I'd think this has to include trade in value?.. Otherwise 18K is a good OTD price for an LX CVT, let alone an EX!

 

I think there is no sales tax in Oregon. I am also going to try for $18k before tax for blue EX CVT. I think, it is doable. Otherwise, I will wait.
I went to check it out Odyssey few days back. They have very few Fits on the lot. When I asked him for blue, he suggested me to go back and take a look in their inventory parking lot. They have one full row of Fits. Most of them are EX. It is a decent inventory for Fit which is not a volume seller like Civic/Accord. I think, there are enough fits (at least EX CVT) with the dealers.

 

1. 2015 Fit EX, no accessories
2. Bay Area, California
3. 20,500 OTD and I got a .9% APR so I'm happy I guess.

 

Where specifically? I just got one from Concord Honda, an EX CVT for $19,750 OTD. I contacted most every Honda dealership in the area (Berkeley, Concord, Marin, Honda, Fairfield, Oakland, etc) and most prices were more towards what you got.

I only got 3.25% APR though, so you got me there. Was that through Honda? I went with my own bank (USAA) and didn't even consider Honda for financing.

Honda of Marin offered me $100 less than Concord but I didn't feel like making the drive for $100.

 

Wow you're lucky to get it at that price. I got mine from San Francisco because I live very close to the Honda store downtown. I financed through Honda because I was doing a last minute Black Friday shopping and I didn't really plan on buying a car. But the .9% APR was an offer I couldn't refuse.

 

Paid $17000.xx OTD
LX M/T no options/accessory
San Jose, CA

All that matters is what it will end up being OTD, no other prices really count. Every place has different cost for tax/license/interest/etc. so really it comes down OTD.

Actually it came with the cargo rubber mat, paint protector (which I think is a BS markup). I just told them I don't want any of that and just the base model with a manual tranny in silver. So they sold it as equiped with non of those charged. Tax was about $1,500 and DMV fees was about $200 so I basically got it for about $15,300.

 

I think OTD matters more for paying cash than when financing. My dealer found a lender willing to cut the interest rate so my final monthly payment matched a competing dealer with a lower sticker price but higher rate. Either way the cost would have been the same to me so I went with the dealer what made my happier and will provide better service in the future.

 

Even with financing interest there is still an OTD price. You add up all interest and you know what you are truly paying. Say w/o interest it is $18k and interest ends up being $2k, you ultimately are still paying $20k after all said and done.

I would never finance unless it was 1% or less. Which almost never happens not even with good credit...I said almost, only time I ever seen it happen is with cars that can't sell and the Mfg. wants to get rid of it quick so they will finance it.

 

I disagree. As far as your pocket book it's true but as far as comparing to what others paid then OTD isn't as meaningful because the tax/license/interest etc have nothing to do with the the dealers charge to you, unless you finance through them then the interest does. Tax etc will vary by location as you said and the dealer isn't taxing you so the fairest comparison is not OTD.

 

All cost matters, thinking other wise is naive. Yes tax differs on location, a part of that is the cost of living just like the cost of said vehicle. To make a simple example look at toothpaste. A tube of toothpaste cost $5 including tax in SanFrancisco. Same tube of toothpaste might only cost $3 including tax in in the middle of Kansas. Every thing that is sold has an MSRP but that is exactly what that is only a suggested price, it doesn't account for other variables. If one gets a fit for $X in Kansas and another person get the same for $X in San Fransisco then I would say the person in Kansas is paying too much. Or you can get one in town for $X but 100miles away you can get one for $100 less, you still have to factor in the time/cost of going that 100miles away.

You have to compare total cost then from there you can account for location/demand etc.

 

I paid about MSRP for both my Fits, but they had ~$1000 in dealer extras that I didn't want to pay for and they threw in. Also, I got more favorable trade-in values on my old cars, putting me ahead overall.

Where I am, Honda dealers are much more willing to negotiate on the trade than they are on the Fit. Doesn't matter to me whether they give me a $1000 off the Fit or $1000 more on my trade.

