitman548 Member Posts: 172
    The dealers I went to each had Fits at different "status". The first dealer had "pre assignment" which meant it was still being built, wouldn't get a VIN assigned to it until it was finished being built, and would then take 2-3 weeks after that to get to the states.

    The second dealer's Fits already had VIN's, and were 'en route'. I put $500 down on the Fit on the list that was closest to what I wanted. Red AT Sport. The dealer called yesterday to inform me that the car has landed in CA, and should be here, in AZ, probably 2-4 days.
  • dotseuratdotseurat Member Posts: 14
    Should I move on to a different dealer, or keep haggling these people?
  • bigmike91bigmike91 Member Posts: 18
    Carfanatic007 has the right idea. You will be able to find a car that you like on a dealer's lot eventually, and avoid the hassle and expense of having to put a deposit on a car that you have never even seen in person. Later this year when most of the other 2007 cars are available, interest in the Fit will die down (at least a little bit), many people who want one will already have purchased one, and the cars will be available at a reasonable price. If people really are paying $1,000 or more over MSRP for their Fits, they aren't going to be too happy six months from now.
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    The Fit really sounds like the supply hasn't caught up with demand. Checked various dealer's inventory and none is popping up. Its been about a month and a half since it came out and so far I've only seen one Fit in my area (NY/NJ).

    Its funny, driving to work every morning on Rt 17 and depending on the timing, I always see this Red Honda Fit Sport going the opposite direction.

    They are probably saying the same thing except noting its a Silver Honda Fit Sport they are seeing on their way to work. :D
  • bigmike91bigmike91 Member Posts: 18
    Should you move on? Well, I have a very important question: Is the deposit 100% refundable?
  • ringo3ringo3 Member Posts: 5
    My Fit buying experience is terrible so far... If you're in Durham, NC just avoid Southpoint Honda for your new Fit. I placed a $1000 deposit, which the dealer has not cashed yet, on a Fit in early May and my car should be here next week according to the salesman. Then he says that my car "accidentally" landed in another dealership and all these options that I did not even order are now installed. They are now asking me to pay for them for the half price of $540 while admitting its their mistake. He first made it sound like these options came on my car from Japan, but I'm in transmission manufacturing business so I know a lot more about car manufacturing than most people. He told me that either I have to buy my car like this for addt'l $540 :cry: or I have to wait until the end of September :mad: to get another one. I hate to take either option so I've been still going back and forth with this dealership. But I plan to just walk away from the deal if it does not work out by the end of the week. I now feel like it's just not worth dealing with people like this. Did anyone else have a bad experience due to its popularity?
  • mavstang73mavstang73 Member Posts: 5
    I'm sure that’s a real "accident".
    I can't believe what some of these dealers are doing in order too take advantage of people.

    If I hear one more salesman tell me this car is "In demand" I'm going too punch them. No s**t Sherlock every car that gets better than 30mpg is "in demand".

    Today the finance manager from Millennium Honda called me.
    He's one of those people that feels the need too dominate the conversation.
    Seriously, he would not stop talking. At one point I had too tell him too stop talking or I was hanging up.

    Bottom line is he apologized for the sales managers’ rude behavior and told me he would try his best too make the situation better.

    At this point I really don't care too deal with them.

    Pros: 1.They have a VIN. That must mean the car is built.
    2. The car is a 5spd sport. That’s what I'm looking for.

    Cons: 1. Everyone there is either rude and/or they are trying to make me feel like I have no control over the situation and they can do what they want.
    2. Price is $15900 that’s $200 over sticker.
    3. Administrative fee is $380.
    4. Finance manager tried to tell me the admin fee goes toward paperwork and registration/title/taxes on the car. Anything left over would go towards the purchase price.
    Is he out of his mind! Does he think I just jumped the fence! I couldn't even believe he gave that too me as an explanation. I certainly don't sound like I'm 4yrs old on the phone.

    So do I give these idiots a few more days too see if they can come up with a car ASAP?
    Do I purchase that red sport with the auto tranny I saw yesterday at a local dealer?
    They are selling it for sticker.

    I'm not sure I guess that depends on the answer I get when I ask for the LAST time "Approximately when will the car be arriving?"
  • jrlncjrlnc Member Posts: 48
    Ringo3, first off - they're lying to you about those added accessories. I've learned to assume that they're lying about so many things to boost their profits. If it's their mistake and they added them to a car that you reserved with a deposit, they can take them off. It is not your responsibility to pay for something you don't want.

