Well, I made a deposit today. My dealer is only ordering two fits- one sport, one base- so we grabbed the base in Storm Silver and Black Interior. They were actually just ordering them, so they told me I could pick any color! They didn't have pricing, but what he said sounded in the right range- the base being 12 or 13,000 with the sport being "a couple thousand more".

I'd say that if you know you want the car, especially in a certain color, go out tomorrow and get it! I know of one other person who was able to have the dealer order exactly what they wanted.

Woohoo!

 

By pre-ordering, or laying down a deposit, aren't you
compromising your leverage for pricing.
I don't know how popular they are going to be with the
general public but unless they become as hot (in demand) as the first
year VW beetles or PT cruisers then I can't imagine that they would
be way over invoice or at a premium price.

Don't get me wrong. I want the car as well but I'm not sure
I want to pay sticker price or to at least have some wiggle room to get
a price I think is reasonable.

I mean is the 'fit ' going to be that generally popular?
Honda is expecting 33,000. That doesn't sound like a whole bunch.

 

That's an excellent point! I think you boxed yourself in with that deposit. However, I remember back when Honda released the S2000, and the dealers were selling them $20K above sticker! I remember I sat in a black one when it hit the dealer and the sales guy told me the car sold the first hour it hit the lot to some guy in Texas who paid $54K on his American Express :- ( If Honda is only introducing 33k units to the US market and demand is great, I have no doubt there will be definite dealer markup. So maybe sticker could be a good deal. Could go either way, but my gut feeling is this car will fly off the lot..The winning formula for Honda has always been...cheap and light.

 

yeah the best way would be to agree to only pay sticker price, or little under sticker when making a deposit

thats still a guaranteed sale to any salesman, and i don't think they'd give that up

 

No, I don't think I've compromised my position becuase the deposit is refundable. If they don't give me the price I want I could technically take my money back, or if I got a quote from another dealer that I liked I could take my business somewhere else. No matter what I'm guaranteed a Fit if I want one. That's how I look at it! I wanted to get that money down right away, now I have 3+ months to talk price however I want.

 

I've been talking to a Dealer and asked him to call me today when he received his allocation. He told me they had gotten exactly one. He was unhappy about stating that they were the third leading dealer in their region. The good news was they could order whatever model and color they wanted. Well I had him fax me an agreement ordering the car at MSRP with fees spelled out I wanted with a 500 deposit. 100% refundable if I cancel for any reason. So I'm first in line and the car is the exact model and color I want.

In order to cut a deal, you have to have the option. The deposit gives you that ability. The MSRP caps the most you have to pay. Now when the time comes if there are 10 other people behind you that are willing to pay list or above, you've got a great deal. Nobody waiting, well then you can dicker for a few hundred bucks. I actually think your best bet to make more than one deposit. Then you've got a fall back option. Tie up a thousand to protect your position for a couple of months, no big deal.

 

I think the dealers would be insane to mark up the Fit. Why? Its a entry level car. When the S2000 was first introduced in late 1999, dealers were marking them up as high as $20K above MSRP. Why? The S2000 is a sports roadster, limited production and high demand. I know people who paid $55K for their MY2000 S2000. I brought the first one in 2001 after the craze settled for MSRP and my second and current one a year later for MSRP. It wasn't until 2003/2004 when people saw minor discounts. This will not happen to the Fit. Its an entry level car that is being mass produced. Paying MSRP for a car like the Fit is just crazy. Wait a couple of months, and you will probably be able to get one for invoice or close to it. My local dealer is already selling the 06 Civic EX Sedan for $17K out the door.

I think dealers may initially mark up the Fit if they see a strong demand for it, like for example lots of people placing pre-orders on it. Also the claim that they are only getting one, two or three Fit's per dealer is complete bullshit. Yeah, they may get one, two or three Fit's INITIALLY for the April debut but they will be getting huge shipments of them after that. Don't fall into that dealer sales trap of false demand.

I say be patient and wait a couple of months after April.

 

Well my contact at Honda let me know they were ordering theirs today so I got on the list for a Sport 5MT. w00t w00t!

Kevin

 

Wish I could wait longer than April, but I'm hoping my current car makes it until then!