Can't Get a Good Deal on an '09 Fit?

[trailerparkboy]

Hi,
Was at dealership trying to negotiate buying a new '09 Fit Sport AT. We are paying cash. I thought I could get around $1500 off sticker price. All Honda said they could do is take off $400 ??? Are they serious? are the margins that small? We were there for a couple of hours and they wouldn't budge. Is it that they are selling enough of these cars that they won't do much negotiating? Their final price was $23,580 (CDN dollars).

Thanks!

[ken_vs_ryu]

The fits are selling that well. It's also a brand new design so they're still trying to recoup tooling and redesign costs.

I think when the Insight gets into the showrooms it wil eat up some fit sales and that's when incentives will start.

[got_FITted_09]

I'm not sure what's going on in Canada but here in California... the dealers are either adding on a couple thousand dollars markup, charging MSRP or giving just a few hundred dollars off of invoice. The dealers will tell you they are not making money off of the Fits and the margin between MSRP and their invoice is really small... you know... the usual bull crap. Unfortunately... no matter where I checked... the cheapest I found with what I wanted was only a few hundred dollars below invoice. Anyway... good luck shopping. Hope you get a great deal!

[NBPturtle]

I believe the difference between Sticker and Invoice is only about $600 or so.

[BakedCookies]

Originally Posted by NBPturtle

I believe the difference between Sticker and Invoice is only about $600 or so.

Correct, Sales my be down, but they are not going to give the car away.

Plus they really don't care how you are paying, it's actually better for them if you finance because they get kickbacks off the financing.

[got_FITted_09]

Yup. As far as my understanding about car sales go... dealers will try try to make their money off your trade-in, the margin between their invoice and MSRP, financing, add-ons, and markups. You already took away potenital profit from a trade-in and financing by wanting to pay cash. Like BakedCookies said... they're not going to give the car away even though sales are down.

[M4psycho]

There was a thread on this a while back where someone who was close friends with the manager/owner, got maybe 800-1000 off? which is pretty much the whole markup, and that's only because he was close friends with him. You're lucky you're getting even $400 off.

You have to understand that the Fit is their entry level car, and if you're car producer making an entry level car, chances are you won't be making a whole lot of money off that car if you want to make it affordable. So $1500 markup (and discount) on a Fit? Let's be realistic and reasonable. The dealership and salesmen need to make a living too. I'm not trying to side with Honda and their salesmen as I know how some can be scumbags, but there's a point where you draw the line for being unreasonable and $1500 off a Fit way crosses that line, at least IMO.

I'm sure they want to sell you the car, but at the same time in their shoes I'm sure they're thinking "if you want it fine, if you don't, we don't really care because this car will sell pretty quick"....and they're right about it.

Basically, you should be happy with the discount they give you. Because if you do a little searching on this forum, most people didn't get much of anything. The best you can do is probably negotiate a discount on extra add-ons and stuff for the car.

[Chronoknight]

Try to get quotes from competing dealers, and ask them to beat the lowest price. If you only go to one dealer and they have no competition, the dealer will have no incentive to give you a discount.

According to the Honda Canada website, the MSRP for a Fit Sport AT is $20,480 CAD. It seems like you're being seriously overcharged. Watch out! (unless your price is after taxes, shipping, etc.)

[einy]

In addition, look at the US Dollar / Yen swing lately. Ouch ... I can only see Fit prices going up (in USD), unless the dollar strengthens somehow.

[Tork]

In US anyway, mark-up is like $600-660 ?

On an in demand car (Fit) the dealer IS entitled to make a bit of a profit (my $.02)

I'd say $400 off is a good deal.

[trailerparkboy]

Thanks for everyone's input. I agree dealer needs to make a profit, and they even showed me on the computer what they paid for it (which I assume is accurate). I'm sure they wouldn't have let me walk out of there if they couldn't have at least bargained a little more than the $400 or so they already took off, and it's not like I didn't try...I spent 2 hours just trying to work something out for the Fit. I guess the markup wasn't as much as I thought.