    I'm also in NC and did not have as bad an experience as you're having, because I contacted a dealer through Honda's website. To test drive my Fit I went to Burlington Honda (which is near work). This is where I discovered that I loved the car and did not want to waste my time with the Toyota people anymore. The car that I test drove was also exactly what I ended up with -- a Blue Fit Sport with m/t. Unfortunately that dealer had loaded the car with almost every worthless accessory from Honda (plus their ripoff "protectant" package) so that the price was ~$1200 above MSRP. They wouldn't budge on the price or remove the items so I walked out.

    I put in a quote request on Honda's site on a weekend and the following Monday I had emails from the Internet salesman and manager (from Vann York Honda in High Point). They also called to confirm my color and option choices. When they quoted me a price that was above sticker, I said that I knew that MSRP from Honda's website was $15,720 for the Sport m/t. He said ok, he'd sell it to me for MSRP. He did say that they had a Fit right then, but not my color or m/t choice and that to get those choices they would have to trade a Fit with another dealership which they did. He also said that many dealers were adding options to the Fit as soon as they hit their door, which boosted the price of course. I told him what I had experienced with Burlington Honda and that I wasn't paying above MSRP, but I wanted floormats. He said ok.

    On Thursday they called to tell me they had located my car, but that the other dealer had already added a ~$400 package to it. Since one of the items in the package was floormats ($99 retail) and the rest was paint sealant (a ripoff), and pinstripes (nice, but not worth their charge) I gave in and said I wanted that car. The car was delivered to them on Friday and I picked it up on Saturday. Less than one week to get exactly the car I requested.

    Knowing the supply/demand on this vehicle I could have insisted on MSRP and either waited 2-3 more months, or settled for another color or an automatic, or possibly not gotten anything. In the end, it's what you are willing to compromise on and how much the other factors are weighted in your decision. Yes I hated to pay $298 for something extra I didn't want, but I'm sure that it cost them something to transport the car from South Carolina.
  • dotseuratdotseurat Member Posts: 14
    Supposedly, yes, the deposit is 100% refundable. That's what they told me. But I have a feeling if I'm having such a hard time finding someone to talk to and get straight answers from, they're gonna be a real hassle to get my money back from.
  • gearhead1gearhead1 Member Posts: 408
    Do I purchase that red sport with the auto tranny I saw yesterday at a local dealer?
    They are selling it for sticker.

    Well, I love a manual transmission and I chose the Sport AT and I also had the choice of a Sport MT. The AT with paddles in this car is sweet and immediate. I don't miss the MT at all. I feel get to have my cake and eat it too with the Sport AT. I get a MT when I want it and a AT when it is more convenient. Face it, MT's are a royal pain at times (like in bumper to bumper traffic). The paddles in sport mode make this car throughly enjoyable to drive and it satisfies that MT craving you get sometimes. Really, it's the best of both worlds.
  • ptchangptchang Member Posts: 7
    I am giving up. :cry:

    I put my $500 deposit at Goodson Honda West May 13th for a Sport AT in white/beige. Told at that time to wait 3 weeks - BS. Internet sales Manager (D.G.) never replies to email or voicemail. Finally got a hold of him 10 days ago; he then tells me the build-date is May 30th and to wait about 3 weeks from then for delivery.

    My last email to him Monday was deleted without read (per outlook receipt). No return of voicemail.

    Called the president of Goodson who called me. D.G. calls me within the hour and tells me the build-date of 05/30 was for someone else (who had the same last name which is what confused him - likely BS) and that my build date is June 29th and to expect delivery in late July.

    I told him to kiss my a*s and forget the deal. I'm moving on. My deal was MSRP with free all-season mats (I was happy with the deal).

    Maybe this is sign for me to keep my 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee (13 MPG!!! - passed on from my in-laws) for another year and get 2008 model of Fit Sport....

    So long FIT-FANATICS... at least for a while... :(

    Summary: AVOID GOODSON HONDA IF YOU'RE IN HOUSTON!!! :sick:
  • jmurman42jmurman42 Member Posts: 675
    When you talk with a salesman regarding build dates, Pre status, ship status etc....here is how the process works.

