CA state tax is 9.75% here in Los Angeles County where I live. That's a difference of $287.

Applying that new rate:

$19,177
+ $1,869 (9.75% sales tax)
+ $288 (title/reg)
= $21,334 OTD

What's a good price to aim for?

myke

 

Holy crap, a 9.75% tax rate! Lol, I'm glad I don't live there, financially speaking.

I think you answered your own question with your calculations. Aim for $21,334 or lower, but if no one plays ball, set your limit at like $21,400 or $21,500. Any higher, than I would just say F-it and wait until either Fall clearance or end of the year.

edit: Are you sure it's 9.75%? In TX, the sales tax is 8.25%, but car sales tax is just 6.25%, does CA do something similar?

 

I just got another quote from another dealer that's a lot closer to my house.

Their price for the same car was $20,918 OTD

myke

 

Did you see if these quotes are with or without the $710 destination fee included? Make sure that $18,852 isn't really $19,562. Also, some dealers give you a low quote and then when you get to the dealership, tack on things like $500 floor mats, ask for their OTD price (or better yet give them yours).

 

All quotes that I've listed already includes the $710 destination fee.

And I specifically asked the dealers that I do not want any accessories added on. I prefer to buy it w/o any accessories. I know what you mean though, some dealerships add all kinds of crap you don't need or want.

myke

 

Got another quote for $20,881 OTD

myke

 

Those aren't bad quotes. I paid $21020.22 (MSRP + OH 6.25% Tax + $270.50 document fees) for the same car back in October when they were hard to come by.

 

The buyer I had lined up backed out and the deal fell through the floor.

Oh well... these things happen. I'm not too bummed.

I'm getting the car detailed today and probably will try and visit some dealerships and see what kind of trade in prices I can get for her.

myke

 

Wait!

We all want to come too! Maybe 20-30 people in various FITs can converge on the dealerships you're going to at the same time, and offer helpful advice...

Salesperson: Who ARE all these PEOPLE?
Myke: They're the people from FitFreak.net and they are going to help, by checking invoices and other dealers and parts prices and the BBB and...
(sound of laptops being whipped out)
Members in background chanting "Myke...Myke...Myke"



Good luck today! We're all rooting for you.

 

Well, I visited a couple of dealerships this past weekend and even went to a CarMax to see how much I can get for my current car. The offers they gave me were way too low, so I declined and decided to try and sell my current vehicle through private party first and see how that goes. I posted my car last night on autotrader.com we'll see what kind of responses I get.

Who knows, maybe in a few weeks the 2010 models might already be in the lots

myke

 

Try posting to craiglist as well...

 

Yep, I posted it on there as well.

So far I have it on craigslist and autotrader.com

Any other suggestions where I should post an ad? Local newspapers perhaps?

myke

 

Hopefully craigslist works for you. Right before I bought my Fit, I sold my del sol on craigslist. I got about 25 offers in a day, and had it sold for asking price after 2 days.

 

I looked for Fits and Smarts on craigslist. They didn't last long. It was before I was ready to buy, but I'd see a car one day. And the next day I'd go to look at it again, and it would be gone.

Craigslist is a great place to shop or browse. Everything from 10 dollar bargains to 10 million dollar estates.

 

One dealer has a black Fit Sport w/ Navi in stock.

They were willing to take in my trade in, and pay off my current vehicle (current payoff is $33k) if I bought the black Fit they had in stock. Otherwise, if they had to do a dealer trade to get the white Fit I wanted, they wanted me to shell out an extra $3k to pay off my current loan.

Screw that

Maybe $1000 at the MOST, but $3k is ridiculous just get my preferred color.

My car is currently on craigslist and autotrader.com. Nobody interested so far, even though the price is below KBB value.

Oh well, I guess I'll just keep on waiting for now. Once I am able to sell my current vehicle, I am so ready to buy my new Fit. Can't wait!

myke

 

Ouch....if you don't mind, what is your current car that you're selling?

 

2008 Infiniti G37S

myke

 

Yeah, I just don't want a black car (or any dark colored car) again. They're such a pain in the a55 to keep clean.

I know if I took the deal and gotten the black Fit, I wouldn't be happy, so I passed.

myke

 

I know all about that. My car HAD to be white. Period. And it had to be automatic. I'm not doing dark cars or sticks anymore.

I haven't washed my car in weeks. I live near the coast. The windows look absolutely filthy. But the car? Not so much. The whole thing is covered with fine dust. That comes from the mist/fog prevalent in the area and then being the parking garage the cars stirring up fine dust and pollutants that stick to the mist.

I think it has to do with white not being so shiny. It IS shiny, but it doesn't show that mirror-like finish as dark cars do.

There's a thread here somewhere, that one of the members detailed another member's car. A dark car. With swirls. The results were amazing. The car was like a mirror...some pictures you couldn't tell it was a photo of a car, because what was mostly seen was the reflection of whatever was around. The reflection being bent by the angles and curves of the car. It was beautiful.

But if it was mine, it would look like that ONCE. LOL! And turn into a car where someone writes in the dirt "Wash me!" 15 minutes after I had washed the car.

I want my car to work for me. Not me to work for my car.

 

Eh, I would have taken the black car. Dealerships do have much more negotiating room when they are working with their stock rather than having to do a dealer trade. The dealership is not trying to "screw you," they are just being honest. If the car they have has the equipment you want it's pretty silly to pass up such a great deal because it's not the color you want.

I personally did not want a white car but I took it because finding a sport with manual transmission and navigation is very difficult and white was the only color that had this combo in the entire state at that time I purchased. So, I took it, not a big deal, I've learned to deal with the white color even though I will secretly always wish it was blackberry pearl.

And for the record white gets dirty just like black and needs to be cleaned just as often as black does. The difference is when a black car comes out of a car wash it looks a thousdand times better than a white car.