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The Sandman :confuse:
After buying two Fits in the past few years my experience is that one way to negotiate a deal is to find out who to speak to like the internet manager or in some cases the sales manager or general manager and just talk with them politely. This internet haggling game with sending and re sending quotes is time consuming and not very personal...it is probably a big turn off and nobody really wants to play games. Of course some will play if they need to move a unit...
By talking to lots of different people on the phone at dealerships, you can find out if there is someone who is more eager to move a unit. I have read postings in the past of people that got their deal b/c that particular dealer needed to sell one last car to meet a particular quota and they got a good deal....You just never know what's going on behind the scenes ever and the price of the car is not the only issue at hand for the dealer on each transaction.
The other thing is it always depends how attractive you are as a buyer in terms of your financing...But, whatever the case, be pre-approved before you talk to anyone...do an online finance application with honda or the use your bank, credit union etc. They like cash these days and will cut breaks for cash deals.
Honestly the best thing to do in my experience and opinion is to develop your own target out the door price and let them know that this is what you are looking at and you would like to know if they want to seal the deal with you. This game of seeing how low they will go is far more time consuming than developing a price you feel is fair and reaching out for that deal. This is what I did my second time around and it worked very well. The main reason it worked is because my circumstances were such that it had to work, I had no wiggle room and when it's your true bottom, it is a lot easier to keep trying to get what you need...it came from a more sincere place and not a game like place.
Anyway, people in sales are people and it's always about the relationship so go out and cultivate some preliminary relationships by collecting contact names and emails...if you like the way email goes, you can talk by phone. You can take some pressure away by NOT being guaranteed anything in writing b/c that turns it into a GAME where they now feel like it is going to be used against them. Instead simply let them know on the phone that if the deal should somehow change (write the numbers down and bring them with you) that you will be excusing yourself from the transaction. Just be polite and stay firm.
Well, this is my two cents. I get long winded and I am sorry about that!
Best of luck and try to enjoy yourself and enjoy the great Honda people you meet along the way!
When you request a quote online you must specifically ask for the OTD price, or else they'll just give you MSRP. After you get all the quotes back, tell each dealer what the lowest quote was (show them the email, if they ask) and give them a chance to beat it. After round two, go with the lowest price. It's really that simple for me.
I rather disagree with absconfused on this. I've been negotiating for cars online for years and it's the best method, I think. I generally never set foot inside a dealership nor talk to anyone directly until I have an OTD deal sealed. Face to face negotiations is where most shoppers fail because they're just no match for the savvy skills of car sales people. So, if you're a confident negotiator, go ahead and talk directly. But if you're like most people and aren't good at negotiating, stick to the internet until you get an OTD deal sealed.
Good luck!
Don
2009 Honda Fit Sport 5M - Tafetta White
accessories included cargo tray, door edge guards, bumper applique, window tint, side body molding , wheel locks, striping and of course the dealer "protection package".
OTD price was 18,103.
I negotiated over the internet with several dealers - in north texas area most dealers have tint and a few items already added - so I compared those prices and told dealer that had extras like the striping that I would not pay extra for it and they said OK - we will match the price anyway. It was tough car to find - they seem to have lots dark colors which I did not want - I had pretty much locked in on white or silver
Took about a week from first mass email to dealers to close the deal.
Hope I enjoy it as much as some of you Fit veterans - love the new car and utility of vehicle, but also have the new car jitters - want to protect my baby as long as possible.
Side note - call insurance agency to get it insured when driving off the lot - USAA classifies it as a small SUV - go figure.
Great reply!
Just to clarify a bit how I do things, I use the emails to communicate to try and sort through who is ready to make deals and who is blowing smoke. I steer clear from useless form letter responses. After I have a few people that have good people skills, I let them know a little more about my situation and what my needs are. It is pretty easy for me to tell who is going to make a deal b/c after they send the first couple of polite responses that I should come in, I tell them that I know what I want, I am serious, and this is the price I can pay. At that point, it becomes easier for me to figure out who can make a deal.
