Honda Car Forum

In article <86m6e2l7voo12vtbfu1gp0b92ld8tgamjr@4ax.com>,
dgk@somewhere.com says...

> I went to another Honda dealer before using this one, and the first
> dealer came up with a price of $19,000 before tax. I said that I
> wouldn't pay over MSRP and she said that other dealers can't get the
> car but they can.

$19K? Are those US or Canadian dollars?

From what I've seen of it, I like the Fit a lot, but I'd like it a lot
more if it were at a $13K price point for the Sport model as opposed to
the $16-18K I've seen bandied about. For that kind of cash, I'd be
looking at a new Civic or a pre-owned Accord.

And yes, I know the Fit addresses requirements that a Civic or an Accord
do not (cargo space, fuel economy), but if I were seriously considering
a Fit now, I'd have to take a hard look at how much of a premium I'm
willing to pay for those requirements, and what other makes out there
would be potential alternatives for less money. As others have pointed
out, the situation will probably be different in a year or two when Fits
are more numerous on dealer lots.

Dave

On Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:51:19 -0500, Dave Garrett <dave@compassnet.com>
wrote:

>In article <86m6e2l7voo12vtbfu1gp0b92ld8tgamjr@4ax.com>,
>dgk@somewhere.com says...
>
>> I went to another Honda dealer before using this one, and the first
>> dealer came up with a price of $19,000 before tax. I said that I
>> wouldn't pay over MSRP and she said that other dealers can't get the
>> car but they can.
>
>$19K? Are those US or Canadian dollars?
>
>From what I've seen of it, I like the Fit a lot, but I'd like it a lot
>more if it were at a $13K price point for the Sport model as opposed to
>the $16-18K I've seen bandied about. For that kind of cash, I'd be
>looking at a new Civic or a pre-owned Accord.
>
>And yes, I know the Fit addresses requirements that a Civic or an Accord
>do not (cargo space, fuel economy), but if I were seriously considering
>a Fit now, I'd have to take a hard look at how much of a premium I'm
>willing to pay for those requirements, and what other makes out there
>would be potential alternatives for less money. As others have pointed
>out, the situation will probably be different in a year or two when Fits
>are more numerous on dealer lots.
>
>Dave

That was US dollars. I told her that I'd buy an Accord for that and
she said that they sell lots of Accords and Civics but not many Fits.

The Fit really does fit my needs however. I would have preferred 13k
also but I got it for 16k. Plus tax and whatever. I've only owned one
new car in my life (a Datsun B210 which was around $3500 when I bought
it as I recall) so what the hell.

Or should I say that I haven't actually gotten it for 16k as of now
but maybe someday soon.

One really good thing for me is that parking is very tight in my
neighborhood (I live one block from a major commuter college) and if
your car sticks out of your driveway and blocks the sidewalk at all
you get a ticket. A car this small will allow me to park two cars in
the driveway and not get a ticket. Now, I admit, I can pay an awful
lot of tickets for the price of the car, but they do add up.

In some cases, it is possible that someone saw an ordered car arrived and
offered more for it so the dealer screws the original customer. It is
impossible to know whether that happened here.


"dgk" <dgk@somewhere.com> wrote in message
news:m846e2l9ensc0taubjgliiglmp1um6kra1@4ax.com...
> Bad news from the dealer. It's been a month since ordering and he says
> to try another color (I wanted the orange). I think that it's bait and
> switch. I don't think that they sell Fits at MSRP. I could try the
> Storm Silver Metallic which looks pretty good.
>
> I have to make a decision pretty quickly since I'm going to need to
> put money into my 91 Accord soon. I must change the timing belt (I'm
> now at 94,000) and it needs so much other stuff. I'd do it if the rust
> around the wheel wells wasn't so bad, but it is bad.

On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 02:05:49 GMT, "Art"
<begunaNOSPAMPLEASE@mindspring.com> wrote:

>In some cases, it is possible that someone saw an ordered car arrived and
>offered more for it so the dealer screws the original customer. It is
>impossible to know whether that happened here.
>
>
I was wondering about that also. Kind of hard to prove.


>"dgk" <dgk@somewhere.com> wrote in message
>news:m846e2l9ensc0taubjgliiglmp1um6kra1@4ax.com.. .
>> Bad news from the dealer. It's been a month since ordering and he says
>> to try another color (I wanted the orange). I think that it's bait and
>> switch. I don't think that they sell Fits at MSRP. I could try the
>> Storm Silver Metallic which looks pretty good.
>>
>> I have to make a decision pretty quickly since I'm going to need to
>> put money into my 91 Accord soon. I must change the timing belt (I'm
>> now at 94,000) and it needs so much other stuff. I'd do it if the rust
>> around the wheel wells wasn't so bad, but it is bad.
>

