at the dealership today one of the sales people said a reason the fits are so slow is because the B pillar trim piece between the front and rear side windows kept falling off. The fix was to just ditch the trim piece and paint the doors black where it was suppose to go.

I didn't notice it at all until i looked close at this spot but it is just painted black here. might be one of the possible reasons they've been so slow.


the dealer here has only gotten 3 so far this year and they have been sold ahead of the time so I don't get to drive them around the lot much.

 

I think that the universal characteristic of sales people is that they are good at BS. This isn't even a particularly good explanation. If a trim piece were falling off then Honda would figure out a way to make it stay on, such as a dab of adhesive. This wouldn't cause a three-month delay in production.

 

Going from robotics to more labor intensive. That seems like a step backwards to me. It's big business I know.

 

This being a sellers market is correct. My daughter wanted the Passion Berry Pearl, and we looked for weeks, with dealers making all sorts of promises. I just kept calling dealers, and lucked up on one that was being unloaded from the truck as we spoke. My wife and I drove over two hours and snatched it up before it could be sold to anyone else.

 

The new plant does use robots. The build process requires both automated and human labor, even for the Japan and American plants--it's just labor and other things are currently cheaper in Mexico. There are some new manufacturing techniques being used as well. The fact that the plant is in Mexico doesn't mean the process has regressed from high tech to low tech.

 

Funny you should say that because I have seen quite a few of that color listed with dealers. Of course, that doesn't mean they actually have them. Most Fits on dealer's sites are "In Transit." One of them told me that as soon as a car is assigned to a dealer, it goes on their site.

I just got an email from the NH dealer where I got my silver Fit. He told me that the blue Fit I had "Saved" was no longer available. He did not have a blue Fit, and they had no plans to receive them. So why did I get that email. So much for accurate info from a dealer.

 

I used to have a pretty good impression of car dealers, based on purchases over the past seventeen years. That has changed completely after shopping for a Fit. Two problems: they don't know anything about anything; they say whatever pops into their heads.

I just got an email from the dealer in NH where I bought a silver Fit on Monday. He said the blue Fit I had reserved is no longer available. Here's the thing - he never had a blue Fit and didn't know when they would get one.

 

That was a big concern for me (and still is), especially since we're getting two Fits. It's a new design, being made in a new factory, by new workers - in Mexico.

 

I hate thinking about all the games dealers played with us trying to find the PBP color fit for our daughter. One told us he had it and invited us to the dealership for a test drive. Problem was, he did not have one, or any other Fit. We drove 95 miles from our house for that experience. Another dealer told us they could get one with a $500.00 deposit. They could never get me a VIN number, and I ended up disputing the charge with my bank to get my $500.00 back. The dealer where we lucked up on one, told me the deposit thing was just to get me out of the market. Well, it did not work. Once we found what we were looking for, we initiated our request for the deposit back. Good thing I saved the email messages from that dealer telling us that with a deposit they could provide a VIN. My dispute was over before it even started.

 

Yeah, they all want the deposit and a test drive. Getting the deposit back is easier said than done, despite what they say at the time. "An oral contract isn't worth the paper it's written on."

I put two deposits on Fits at the same dealer for a silver and a blue - "No problem getting the deposit refunded." After I got the silver one from another dealer, I called and said I wanted the deposit refunded. "Let me talk to the sales director, and he'll call you and see what we can work out." As it turned out, my son decided to get a black Fit while one was available, so I applied the deposit to that.

This four-month experience has really soured me on car dealers.

 

Like an idiot I forgot I had put down a $500 deposit, and so did my salesperson, so it wasn't deducted from my final price on the papers. But I called him when the light bulb went on a few days later and they credited my AMEX immediately.


Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda.

 

In other words, refusing to refund that "refundable deposit" netted another sale for the dealer. Now you know why they make it difficult.

Why is it, with salesrooms being so pretty and clean, I still feel like I need a shower after visiting one?

