I was gonna get my Fit Sport in Blue! Obsessed about it! I was so set on buying it despite my fiancee, brother and parents telling me its a shitty car and looks like crap (I know better!)

I talked to a dealer on the phone, and he was very nice when he realized that we came from the same place, and he told me that it is really hard to sell the Fit below invoice because it is not made in the US and is only manufactured in Japan. He offered me $1000 discount.

My dad who was supposed to spot me, said that they are bound to have this massive discount soon. He bought a Nissan Altima Hybrid for 21K i think, because Nissan offered $3000 rebate and $3000 incentive! brand new car. My friendly dealer assured me that it can't go lower than invoice because of it's important status.

How much did you guys pay for your Fit?

 

invoice.....
i wouldnt pay anything more then invoice for a brand new car

 

Yeah, the Fit is 100% made in Japan.

 

loki- if you dont buy it, someone else will... so they dont need to lower the price. made in japan is only an added bonus.

 

There are only three or four places a Fit could have conceivably been made from. None of them is within the US.

From what I know:
- Suzuka, Japan
- Ayutthaya, Thailand
- Guangdong(?), China

+1 on Ken's advice.

 

$16,570 out the door for '09 Sport 5spd

 

Doesn't matter where it's made. As long as there aren't dozens of unsold Fits at the dealerships, (drive by your local Government Motors dealer and look at what they can't sell) they won't discount it.

 

But "invoice" is not what the dealers truly pay for the car. I got my 2010 Fit Sport for 15,738 and "invoice" is higher than that.

 

Due to the exchange rates the car's being made in Japan/SE Asia does eat into the profits. In addition, the Fit is the entry level car and already has low margins (which means not a lot of room for negotiation). You're not going to see a $3000-$6000 incentive on a car that is already priced to be low margin/high volume.

 

How does nissan do it? You can get the versa for ~$3,000 off.

 

Mine is from Suzuka, Japan =]. Made in japan is a good thing! Although I think someone was saying that they might start building them in the US. which is fail! LOL

 

Miata's are also made in Japan and they're offering some incredible discounts. Especially on left over 09's.

 

I don't know much abuot the industry, but my short time researching an 05' new car purchase, and my 10' new car purchase gave me some good insight. I've personally never heard of the "not built in US means no discount" excuse. I'm sure the dealer has a way to explain it, but more than anything that line sounds like BS.. the real reason there is no discount is because they are selling well (I'd assume). No car dealership is going to give away cash for vehicles that are selling, doesn't make sense.

check out websites online, like newcars.com, that list published rebates and incentives. Currently, they list the versa with 1,250 cash back or special financing, and an additional $1000 on top of that. If the dealer told you 3k off, then there could possibly be another incentive that is not published, or the dealer is planning on making up the difference with higher financing and/or low ball the trade in value.

Also- keep in mind the dealers do not have to advertise these cash backs and incentives, and they do not have to pass it along to the buyer. It's in your best interest to gather as much information as you can, before you get anywhere near a salesperson.

oh- so to get back to your question... Nissan is taking the loss, not the dealer. Part of this is because there is already a large mark up in the manufacturer's invoice so they can offer cash back later if needed, and still not actually lose money on the transacion. The other part of the equation is that I bet the Versa's aren't selling well right now. You will notice on newcars.com that Honda doesn't have any published cash back offers on the Fit right now.

 

I totally agree! Its all about supply and demand. I work in wholesale, and if something is low on stock and is selling hot. I'm jacking up the price, and you can bet they're still buying!

 

Perhaps Nissan has to discount the Versa by $3000 because otherwise people won't buy them. In the past year, I cannot remember any Honda ad offering discounts or special financing for the Fit, and AFAIK, the is the only Honda for which this is true.

The latest Consumer Reports auto issue lists the Fit as the lowest total cost of ownership of any new car currently sold in the USA. TCO is determined by a combination of purchase cost, operating cost (including repairs), and depreciation. People who bought Yugos saved on the upfront cost, but didn't do so well downstream.

 

With the exchange rate between the dollar and the yen eating away at margins and VERY tight supplies of new Fits, dealers have little incentive to deal these days. A year ago, my local Honda dealer had 21 new Fits on the lot. This week they have 1 (BSP Sport auto). I don't know for sure, but I suspect that, after last year, Honda is keeping the supply of Fits in the US deliberately tight. Apparently, they'd rather have unmet demand than be stuck with having to move inventory at a loss at year's end, like last year.