Honda Fit Prices Paid and Buying Experiences

fitluver

My wife's Fit Sport (AT, Milano Red) is arriving on either Monday the 6th or Tuesday the 7th, our dealership in Minnesota has just informed us. We placed our deposit on August 23. It's been about an 11-week wait for the delivery. Not too bad for a Fit. Our salesperson said that it would have been a six month wait had we waited until now to order the same thing. She also said that an MT is virtually an impossibility right now.

It makes me not too sad I am waiting for a manual.

Over the hump now.

birdzilla137

There's a Fit on display at Lorenz Honda in Greenfield, Mass. Automatic, grey. Sticker around 15,200. Cute!

suzecruise

I'm in the process of purchasing a Honda Fit Base model Automatic. Been educating myself re: buying tips via Edmunds, etc. Current dealer I am talking with says he can sell me the car for the TMV $15,245 with additional charges for dealer add-on of mud guards for $229 and document fees of $299.

I know I want a Fit. I feel like I don't have a lot of negotiating power since there aren't many Fits out there.

Here's my question: Should I go ahead with the deal even though I think the add-ons and doc. fees are just for profit or hold out for a better deal?

gearhead1

You can't negotiate the doc fee. They must charge the same fee to everyone. Even the dealer pays the doc fee if he buys a car from his dealership, though he may sell himself the car for cost. Negotiate the price of the car, not the doc fee. Doc fees can range from $50.00 to $700.00. It is just built in profit, but they must charge it to everybody once they set the doc fee.

You can get the mud gaurds for $52.00 on line.

Should you take the deal?? Fits are in short supply, so I would probably pay the premium of 400+ dollars. It's not that much if it's the car you want. I don't see the shortage of Fits getting any better in the near future. Honda is still a year or two from building a plant here in the US to boost Fit production. JDM (made in japan) Fits will then be in short supply in the US if that has any bearing on your decision. Personally, I wanted a JDM Fit. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

crimsona

JDM is Japanese Domestic Market, which is *not* what we have here. Firstly, they are RHD, and the JDM Fit has MUCH shorter bumpers and a much wider variety of engine sizes and transmission choices, such as CVT. The NA FIt is merely built in Japan, nothing more.

To the original poster. Check with other local dealers, nobody's stopping you.

hungarian83

It's not that much wider of a variety in terms of engines and transmissions. They have one other engine (the 1.3 i-DSI) and then CVT instead of the conventional automatic. In fact, the 1.3 i-DSI is only available with 1 transmission option in Japan.

Granted, most of the trim lines are available with AWD.

gearhead1

JDM is Japanese Domestic Market, which is *not* what we have here. Firstly, they are RHD, and the JDM Fit has MUCH shorter bumpers and a much wider variety of engine sizes and transmission choices, such as CVT. The NA FIt is merely built in Japan, nothing more.

Thanks, I was aware of all that. Made in Japan is good enough for me.

bucknroses

Put my deposit down for a Red Sport A/T. at Ron Tonkin in Portland on May 30. Still don't have a delivery date. Last time I talked to my dealer they said build date would be Nov. 27. Anyone else had to wait this long. The only thing that has kept me from going elsewhere is that other dealers in the area are charging over MSRP.

jacksan1

Put my deposit down for a Red Sport A/T. at Ron Tonkin in Portland on May 30. Still don't have a delivery date. Last time I talked to my dealer they said build date would be Nov. 27.

I know that there is a wide variance in delivery from a region to another region, and from one dealership to another dealership. But still, your case seems to be on the slow side.

I live in Minneapolis-St. Paul. We put down our deposit for the exactly the same thing (Milano Red Sport A/T) on August 23, and we took the delivery on November 8. I am a sample of one, so this may not be all that helpful to know. But then again, my gut tells me that your order is a little too slow to be filled.

bobw3

I'm in southwest Ohio, and I called a couple of dealers asking if they had any silver, Sport with auto Fits coming in. The third dealer I called said they had one coming in a couple of weeks, and I just picked it up yesterday. I had already test drove the auto and manual, sport and base Fits, so I knew what I wanted. But I had another dealer calling to let me know there were a couple of Fits coming. Mostly the Sport version. At first I didn't want the Sport version because of the side skirts, but they're actually not so funny looking, at least on the Silver color, and I have a pretty steep drive and nothing scraped coming home, but we'll see how it is in the snow. It's really not that much lower.

kyfdx

1) What dealership?

