I think KBB sucks as far as real time value of a car. Edmunds.com TMV is much more accurate for current values.

$17,500 before TTL for the OP isn't bad at all. It's just market driven like everything else. Mine was $17,850 before TTL. I wanted to pay $17,500, but when I realized they weren't gonna budge, I realized $350 really is nothing and I wanted the car.

Currently, don't be surprised if dealers demand full MSRP on their Fits.

 

When I bought my car I used truecar.com. It lets you get averages of what's been selling for what price in your area to use as leverage for deals, plus, dealers can go on there and provide a no hassle price. I got my Sport A/T for about $16,100 back in Feb. using that site.

 

I looked at used Fits, dealers are nut;s and do not want to negotiate! I checked Truecar.com and the fit I wanted new MSRP w shipping was $16,650. Great price of $15,131.

Took a couple days of haggling but I got a base Fit with automatic for "drum roll please" $13,831.42 !!!!! Plus all the fee's and tax tags etc, was (another drum roll please) $15,938.40 out the door.

In Florida the dealer fee is not regulated so they charge $699! I knew this and made sure I got it off the actual price I paid for the car. So to be honest I paid $14,540.32. Dealer fees are just another rip off so it's buyer beware! Trucar said Great price was under $15,131, I think I just lowered the bar.

I just cannot stop patting myself on the back for this one. This was this morning April 23rd, 2011. I really don't believe they went that low. That is a little bit above what they wanted for a used 2010!!!

Would anyone like to hire me as agent for the buyer? JIm 0311

 

where do you live?
I paid $1000 BELOW the window stick price. the whole deal took me 20 minutes. I think i could get lower if I wanna stay longer..
the fact is, not that many inventory out there any more..
their invoice price before kick back from the factory is $17077 and $750 shipping.

 

Your car did depreciate as you drove off the lot. Try selling it for the same amount as is asked for a new one. You won't be able to!

I said nothing about KBB, it's a politically and economically manipulated system and it never reflects actual prices accurately.

You sound like you are anti-intellectual. Or maybe you didn't realize that I was quoting Adam Smith from The Wealth of Nations... which is a great book for basic understanding of how market works and value is determined. In fact, the real value of that car is the amount of good, time, expertise, risk, and other factors that played into producing it. The other factors are supply and demand.

And I don't know what it has to do with talking about value of Honda fit, but I bought mine with cash.

 

[quote the real value of that car is the amount of good, time, expertise, risk, and other factors that played into producing it. The other factors are supply and demand. .[/quote]


100% agree.

before I got the Fit, I was thinking to buy the Nissan Juke.
the dealer told me that the car is too new, and after they sold out the last one from the lot, no more will come in for a long while, coz the earth quake.

they only wanted to sell me the MSRP without mark up..

that's why I go to the Honda.

 

ended up getting a blue fit sport A/T today, he wanted 17800 i said 17500
final price was 17578, the 78$ was for wheel locks.

.9% for 60 mo payments were 333.54$ with 0 down. ended up getting that dent pro for 5 years for 399$ so payments are 341$

pretty happy with what we got since truecar was 17400 good price

 

New sport/auto. 12 miles on odometer, white,

$16,490.00 before TTL

 

Truecar is a sham. That is a horrible deal.

The awesome car helps overcome it, but seriously.

Better research of actual users to find the lowest possible price can be done through forums like here, and user forums like edmunds' "prices paid."
Why would you want to pay an average price if everyone in your area is getting ripped off? You want to find out what the lowest price they will accept is.

 

Often times those TMV figures seem to be an average of both good and bad deals. And for a car like the Fit that seems to have a large appeal to women, I can't help but wonder if bad deals are the majority.

 

Paid $16,900 for my 2011 sport M/T before taxes, doc, etc. Sticker was $17,610. That took about an hour of haggling, and that was THE rock-bottom price for this dealer. Congrats to those that did so much better!

 

Why was sticker so high?

Which dealer did you go through?

 

You guys are lucky you don't need to buy a car here. MSRP or a hundred below is just about as low as you can go with the 2011.

 

Actually, I use the edmunds prices paid forums. Once in a while somebody really finds out the true minimum price, usually at high volume dealers. TMV is useless as it figures in all the people who get hosed. I just want the rock bottom price or I won't buy.

In the prices paid forum, I found a local dealer that regularly did ~$15,888 "one at this price" fit sport deals every week. I then got a competitive dealer to match it in writing, and the dealer with the 15,888 price then did a competitive meet+ beat price. Major PITA and I had to get the owner at the dealer involved to honor their own policy, because they didn't believe the other dealer's writing was worth the paper it was on (probably wasn't). They also tried to say the car was sold, but I knew it wasn't. That's one way to find the rock bottom price anyway, but you basically have to earn it.

 

Put my deposit down for my fit an locked in the price of 15,900 before tax tags an title on march 24th.. Came the next day after it rolled off the truck an the manager says I was lucky I came the night before cause the next day they got a memo stating they could not go lower than the msrp due to the Japan earthquake so prices are tight now.

 

Ok prices are still out there to be had on the manuals. My wife and I just traded our chitty '10 Corolla LE AT for a '11 Sport 5MT. The wife finagled a sale price (pre TTL and trade) of $16700. After all was said and done, we figured the dealership made less than $2000 off of us. But I can say that they weren't wheelin' and dealin' on any Sport auto's: MSRP or take a hike! The wife wanted an auto so she could drive it, but since it will be my daily driver when I don't take the bike, I won out on the manual.

But it seems that the stories about short supply are true (and make sense). Reports we got from 3 dealerships is that nothing will be hitting the coast for another 3-4 months...

 

1. I didn't read the article, but if it made a blanket statement about all used cars costing more than all new cars, it is flat out wrong. Yes, interest rates are lower on new cars, but the purchase price is higher on a new car.

2. A car like the Pontiac Vibe is an ideal used car. It is reliable (it's a Toyota Matrix with a different body) but because of Pontiac's earned reputation for unreliability, it depreciates quickly.

3. A car like the Honda Fit which barely depreciates is not a great value on the used market.

4. If you can wrench on your own car buying used makes even more sense. Belts, hoses, brakes and rotors will all need to be replaced sooner on a used car, but if you can perform the labor yourself, repairing wear items costs very little.

 

Totally agree. If you negotiate a rock bottom price on a new fit or accord, you can sell them several years later for a grand or two less than what you paid new. That is impossible with most other cars.

For example, I bought my '05 accord new for $17, and sold it ~3 years later for $15.5k, private party. Granted I keep my rides like-new, but you get the point. No doubt I'd only lose my original T&L if I sold my Fit right now, and it is over a year old.

 

Truecar is not a sham in my opinion.
The previous poster is just not using this data and website properly. He should be looking at the recent sales chart, and defintely not MSRP or even dealer invoice...

Then, even if you look at the sales chart, you still need to interpret your deal properly. Consumerism isn't like test scores in school where your goal is to be in the middle of the pack.
If you are a smart consumer, you should always be on the very very way left of the chart (matching the lowest price currently available). There is little reason to go with the more expensive dealer (except perhaps distance).

If you are comparing your results to the middle of the chart that means you are just "average" consumer off the street that did not try at all to find who has the lowest price, and just picked a dealer that doesn't rip you off too much.

Please look up truecar in your own area and show whether the numbers really are off or if it is user error in interpreting his deal.

But in any event, hopefully he can overlook that we revealed that he didn't get the best deal, and still be happy with his purchase.

 

??? $17,610 is MSRP according to honda:

Build and Price a Honda - the Official Honda Web Site

Purchased at Hennessy in Woodstock.