Important to state I already knew the trade value of my old car because I had been to a few dealers already. The dealer who sold me my Fit came out of the gate with a trade offer $2000 low. By the time we were done they gave $1000 more than anyone else.

 

2015 Honda Fit EX MT w/tint
$19,527.31 OTD
Chandler, AZ
No trade in

 

I've been reading this thread, and really don't understand the prices.
What is 'we got ours for 15900?' Is that the invoice price?
What is the DOC fee and is that additional AFTER the OTD cost?


Here in Silver Spring MD, the Pohanka Maryland COSTCO-referred dealer said that a Total Accessories fee was required: $595.00. She quoted me MSRP of 17,270, but her OTD price was 19527, or $2300 extra. Saleswoman said 1380 tax and title (6% tax) is 18650; what is that extra $1000?

Truecar says TARGET price: 15,592 base + 980 regional fee and destination fee = 16572, so with 1380 tax and title, that COULD be 17,952 OTD.

So I'm thinking $18,000 is an OTD to aim for?

 

What would be a good strategy for financing/cash. I want to pay cash. But I understand that if I say that at the beginning, they can't offer me a lower price. What advice can you give me about how I present myself as a customer, and then when do I tell them I'll be paying cash? I assume I try to get an OTD price fixed (in writing??), and then when we sit down, tell them I'll be paying cash?

Thanks, Etana
My 1998 (106K mi) manual Honda Civic's muffler just went, so I'm realizing I need to buy this 2015 Fit this month, before I have more expenses with my Civic LX. Thanks for the advice to buy at end of the month. I'm doing my research here and at Truecar.org, and am about to read carbuyingtips.com

 

Hey Etana, the Fit that I just bought was my first car ever I've ever purchased on my own. I was pre-approved for a $20,000 loan through the company I work for so I knew from the start that I would be paying the dealership with cash. However, I did not tell the salesman that I was pre-approved for a loan until we sat down to start paperwork. When they asked about financing I just casually let them know that I wasn't worried about that right now. I confidently told them that I'm sure I'll qualify for a great rate but I wanted to make sure that the price was right first before anything else. Also before I went to any dealerships I sent an email to every Honda dealership in my area specifically explaining what I wanted. Here's the template I used that helped me save some time.

"Dear Internet Manager,

My name is (Your Name Here) and I am going to be purchasing a new 2015 Honda Fit within the next several days. I would like your assistance to provide pricing for the following vehicle on your lot (if you have one available):

2015 Honda Fit (lx, ex whatever style you want goes here)
Manual Transmission/ CVT/ (List the transmission type)
Color: Option 1 is xxxxxx, Option 2 is yyyyyy

The only extra add-on I am interested in is window tinting.

I have not made up my mind on financing yet but I am confident I will qualify for the best financing available. We can discuss financing options at a later date as I am pretty confident on what my options are already. For now, I am only interested in understanding your best price for my preferred vehicle.

If you are interested in my business, please provide your best "out the door" price for the Honda Fit and options listed above. I would like to see the price broken with as much detail as possible (i.e car price, taxes, doc fees, destination fee, etc.).

Please provide this information as soon as possible as I plan to make a final decision within the next few days.

Please respond by e-mail. Thank you very much!

Regards,
(Your name)
Email address: (Your Email)"

Doing this really helped me weed out the dealerships that I did not want to do business with and made them give me their best price. Don't tell them what other prices you get, just tell them you want their best price. Then when you find the best deal and a dealership you want to do business with you can negotiate and will be able to get their "best" price more than likely even better.


And also the OTD price is the total price you pay for everything including fees, tax, accessories, and anything else.
Here's a copy of what my bill looked like

 

Greyson,
Did you buy an EX? I see your sales slip.
This is a great and specific reply, terrific form letter.
Question: what is so special about window tinting? I couldn't find the thread where this is discussed. I'll be relocating to SE Florida, so this is of interest to me. I hate sunglasses and tinting generally, but see a lot of Fit buyers are adding some tinting in some windows.