Sometimes I might speak to someone on the phone if they really want to talk but my position is clear and to the point.
I think your way is the tried and true method but I guess it just does not fit my rather social personality.
I agree that I WOULD NEVER WALK INTO A DEALERSHIP without my deal sealed first! That would be just NUTS!!!!!!
But I suppose it would not hurt to go into a dealership if it was very close to your house and leave your name, number and your Out the Door price offer with them. JUST AS LONG AS YOU LEAVE RIGHT AWAY of course.
The main thing is always staying in control of the transaction and the only way to do that is follow internet shopping advice.
The other thing I do is give a TIME LIMIT to the finance guy. I tell them that I do not expect this to take more than ten or fifteen minutes...Letting them know you are serious about not being jerked around in the finance dept puts you back in the drivers seat. Say it like you mean it and let them that you have time constraints and that everything about your deal is straightforward.
If you want extended warranty just go home, you can get cheaper from several places. Let them know before you go into finance I will not be purchasing a warranty today and this should not take very long. I do or do not need gap insurance and am not purchasing any other options....Any pressure in finance just get up and LEAVE!
You must stay in control of the transaction at all times. You are the king, you are making the purchase. It is YOUR DEAL NOT THEIR DEAL and you will do it YOUR WAY....
Always be very polite and never get aggressive...you can get aggressive but it creates bad energy....
sue
Um, what do you mean by "ok?" The question is, was it ok for you? My car had 30 miles on it when I bought it, so it's not a big deal at all. First of all you want there to be some mileage on it to make sure the car was properly PDI'd. If the car was not taken on a proper inspection test drive and something goes wrong that could have been caught during the test, it's your word against the dealership's word if you discover an issue. Guess who's going to win that battle? (here's a hint, it's not you). Second if a car is sitting on the lot for a couple of months before it gets purchased I Imagine the dealership moves the car around a bit. Also, they put miles on it when they give you the courtesy gas fill up. The closest gas station to the dealership was about two miles away, so that was four miles on my car right there. It's really not difficult to rack up 35 miles on a new car before you buy it, especially if it was taken for a test drive or two.
I'm really not quite sure the obsession some people have with getting a car with as close to 0 miles as they can. This is a weird thing to stress about. I can see if the car had like 600 miles on it being a little concerned, but to stress about 35 miles? Don't get it. The engine isn't made of glass, it's not going to break if a couple of people test drove it. Also it's a Honda, they can take it.
Several years ago, I had a guy test drive an Accord THREE times before deciding to buy. All three times, we used the same car and he was the only one who had driven it. Between Honda, our PDI ha\and his driving, I think it had something like 31 miles on it.
We had about four others that were the same model and color and he went from car to car, peering through the windows. I couldn't figure out what he was doing until he yellout.." This is the one I want"
It was buried three cars deep and I couldn't understand what he was talking about. Besides that, we had a language barrier and I could barely understand him.
It turns out, he selected the car with the lowest number of miles. I think it had 12 miles on it. I let him know I wasn't about to move four cars to sell him that one when he was the person who put the bulk of the miles on the car he drove.
I've also had people scour the lot looking for certain "lucky" numbers in a car's VIN number.
Some things I guess I'll never understand...
Not a US, Canadian or Mexican. Go figure??
So I will probably be bugging you with some pretty simple questions. I hope you don't mind too much.
First up. The term "Out the door". I am assuming that means the total out of pocket expense including everything but insurance. For instance it includes tax, tag title and any fees. Am I correct in assuming all that?
Since taxes and fee's differ from state to state, it best to post like this:
2009 Honda Fit Sport
$1748.00 Selling Price includes the destination charge
+$1200.00 Sales tax
+$350 Plates and reg
+$100.00 Dealer Doc fee/processing fee
=$19130.00 OTD
By listing the itemizing your selling price and fee a guy half a country away can compair his selling price to your. He may have lower or no sales tax but a $599.00 dealer doc fee. So the real number to focus on is the SELLING price.
