honda is not producing enough fits. honda is solely to blame. period. simple as that.

also this extremely short supply means that dealers feel no guilt marking fits $2k-$4k above msrp. yet another way to piss off customers. yay honda.

 

I don't blame Honda for not flooding the market with Fits as soon as they came out. The novelty works on their side - a marketing tactic used by just about every industry. (Hi, I'm a marketing major.) X-box 360. Furbies. The VW New Beetle in '98, anyone?

Dealers are a completely different animal. Here in St. Louis, I have yet to see dealers selling the Fit above MSRP, unless they added accessories to the car. Accessories are not marked up. However, I have seen many stories of otherwise, but I don't believe that one couldn't find a dealer that would sell them a Fit at MSRP or close to it if they were paitent and did enough research. Most people who have paid above MSRP probably did so because it made the car they wanted available to them sooner/immediately, or because they weren't knowledgeable about the car buying process. Especially in cases of it bringing a vehicle to them sooner, they chose to vote with their dollars by paying that price - the vehicle was worth it to them. Furthemore some dealers have integrity, some don't. It's like that in any commission sales environment. I did wireless communication sales for three years and finally quit because I was tired of cleaning up the messes that the sales reps who slammed their customers rather than taking care of them created in the name of a bigger paycheck. Oh, and by being an honest and straightforward salesperon I was also one of top salespeople - meaning I made more money that a majority of my peers. Unfortunatly, not all sales people see that and would rather take the easy road.

If you aren't happy with Honda, vote with your money and spend it elsewhere. When any industry supply/demand ratio is higher on the side of demand than supply, the consumer will pay the price, whether that is by waiting for that ratio to level, or paying a higher price in dollars, effort, or both to acquire it now. Honda probably anticipated there were many people following the Fit's release that would have an I WANT IT NOW attitude. Me, I'm willing to wait a little while. I've waited 6 years to drive a brand new vehicle, I can wait a few more months. Considering dealers can't keep them in stock it's not going anywhere for awhile, but the ratio of supply to demand will even out in a matter of time - just like the X-box 360, Furbies, and the New Beetle.

 

This is easier to say since I've got mine. But, I can't totally blame Honda for these problems. I doubt they anticipated such a huge demand for the Civic or the Fit this year. Who doesn't want to make more money?

I blame the US car makers for creating this situation. There are other cars out there but none that quite come close, the Xb and Xa are ok, the Yaris (though butt ugly) is also a good competitor. But Ford, GM, Chrysler have nothing to offer us except overpriced gas sucking trucks, SUV's and huge cars. Blame them for making everyone realize why the Fit and Civic are such good values.

 

oh come on.

one only has to look at the literally billions of compacts on the road (mini, Xa, Yaris, Golf, many others) to conclude that something like the fit would literally fly off dealer lots.

if honda couldn't anticipate that then they are terminally stupid, and need to fire their entire management team and start over from scratch.

and okay, even if they didn't anticipate it, they are still not solving the supply issue. it is obvious now that the demand is high, and has been obvious for several months -- yet honda is doing nothing to correct it.

2006 civics are in plentiful supply, and fits are backlogged. i can get a new 2006 civic from almost any dealer today right off their lots. you want a fit, be prepared to wait months.

i am sure nissan will be happy to sell versas where honda cannot meet demand.

 

That's the plan. The backlog for fits right now is so high (3mo+) that by the time I'd be able to get one, the VW Rabbit and Nissan Versa will be available.

the prices dealers are quoting me on the 2007 fit (17k) and 2006 civic (18k) are about the same price as a 2006 subaru impreza wagon. so i went and had a test drive of the impreza!

if honda wants to drive people away to the competition, i must say they are doing a good job of it.

 

let's not question integrity of the dealerships on markup, unless you are willing to question the million of buyers wanting discounts off msrp. oh the dealer is greedy for the markup on a car with a 600 dollar profit margain from invoice to msrp. how about you go question the moral ethics of the cheap lowballers wanting to buy a civic 3000 back of msrp.

cars prices are not set, we get paid what the market decide the vehicle is worth. is anyone marking up accords? elements? crv? no, because no one would pay for it. we markup hybrids, fits, navi models, because people are willing to pay for it.

want to be cheap and pay less, no problem, you just cant buy the hottest toy on the market. dont bitch and moan about dealer being greedy, go blame the free market. either be willing to pay for msrp on every car, or accept markups and discounts.

 

Well I read your story and am sorry to here it. It is up to you to decide. I own a maunual fit and I suppose you want one for some of the same reasons I do.
Let me tell you somthing Ive noticed. The manual fit is geared so that you are shifting all the time. Perhaps I am the only person that would say this. Ive owned other manuals. Most recent of them is a 82 civic and and a 2nd gneration mazda RX-7. The RX-7 is amazing. You dont have to shift it if you dont want to. You can drive 80 miles per hour in second (not redlining) and travel at a crawling pace.
In my non profesional opinion the fit could use one more gear. From what I read there is not much difference in the auto Fit. Perhaps you can use this unfortunate error as a bargining tool. On the other side of the coin if you get what you asked for you will have a not common car (in its catagory). Just sticking to what you asked for originally is somtimes is a good thing for the individual to do. Personly I bought a trek mountain bike that had disk brakes in the catalog but arrived at the store with out them.. I regret it today for not sticking to my plan. It is a great bike but Hopfully your buying experience will not be that way. Besides, a car cost too much to not get what you asked for. I havent heard one person say they regret buying a Fit so, dont be the first. You are entitaled to a refund of all your money since they did not meet the agreement. They should be able to shop around at other dealers to do a trade and meet there end of the deal.
Good luck

 

...a honda fit? lollerskates.