2) Did you have to pay over MSRP?

3) Did you notice any availability for manuals?

Thanks,
kyfdx

jacksan1

Even in the same region, the actual out of the door cost can and does vary among different dealerships of different management due to how they tack on their fees and added junk. Even though you won't be able to negotiate the price of the car itself, there can be a difference in what you pay in the end, albeit a small kind.

Assuming that you are going to order a Fit, you should ask multiple delaers to quote you an all-inclusive pricing. That includes taxes, doc fees, etc, and anything that the dealership plans to charge you for. You may not save much, but it never hurts to check. Some dealers are notorious for tacking on extra this and that. There ARE, believe it or not, ethical dealerships that do not do that, and you may be able to save a few bucks dealing with such "clean" dealerships. We did - the place we bought our Fit from did not tack on anything that we did not ask for, nor did they try to smuggle in "dealer fees." The price of the car was the same at all the dealerships we spoke with, but what we paid OTD was lowest at this place.

If you are NOT ordering a Fit and are rather looking at one that is sitting in front of your eyes, then unfortunately you have *zero* barganing power. The law of supply and demand is absuredly strong with the Fit. It reminds me a bit of the Miata when it first came out.

bobw3

1.Springfield, OH Bill Marina
2.No I paid MSRP, and no added dealer accessories
3.I have the complete owners manual, quick reference guide, maintenance manual, warranty manual, etc.

kyfdx

Thanks!!

Manual-shift? I meant 5-speeds...

bobw3

Automatic.

raj_va

Hello All--- I have been researching the fit for the past few months and this forum has been a big help.Finally was able to buy one.My experience was very smooth.

10/27 --- The dealer showed the incoming cars in the system .Picked a red base auto(exact car my wife wanted) after the dealer was able to provide a VIN for $ 15245 +TTL

11/9 --picked up the car.

We love the car and its perfect for our family and the city traffic.

Cheers

Raj

suzecruise

Actually, I've got one ordered but in the meantime I'm shopping dealers to see who can give me the best deal.

fitluver

There ARE, believe it or not, ethical dealerships that do not do that, and you may be able to save a few bucks dealing with such "clean" dealerships. We did - the place we bought our Fit from did not tack on anything that we did not ask for, nor did they try to smuggle in "dealer fees." The price of the car was the same at all the dealerships we spoke with, but what we paid OTD was lowest at this place.

If you are NOT ordering a Fit and are rather looking at one that is sitting in front of your eyes, then unfortunately you have *zero* barganing power. The law of supply and demand is absuredly strong with the Fit. It reminds me a bit of the Miata when it first came

I think I understand this. I only ordered floor mats installed because I didnt want to be bothered with cutting up my floor mats. I am ok with this.

I am glad I have one of the few ethical dealers I have within a 100 mile radius.

fitluver

Put my deposit down for a Red Sport A/T. at Ron Tonkin in Portland on May 30. Still don't have a delivery date. Last time I talked to my dealer they said build date would be Nov. 27. Anyone else had to wait this long. The only thing that has kept me from going elsewhere is that other dealers in the area are charging over MSRP.

Oh I dunno, I dont have a build date yet but this gives me hope that mine will be built in the next few weeks.

jacksan1

It's not that much wider of a variety in terms of engines and transmissions. They have one other engine (the 1.3 i-DSI) and then CVT instead of the conventional automatic. In fact, the 1.3 i-DSI is only available with 1 transmission option in Japan.

Granted, most of the trim lines are available with AWD.

I am not trying to nit-pick, but just to get the facts straight. The JDM Fit has:

a) 2 Engines

1.5 L and 1.3 L

b) 2 Body Styles

Regular 5-door hatch
4-door notchback sedan (Fit Aria)

c) 3 Transmissions

CVT (all 1.3 L), CVT-7 (optional on 1.5L), and 5-speed manual (1.5L)

d) 2 Drive Systems

FWD
Real-time AWD

hungarian83

But if you consider the Fit Aria as the second body style, you might as well say there are 3 Fit (or Fit-based) models because the Airwave is nothing more than a wagon version of the Fit Aria notchback sedan.