I agree that 35 miles is nothing on a new car, but how that first 35 miles is put on can make a difference. Why would Honda put a break-in period section in their owner's manuals if it didn't matter? If that improper break-in is what leads to a possible future engine failure, I am the one that has to pay for the repairs, the salespeople in here that say it doesn't matter will never see a dime of repair costs because they mainly drive demos. I am not saying all people that test drive cars abuse them, but the ones that do are the ones I worry about are that put those initial miles on the car!
I have never been able to tell the slightest difference between US built, Canadian built or Japan built Hondas. It is a placebo effect yet I have run into a couple of people who swear the Japan built cars are somehow better.
They are all the same, totally. I can't speak for the ones built in Mexico because we don't get any of these.
I'm trading in a CRV.
Need advice, please help.
Thanks!!
and also why dont you sell your CRV privately? dealer will pay wholesale value which should at least $2000 less than private value.
was that 15790 OTD pricing?
Thanks in advance
Was that OTD? And what kind of 09? Sport, man? Sport, auto? Also what dealership?
Was thinking Honda would be going lower given the numbers that have been coming out lately.
Still you have not said if it is the price before the taxes and fees or the total out the door price. Nobody can give an opinion without that information but if it is BEFORE taxes and fees, I do not think it is a very good price...You should shoot for a sport if you can IMHO
Can you help fill in the blanks? Am I missing something? From what I can tell you were offered a Fit below invoice, which up until two months was only available by order and in many cases was offered at MSRP or higher only.
I got my loan via my bank for 4.94% Honda didn't even bother doing paperworks to try for their loan cause they said they wouldn't be able to match it anyway.
Done it via internet mostly, went to the dealership 2 times, first time was a bust, went there and they dont wanna budge, so I left. They email me back couple of times and asked for better offers. Then went there second time with the better offers and got the car.
congratulations on your new FIT. The most important thing is that you are happy with your purchase! What I will say is that if you ever have money, put black wheels on the car...they look outstanding on the RED FIT...I had that combo till the car was totaled and it makes it an all new car. I know you cannot do that right now but just keep it in mind just in case b/c it REALLY finishes off the look of the car in the most amazing way!
I decided I really wanted silver, so I asked the dealer (Meyer Honda, O'Fallon, IL) to see if he could find one. I also saw Huey's Honda in St Louis had a silver Sport MT in stock, so I asked them for a price. Huey's quoted $16,730. Meyer found a silver build, matched Huey's price, and is having the silver MT delivered via truck to their dealer. Great service from Meyer Honda, and I appreciated Huey's dealings, too. Everything was done on the internet as I'm overseas & moving to Illinois soon.
I found on TMV that the MSRP of the car is $17,110 and the Invoice is $16,501. I will be buying the car at the dealer so, no destination charge. What's the best OTD price I should haggle for the car? Thanks.
No way to get around it... Doesn't matter if it's ordered or bought off the lot..
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Regarding the price of the car itself, the closer you can get to dealer invoice, the better. Just remember you're only looking at about a $600 difference between TMV and invoice. The dealership and the salesman need to make *some* money. It's up to you how much of your money you want to give them. If they have a lot of Fits like yours on the lot, they will be more willing to deal, especially at the end of the month. Good luck.
$13,790 - Base Manual
$15,493 - Sport Manual
I'm working on determining if there are any add-ons, etc., to these prices and will update. If I can get a good deal on the Sport, I'd do it if only because I love the Blackberry color.
