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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Honda Fit Prices Paid and Buying Experiences
2426 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2009 at 7:53 PM
You are in the Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Forum. Your Hosts are car_man & kyfdx
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Replying to: ralphwiggum1 (Jan 13, 2009 2:20 pm) |
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Replying to: rabbit13 (Mar 20, 2009 7:33 am) 
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Replying to: norton56 (Mar 21, 2009 7:09 pm) regards, kyfdx |
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I figured I'd post a followup about how we made out with our honda fit. My mom and I did competitive bidding, following a youtube video of a lecture about how to buy a new car without getting screwed (i posted the link previously). We were looking to get the Fit Sport with navigation and automatic transmission, in either white or tidewater blue. 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! |
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Just want to get everyone's opinion on this. I went in to a dealership for a 2009 Honda Fit Base Auto.. and then sales manager tried to sell me a 2009 Honda Fit Sport Auto (1600 miles) on it for about $18300 OTD.. The reason why it has 1600 miles on it is because the previous owner had financial difficulties and couldn't afford it. No accidents or any other upgrades.. the previous owner did put on the tint on the windows though.. Warranty still on, inside seems okay.. took it out for a test drive, seemed okay.. Should I offer a lower price?? Thanks
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Replying to: gtimikee (Mar 23, 2009 2:38 pm) 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 
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I have been evaluating cars to get something for my son and daughter-in-law and my new grandson (I had to get that in). We looked at Fit, Matrix, and Versa and they liked Fit the best. I find it annoying that to get cruise and remote entry one has to bump up significantly but I did. The tires on the Sport however presented a problem that I would like to point out to those who are looking at buying a Fit. The Sport has low profile 185/55/16 tires. There are only 2 available on the market, one made by Dunlop and one (Turanza) by Bridgestone. Both are fairly expensive and have very low tread wear ratings of around 300 or less. They also get less than stellar reviews for wet traction and overall ride (e.g. see tirerack.com). My research told me that 30,000 to 35,000 miles was about the best one could expect. I had an in depth discussion with the service depatment at the Honda dealership, and they confirmed that one is looking at approx. $600 for a set of tires about every 30-35,000 miles. So at current prices, if one kept the Fit for 200,000 miles, that would be around $3000 for tires. That is absurd for a car that is supposed to be economical. The Manager agreed to swap the 175/65/15 tires off a base model onto a Sport model and give me $500 off the Sport for that. Now at first tire change or sooner I have the option of going to a 185/60/15 or even 195/60/15 tire and still be within 1% of the size of the original 185/55/16 tires (Anything <3% change is considered safe). In these sizes there is a large choice of better riding, longer wearing tires including Michelins, Yokahamas, etc. This should also save some significant cost and hassle over the life of the car. Just some thoughts for anyone looking at the Fit. I hope it is useful.
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Replying to: dconnor (Mar 26, 2009 6:50 pm) 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
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Don't pay up for these cars... There may be a huge shooting gallery for most cars in the traditional may-july inventory reductions. Good luck --jjf --------------------------------------------- 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 |
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Replying to: jfritsch (Mar 30, 2009 3:55 am)
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