this is a very long story

when you go get your Fit at SANTA ANA HONDA of the 55 DON'T TAKE THEIR work for it, what ever they said they can change later, get EVERYTHING in black and white

here is the story: on the Sat when we sign the contract that we told Ali (the internet sale manager/fleet manager?) that we going to pay $2000 down and they will give me a low APR like 6.04%, and he even run after us for the check after we sign the contract but didn't give him the check, he said we need to give him a check because it said we pay $2000 on the contract, but we didn't bring check the other day, cause the other internet manager who sale us the car tells us that we don't have to......then we go back and sign an other contract with another still with the 6.04%, but the down payment wasn't show on the contract
then yesterday when we go pick up the car the Fiance manager tell us that we couldn't get the 6.04% unless we pay like a 90% down with that mach down i could just brought the car already.......Ali blames us that we are playing games with them, he said that we said we going to pay a big down payment, now he is like take that higher interest rate or don't take the car, he said the higer interest rate don't make that much difference, why don't you just take the higher rate but giving me a hard time.......i was like i m not the one who give you a hard time, you are the one who give me a hard time..........even the one who sale us the car Reza said that they make a mistake by telling me i can get a lower rate, but they will do anything about it for us...........i was like why should we take the fall for a mistake you make.............and Ali keep pushing us like just don't buy the car then, he keeping telling us we are playing games with him...........i was so up sad, we didn't do anything wrong we ask him all the detail, if at the beginning he tell us we can't get the low APR i will live with it, but now i trust you on what you said and you turn around to blame every thing on me???????? we stood our ground, we want the car and we will not take the fall for their mistake, after so much arguement and i was so so so upset, he lower the price a little to cover the higher interest rate that we going to pay, but i can't feel that i trust them anymore, with all our accessories not come yet i feel so unsafe.....When you buy cars from them, make them write down everything BLACK AND WHITE so you don't have to go through what i had to

 

I recommend dealing with Damon instead. He's a nice guy, not a very smooth talker, and somewhat slow, but that's why I think he's easier to work with.

I asked him about accessories, and he told me upfront that I should buy the accessories after I get my car, because they are on back order (sorry erinmeow, I didn't tell you this earlier because I only remembered after I read your post).

My interest rates are kind of bad (no previous loans, so got 9.45%), but Damon was at least straight forward with me. My interest rates did not change when signing the contract.

The only thing that I wasn't very pleased with is that while Damon said I could sign the contract first, then pay the down pay when I pick up my car, the finance guy (a young guy that looks to be in his 20s or early 30s) that prepared the contract said I have to pay the down pay before he can give me the contract, because Damon had put $5000 in that field. So yes, it seems like the internet sales people and the finance people have some communication gaps.

But other than that, my buying experience with Damon was pretty nice.

 

I hate it when dealers nickel and dime everything even after the price is set.

 

this sort of story never surprises me as I've purchased quite a few new cars and have had my share of jackass dealers.

First thing I would say is NEVER let the dealer finance you, you will always get a (with the possible exception of 0% special purchases) higher interest rate... ALWAYS! Dealers are in bed with the people they use for finance, they get spifs for getting customers to finance through BankX. The deal I'm currently working with my Honda dealer ultimately went to my credit union. The Honda dealer was trying to tell me that 9.0% or 8.5% was GOOD! Well I called my normal bank and they told me 7.5% no problem so I called my credit union on the west coast and they pre-qualified me for 5.99%! The savings difference from 8.5% to 5.99% was almost $3,000.00. So do your homework explore all your options and don't be afraid to ask your own bank to pre-qualify you for an auto loan.

Second, and this is HUGE, do not be afraid to walk away from any dealer who starts to screw you around. They are not the last dealer on earth, and there are plenty more out there who will not try to screw you. Ask around, talk to friends, neighbors and relatives... where did they buy their cars and who did they work with. If a dealer thinks he's going to lose a sale they will change their tune pretty fast. Granted these cars are selling very fast, but a lost customer is STILL A LOST CUSTOMER! You can buy the same car from another dealer just as easy as the guys who might be trying to take you for a ride. ~ Two new cars back the dealer was acting like a jackass to me so I walked, drove to the next dealer down the road, told them how much I was going to pay, how much they were going to give me for my trade and where to find the truck I wanted. They saw that my #'s were reasonable, I was pre-approved already so they called the other dealer and had them drive the truck over. The look on the drivers face was priceless when he saw me sitting in the show room as he dropped the truck off. Don't be afraid to walk if the dealer isn't treating you the way you should be treated, like a VALUED CUSTOMER!

 

Did you show your old contract (the one with 6.04%) to them? They should also have a copy of it too. Kind of odd how they can argue that they were right.

I guess I was lucky that I met the right people. Even the second finance guy that ammended my contract for my trade-in was very professional and honest.

The finance guys are suppose to go over the contract before you sign it. Which means they should know that they are giving you a 6.04% interest will no money down in your second contract. Kind of stupid how they didn't notice until you are there to pick up the car. Were you suppose to do a third contract on the pick up day?

BTW, I didn't bring my check also when they asked for my down pay, but good thing I had my credit card with me.