 

Soooooo ... am I owed some B-Pillars on my new LX? Or am I better off without them?
Mine are painted black.

 

lol not sure if serious, but that b-pillar trim rumor is not substantiated. The design has been out over a year in Japan and those Fits have the same painted doors that the US ones do.

 

So what is it? I don't know either way. I'm just going by what is being posted in this thread. It's cheaper I'm sure. Is it more labor intensive than Japan's plant(s) or not? If it is more labor intensive, I'd think that would mean it has regressed from high tech to low tech.

 

The point is, Honda hasn't "regressed" from high tech to low tech. The Mexican plant still uses robots for some parts of the process and human labor for others. It does not build the entire car in Mexico from scratch at this time, so there is less need for some of the automated portions that exist at the main plant in Japan. They are using new manufacturing techniques and trying to find more efficient and cost-effective ways to build more automobiles closer to the markets they are selling in. I don't think that is "regression" at all, it's evolving and trying to make your business better while keeping the same or better level of quality in your product. I do not considering using more human processes as a step backwards per se, just as I would not immediately assume that because they use more people in the build, that this automatically means the product is going to have inferior quality.

 

I gave a deposit ($500) on Sunday and was told they should have my Fit "by the end of the week". Still nothing. Nothing more than brief "we're still looking" emails.

Should I be concerned? How long should I expect this wait to be? I'm in Massachusetts and I do see that a dealer nearby lists what I want (an LX automatic) in stock. But I'm under the impression that this doesn't necessarily mean anything.

 

The problem your facing is dealers are even less inclined to trade your dealer a new Fit, because they sell so fast. Your better off going to "cars.com", and doing a search for the specific car you want. Use "advance search" to be able to specify "LX". Make sure you select an adequate search range to cover dealers that might just be over your state border, but still within a reasonable drive. We drove about 2 hours to get ours, as we found one that just happened to be unloading from the truck that day. You will need to be aggressive in your search, or you will be unable to find the car you want. Not being too specific on color may also help. For us, it had to be the Passion Berry Pearl, or nothing (our daughters instructions). Keep in mind, just because a car shows up on "cars.com", does not mean it is on the lot. Dealers tend to list them once they are assigned to them and may simply be in transit. This is why you need to check almost daily with your list of dealers. Once one is delivered, go grab it. Try and only place a deposit once a dealer can deliver you a VIN number. I made the mistake at first of not doing that, and had to get my deposit back after the dealer could never provide me with a VIN number. We purchased our Fit from a different dealer even before we had our original deposit back. That can get expensive. Good Luck on your search!!

 

I put $500 deposit on my white LX M/T on 7/1 in Massachusetts. On that day there were only 3 new GK's on the lot: one black EX-L; and two LX manuals 1-black 1-white. Cars arrived on June 30th, the day before. The EX-L was already sold. When I returned 7/9 to pick up my car there were no other '15 FITs on the lot other than mine. I was told that 3 more had arrived and sold within that week.

Returned to dealer 7/29 (for armrest replacement, paint touch-up) and there were 3 EX-L's (one NAVI) which salesman tells me were sold before they arrived! He told me that the GK's are selling as fast as they can get them.

I didn't realize what dumb luck I had when I purchased my car! I went in to look at a 2013 Fit Sport because of the 4th of July promotion of 0.9% financing ... but that car had already sold. I wanted a white-manual and they just happened to have a new one that day.

I'm really not trying to gloat .... I genuinely empathize with the folks who have been waiting patiently for the cars they ordered

 

Seems like many on this forum refer to Cars.com to see what inventorying is available. There are a couple of large dealers near me so I went to their web sites to check their inventory.

These two large dealers, who are part of national auto groups, don't even list the Fit model as an alternative on their inventory page. All the other Honda models are listed, but no Fit!

Sent an email to a third dealer who has a red ex listed on Cars.com

The sales person kept trying to redirect the conversation when I asked about current or future LX inventory.

Very disappointing