In my earlier post I was referring to the CVT and the CVT-7 under the same "CVT" umbrella since the CVT-7 in the 1.5 models is essentially the same as the one in the 1.3 models, but with driver control via the paddles, and the seven "shift points". Even on their website, Honda considers both to be the Multi Matic S...it's just that one has 7-speed mode.

...and to further clarify, there are actually 3 engines if you include the Fit Aria, because it is available with both the 1.5 VTEC and the less powerful 1.5 i-DSI. In the case of the Fit Aria and Airwave, the CVT-7 is standard with no 5MT option available.

jacksan1

I do see your point. I am not trying to pick an argument here, and it is a matter of how one views a model name and what it encompasses.

As you know, the Fit, among other Honda vehicles, uses the GSP (Global Small Platform). What (to me) most clearly distinguishes different vehicles using the GSP, aside from the obvious matters as the body shape and name, is the wheelbase. I did not include the Airwave in the direct Fit family because of its wheelbase difference (2550mm vs. 2450mm for Fit/Aria). In fact, when the Airwave was first released, Honda specifically made a point of telling the Japanese automobile press that, even though the Airwave uses the GSP, the platform used therein was not a direct derivation of the Fit platform (pretty obvious with the wheelbase difference). The Aria, on the other hand, uses the Fit GSP (it's not 100% identical, but very close).

In the same line of thought, the Mobilio and Mobilio Spike use the GSP, but I do not include them in the Fit family for both the wheelbase and other reasons. The GSP is also used in the Civics sold in Europe, but naturally, these are not in the Fit family.

You have a good point in that by including the Aria we are indeed talking about three, not two, engines.

At the most basic level, my system of categorizing is based on how Honda categories, meaning that Honda markets the Aria as being part of the Fit family.

suzecruise

Well, it's all over but the singing (actually signing) I guess.

Ordered my Fit today. Paid MSRP plus $199 Doc fee. Should be delivered next week. I'm pumped!

Thanks to everyone for your input and support!

Now, about those accessories..... :shades:

wrkoutgrl1

I paid a down payment for my orange Fit automatic sport on 8/5/06, and was told it would be 8-10 weeks for delivery.... riiiiiiight. I was then told, in the middle of October, that my build date was 10/28.. few weeks later, they said the car would be here around the end of november. I called today and threatened to take my business elsewhere, and they told me it shipped from AZ on 11/18 and would be here between 11/27-12/1. I surely hope so, I really do want my car but cant continue to keep being put off like this. Call me crazy, but it seems someone, somewhere, in the upper echelons of the Honda Corporation, would look at this and see it for what some people might call 'bad business'. I told them, I would not be nearly so upset if they had just told me in the beginning, it will be a 4 month wait... but every time I call, nobody seems to know much. I find it very difficult to believe, in this day and age of technology and homeland security, that they cannot track the whereabouts of a new vehicle. Call me crazy. Sorry such a long post, I just had to vent, I am so disgusted with this whole process, and car dealerships/salespeople in general. :mad:

bobw3

They probably just found an orange Fit Auto sport at another dealer and are shipping it to you. I doubt if it was a special factory order, unless you have some unique options on it.

jacksan1

I can understand your frustration. It does make me wonder why in the world the delivery schedule is so uncertain. Most of the times, it seems that the order keeps getting put off. In our case, it was the opposite. Our Fit suddenly showed up one month AHEAD of the schedule, despite what we had been previously told, which took us and our salesperson by surprise. Our salesperson was wonderful and always kept us informed, so it was genuinely a surprise to her as well when our Fit beamed down from seemingly nowhere. It worked out for us in the end, but could have been a problem had we not already sold our other car, which was half the down payment.