Anyways, in the end we went with an '08 Civic with only 10K on it and got a good deal on it. I love the Fits, but I must admit for me, the Civic just drives a little nicer so we give up some marginal mileage benefits the Fit has. Hope we made the right choice - we stuck with our budget anyways to keep it under $20K... and stayed with Honda.

[Tork]

we have an 08 civic too, rides smoother, great car. Very aerodynamic too, compared to the upright and more boxy Fit so highway mpg is about the same as fit. You gave up some versatility with cargo space and lost a little bit of go kart type handling, no big deal, good choice!

[Kails]

Hey, Im in Calgary and have been looking to buy one too. That seems a little high. I got a quote the other day for 21750+tax so 22837ish. This was for a manual sport, with 3M, tint, floor mats and block heater. So that definably sounds high.

I did a search on car cost today, and the manufacture's actual cost is 19,533+tax. So there is very little mark up on the car to begin with.

This is the only quote I got so far from Honda West, so am going to get a few more in the upcoming days.

[Kails]

Although... i just realize you are looking for a AT. So there is about 1200 difference, so in the end that probably sounds about right :S

[1LegitFit]

That's a ridiculous price! I can't even imagine when the 3rd generation USDM Fits comes out with a price tag of $21K+ the way the sale keeps going higher. I'd recommend crossing south of the border (US) and see what prices is better.

[Kails]

Ridiculous that is true... its not worth it to buy over the border I already priced it out. With the dollar not very strong it adds a large cost, then you have to have the DRL lights added and the dash changed to KM, plus the over the border costs and the money to get there, it ends up being basically the same price with way more hassle.

[TaffetaWhite]

Originally Posted by Kails

Hey, Im in Calgary and have been looking to buy one too. That seems a little high. I got a quote the other day for 21750+tax so 22837ish. This was for a manual sport, with 3M, tint, floor mats and block heater. So that definably sounds high.

I did a search on car cost today, and the manufacture's actual cost is 19,533+tax. So there is very little mark up on the car to begin with.

This is the only quote I got so far from Honda West, so am going to get a few more in the upcoming days.

Kails, see if this helps a bit:
AutoTrader - 2009 Honda Fit listings in Calgary & Southern Alberta

You have to click on each one to find out the price, which will show in the title bar of the window.

For instance, this is a manual sport for $20,900:
Canada Used Autos, Cars, Trucks, Boats, Motorcycles Online Classified Ads - AutoTrader.ca

[I<3_myfit]

one way that you can go aobut it is ask to see the invoice. If they wont check to see if there is another honda dealer. Don't tell them your going to pay it off because then they know that you wont finance so they will rape you up front. for example my invoice was 16,995 +695 shipping(this is a BS charge the car is already there). but most dealerships wont budge on it. so that bottom price is what you should be paying at MOST.
hope this helps

[dkang2]

Originally Posted by trailerparkboy

Hi,
Was at dealership trying to negotiate buying a new '09 Fit Sport AT. We are paying cash. I thought I could get around $1500 off sticker price. All Honda said they could do is take off $400 ??? Are they serious? are the margins that small? We were there for a couple of hours and they wouldn't budge. Is it that they are selling enough of these cars that they won't do much negotiating? Their final price was $23,580 (CDN dollars).

Thanks!

Hey, take your time with the purchase. It is a 09 model and there is not a whole lot they can do right now. What you CAN do though is visit multiple dealerships and usually the most desperate sales will approach you and you can negotiate the price. $1500 is quite a bit of a bargain though, to be honest with you. Most dealerships allow up to $1000 in bargaining.

[bluebledthesea]

Originally Posted by I<3_myfit

for example my invoice was 16,995 +695 shipping(this is a BS charge the car is already there).

Uh, how did the car get there though? You don't expect them to just absorb the costs, do you?