I went to see my dealer (Ft. Lauderdale)to ask when the Fits are coming in. He looked at the orders, and one Base Vivid Blue Pearl with black interior was built 03/03/06 (today). Travel across the pond will take a bit over a month...so in early April, I might be the first one to have a Fit. Though I am still debating whether I should go for a Storm Silver.

I saw the entire list of orders: 2 Base with manual/ 1 Base with auto/ 6 Sport with autos.

They still don't know proper pricing. He said between $13-16. He also mentioned that there will only be $500 markup on the cars. So whatever the MSRP will be deduct $500 and you will more or less have the invoice price. I have purchased a car from him in December, and he was honest and very professional.

 

Is it made in Japan???

 

Honest car salesman..........

ROTFLMAO!

 

There are exceptions! Not everybody is an asshole. I bought a 2006 S2000 in December from this salesman. It was the first 2006 in the Ft. Lauderdale area. I was able to get this car for almost at the price of a 2005. Meanwhile, 4-5 other dealers were not willing to negotiate and giving me BS. This guy was respectful, knowledgeable and never played any games with me. The whole deal was done in about an hour.

Anyways, I figured I share some positive news about the arrival of the NA Fits; I did not want to make into a dealer bashing...The above is info is the info I got, and I have no reason to believe I was lied to.

 

Dd you get a VIN?

 

I'm going to Honda and see what they have found out about mine today

 

That doesnt make much sense that Florida would get it sooner then the west coast. Based on what the salesman who took my deposit told me, the production date isnt the best indicator of when you will get the car because Honda wont ship a few cars for just one dealer but ships by exterior color for all dealers who have ordered them.

So if two or three different dealers have black or any other of the same color on order, even if there production dates are about a week apart, the cars being built earlier wont be arriving at the dealer any earlier then the ones being built later because it doesnt make any sense for Honda to ship in small shipments because the more they ship the cheaper it is for them.

 

You may be in for a surprise. Instead of Dealer invoice your salesman may have meant that they will add 500 over invoice. I base my reasoning on the following information.
Edmunds lists the Dealer invoice and MSRP for Honda on thir website. The lowest priced Civic DX with manual has 8.54% markup from invoice or $1,226.00 on a MSRP of $14,360. The most expensive Civic has 8.6% markup or $1,770.00 on a MSRP of $20,560. Most companies have a business plan that fixes their markups. I can't imagine a profit of 40% on what dealers make on the lowest cost Civic. Dealers usually try to get what the market will pay for new models.

Maybe related is the fact that the Scion Xb which has a fixed price (No Haggle) has 5.1% or $702.00. New Fit at 30% less Dealer income than Scion?
I hope your right.
Mauicedar

 

I really hope they don't price the fit anywhere near $16k

 

Based on what I see on Edmunds: Civic MSRP = 8.5% (apprx) over invoice, Accord MSRP = 9.9% (apprx) over invoice. Does this mean honda is jacking up the profit margin by 1.4% (apprx) per class ? Can we expect the Fit MSRP to be marked up by 7.1% (apprx) over invoice ?

 

4 weeks is very optimistic to unrealistic. Try 6 to 8 weeks. My 02 S2000 was produced in late May 2002 and arrived at Braman Honda in Miami on July 20th, exactly 8 weeks later.

Which dealer are you dealing with? Rick Case? BTW aren't you on s2ki?

 

I don't think the markup is related. The Accord was the top of the line v6 with nav. What I hope is Honda wants to compete with Scion. But it might not happen since Scion is no haggle.

 

...And my point is that the buyer should beware. I have bought many new cars, from different salesman each time. Only one was remotely honest. It is true that the sales manger is more the enemy than the salesman, but the salesman typically play right along.

You said you got your 2006 S2000 for the price of a 2005? You mean you payed the 2005 MSRP for a 2006? If so, that's not a good deal. A good deal is invoice or less. I can go to carsdirect.com, punch in a Ft. Lauderdale zip code of 33316, and get a price of $31,533 on a 2006. MSRP is $34,600, and invoice (supposedly) is $31,283. I'm quite certain that if I walked into a Ft. Lauderdale dealership with a printout from that site, they would beat the price, because salesmen don't make any money from a Cars Direct sale.

Car dealerships make money from the maufacturer three times when they sell a car. First, when they sell it, second, at the end of the month, and again at the end of the year if they make their quota.

Car dealerships are typically very nicely constructed facilities. They can build those nice buildings because they are making a ton of money.

Read Confessions of a Car Salesman if you haven't already. It will open your eye's.

 

Well it looks like the FIT will be overpriced IMHO. Yes it is a Honda and so on, but I really want a cheaper priced Honda at this point in my life.

 

I never said that I paid MSRP for an 06 S2000! 2005 S2000 were going for about $30,000 +/-. I got my 06 S2000 a bit over $31,000. If that is not a good deal for a new model year car on the first day they are released with the MSRP of almost $35,000, then I must be a total moron. Also, there is a lot less wiggle room on a $13,000 car vs. a higher priced. I bet Honda is not here to make a killing on the Fit. I think they want to hook people for life, so they eventually work themselves up in the Honda model line.

Again, there is always a decent sales person out there even though 99.9% of them will try to pull a fast one. Reading my initial post, I don't know what is there that I wrote that is so unfathomable? Until we have the proper pricing nobody is right or wrong. But if you think the invoice price will be way far off of the MSRP, you're dreaming. Whether you can pay lower than invoice will be dictated by one's skillfulness as a negotiator, and, most imprtantly, by market conditions.

 

I dont know about the dealers where you guys are but when I was checking out the Scion XB, if I was to buy the car they were going to sell it to me for MSRP not more. Dealers selling cars in this price segment cant afford to put a markup on a car that is only $15k because there is no huge demand for this car. Dealers get even the cheapest model in there line for at least $1-2k cheaper then the MSRP so no matter what they are making money on each sale and if any salesman tries to sell you a car that is in the $15k-$20k price segment, just wait for the right moment when he thinks he has you hooked that you know they are making money on the car even if they sell it to you for MSRP so you wont buy it if it marked up any higher then that. Trust me if its done at the right moment, he will sell it to you no more then MSRP.

 

What???????

 

In your previous post, you said "I was able to get this car for almost at the price of a 2005". Am I supposed to guess what price you got it for? No, so I had to assume you meant MSRP.

Anyway, if you got it for $31K, yes, that was a decent price.

"I bet Honda is not here to make a killing on the Fit". Why not? They make a decent profit off the Fit everywhere else. It's their bestselling car in Japan, and elsewhere in Asia.

I guess my ultimate point is that people should not pay MSRP or even close to it. I don't want any of the younger crowd here who might not have any experience in buying a new car to get taken to the cleaners.

 

Huh??????????

 

Sorry to those who didnt understand my last post, I had no idea I was speaking an ancient Egyptian language that isnt used anymore seeing as none of you understood me. Not sure why since I wasnt trying to explain rocket science in one paragraph. Anyone who is that confused can reread it till you get it.