I am about to buy a 2012 base MT Fit, in polished metal metallic. I've checked edmonds, and it looks like I should expect to pay about 5100 + 700 destination fee and then taxes, etc. So perhaps about 6300 OTD price...

My plan is to walk into the showroom and make a deal based on the best deal I can find online. I'm going to skip out on any extras, warranties, etc. My other car is currently for sale and when it sells I'll go through with the Fit purchase. What do you think? anything I should know before taking the plunge?

 

One thing is for sure; I think your numbers may have a typo. You'll pay closer to 16300.00, not 6300. The Fit is great. You'll love it.

 

100% Haggle-Free New Car Price Quotes from Local Dealers - TrueCar is saying $15,864

 

Yeah, what they said.

Also, what you should know is, the stock tires are crap and you can improve just about everything with a better set (though this is true for most cars).

 

I paid $15,750 for a '12 base (before tax, title, etc.)

Seems like the TrueCar price is fair. I wouldn't go a dime over $15,900 (delivery included)

 

I payed sticker for my '11 base, 15,850. But it was the last one with an MT in white on the east coast at the time (last April, when supply was effected by the tsunami) and the salesman personally drove 50mi each way to get the car for me. 16300 OTD is reasonable.

 

I paid 15,560 before tax for a '12 base MT, NO doc fees or markups for dealer installed junk, like paint protection, VIN etching etc. Comparing OTD is really odd given that taxes and titling varies widely. Oregon has 0% sales tax, while I have 8.3% sales tax. I think the TrueCar price is always high, so don't pay over it!

 

I paid $6500 OTD for a brand new 1991 Dodge Colt. Hand cranked windows, no AC. Even adjusted for inflation, that was a dirt cheap car. You'll never see those prices again- your average motorcycle costs more than that today.

 

Hey Duie ...

I had to Google Chadds Ford to find out where you are; I bet it's pretty in your neck of the PA woods. I just saw a Food Network episode the other night that made me want to hit Philadelphia for some ravioli!

I don't know whether CA prices are higher or lower than PA. You'd think I would know it! Anyway, just a few days ago, I paid $15,550 for an automatic transmission base model with fog lights, splash guards, and a rear bumper applique (the three options I really wanted). I've got to drive an automatic cuz I'm an old fart with a seriously bad back ... can't do a clutch anymore.

I had to finance in order to get that price, could not pay cash. But there's no pre-payment penalty, so I'll pay it off in three months (the allowed minimum financing term). At that point, I will have paid $18 in finance charges, so we can add that to the $15,550.

In addition to that price, I paid the San Francisco Bay Area's whopping sales tax, DMV fees (legit fees to the State, nothing to the dealer), and $55 documentation (dealer fee, as you very likely know). So the out-the-door-have-a-nice-day-total was $17,250.

Hope this helps, and good luck to you. I gotta say, the Fit is a realllllly nice car, and very likely the most vehicle for the least money in its class.

 

be prepared to say no to everything, and be ready to walk out if the dealer won't budge enough. there's only a few hundred bucks of headroom on entry-level cars like the fit, so they really want to catch you with the trade-in and with the financing. If you have neither, you are not really worth their time unless they can sell you some extras, which they will push on you HARD.

and when you're done negotiating with the salesguy and the sales manager and you shake hands, the deal is NOT done. then they shuttle you to the back room where you talk with the person to do the paperwork. you think you're there to sign a few papers, when in fact the paperwork person is still selling. I had to say 'no' about another 30 times back there, to everything from the extended warranty to paint sealant to a year of car washes. And every time you say 'no' the paperwork person gives you a "you're an idiot" face. You even have to initial/sign papers that say they offered you these amazing deals and you refused them.

just stick to your price, don't take anything personally, and be ready to walk

 

You need to know Honda has put TruCar on outcast status. They are threatening any dealer who works with Trucar.
That said do your homework.
1. find the wholesale price of the Fit you're looking to buy
2. Find the wholesale value of your trade-in if you have one.
3. Take the difference and add $500 and thats your purchase price; but now add:
a. dealer ADP, whatever they call it, its just added dealer profit. $500 is too high but fairly average. Some dealer want $1500. walk away.
b. add license fee, tax, and title fees set by your state.
Now you have the price you pay.
If you let them do the loan, make sure you pay an interest appropriate with your credit rating so check your bank or CU. Subtract any cash you are offering from the cost after b. to get the value the loan you want. Your bank or CU can likely beat the dealer's interest. Check their mo payment with your bank to see if they did it right. not all do.
Avoid the maintenance or extended warranties.
That wasn't hard, now was it.
good luck.
and if you buy it check it over very carefully before completing the deal - ie before signing anything. that includes a thorough test drive.

 

Follow what mahout said. While i love the Fit, the purchase process left a bad taste in my mouth. In other words, paid way more than i should have. And if you have dogs to take on a regular basis, their shedded fur sticks to the seat fabrics like a magnet. Aside from that, be prepared for a pleasant bump in MPG

 

Hi again Duie ... will you be shipping that ravioli soon? Your head may/not be spinning a bit at this point. Anyway, for what it's worth, my post above some days ago gives you the exact figures I paid on 1/28/12 for a 2012 AT base with a few options. The hiccup well might be, however, that CA and PA (if I got it right that you're in PA) well may differ a little to a lot.

On that last point - not sure whether you know about this - there's a thread on Fit Freak of reviews of dealerships all around the US. Maybe that'll help you.

Others have commented they found it unpleasant that dealerships try to sell extended warranties, theft protection devices, breadboxes, underwear, and all sorts of other stuff when you sit down to sign. No doubt, that can be a bit annoying. I just said "no thanks" to everything, and didn't find it a particularly big deal. I remember going through the same thing in 2003 when I bought a new Tacoma. I guess everybody's gotta make a living, including those who sell cars.