    First of all Honda "allocates" us a number of cars every month. This figure is based on what we have sold previously. There are some dealers that have amonthly allocation of 30 and some that have an allocation of 300...most are somewhere in between.

    This allocation means that Honda is scheduling this specific model to be built in the time fram of two months from now. So, an allocation that I receive and send back to Honda today would be for a July build. When I receive my alloation I then change models and colors to suit my own inventory and customers needs. Honda can also "constrain" my allocation. That means that they (Honda) can say that only X% of total allocation can be a certain color or trim (the Civic with Navi come to mind)

    Ok so I get me allocation and re-send back to Honda, this takes about 10 days...Honda then "assigns" the cars to be built and has a "build date" on the "On Order Detail" sheet. This is the date that the vehicle is scheduled to be built. Japanese built cars are treated differently than American built cars. With a US buyilt car I get a 4 day window of manfacture, with a Japan car I get one day.

    Once the car has been built, it then goes to the port and sits until it is loaded on a ship. From that point on it changes status and then shows up on the "In Transit" sheet. The In Transit sheet has the VIN and the "Pre-Assign" date. Pre-Assign means that the car is somewhere between the port of origin, ship transit and port of reception. Only when the car is at the port of reception do we start seeing the suggested dates when we will receive the car.

    The entire process is logistically long and cumbersome...however, most salepeople do not understand it and the same with customers.

    I hope this sheds some light on what the actual build/ship/transit times mean.
  • carfanatic007carfanatic007 Member Posts: 267
    Excellent post. The bottom line if you want a Fit is: Be patient. If you can't be patient, get another car or keep your current one.
  • jmurman42jmurman42 Member Posts: 675
    I also see where a lot of people are putting money down on cars and not knowing HOW the process works.

    It should be the salesmens responsibility to explain that to you, but since most sales people don't understand it themselves and even some dealerships don't understand it (true).

    When you go face to face with your salesman, here is what you should expect.

    1. A real car. Have the salesman show you the "On Order" and "In Transit" sheets. The car they are selling should be on either. IF the car you want to buy is not on either sheet, ask whether they are going to do a "dealer trade" or an "electronic trade". A "dealer trade" is where they trade one of their in stock cars to another dealer that has your exact car. They will usually drive the car from one dealer to another. This isn't a popular option with Fit as these cars are mostly pre-sold and unavailable for dealer trade. An "electronic trade" is becoming more popular with dealers. Honda has set up a network where one dealer can electronically swap a car with another dealer without having to drive from point a to point b. I just did an electronic trade with a dealer in Oregon on a Lunar Mist Base manual. My Sport AT will go to him and the Lunar Mist Base will come to me.

    2. You should have a written Buyers Order when you leave. This Buyers Order should have model, color or colors, prices and a record of your deposit. If the VIN is known it should also be on the Buyers Order. Now, if the dealer has two identical cars coming in at the same time they might be reluctant to give you the VIN, as youmight have one VIN and give that info to your insurance co or financial institution and get the othert VIN...which would screw everything up. Be patient and know that you'll get one or the other.

    3. If you write a check for a deposit...expect it to be cashed.

    Hope this helps.
  • johnnyvjjohnnyvj Member Posts: 112
    Summary: AVOID GOODSON HONDA IF YOU'RE IN HOUSTON!!!

    I feel for ya, bro... with those constantly slipping build dates, sounds like they were smokin' and jokin' ya from the get go. Either that or they just do not have a clue as to what they're doing. :mad:

    I've got no time for crooked/incompetent dealerships either, and I will warn my friends who are moving to the area to avoid Goodson Honda like the plague. :lemon:
  • nmgirl98nmgirl98 Member Posts: 2
    We put our order in on 5 May and left our deposit check as well. We recieved our Fit Sport yesterday morning.

    Borman Autoplex of Las Cruces, NM was wonderful to us. We were in contact with our salesman on a weekly basis. The entire process was painless.

    The only stress we had was knowing that there were 5 other folks who also wanted this car - thankfully our salesman was on top of it and got us in to complete paperwork before the other clients could. He was very knowledgeable about the entire process, walked us through what would happen and how things would be handled.

    Bonus point number 2 is the fact that Borman is NOT jacking up the price one bit.

    We couldn't have been more pleased.
  • nmgirl98nmgirl98 Member Posts: 2
    As far as your #3 - we wrote a deposit check for $1000 and it was not cashed.

    Odd?

