well reading all this i could say that for paying MSRP for the FIT i am happy with that...over that HELL NO...the car is great and you pay more than the SCIONS (xb,xa), but the FIT looks so much better

 

You can't negotiate anything however, if you don't have the leverage to do so, and with the demand for the Fit being what it is at the moment the dealers can tell you to screw off and still be able to sell the cars quickly. No amount of art is gonna change that fact. In the real world, considering the markups many buyers are paying for their cars, my paying MSRP seems to have saved me about $1000-1500, and I got the car I wanted when I wanted, which is what a lot of potential Fit owners are only dreaming of now.

 

i think i had mention about this.
but here i go again, for those is being a little cheap about buying an ideal car, and wasting time here on a $15000 car.
1. it's a $15000 car, a few hundred $$$ can be gained from anywhere, for example your interest rates, insurance, gas money, etc you save comparing to 95% of the cars on today's market.
2. if you can't spend a little more to get the new toy, watch people play it while you are playing old ones.
3. you will deserve a better service, people while you are willing to pay. i will not even want to buy from a saleman who doesn't know what he is talking about, and don't know anything about the car and service. i am willing to pay a couple hundred $$ more to a knowledgeable sales who can make me comfortable in buying it. the reason, i had seen a few horrible salesmen at various honda dealership and i didn't think they deserved the sale, in fact, i think they should study more, if not from the school, at least, find out about what they are selling to me or read some car mags before hitting to the sales floor. and even their sales managers were terrible, telling me that my offered MSRP was BELOW their invoice, lied straight into my eyes. i was kinda horrified, and decided want to take it from any better salemanship and not wasting my time talking to moron.
to me, a few hundred dollars worth hassles. i got a very good rate on financing and it really saves my money on gas. it will offset in just a few month while many people are still WAITING, and maybe for the rest of this year.
if someone is just going to be stubborn, and not accepting the market factors. they are also getting nothing but just dreaming at the current demands.

 

Although I'd ordinarily agree that paying MSRP or above is a bad idea (and I love to wheel & deal and got a great price on my Civic and Accord wagons, both new, but leftovers when the new models came out), my Accord conked. The local dealers were very clear on not dealing on the Fit. They did not raise the price above MSRP, and I bought mine 3 weeks before it arrived. It was one of the best purchases I ever made. The other Fits that arrived with mine were also either spoken for, or vanished from the lot within 48 hours after arrival. I test drove several other cars, including Subaru Forester and Outback (both used -- couldn't afford new), Volvo Wagon, Volks Passat, and Pontiac Vibe, and decided to wait for the Fit (driving borrowed and rental cars in the meantime). Not everyone bought the Fit to be the first on the block to have one. Yes, I would have preferred to bargain, but if I had insisted on paying below MSRP, I would have been Fitless. This car -- excuse me, I just have to say it -- Fits my lifestyle perfectly and I definitely got my money's worth.

 

The Accord Value package is priced for the value shopper. I wouldn't call a $30,000 Accord EX w/leather and Navi necessarily a "value", though I'd certainly think compared to other cars at that price one might say that. And I disagree; Honda is not making a "nicer profit" on the Fit. The profit on the Fit is razor thin from what I have read. Not to mention, the Fit comes standard with a lot of things the other makers charge for, so a comparably equipped Yaris is slightly more expensive, I believe. Hard to make a decent profit in such a competitive market, I would think. Instead, Honda hopes to "rope in" young buyers and create brand loyalty, as well as compete with other maker offerings in this price segment.

 

Depends on the Civic. If you're looking at an EX (to get those alloy wheels, better sound, and other features) then you'll probably be looking around 19-20 for an auto, since dealers won't go below MSRP on this car either. You'd have to get a bare bones DX to get in Fit Sport price range, and you wouldn't get all the features. So this 3k-4k price differential b/w top of the line Fit and top of the line Civic is reasonable, IMO.

 

The high demand for the Fit is driving the prices. People will pay it so they will stay up. So in the end we can blame the consumers (ourselves) for this. There is not much difference between invoice and MSRP on the Fit, so as it has been mentioned there is not a lot if any room to haggle on the price. The Honda dealership I am dealing with is having their Fits bought by other dealers at $1k over MSRP so that they can get Fits for their customers. So there is at least an extra grand passed to the buyer.