There does seem to be a big communication gap between Honda and its dealerships. The thing is that for most vehicles including other Honda ones, this does not usually become an issue. With the Fit, however, the shortage is so accute that this communication issue becomes exposed.

bobw3

Like I said in my previos post, I wonder if the Fit you received or are receiving is actually your ordered Fit, or just one of the Fits coming down the pipeline that happened to match your needs? There really aren't many options on the Fit, mostly dealer accessories, so if you "order" an orange sport auto, any dealer is bound to get one eventually in their region, so you're really not ordering it as much as you're reserving the next one coming. Problem is that the dealers really don't know much more than a couple of weeks in advance what really is coming in.

Rather than "ordering" a Fit from a particular dealer, I just called 5 dealers within my area every Monday to ask what they knew was coming in. When one of the dealers had a silver sport auto coming in, I gave them my credit card number on the phone to put down a $500 deposit and the car was mine in 10 days (I had already test drove both the manual and auto in both sport and basic versions, so I knew what I wanted). If you just order from a single dealer, then you're really just limiting yourself to that one dealer and if they only get a few Fits in each month, then it may take awhile for your specific choice to come in.

travler

The problem is that Honda didn't anticipate such a strong market. Their production allocations are a year in advance, plus they're shipped all over the world,and not just in the US. Also, they had to reconfigure the models and transmissions. The manual was reduced to only about 10%, 85% the sport automatic, and the others the rest. This shift in allocation did set back some orders, and push others ahead. Also if you're on a waiting list and you get tired of waiting and drop off the list you've made room for others on the list to move up. This may be why all of a sudden your Fit is in. When a new market is introduced there will be volatility for a while. It's just as frustrating for sales people who don't get paid until a vehicle is delivered. Hope th is helps

jacksan1

My understanding of what happened to us is that our saleswoman was tracking pretty well until our Fit was built in Japan and was assigned a VIN. At that point, our car was already ahead of the schedule (but not by a month). Clearly, our order hit the correct lot production at Honda -in this case, it was a lot of red Fits (more on this towards the bottom). Then, our saleswoman gave us an ETA based on the VIN assignment date. After that, we waited for the December delivery. Instead, it showed up in November.

Now, I used to work for a certain Japanese automobile company, and do know from my experience that the timing of the sailing of a vehicle transport ship can play a big role in the delivery time as well. There can easily be three or more weeks' difference in delivery time between catching the ship just as it is about to sail and waiting for the next ship. Our Fit must have caught the earlier ship.

Regarding the red Fits, I have recently seen a good number of postings on the net about people who have just taken delivery of red Fits. I am suspecting that these people's vehicles were all from the sale "red" lot that got on the same ship.

raj_va

My suggestion to prospective fit buyers (any in-demand car for that matter), DO NOT put down a deposit unless the dealer can provide you a VIN and show their list of incoming cars in the inventory system , without which there is a very good chance that the dealer will take you for a "wild Goose chase".Just my two cents.

jacksan1

My suggestion to prospective fit buyers (any in-demand car for that matter), DO NOT put down a deposit unless the dealer can provide you a VIN and show their list of incoming cars in the inventory system

That system works if there are any incoming vehicles that have not yet been spoken for. In a high number of cases with the Fit, however, the incoming vehicles are already reserved, so the dealership providing you a VIN accomplishes little if anything because you cannot have that car anyway (unless the person who has ordered it refuses to take delivery upon arrival).

In our case, the VIN was assigned to our car about one and a half month after we put our order in. And to put an order in, we had to leave a deposit.

There are some cases in which a dealership can give you a VIN, such as in the cancellation scenario, or in some markets, there may really be incoming Fits that have not yet been spoken for. But, at least in our region, after having spoken to every single Honda dealer in a 100-mile radius in the month of August, we discovered that there was not a single incoming Fit that had not already been spoken for. The only way for us to get in the line was to either put a deposit down, or catch a cancellation by sheer luck. We took the former option, and we received our Fit in two and a half months. We are glad that we did not wait to put our deposit down. There is now a six-month wait for the Fit in our area.

raj_va

I am glad you were able to get the car ,guess you found a honest dealer.On the same token there are lot of experiences in this forum where people have been taken for a ride.Personally, I would like to control the game rather than waiting on the dealer to make a move.Anyways,all the best with your vehicle.

jacksan1

I am glad you were able to get the car ,guess you found a honest dealer.On the same token there are lot of experiences in this forum where people have been taken for a ride.