    (FWIW - we picked up our Fit Sport yesterday. It took a little over a month.)
  • bigmike91bigmike91 Member Posts: 18
    Is getting your deposit returned going to be a hassle? Yes, probably, but I think you will be happy in the end if you do have your deposit refunded. When purchasing a car (or any business transaction) the person who holds the money controls the situation. The object of a car dealership is to get you to spend money, obviously. When you put a deposit on a vehicle you are giving them your money in advance (some of your money, at least) and that gives control of the situation to the dealer. On the other hand, if you wait until you find the car that you want on a dealer's lot (and you will eventually, trust me) and you do not give the dealer a dime until after you agree on a price, then YOU control the situation, not the slick-talking salesman or his sleazy boss who tells you that he needs to make a profit on the car because his kid has cancer and he needs to pay for chemotherapy (or some other nonsense). I have actually done this both ways in the past, and I was MUCH more satisfied when I did NOT put a deposit on the vehicle. (I made up the part about the kid with cancer, but the rest of it I have actually experienced.)
  • bigmike91bigmike91 Member Posts: 18
    Most businesses deposit checks that they receive within a day or two; I'm surprised that the dealer held the check.
  • ringo3ringo3 Member Posts: 5
    jrlnc, thank you for your advice on my car. I truly understand how you feel.
    My Fit arrived yesterday and I got an e-mail from the salesman asking when I'd like to take the delivery. He also said in his e-mail that he cannot give me the accessories for free. So I decided to go talk to their Sales Manager because I figured that this salesman probably is not in a position to make that kind of decision. And like jrlnc said, it's not my responsibility to pay for the options I didn't order. I took a friend of mine with me who never buys anything at MSRP. We printed out all the e-mail communications and some more paper with Fit accessory MSRP. We're willing to stay there for hours to make this work. When we went in, the salesman greeted with us, but we asked for a manager. We were seated and he went to get his manager. Then just the salesman returned to us about a min later and said "Because we don't like our customers to be unhappy, we decided to give you all the options for free. But can you promise that you'll give us 5 stars in Honda's customer survey?" I could not believe how everything worked out. We're so ready to stay there for hours negotiating, so when he told us that I bet we had the most ridiculous look on our face. Anyway, everything worked out wonderful for me in the end. Now I wish I had went to talk to their manager earlier so that I didn't have to go thru this hair-pulling experience, maybe. But I still hate to think about what they were trying to do to me and how upset I was for the entire week. Especially, this was my first new car buying experience and I worked really hard to save up for this car. It somewhat traumatized me :sick:
    I wish everyone a good luck on your Fit purchase :D
  • jrlncjrlnc Member Posts: 48
    Ringo3: that's wonderful! It shows that persistence pays off. :) You'll have to take your friend out to dinner to reward them for giving you moral support on this.

    What color, trim, and transmission did you get on your Fit?

    I drive on I-40/I-85 every day (mostly Triad area, but sometimes RTP or Raleigh) so if I see your Fit, I'll wave. (I'm in a Blue Sport Fit with m/t).

    Enjoy your new ride!
  • skikiddskikidd Member Posts: 7
    Its so confusing trying to compare any two dealer's quotes when they all include different information.

    My first quote included destination and Handling and some crazy like $600 "Customer Care package" which I wont even use because I'm moving out of state... wondering if it would even be possible to get them to remove it as I have no interest in "Free oil changes for life" the quote was for $14400

    My second dealer told me he would 'eat the destination and handling' which I thought was good except for that he marked up the price $200 and then charged $349 for "Documentation fees" which seems OUTRAGEOUS :surprise: ...so he basically was just coming up with $550 of weird charges that happened to equal the D&H fee and I told him as much... He also included pinstriping which I could take or leave...even so the quote was $14393.50 so like $6 less

    I'm wondering if these prices are decent (and being as my third quote for the same car was $15,590 I'm thinking they might be) but each has hundreds of dollars of bogus charges on it. :mad: Is there any way to get these charges off and get it cheaper or should I just accept that $14,400 is basically the MSRP + D&H and they are just coming up with creative names so I think I'm getting something special??
  • ringo3ringo3 Member Posts: 5
    jrlnc: I took my friend out to dinner while the salesman was working on my paperwork.