Dave Garrett wrote:
> In article <86m6e2l7voo12vtbfu1gp0b92ld8tgamjr@4ax.com>,
> dgk@somewhere.com says...
>
>
>>I went to another Honda dealer before using this one, and the first
>>dealer came up with a price of $19,000 before tax. I said that I
>>wouldn't pay over MSRP and she said that other dealers can't get the
>>car but they can.
>
>
> $19K? Are those US or Canadian dollars?
>
> From what I've seen of it, I like the Fit a lot, but I'd like it a lot
> more if it were at a $13K price point for the Sport model as opposed to
> the $16-18K I've seen bandied about. For that kind of cash, I'd be
> looking at a new Civic or a pre-owned Accord.
>
> And yes, I know the Fit addresses requirements that a Civic or an Accord
> do not (cargo space, fuel economy), but if I were seriously considering
> a Fit now, I'd have to take a hard look at how much of a premium I'm
> willing to pay for those requirements, and what other makes out there
> would be potential alternatives for less money. As others have pointed
> out, the situation will probably be different in a year or two when Fits
> are more numerous on dealer lots.

Good ol' supply and demand.

Keep in mind it's also a first-gen model, so they're probably trying to offset
some development costs with that pricing as well.

On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 08:45:55 -0400, dgk <dgk@somewhere.com> wrote:

>On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 02:05:49 GMT, "Art"
><begunaNOSPAMPLEASE@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
>>In some cases, it is possible that someone saw an ordered car arrived and
>>offered more for it so the dealer screws the original customer. It is
>>impossible to know whether that happened here.
>>
>>
>I was wondering about that also. Kind of hard to prove.

I think the OP mentioned that he biked past the dealership every day.
I would make a point of checking every night to see if there were any
orange Fits in the lot. If I saw one, I would immediately go inside
and talk to the sales person (or manager if they aren't in) and ask if
that was your car. If they say no, it is for someone higher up on the
list, I would ask how many names are ahead of me on the orange Fit
list. It should become pretty apparent if they are blowing smoke.

On Wed, 16 Aug 2006 14:21:17 -0400, dgk <dgk@somewhere.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 16 Aug 2006 15:18:29 GMT, "N.E.Ohio Bob" <rgstroud@neo.rr.com>
>wrote:
>
>>dgk wrote:
>>> I must change the timing belt (I'm
>>> now at 94,000)
>>
>> Shoot for 100K on the belt. It will make it unless you race the car on
>>weekends.
>> Good luck on the Fit. I saw a white one up close last week and decided
>>not to buy one. Too small for me. bob
>
>It isn't only the mileage though, I think it's also age. But when it
>goes it messes up the valves and such which would be a bad thing
>indeed. I thought I had the belt done when I bought the car but the
>dealer doesn't have a record of that so I guess not.
>
>The Fit is indeed small and is not for everyone. But it is a lot of
>fun to drive which counts for a lot to me, and I don't have need for a
>big car. I do need to get a new TV soon, and it would fit the Fit
>better than my Accord.

I have to agree with Bob. Right now you own a rusty, old 199? Accord
that needs a timing belt. That is what you are risking. You don't
seem to put that many miles on it anyway. If you wait for three
months, will you put even 2000 miles on it? The chances that the belt
will break in that period are pretty small.

On Wed, 16 Aug 2006 18:42:05 -0400, dgk <sonice@zero-spam-hotmail.com>
wrote:


>>Just imagine how pissed dgk woulda been shopping for a Model T. "People can
>>have the Model T in any colour--so long as it's black." - Henry Ford
>
>Not really, I wouldn't have signed a contract and given Henry a grand
>deposit for a Metallic Orange one.

The last factory orange Honda I can recall was the ~1973 - ~1976
Civic. Maybe that is a message.

On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 20:46:30 GMT, Gordon McGrew
<RgEmMcOgVrEew@mindspring.com> wrote:

>On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 08:45:55 -0400, dgk <dgk@somewhere.com> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 02:05:49 GMT, "Art"
>><begunaNOSPAMPLEASE@mindspring.com> wrote:
>>
>>>In some cases, it is possible that someone saw an ordered car arrived and
>>>offered more for it so the dealer screws the original customer. It is
>>>impossible to know whether that happened here.
>>>
>>>
>>I was wondering about that also. Kind of hard to prove.
>
>I think the OP mentioned that he biked past the dealership every day.
>I would make a point of checking every night to see if there were any
>orange Fits in the lot. If I saw one, I would immediately go inside
>and talk to the sales person (or manager if they aren't in) and ask if
>that was your car. If they say no, it is for someone higher up on the
>list, I would ask how many names are ahead of me on the orange Fit
>list. It should become pretty apparent if they are blowing smoke.
>
I commute by bike (15 miles each way) three or four times a week so I
do pass that dealer a lot. I'll stop in today and see how things are
going. I almost never see a Fit there, although there was one a few
days ago. Silver, and not the Sport model.