Thanks for your kind words, and yes, we do feel lucky about having found an honest dealership. I do know that things do not always work out that way. The Fit is such a difficult case. The logic is: Why do some dealerships act poorly? Because they can, with the Fit being so scarce. A stupid logic, I say, but they do act without integrity all the same. Needless to say, I am telling anyone who is interested in a Honda to go to "my" dealership for a good and honest service. I wish I could put down the name of the saleswoman and the dealership here (against the forum rule).

kyfdx

You can name the dealership, city and state...

jacksan1

You can name the dealership, city and state...

Good. It's Luther Hopkins Honda, Hopkins, Minnesota. An excellent dealership. They also get extra Fits allocated because they are one of Honda's President's Award dealerships.

johnnyx

I also live in the Twin Cities, I put a deposit down on a fit July 29th at Buerkle honda, said it would be a 3-4 month wait. Talked to my salesman and now he's telling me I wll have to wait another 4-5 months!!!! That is totally ridiculous. I need my car now!

hondaful

I made a $500 deposit on July 18, and was told that I would have a 2 or 3 month wait. I have been calling my salesman on a monthly basis for updates, but got only vague responses. About a month ago I walked into the dealership, which is only about 2 miles from my house, to get an update. My salesman was not there, but another salesman pulled out a listing that said my car was to be built the next day!

Concerned about the timing of selling my 1999 Isuzu Oasis to partially finance the Fit, I stopped back two weeks later and talked to my salesman. Again, only vague reassurances that the Fit would be here soon. I walked over to the salesman who had helped me before, and he produced the VIN number, but told me the Fit had not been shipped yet, but that the two cars on the list immediately above it had been shipped and had delivery dates at the end of November. I was at the dealership again yesterday because my wife's 1996 Civic hatchback needed some bodywork, and in the course of setting up the schedule for that work, the manager asked when my Fit was coming in. The sales office responded that it had been shipped and should be delivered during the first week of December.

My salesman has been pleasant and honest (MSRP, only the accessories that I specifically asked for), but completely useless in terms of scheduling. I haven't yet decided how to respond to the inevitable Honda survey on buying experience, but it certainly won't be a 10!

fitluver

There are some cases in which a dealership can give you a VIN, such as in the cancellation scenario, or in some markets, there may really be incoming Fits that have not yet been spoken for. But, at least in our region, after having spoken to every single Honda dealer in a 100-mile radius in the month of August, we discovered that there was not a single incoming Fit that had not already been spoken for. The only way for us to get in the line was to either put a deposit down, or catch a cancellation by sheer luck. We took the former option, and we received our Fit in two and a half months. We are glad that we did not wait to put our deposit down. There is now a six-month wait for the Fit in our area.

Sounds about right for this area too. I guess you can say I am getting a bit edgy because I dont think there will be any manuals just popping up out of the blue in the color I want. I ordered mine a few months ago and expect it end of dec/early jan. I dont have vin or any more info then that at the moment.

I have to wonder if the 10% manual estimate is right, or if it can be driven by the market.

Guess I just gotta chill a bit longer.

I will however keep looking.

Thanks all for the good advice.

hondaful

It doesn't hurt to keep looking, if the particular dealer that you buy from is not important. When I stopped in to my dealer two weeks ago, there was a SSM Sport Manual on the floor. The person who had ordered it got tired of waiting and bought a Civic instead, and when the Fit finally arrived there was no one on the reservation list who wanted it, so it was available to anyone who walked in the door. Needless to say, it was gone when I stopped in two days ago.

jacksan1

Cancellations do occur. Before our ordered Fit arrived, a dealership about 70 miles from our house called to say that someone had declined to take a delivery of a Fit. It was not the color we wanted, and since we were also not in a hurry, we gave it away, so to speak. I am sure it was gone the same day. Had we taken the delivery of this cancelled Fit, however, then it would have been a three-week wait for us (we ultimately waited for 2 1/2 months).