    I got White Sport with M/T. I usually use 15-501 & I-85N to go to work, but I'm on I-40/85 a lot so I'll see you on the road :)
  • drd6drd6 Member Posts: 1
    Honda of Downtown Spokane is getting an unsold Black Sport AT which is what I have ordered elsewhere for msrp. I offered $350 over. They told me to go pound sand. Go figure!
  • ramoramo Member Posts: 66
    Hi! I relate to the stress of deal prep. I researched the heck out of the Fit, then waited 6 wks. to get one, with no info about the process in between. I paid MSRP, but I got a good trade amt. for our Tercel, set when the deal was made and did drive 6 extra weeks with no further reduction of the trade in amount. I was also cornered, and asked to respond favourably to the Honda survey. I will in fact do that, because I did get a good deal and really do not need to spread any negativity around. I would have squawked had I had more sleaze heaped on, but I only got a little :P I am still seeing very few Fits on the road on Vancouver Island, B.C.
  • chassolchassol Member Posts: 95
    I was giving serious consideration to buying a Fit, but after the lowball amount offered for my tradein :mad: ($3,000 under TI). The Sport Automatic is priced at full MSRP ($16,520) with dealer "docs" fees of $599 and then Window Tint ($300); All Weather Mats ($200); and Cargo Tray ($300). THEN you can add Tax & Tag. W/O T&T - $17,919. Suddenly I think I can survive at 22-23 MPG on our current vehicle. Dealers in Florida add "docs" fees and people have become acclimated to paying them. Georgia is not that far away. And if worst comes to worst I can go up North to my hometown dealer and deal at MSRP PERIOD.

    Nice car, but NOT that NICE.
  • fitman548fitman548 Member Posts: 172
    I PICKED UP MY FIT YESTERDAY!!!!

    Yeah, Red AT Sport, I had agreed to MSRP plus tint and paint protector. When I got there, they had pinstriped it too (poorly), so the dealer gave it to my for invoice so that the total was still what I had agreed to.

    So the car plus the dealer options was ~$17,300. I opted for the 6 year/100,000 mile wear and tear warranty, theft guard and tire replacement all for another 1300.

    SO my total with all tax and options was about 21k. NOT what you imagine when you think "Fit, starting at $13,500". But any car starting at 18 or 19k would have ended up at 23-25k.

    I would have preferred to pick it up on Friday, when my (internet company) loan check would arrive in the mail. But the $500 deposit gives me first shot at the car, not an indefinate hold on it, so I bit the bullet and got dealer financing.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    That was a very good explaination on how the process works!

    It is very frustrating when we have a high demand, short supply car and the Fit is a good example of this.
  • bchanbchan Member Posts: 3
    Through a Sam's Club program I was quoted 16,247+Tax Title and License for a Fit Sport in Silver Storm Metallic. I was pleasantly surprised because I was happy just paying MSRP.

    There was no negotiating on the final price just on the deposit. The internet manager wanted $500, I told him his boss said it would only be $250 so he agreed on $250.

    He also gave me a much better date than the other dealers even his own had given me earlier.

    Only one problem, the car I could "put my name on" was Vivid Blue Pearl. He said he'd "more than likely" be able to get them to change the order and if that didn't work they have some kind of a system to trade vehicles before they even get delivered. So with that assurance I put my $250 deposit down that was May 30th. He told me no later than that Thursday (June 1st) he'd give me a call back to confirm that he could change the order.

    Thursday came and went no call. I sent him an e-mail last week, and tried calling him this week, and got a hold of him today. He told me that he thought he had gotten back to me and that the order didn't get in on time and the Blue Fit was still the one that was shipping; but he could try (he sounded less confident) to trade it for a Silver. But he couldn't even begin to try because the current allocation is on boats and for some reason can't be traded till they arrive here in the states. Anyone familiar with this practice? :confuse:

    Think it's possible to trade it for the color my wife wants? How does their whole color trading system work?

    Any comments would be helpful.
  • dap2006dap2006 Member Posts: 68
    The Fits are in very limited supply - most every dealership has deposits on any inbound cars. I think the chances of your dealer being able to swap vehicles with another dealership are slim to none, but good luck. :(
  • bchanbchan Member Posts: 3
    So do you think the dealer was making up a story about having some kind of a computer system to swap colors before they even got to the dealership? :(
  • amazinglyfitamazinglyfit Member Posts: 9
    We just bought a Fit Sport A/T yesterday. It took us about 2 weeks to find the car. Our experience:

    University Honda, Davis, CA: They didn't have any Fit, were a bit vague on when we could get one. We left our phone number so they could call us. They never did.