I sent pricing requests to 5 dealers in my area yesterday for:
09 Fit Sport / automatic - color / milano red
I told them this is a cash deal with no trade-in, no extended warranty, no options, and to give me their best out the door price upfront. I will make the purchase and take delivery on Friday or Saturday. I've received quotes from 4 out of the 5 dealers.....all of these INCLUDE destination, but DO NOT INCLUDE taxes / plates....which should not differ from one dealer to the next. Prices that I've been quoted:
$16,987
$17,441.80
$17,569
$17,195
I would probably just go ahead and purchase for $16,987, but I see a couple people on this forum have recently purchased the same vehicle for $15,400 and $15,791. Did these prices include destination? (I'm guessing those prices did not include destination, but can't be sure) I'm not going to spend a lot of time and energy going back and forth with these guys for a few hundred dollars, but I'd do whatever needs to be done to get the car for $15,400. Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions.
But CASH is KING right now, that's for sure!!!
If you are in Atlanta you can post your email address and I can send you the name of the dealer but you know they only do what they think they have to do at that particular moment in time so deals are not readily replicated
Thanks
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 ?
I bought it from Carmax, which isn't always my first choice when looking to buy a car, but they had the right car for the right price at the right time. Can't complain there!
I had to get out of my 2005 Nissan Xterra lease, in which I was 20,000 miles over my contract. Time was ticking, as my lease ended in May 2009. I started to really sweat whenever I thought about it! But I had been "shopping" around for about a year, and looked at various smaller cars that didn't compromise cargo area. I was comparing the Toyota Matrix, Pontiac Vibe, Nissan Versa, and the Honda Fit. At first, the only one I wanted was the Matrix. I just liked the exterior style. To me, the Honda Fit looks like a soccer mom minivan that was shrunk down proportionately by 50%. I liked the reliability of the foreign-made cars from Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, so the Pontiac would be a last ditch option. I read on Consumer Reports that the Nissan Versa did not come standard with ABS brakes!! I was shocked by this! I did searches for a Versa with ABS, and couldn't find one to save my life. So, I figured that might be out of the question.
Well, I happened to browse Carmax's website one night, and noticed this great looking 2007 Honda Fit Sport. I really wanted a manual transmission (not necessarily for the mpg, but more for the driving fun). And it was black... very sporty looking! Although the mileage was kinda high for a 2 year old car (55,000), I reassured myself that it's a HONDA... that's just breaking it in!! So, I used the "email a sales person" option and "scheduled a test drive". I'm glad I did this, because people were ALL OVER this car when I got there (it had a reserved sign on it with MY name : ) So, I test-drove it. It handled really well, and although the rpm was a little high, I felt like it was a good deal if I could get them to take my Xterra.
Long story short, I got a good deal on the trade-in for my Xterra, the sticker price for the Fit was $11,599 which I thought was very reasonable, and I got great financing with a TON of negative equity!! yay!! So, thanks to Carmax and Honda for helping me to get out of an icky situation with my lease, and into a car that will save me money and that is fun to drive!!
The only negatives I have to report are that the leg-room for a 5'10" female who is mostly legs is a little lacking. But it wasn't a deal-breaker for me. I've had the car for a week now, and the lack of leg room hasn't been an issue. The only thing that is driving me crazy is the lack of a "map light" to light up the front drivers & passenger side area. This is really something that should have been included from the start, and Honda apparently learned their lesson because the 2009 model in the showroom has the light! I'm a little bitter about this, but I'm working on a solution... probably a sticky light added to the top of the windshield or something. And the final negative thing I have is that the rpm's are sooo high on the highway!! I cruise at 3k-4k rpm when I'm at 65-75 mph, and I know that's got to be killing my mpg! I am a fairly speedy driver (you have to be when you're driving this little car, dodging all the soccer moms in their SUV's and bankers in their BMW's who live in Charlotte!) so I expected my mpg to be lower than the expected rate for this car. But at least when I'm cruising on the interstate, I had hoped that part wouldn't take a notch on my mpg. Oh well. Something I'll have to get used to. I just filled up my first tank, and I got 30 mpg. That's MUCH better than the 16-19 mpg I got on my Xterra!
So, overall, I highly recommend this car as a fun-to-drive subcompact that is easy on the wallet and on the eye. Consider buying a newer model for the interior and exterior feature upgrades.