Got a call from my local Honda dealer located in Irvine, California. The internet manager indicated to me that she will be able to give me a test drive on the '09 sport manual FIT. I made an appt. for that afternoon. I get down there and they indicate that the car was sold that morning. She never called me with this fact. What they did have was an '08 model that was priced $1000 over MSRP. Need I say more?

 

people WANT the fit...

believe me, someone will buy it.

 

Their markup isn't that great on the fit. The dealers wanting 3K over I'd be more willing to brand as "unethical". I paid MSRP plus transportation and $199 "documentation fee" which I translated to MARKUP. This was September 2007 and, from what I'm hearing, prices have risen. Hell if you can get a fit for below MSRP more power to ya but if you sold Honda's and couldn't keep fits in stock what would you do? The law of supply and demand is pretty clear and if you don't want it chances are someone else will. Honda dealerships do, in fact, have overhead and are not charity organizations. I've blatted on long enough. It's the consumers job to get the lowest price and the dealers job to get the most for their product. Honda makes a fine product (mostly) and people want them.

 

ehhhhh you didnt put a deposit on the car. its fair game. first come, first served

 

She could have called to let you know, but perhaps she didn't know the car was sold out from under her.

I had a dealer call me and say that the EXACT car I wanted was on the lot, in fact, they had 5 of them, VBP Sport ATs, and when could I come and drive one? I asked the chick 3 times, are you SURE you have them? Then I got there later that day and they had never had that car! I was steaming! I told them what they could do with their base tidewater blue Fits. I will never go back to that dealer.

 

Dealers do this a lot to get u to come in to try and sell u another car. They should have called u about this. But i payed for my 08 sport over msrp. I payed 18300 OTD which is a little high but i am happy with her. I save around $90 a month for insurance. Around $150 a month for gas. And this car is alot cheaper to maintain than my evo was. I am happy but i do whish i could have gooten them to around 16,000 OTD that would have been nice

 

I'll make you feel a little better - I just paid 17,000 for an '08 with 1029 miles on it. Shipping another $700 and taxes over $1,000, so I'll have paid 18,700 almost 19,000 by the time all is said and done.

There was no negotiating room when I couldn't even find the car I wanted! It's take it or leave it and the next Joe will pay full price...

 

Sales people have the need to sell as many cars as they can. She 'hoped' you'd buy the 08, even if the dealer never had an 09. Sure, its unethical and poor sales tactics but the only way that will be discouraged if for you to take your 'losses' to small claims court. Sure, it'll cost $35 and you'll have to make your losses greater than that but if you can prove you made an appointment and they failed to deliver. You wasted a trip of 59 miles each way at 0.52 per mile plus lunch and then unable to purchase.
That will get thir attention. You might be able to persuade the Magistrate that they now have to sell you the car at msrp.
Otherwise you can only complain to Honda and your local BBB. It surely will affect their customer approval ratings.
I suspect they never had the car and used the bait and switch on you.
And next time when they tell you they've got a car you want go immediately; appointments are a waste of time. No dealer is going to save a sale for you unless you tell them some wild offer, such as $3000 over lMSRP. If you want to get even, then renege on the $3000 and offer to buy at MSRP. No different than they did you.
Better luck next time.

 

Dealers charging over MSRP might as well be selling civics. Buyers paying over MSRP might as well be buying civics. Supply and demand can suck my hose.

 

Is it to the Dealers advantage to not disclose a VIN number when contracting to sell a Fit? About a month ago my wife signed a contract for a base model manual transmission 09 Fit in Silver, paying MSRP. At that time we were promised an October delivery, and a VIN number "as soon as it became available". Since then the product roll-out has been moved up, but not our delivery date, as she is told by the Sales Rep that the model she ordered is "harder to build".

My question is this: at what stage in the contract-build-deliver process is the VIN number formally established and given to the customer? I'm telling my wife that the dealer might be playing a VIN game with her, so that they are not tied down to a tight build-ship-deliver schedule. Now she's pissed - er, I mean dissatisfied with my opinion. What is the VIN issuance process Honda NA uses to provide numbers to its dealers, and am I correct in assuming that we should we have a VIN by now?

 

I can only speak from my experiences. I plunked down my deposit and about 2 weeks later got a specific VIN for MY CAR. I was informed of the cars progress such as completed at factory, loaded onto boat, unloaded from boat, put on semi and finally unloaded at dealership. With the VIN for MY CAR it seems as if it would be hard for them to 1. switch cars on me or 2. sell my car to someone else. They might not have started producing your color yet but I'm seeing a lot of silver on fifreak. They might well be playing games. You might want to search online for cars similar to the one you wanted. If you find one you might want to point that out. A VIN at least gives you some security that some kind of progress is being made. It seems like you should have a VIN by now.

 

The VINs comes with notice of allocation deliveries. Unless your wife wants something really difficult or unavailable yet her order's VIN number should have been available this week if the dealer was allowed to order. Many dealers offer inventories on their website and that can include those that have been allocated.
Sometimes Honda will tell you what models you get this month
Anything unusual can be a while.

 

I put a deposit down on a 09 Silver Sport Fit with a manual tranny about 2 weeks ago. To my knowledge they did not have one in the pipeline at that time. I was not given a VIN or a build date.
Within a week, I had a build date. Within two weeks (today) I called and left a msg requesting my VIN and an update on the status of my car. The internet sales guy called me a few hours later with my VIN and said my car was in the "pre-shipping" stage. My Fit is on schedule to be delivered on the week of Sept 21st, which is just over 4 weeks from order.
I would suggest pressing your sales person. If he/she cannot provide that to you, then explain your situation to the sales manager.

 

For only pennies a day, your car will be well fed, and we'll send you pictures as well as stories about your car's progress. One day you may be blessed with the opportunity to meet. (like watchin one of those infomercials for a christian missionary project thingy.)


SAVE YOUR FIT TODAY!

 

Thanks very much for your replies Re my wife's Fit VIN - very helpful as I now have an informed vantage point from which to work with the Dealer to move things forward. Again, thanks.

 

...I laughed!!

 

I put something down on one over three weeks ago, was given a VIN at that time along with a 1-3 week delivery date. Well here we are three weeks out and still no Fit, here's the catch: a car (stock photo) with the exact same VIN is on Autotrader from the same dealership, along with a "Stock#" something which was missing on my paperwork. I called and my sales guy and he assured me it would be here "any day now" but this is getting old!! At least I should be getting it for MSRP (plus "required" accessories) which I do kind of need and would like to roll into the loan anyway... I guess that's one way to justify their slick markup methods.....I guess I will just wait it out..what do you guys think?

 

"Required accessories" and "rolled into the loan" equals a lot of interest money for stuff that can be bought much cheaper from any vendor outside of the dealership. But it's your money. Good luck.

 

Research on the sly. Call and talk to a random salesman. Tell them you saw their add on Autotrader and would like to come down and test drive the car, is it still available?

If it is when you go down, complain to the dealership and get your sale through the new guy. Hurt the other salesman where it matters--his pocketbook. If you are helped by another salesman, they usually have to split commission.

Then, when Honda calls you for their survey, tell the truth.