    Mel Rapton Honda, Sacramento, CA: They didn't have the color we wanted (white), but called us when it arrived. Went in the next morning for a test-ride and purchase. Price was MSRP. Halfway through the paperwork we were told the car had already been sold. They attempted to sell us a different color and then a Civic. They tried to find a white car at another dealer that they could trade. No luck. They didn't tell us which dealers had the car.

    Vacaville Honda, Vacaville, CA: Did "Locate a Dealer" on the Honda website and started calling in order of proximity. The salesperson at Vacaville Honda looked up inventory of all the dealers in the area with a white Sport A/T and gave me the list. I thought this was exceptional service considering he had nothing to gain by helping us.

    Wittmeier Honda, Chico, CA: They had just sold the car, but again offered to look up other dealer's inventory.

    El Cerrito Honda, El Cerrito, CA: They had the car and we bought it. It was marked up $1495.00 above MSRP, but they sold it to us without the markup. Very nice, courteous, efficient, and quick service.
  • dap2006dap2006 Member Posts: 68
    Well, I know they have access to what cars are coming into their dealership by VIN, etc..., so they can track status. How much effort they'll put into swapping cars to get the preferred color for a customer when they can be confident their inbound car will sell to SOMEONE almost immediately I don't know :confuse: . I was told by a Phoenix dealer that they couldn't work swaps due to the high demand and low supply. I ended up putting a down payment on an inbound Storm Silver Sport before someone else snapped it up :shades: - good luck!
  • jmurman42jmurman42 Member Posts: 675
    Yes we can swap colors. The parameters are that the car is being built two or more weeks out, we submit it to the Honda On Line Bulletin Board for electronic exchange before the color change. The build date will change on the color swap, no guarantees whether it will be earlier or later.
  • frogdaddyfrogdaddy Member Posts: 33
    I went to two dealers yesterday. I own a 2004 Accord and looking to down size (a little upside down) but willing to part if it's worth it. I drove the Orange Sport A/T (around and around the dealer lot) because I wasn't too serious about taking it out as of yet. I was amazed at the room. It looks more like apricot than orange. Nice features and feels smoother riding, shifters are cool too. $795 dealer bump sticker. I asked it was for the crappy pin striping job and sealer for int/ext. Some crap about acid rain here. It's obvious that dealers aren't going to make too much on this because the range from invoice to msrp is so small. Does that make sense or am I wrong about that? So they put crap you don't really want. Then I test drove the deep blue base auto. It was almost too base for me. Driver door wouldn't close properly (perhaps weather stripping problem). Coolant light was blue for a couple of secs too. I'm sure the way it's designed. Again, this other dealer had a $895 bump sticker for mud flaps and sealant garbage. Acid rain capital of the world. He did say he's got quite a bit of inventory coming in. All A/T's though. I guess they think folks in Atlanta commute and wouldn't want M/T?????
    He showed me a list of several in transit coming from OK and CA. Not spoken for either. "We're the 3rd highest volume dealer"...blah blah blah. Anyway, they have more coming in July. All Silver or Blue. So, if you're in Atlanta there are at least 5-6 dealers I've been researching and they have them in one form or another. Some may last longer than others. The sales guy with the Orange A/T said it's been there for 3 weeks. Not moving too fast for me. They're there if you're willing to travel to get them.
  • kingpenguin78kingpenguin78 Member Posts: 5
    We paid $21,800 (Canadian) for a Orange Honda Fit Sport - Automatic. This is including freight but before GST taxes. Since GST taxes are dropping 1% in July, the finaly price could be a little different...

    This includes block heater, all weather floor mats and the chrome muffler tip thing.

    I think we ended up paying about 3% under MSRP, but it is really hard to tell with no definite price on the included accessories.
  • fitinkcfitinkc Member Posts: 1
    Bought my Silver Fit Sport Auto from a dealership in Manhattan, Ks
    All in KC sold before truck even arrived.
    Several in STL had problems/delays from ship/Japan.
    Paid MSRP $16520

    I've put 200 miles on it since Saturday (Manhattan, Ks is about 140 miles from KC, MO) and it runs fine.

    Best car I've purchased in years and we just gave up a 2002 Volvo S60. :shades:
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