 

dealers who use this sort of sales tactics rely on throwing the buyer off balance, the stress and high pressure is how they trick people into doing something they normally would not, like settle for insane interest rates, adding options they don't need, buying "under coatings" or expensive extended waranties.

Just FYI I was in the used car business in the East Bay (Oakland, Berkely, and Richmond) area in California for 3 years back in 1997-2000. I've seen good dealers and some of the most crooked thieving bastards there are. If you think something stinks, just walk away. That really is your best defense. If they know you'll walk, they will be almost 100% more likely to shoot straight with you than loose the sale.

 

In any case, be sure to reflect your experience in the Honda survey.

 

You should have walked out. They only get away with that because people let them. My place tried to mess with me a little -- I said I've got my checkbook here, and this is the deal I want on that car over there. Yes or no. My time is precious, shall I leave? I was done in 15 minutes. Of course, most people will have pre-approved financing from another financial institution instead of a checkbook.

If you walk in with not enough money and want to borrow the dealer's money...

Whoa, I've gotten credit card offers better than that...

 

I tell you there are some cut throat and shady Honda dealerships out there, I guess I am glad I live in the midwest because I have never had a problem with any dealerships where I have either purchased a car or had service work done (Honda delaership - Quincy, IL., Williamson Honda - Lincoln, NE, Honda Cars of Bellevue - Bellevue, NE, Honda of Ames - Ames Iowa). All have had very diligent and caring employees that know how to treat their customers. I am hoping this stays true as I am now in MN and have yet to visit a dealership up here.

 

Yeah, I think my credit card does have a lower rate. But too bad the credit line isn't high enough.

I'm thinking of refinancing the thing. I'm not sure how the procedure works, but I found out my credit union is willing to offer a lower rate at around 8.xx. Not spetacular, given my fairly clean (very few recorded transactions) credit report. All those credit card uses, and only a few gets put in the report...

Then again, I could just pay it back earlier and avoid a few annual interests.

 

It's pretty easy to refinance. Your credit union will pretty much do everything for you, just give them your Honda contract and they'll pay them off. 8% through a CU is kinda high though, you might want to talk to them about it. I'm sure you probably know your score since you financed through Honda, if it's pretty good then you should at least be offered something lower.

 

That's ture.....my wife fell for their tatics and I almost threw her out of the dealership. lol Note to self...never bring your wife along if she doesn't promise to be patient.

 

how bad was your credit? if you had 710 or above you can get like 6.29%

 

My credit is not bad at all. According to Freecreditreport.com my lowest score is 718 out of the 3 credit report agencies. But I don't have much items in the report. So not much of my credit card transactions are listed in the report. Actually, for the Experian one, which is the one where I got 718, there's only one transaction listed! But see, I always pay back the credit card balance in full when I get my bill, maybe that's bad?

 

Got a Fit Sport for $15,620 (including destination).

At the contract write up, they tried to add $1640 5 yr extended warranty, $600 "Gap Insurance", $940 for Security system. Not to mention trying to weasel out of the $15,620 price as well.

I told them to "Give me the originally agreed price, and remove all those options, or I walk away, I've walked away before."

One word with the manager, and the deal is back on.

They offered 6.29% with $2K down. Have til Friday to shop around the contract with Credit Unions to see if they can do better.

Feel's silly to be excited about getting a measly $100 below MSRP.

 

Capital one has a online special. My was 5.64 Last month. Check it out. It proberly went up to 6% with interest rates going up.

 

if your local credit union would only give 8.xx%, you dont have a 718 score.

more like a 618 score.

 

lost costumer isnt just a lost costumer.

you lose a ridgeline costumer, you might not see another one for a week or two.

you lose a fit costumer, 10 are waiting to get the car. a strong manager should have no problem letting a customer walk if he is being unreasonable on a hot ticket item like the fit.

as for your giving number, meet it or i leave, it would work great, if everyone had some clue to what a reasonable number actually is. you might have given reasonable numbers, but for every person with reasonable numbers, there are numerous with no clue pulling numbers out of their ass pretending to be a genius.

 

They will probably lose that customer, period. They may well sell the Fit to another customer easily, but that other customer will be bitter and tell everyone about their experience, and when it comes time to buy another car, perhaps a more expensive one, they won't put that dealer high on their list. The old adage goes, "A happy customer tells at least one person about their experience, an unhappy customer tells at least nine."

I'm sure most salesman don't care about any possible future sales, because it's all about instant gratification and quotas, right?

Honda really f**ked up with the Fit's launch. If they are trying to have an exclusive, hot new trendy product, then they have succeeded.
If they are trying to have an entry level vehicle that will gain market dominance over their competitors Toyota/Scion, GM, Kia, and the like, they are going to fail if they don't improve their supply lines. I have friends that have given up on Honda and have gotten a Scion instead.

I'm glad I got a Fit, even at the measly under MSRP price I got, but if every dealer insisted on marking up the Fit above MSRP, I would be buying a Scion right now.

 

just because you dont sell a car to customer, it doesnt mean you have to piss them off and give a bad experience.

if someone wants unrealistic numbers for the car, and i cant do the number, i'll just be upfront with them. my dealership cant do it, you can either wait when the demand dies down a little bit, or try another dealership.

simple as that.