One way to get notified is to regularly visit or call a salesperson and in a friendly mannter ask him or her to get in touch with you if there is any incoming Fit, even if it has already been spoken for. That way, you can be on the lookout for a cancellation. That's how I got notified about this one Fit.

fitluver

no quote

I have looked around some, mostly auto trader online. I have also called another local dealer.

I think the thing that is bugging me out right now is one dealer I called said, "they aren't even making manual transmission fits right now", which i hope is hogwash.

I ordered a manual and by gum I better get a manual!

I am due to hear back from the inventory guy tomorrow.

Thanks for the input.

jacksan1

I think the thing that is bugging me out right now is one dealer I called said, "they aren't even making manual transmission fits right now", which i hope is hogwash.

I know Honda makes manual Fits. I have seen one recently at a nearby dealership (spoken for, of course). But the rumor has it that less than 20% of the Fits bound for North America are manual, and thus the lead time is very long. At the dealership where we got our Fit (AT), during a casual conversation, our saleswoman told us that it would be up to a one-year wait right now for a manual Fit, even though her dealership is a President's Award dealer (receiving extra allocation). Maybe she was exaggerating, but I don't think there is any doubt that an acute level of shortage exists for manual Fits.

westie2

I picked up my new Fit a week ago after placing the order in March. I were at the top of the list for preorders and passed on ones coming in that didn't meet my criteria (basic black with a manual transmission.) The dealership has made me the poster child for getting the exact model desired. After the dealer tried repeatedly to place the order, mine finally took in August and was delivered mid-November. I was told that the dealership was allowed only ONE manual tranmission order this year and I was it. Phew.

rsm333

I just got a call from Anderson Honda in Palo Alto telling me they have a silver and an orange Sport AT in stock @ MSRP. I am going to wait the couple more weeks for my white Sport to arrive.

friskysman

Just got my blue Fit Sport AT at Immke Honda in Columbus, Ohio. It was a great experience. I was skeptical at first because we put down a $250 deposit and aftewards never heard back from the salesman for months. Sometime down the line, I got a call from another dealership that said they had a Fit coming in sooner so I put a deposit with them as well. Both of them being refundable, I figured I would go with whoever got it in first and get my money back from the other place. I was pretty certain, however, that this second dealership would get the Fit first.

Come to find out, I was wrong. The Fit came in at Immke Tuesday night, a month or two earlier than they originally thought (another buyer fell through). My wife and I drove down to get it and the entire process was as smooth as I could have ever hoped for. The salesman was very cool. He had made a mistake on the purchase order and had the MSRP a few hundred more than what it was supposed to be, but he fixed it before I had a chance to point it out. The finance guy was great as well. Never gave us any problems about having our financing through some credit union he had never heard of. Did try to get us to buy the extended warranty for way too much, but I showed him a printout from Bernardi and he said that was a great deal and we should go with that. Tried for the interior protection and tire warranty but we said no and he left it at that.

All in all, we drove away with an OTD price of $17,933.48 which I was thrilled with. Definitely recommend Immke.

arles

One can also look for a nearly new Fit on Ebay. I just hope my Fit never looks like one that just recently sold there (item # 230055941569)!!!

fitluver

I also live in the Twin Cities, I put a deposit down on a fit July 29th at Buerkle honda, said it would be a 3-4 month wait. Talked to my salesman and now he's telling me I wll have to wait another 4-5 months!!!! That is totally ridiculous. I need my car now!

Manual or automatic?

I am getting a sense from the dealer now that the manual will make me wait much much longer. Is it just the manuals, or the automatics as well?

fitluver

I feel the pain of everyone waiting on on this car.

I have to wonder, when will we get them?

Will it be a new model year by then?

Come on Honda!

hondaguy67

Just for your information. a "presidents award winner" does not get exrtra allocation. Honda allocates their inventory by your precious quarterly sales. not by any awards

thomasbetz

Just picked up my Blaze Orange Fit Sport on Friday. They managed to locate the car I wanted just four weeks after I placed the order, which seems to be pretty quick service, based on what I have seen in the forums.

I paid MSRP... the dealership just changed hands, and they are working hard for new business.

They didn't have the few diddly accessories I wanted in stock the day they got the car in, so I'm going back this Friday to have them installed.