I am getting mine for MSRP from a salesman that is a freind of mine. Since mine was sold before it ever made it to the lot and at MSRP, Honda will make under $1k (includes what the dealer makes and what they send on to Honda) on this one. The dealer avoids inventory fees and what not since its already sold. With that if dealers could go below MSRP then odds are Honda/the dealer would lose moeny on the car.

It is not "fair" that dealers are marking the car up to cover their expenses to get them in inventory and to make a profit, but it is business. And if you don't like it, don't buy one, and if you do buy one for an elevated price, don't complain because you helped to perpetuate the low supply high demand price for the Fit.

This is my opinion and if you don't agree with me just simply say that you don't agree, don't get upset and insult me, make fun of me "flame" me etc.

 

in case you have not noticed the Fit has already supassed Honda's projected sales within the first 45days it did that.. So there should not be any questions as to why people are going to pay a premium for this little car.

 

I think I saw the Civic EX 5spM at about 21.5. Thats with alloys, premium sound (sans auto). I priced the Fit sport at 19.4. The two cars are different for different types but for the types of car they are, I would've thought that the difference in price should've been a bit more. The Civic is more refined and I thought did most things better than the Fit.

I'm considering the Fit because my garage is so darn narrow that the Civic will have a tough time squeezing in......but, I still haven't managed to find a Fit 5M for a test drive. Appears to be in chronic supply shortage in the GTA.....I've heard that the new Suzuki Swift(Japanese model, not the rebadged Daewoo that we currently have in NA) will be here next year so I would like to try it out before committing to the Fit....I think this Suzuki is about the same size as a Mini...interesting....anyway, just rambling....

 

Ah, I just now noticed you're in Canada! I thought that sounded a little high for a Civic For US Pricing, the Fit should be $15720 sport 5spd MSRP, including destination. Dealers I spoke with when I wanted to buy a Civic (granted an auto) wanted at least $19,500-$20k plus. That's where I get my $3-4k figure, but that is USD.

 

I def have to agree with you Paulo...i paid msrp for my FIT and when the dealership tried to get more out of me because is it such a "hot" car i told them no and I would find it somewhere else. And what did they do...they told me they would give it to me for msrp because they didnt want to lose the sale. Peachy for me, stinks for them

 

Paying too much for the Fit is a question that has to be answered by the individual. If the buyer is happy with what they purchased, at the price they paid for it, then it's not too much.

 

The car is worth as much as the buyer is willing to pay for it. For me, I don't understand why LV bags are worth 1K or more.

 

LV bags are good point...
see, VALUE is set by different categories. someone might just like to get ripped somewhere else that they might not even notice...

 

If you don't understand, then they aren't worth that much to you (I don't understand either!) A friend of mine paid $800.00 for some such purse, left it on the top of her car and drove away. Good-bye $800 purse!

 

Hey Hondagal --- I forgot about the differences in the currency. But, with the current exchange rate, the Fit Sport should only cost 17,300 in Canada if its 15720 at your end. I'm being quoted 19,400. I guess we get hosed more up here than you gals down there. But for the Civic pricing, it appears to be exactly the same. I think its because the Civic is built in NA. I think there's plans to build the Fit up here for the 2008 year. That's the year they plan to roll out the hybrid Fit. I wonder how that will fly????

 

For all intents and purposes, you can't really compare US and Canadian pricing. For starters, exporting a vehicle is generally not an option for most folks since they can't afford to cross the border for all warrenty claims.
The only real factor determining pricing is the price of competitors. In this case, a Yaris RS 5-door costs $20k CAD fully loaded, so the Fit Sport can be priced up to ~$21k

 

the dealers in seattle are marking up $2k-$3k over msrp, making the non-sport fit as expensive as a 2006 civic lx...

what gets me is i tell the dealer i can buy a plane ticket, fly to southern cali, buy a fit for msrp, drive it back, and still save money -- and the dealer still claims I am getting a killer deal "only" paying their markup, and somehow it's "my loss"!

yeah whatever...