Again, best of luck!

 

I'll never do business with one of the so called finance managers again... They want to tell you all of the things that could go wrong with a new car you are purchasing from them to scare you into paying for extra warranties and make you believe that only Honda dealer service departments are able to do the work... They will give you lower interest rates if you take one or more of the warranty packages which is illegal in some states.... If you are buying a new Honda you are paying for a car that requires very little maintenance that in most cases is easily done by the owner... I have never let a dealer do a thing to my car in the 5 1/2 years I have had it... Instead of messing with a dealership and warranty plans just go out and buy some tools and a repair manual.. Anything that comes up that you have trouble with can usually be found in an existing thread here or you can start a thread to get the info you need...

 

If you have dogs, get dealer leather. It will pay for itself in time saved.

 

I remember we paid something close to $2100 otd for a 1971 Datsun, no A/C. crank windows. AM/FM radio only. It had heat and windshield wipers & lap seat belts. Those were the days.

 

Hi Mahout ...

Kind of a digression here, perhaps, but maybe Duie will find it useful.

>1. find the wholesale price of the Fit you're looking to buy

Newbie question: how does a person find the wholesale price of an automobile? For that matter, what is a wholesale price?

Consumer Reports says, for example, there is in fact absolutely no way to know a dealer's balance due (cost) to a manufacturer for any given automobile. Yes, a dealer can show a purchaser the "invoice price," but that will not disclose any private agreements between the manufacturer and dealer. I just purchased a Fit ***substantially below*** the dealer's invoice. Surely that cannot mean the dealer actually took a loss in its balance due to Honda.

So, what's wholesale price, and how does a prospective buyer learn it? I'm thinking I might be missing something ... is there a way to do this??

>3. Take the difference and add $500 and thats your purchase price

Um, why? Why not $400? Or $510? There's something about the figure of $500 that assures a prospective buyer of the best price available? Please explain.

>That wasn't hard, now was it.

As must be clear above, I'm a little lost on this process. I am happy with the price I paid, but the way I did it was quite different than what you're advising and I'm wondering in hindsight whether I missed something important. Will be interested for sure to read your insights!

 

The method I describe has been used for 50 years and taught to a few thousand students who all agreed it was the way to do it. Depending on the 'lowest difference' request is a guaranteed win for car salespeople who teach their salespeople correctly. And when you go in with your homework done a good salesperson will sell you a car, if he can, in 15 minutes. And naturally the finance manager gets his too. Note that they get a kick-back from finance agencies for their business.
As for how well you do, thats your negotiating skills. A good base for successful negotiation is knowing what the seller has invested and how much you have investedand how much you can afford. We haven't talked about how much your trade-in is worth if you have a current loan. The payoff is seldom known by the lendee; its calculated on the rule of 12, which is the sum of digits 1 thru 12; interest is collected 12/72nds the first 12th of the loan, and 1/12 on the last 12th so the payoff isn't directly proportional. The calculations aren't all honest either, just as monthly payments aren't but that a much more complicated lesson. Thats not easy. Thats why I'm stopping there. Telling a prospective buyer he's underwater' that he owes more than his vehicle is worth is probably the worst experience for a salesperson. It happens a lot.

 

The '12 Base MT invoice is $15,565 after the delivery cost and regional ad fee is added in. You can get this number from edmunds.com and truecar.com. The dealer showed me his invoice and these were the exact same numbers. It even shows the holdback at $303 on it. If you were to blindly add in $500 on top of invoice that puts you at $16,065, which is OVER MSRP. I suggest to my thousands of students that you do not pay over MSRP. That's completely ludicrous. As I mentioned earlier, I paid $15,560. The dealer is still making money, especially if you throw in honda-to-dealer incentives etc that aren't generally disclosed. Generally the starting point for negotiations is considered to be Invoice + $0. And dogofyourdreams got some sort of screaming deal somehow.

 

Mahoud and komafit, based on your references to thousands of students and so on, you two clearly have a whooole lot more experience in car sales and purchases than I do! I know a fair amount about dogs, and not much at all about cars. My Dad must be pretty gloomy looking down on me from heaven: he was a world class auto mechanic. Then again, my Grandfather was a dog trainer, so I guess it's all evened out.

Here in Disneyland (aka California), members of Costco (warehouse retailer like Sam's Club) can get a "Costco price" from participating car dealers: invoice plus $100. With both a 03 Tacoma and the 12 Fit, I started the buying process by visiting dealers who showed me computer printouts which the dealers said were invoices. In both cases, I used that as my starting point from which I tried to negotiate downward, and in both cases purchased vehicles below invoice. If memory serves, that starting point price on the 2012 base model AT Fit was $16281, but I ended up purchasing many hundreds below that.

I'm not sure it was a "screaming deal," komafit, but I was genuinely surprised by the final price offer I got: it was hundreds below the previous best offer. Two things perhaps worth noting.

First, I comparison shopped 2011 Fits but did not buy because my wife wanted to hang onto our old beater awhile longer (it isn't just Y chromosomes that get attached to cars, apparently). In 2011 too, this same dealer from whom we've purchased in 2012 was waaay below other dealers.

Second, as I mentioned in my message to Duie, to get the attractive price I was required to finance the car even though I had a check ready for the full amount: the sale agreement from the dealership shows in black and white a kick in of $750 from Honda Motors. The minimum term of payments is three months. I'll pay off the car in the fourth month, and will have spent around $18 on financing by then. That's a very long way of saying that financing was a better way for me to go on this vehicle.

Anyway, not sure whether the above clarifies or muddies the waters, or for that matter whether Duie is reading the thread anymore.

Best wishes ...