 

count yourself lucky they're only marking it up $1k in salem. in seattle it's $2k-$4k. making a fit as expensive as a 173hp AWD subaru impreza!

 

aywwsd, I didn't interpret their remarks as questioning the integrity of dealers. I saw them more as a caveat emptor. Dealers are trying to make as much off a sale as they can, and buyers want as much as they can get for the least amount of money. Both sides are just looking out for their best interests, and there is nothing wrong with it, but it's a fine balancing act on both sides. Anecdotal stories like this auto/manual switcheroo tend to cast a bad light on all dealers, though it shouldn't.

Your qualities are evident in this thread, and I don't think anyone is questioning your integrity, especially after how you tried to help oregonfit with his situation.

 

Actually, Honda was smart for first testing the waters in the NA market, where sales of hatchbacks have been historically very slow. They started selling them only two months ago (today is June 19 and the Fits hit the lots on or about April 20), and had a specific plan. That plan, which includes everything from acquiring raw materials and components, to the amount of production tooling and space, to shipping assets. restricts them from magically cranking up the assembly line and crapping everyone their Fit the day before they decide they want it. I am certain Honda will eventually begin to fill the voids.

I want a manual, and will not settle for the slushbox, so I am a little dismayed by the ratio of autos to manuals, but am sure that will be adjusted in the long term as well. Honda doesn't make money off dealer markups, they only make money off the cars they sell, and will want to have as many Fits on the road as the market will bear. They also don't make money off unsold inventory, so it would have been bad business for them to built 100,000 Fits on the speculation they would sell well. If they turned out to be as popular as a turd in a punchbowl, Honda would have been left holding the bag. Better for them, that they are selling every Fit they make, with people asking for more.

The market forces will do their job, and adjustments will be made. It's just the way it goes.

 

I also said:

Most people who have paid above MSRP probably did so because it made the car they wanted available to them sooner/immediately, or because they weren't knowledgeable about the car buying process. Especially in cases of it bringing a vehicle to them sooner, they chose to vote with their dollars by paying that price - the vehicle was worth it to them.

AND

If you aren't happy with Honda, vote with your money and spend it elsewhere. When any industry supply/demand ratio is higher on the side of demand than supply, the consumer will pay the price, whether that is by waiting for that ratio to level, or paying a higher price in dollars, effort, or both to acquire it now.

I wasn't at all trying to slam dealerships at a whole. Honestly, so far I've had nothing but good experiences, even before I found and decided on the Fit. My next car purchase will be the first car I purchase from a dealer and I was suprised to find my experience to be pleasant with all that I've spoken to so far, contrary to what I've heard. Face it - salespeople are looked down on as a whole because those who would rather slam their customers than make an honest deal.

I said I worked in wireless sales, right? I was working for Cingular when the Motorola Razr came out as a Cingular exclusive. Back then the phone was $500 at the two year service agreement price. People paid it, usually with a smile on their faces. Now, almost every carrier has a version on the phone in several colors (back then it was silver or nothing) and if you're a savvy shopper you can pick one up for $49-$99 with a two year service agreement. If you don't want to sign a service agreement, the retail off the shelf price even falls below the $500 mark. I fully understand supply/demand, and those who paid and are paying above MSRP for a Fit are doing so for the benifit of being able to drive one now, instead of several months from now. I don't feel sorry for anyone who knowingly and willingly pays above MSRP because their vote with their dollars says the car was worth that price. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't salespeople also taking advantage of the situation, because there undoubtedly are. Oregonfit and others have had their car sold out from under them, more than likely for a higher price - and oregonfit was fully prepared to pay markup on his.

The fact is if you want to pay MSRP on a Fit, in the color, transmission, and trim of your choice, you're either going to do a lot of research and find a dealer that will work with you - then wait for the car of your choice to be available, or you're going to wait for the supply/demand ratio to even out. *shrug*

 

apparently the state of oregan and washington disagree with you. why dont you go buy a fit sport manual right now? oh wait, you cant, both state are sold out.

 

So I just picked my Fit up a day ago (Preordered April 13th) and talking to the dealership, they have presold all Fit Sports through December (Auto and Manuals). They have most of the Fit (Standards) presold for the next couple of months as well...and granted this is Omaha, NE so they are not recieving as many as say the Coasts, but still that is pretty amazing. Hope all is well for you on the waiting list

 

I want to know are you happy with your fit? you probly will be glad you will not be shifting all the time if you dont want to

 

If this question makes no sense to you, ignore it...


You're not the etpro bani, are you? ;p

 

I know its apples and oranges, but the Mazda 3 Sportwagon is looking like a pretty good alternative...

 

I know up here after interest rate differences and dealer haggling, the 3 Sport is pretty much the same price as a Sport Fit.

 

someone learned the lesson there as well as i did.
not many salesmen will care for a $15000 car for anyone, believe it or not....
on your day off, call every single dealerships in your area and see who has one, get it that day.
if they don't have the car, it's pointless to talk AT ALL.
that's how i got my Fit that day, felt good even i paid a little more, but i got the manual instead of automatic, stayed within 30 miles instead of driving hundred of miles, started saving gas money in my pocket, and most importantly.... enjoy the fun of summer.
don't let the "have" to get the MSRP or best deal keep you waiting.
there are many factors that you have to consider, the interest rates, the monthly payment, the service, the people, the insurance... mostly your valuable time searching...
getting MSRP or below doesn't seem "efficient" to me at all at $15000"s cars.
if a wait or search will save me a few thousands, i will. but it doesn't seem saving that much on a Fit.

 

Sure, they will sell Versa because no one will want a piece of garbage made in Mexico Versa when they can get a made in Nippon Fit or Yaris.