I got a quote from dealer today even though I already put down a deposit at another dealer. For a Base, automatic he said I could have it out-the-door for just over $16,000 - $1300 over invoice! I politely told him there is no way I am going to pay that much above invoice. Has anybody else gotten a quote that far above the sticker price? If the dealer where I put my deposit down tries to jack it up that much, I'll be going elsewhere.

 

It looks like finding the right dealership is gonna be a task on its own for many of us in the next upcoming months. I feel like a Somali awaiting a U.N. Air Food Drop in my remote village. I'm waiting for something. I will eat what I'm given. I may have no choice what I'm given. If I don't scramble and eat what I'm given, somebody else will.

 

CarDemon,
When friends ran into hot, hot, hot Hondas in the 80s, they called all over the East Coast until they found a dealership in Maine at MSRP, no less. Planned a vacation getaway, flew to Maine, bought the car, went to the beach for a couple days, and drove back down to Georgia in their new wheels.

 

sticker and invoice are not the same thing

 

Yeah, if you know invoice please share.

$1300 over MSRP is insane. Then again, I think $1 over MSRP is insane. The Fit isn't a limited run super car or anything even similar. Mark up I could see on something like that, maybe.

 

To put into contrast what type of cars deserve a markup over invoice not that I would pay it are the Lancer EVO's, the usual markup's for those are $3500 over MSRP but that doesnt mean all Mitsu dealers are marking them up.

Any dealer not selling you a Fit for MSRP is obviously hallucinating about what type of car the Fit is and rare isnt in the list of adjectives to describe the Fit.

 

Yeah, dealers are hoping that they can get the crazy markup on the first batch or so because there won't be 50 coming to them at a time.

The EVO isn't even worth a markup. It's not exactly a rare car.

 

The EVO isnt a rare car? How often do you see a EVO on the road compared to a Honda? Im not implying its worth the markup, no car is in my opinion but its alot more understandable for a car like the EVO to be marked up then a entry level b-segment Honda that is only 14k to begin with.

 

The EVO isn't even a proper comparison to a Honda. Of course you'll see less Mitsu's. It's a specialty car. The Civic is a pretty pedestrian car in comparison. Maybe I'm spoiled because I see cars like EVOs every day due to my work.

Any how... I agree that no car is truly worth mark-up. The factory sets an MSRP for a reason. On a car like the Fit (affordable entry level) having a mark-up seems to defeat the purpose.

 

The point is that it is not a special car. This year they predict 50K to be sold. Yes I relize it is small in comparison to the other models but no dealer should be using this as fuel to raise the price. It is unethical and if I were the customer at these dealerships I would never buy from there, and I would make sure that everyone knows why.

 

Exactly why I won't buy from a dealer charging markup. Even if it's a penny.

When the WRX first came out I was working at a very large Subaru dealer (large volume-wise). While I didn't have anything to do with sales (I ran a tuning division) I made sure the dealer didn't charge markup. We did charge and sold over 90 of them the first month. More than anyone else nationwide. Markup doesn't help you sell cars. It just makes you greedy.

 

I agree Unit 91, but there are a lot of greedy souls among the dealers.

 

I may be lucky in that I live in Central/Southern Ontario of which there maybe over 20+ dealerships within a 200K radius. Pulled that number out of my head of course. I will enlist the help of an on-line negotiator service when I buy.

 

the civic si and the civic hybrid have both had markups at some of the dealerships around me. my dealership does not markup our cars. i like that we don't

 

phillyb - I see that you are in CA. Any idea where the Fit's are? It was posted a week ago that the Fit's were being loaded on trains in CA and my local dealer agreed that the first Fit's were in the country. What is done with the cars between the boat and the dealer?

 

to my understanding, there are a couple of checkpoints during that time to make sure that the cars are all ok during transit on the trucks

 

I bought my Civic Hybrid for a few hundred over invoice when all the other dealers around were charging markup. I bought it in SoCal, though.

 

Anyone have any other buying experiences?

To compare notes - I've been e-mailing dealerships in Central North Carolina (Greensboro) area. I've gotten two quotes for a Fit Sport MT: $15890 from one dealer (MSRP + destination, and they're adding mudflaps and wheel locks), and $15720 (MSRP + destination) at another. Is there a realistic chance that I could get it for less than MSRP, given that I want to take delivery within the next month?

 

I had a dealer tell me they were adding a 'pro pack' for $995. I asked what it was and they told me mud flaps and wheel locks. First, those are options I don't want and second, they're charging an insane price for those two items.
I was under the impression that destination is included in MSRP. I should go look at an old window sticker.

 

Holy crap - and I thought $170 for wheel locks and mud flaps was bad. Heh, guess that's not so bad after all. Going to email this dealer and see if I can get floor mats instead - if I have to pay for accessories, I'd rather pay for accessories I'll use.

Honda's website quotes MSRP without destination, destination is $550.

What do you think - fair prices or no?