I checked their online inventory and found a 2009 Fit Sport MT listed at $16730 (which is MSRP+Delivery). Unfortunately, that means very little, since they can quote you something else over the phone. But considering I couldn't find any Fits without some sort of markup here in SoCal, I decided to look out of town. Called the dealership on Wednesday and was redirected to the Internet Director, JC Cummings. He was a pleasant fellow and told me that the car was still available and that they only sell their vehicles at MSRP. They don't play the markup game. Because I was coming from SoCal, he was willing to hold the car for me until Sunday. Gave my credit card number and plans were made for Friday. Just to be sure that the car was actually there and selling at MSRP, I had a good friend living in the Bay Area to drive to the dealership. Sure enough, it was. I'm sure the people working at Avery Greene Honda thought I was nuts, since I gave them a credit card number to place a hold. But I didn't want to travel out of my way just to walk into the dealership and get snagged into unexpected price adjustments.
Anyhoo, I travelled up on Thursday. My friend and I visited the dealership on Friday. I shook hands with JC, test drove the car, went back to his office to fill out a credit check and look over accessories (which I decided not to get any). Then went to the finance department and sat down with Steve Green. Turned down all those extra warranties and packages and then proceeded to work out the financing. I ran into a slight snag when I didn't bring a check from my credit union, just my letter of credit. Luckily my CU is listed under CUDL. So the dealership was able to get paid by my CU electronically. After all that was done, I got my keys from JC and drove off with my new car.
That wasn't the end of it however. The TPMS light came on. And I got a call from them to fill out another sales contract (to correct an error). So I had to drive back Saturday to get everything squared away. Luckily I wasn't driving back home to OC until Sunday. Despite the problems, it wasn't a bad experience. The second visit to the finance department was quick. Although I waited on service, it was good service and Darrel (I think that's his name) was very informative of what the problem was. And for my troubles, I got a set of car matts for free. Unfortunately, they weren't the right matts specific to the Fit, but I thought it was cool that I got them.
So the rest of the story ends uneventfully on Sunday, driving back home to Orange County. No TPMS light. No accidents. Just a pleasant drive home. Of course, buying a car all the way from Vallejo seems inconvenient. I did lose a $200 work day and put nearly 700 miles on the car by the time I got home. But I made at trip out of it. I saw some family in Napa and visited some friends around the Bay. Heck, I even transported 4 non-folding chairs from my aunt who didn't want them anymore. All that, I thought, was worth more than spending an extra $2000 over MSRP to conveniently find a Fit near my living area. I suppose I could have waited longer, as this financial crisis may make dealerships here in SoCal to cut prices. But I have no regrets going up and getting the car from Avery Greene Honda. They may be a small hole-in-the-wall dealership with little Fit inventory (and a large waiting list). But I got the service when buying the car. I highly recommend them in both sales and customer service. Check them out if you are in the Bay Area... or not from the area....
Avery Greene Honda of Vallejo, CA.
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