From Edmunds.com, I got a bunch of prices before Taxes, but including destination and DOC fees of
$17,437, but then I got one price of
$16,450 which I am following up on. The "*" isI think Maryland Tax and title is $1380, so that could be an OTD price of
$17,830 which seems a good OTD for LX Fit CVT no accessories, or has anyone done significantly better?

 

Yes I did purchase an EX and the only accessory I got was tinted windows. With the tinting I think it is just personal preference. I live in Arizona so tinted windows is something that I specifically wanted. Dealers can add on many different things so that is why I asked for a specific break down of everything included in the price so if something is there that I did not want I could let the dealership know. Edmunds is a great tool to help with buying a car but just like you said in the disclaimer it excludes certain things . That is why I emailed each dealership directly and asked for the OTD price that included a breakdown of everything.

As far as the OTD price you received for the Fit you are looking at, I haven't really done research for the LX but another useful tool if you haven't used it yet is TrueCar.com. They give you a helpful graph of what others paid. Here's an example for Tempe, AZ. I would plug in your information for your area and see what comes back. https://www.truecar.com/prices-new/h...2015/C8EE94C8/

 

OTD price should include tax, licensing, registration, etc. What OTD doesn't include is anything involving your loan terms like APR.

I got my 15 Fit EX CVT for $19,750 OTD, inclusive of tax, licensing, doc fees, registrations, etc. On top of this, I obviously had my loan's APR, but OTD is the price you literally walk out the door with.

It will be on the dealer to play with the numbers to get it all right.

 

I know but the other person mentioned interest first so I just copied them when replying to them.

 

Bought today after Edmunds price quotes, followed up by phone calls and emails from about local 5-6 dealers, with each of my replies to them resulting in competitively lower prices.

Honda Fit CVT LX "no accessories"*
Alabaster Silver
Silver Spring MD; dealer Pohanka Capital Heights MD (COSTCO referred)

$15,786 Price of vehicle
$300 DOC
$965 Taxes
$295 Title
$4 tire recycling
OTD $17,350 (no financing)

I think this is a terrific price! I am very happy! I would have paid $18,000, was hoping for $17,800 based on research on this thread and Edmunds.com

* Accessories. I immediately saw the car had door edging. After I paid, and the sales rep was showing me around the car, I notice the pin stripes. He then pointed out the wheel locks and mud guards and helium in 4 tires. For no extra money and no hassle from the dealer.

This is particularly ironic since I had somewhat of a bait and switch from Bethesda MD Honda dealer, whose quote was at first the lowest (from a Edmunds price guarantee inquiry), but then dealer said quote didn't include $820 delivery. When I replied that Edmunds price guarantee specifically said it DID include delivery, the next morning he said the cost was $795 for dealer accessory package required, of pinstripe, wheel locks, mud guard, helium in 4 tires, door guards and fender trim (the latter is the only thing I did not get). Total worth MSRP Honda website:
MSRP $56 Free wheel locks
MSRP $104 splash guards
MSRP $84 door edge guards
$xx helium in 4 tires
$xx pinstripe
$xx fender guard

The Pohanka Capital Heights MD (COSTCO referred) dealer emailed me an attachment of a purchase order of the 2015 Honda Fit Base Automatic in Alabaster Silver... Clear and straightforward. Note that their first email was a pretty high quote, but all day I was emailing/responding to competing local dealers who kept emailing me lower prices. I really liked getting the Purchase Order, and they also attached photos of the car already sitting on the lot.

Thank you all for this forum and this thread, "2015 Dealer Price...and What You Paid." I am so happy with my experience today. I WAS IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT! (pun intended)...

I'll be back here to look further, but pretty exhausted right now.
It still took 3 hours at the dealer, but totally stress free.

- Etana

Now I have to quickly sell my manual 1998 Honda Civic sedan LX 106K miles
The dealer offered me $500. I saw a range on Craig's list for $1500-$3900 for similar mileage and year.