jgaepi - damn, that sucks. you know this is the same way at the grocery store.

it's great that some folks are having a time of their lives with all these bargains and promo's, but for us normal folks that just want to buy a damn gallon of milk for our kids:

#1 i dont care
#2 get out of my way, walk faster, get out of the aisles
#3 ring me up please, where are the express lanes?

lol

 

That really sucks that you guys have had to go through that...I had a GREAT salesman that was really happy to help me, put the car off to the side for me (I had to drive 1.5 hours to get there), test drive (about 20minutes), we negotiated and he never made me feel rushed. I am completely happy and no regrets about my deal.

 

When we went in (we had pre-priced before C4C) all the sales people had 2 customers waiting. Our guy, Ed from Hondabarn in NH, was busy as all get out, but he was polite , friendly , and honest about the wait time.

I had no complaints. You can't expect the same amount of time you'd get when it's slow, but still he was very good, very concerned about doing right by his customers.

And, I'd have to say, all of his customers were pretty patient too.. we were all there for hours, but it wasn't the sales guy or the dealers fault.

 

We'll see who gets the last laugh when new car sales plummet to less than before Cash for Clunkers. There's going to be a HUGE slow down because so many people who were on the fence for a while bought their car in the last week and a half. Then who's going to be left to buy new cars?
That'll be the time to buy.

But really, on car like the Fit where MSRP is only about 700 over invoice we're not talking huge deals... so might as well buy when you're ready. No changes for 2010 anyway. I should be buying mine tomorrow, as long as they can source one in the area in the exact trim/color I want. That's a funny story in itself. The local dealer is pretty small and relatively friendly. They found 4 cars in Northern Cali with the specs I want... 1 was already sold and the other 3 dealers didn't answer the phone after 3 tries. I wasn't surprised, because I'd been trying to call them myself today and couldn't get an answer at 2 places and the last one put me on hold forever so I just hung up. If I didn't have the local friendly dealer helping me out I'd probably wait till the C4C bonanza slows down.

 

You'll have to forgive me but this makes no sense to me at all. How this can possibly be a dealbreaker is beyond me. You buy a car for how well it drives not the radio.

Why get XM when you have a perfectly good USB slot you can hook a thumdrive up to and fill with every song you have ever wanted to hear and then some. It also is one less bill to pay.

And why people need bluetooth is beyond me. Are you TALKING or DRIVING? Unless you are a Contractor or Some kind of broker, there is no reason you should be on your phone enough to need bluetooth.


In fact I see it as an advantage that we dont have xm or bluetooth. It just makes the stock radio more expensive and I never keep a stock radio for more than a month or two. Get the car and go aftermarket. It's going to sound way better anyway.

 

I'm waiting for 2010 UNLESS my dealer calls me back and tells me they are willing to give me the offer I want on an '09... which would be a REALLY good deal (at least in my opinion.)

 

Lipappy,

Good luck with that. I have been trying to do that now for 3 days. The best offer I received Monday morning via email (just an offer of discount under MSRP) was not followed up even though I sent 2 emails asking for an out the door price. 2 additional dealers sent first emails but have not followed up with details on offered price. And my dealers in the Northern Virginia area are running out of Fits fast. Dealer's stock from what I can see is down 25% or more with no restock in sight.

But then there is a huge grey area for me on a 2010. I know the MSRP will go up $300. So to buy under Costco program that translates into a guaranteed $300 increase. Then when will dealers begin to negotiate again. They will be cash rich for at least 6 months and Cash For Clunkers will run at least into the first month of 2010s on the lot --- AND Congress is going to vote on extending CFC to guaranteed pre-orders on 2010s. So realistically if someone had a CFC vehicle and couldn't get a Fit until say December, then this CFC glut of cash will limit me to a good deal in March or April or May of 2010??? Just one large problem.

 

So you're saying it's gonna be really hard to get a good deal on a 2010 because of C4C until March or April, eh? I don't doubt you there. Part of me wishes they would call me and tell me it's a go, but another part of me would be ok with not hearing from them and just being forced to wait for a 2010, even if we lose negotiating power. At least a 2010

-has a chance of some improvements (even though people are adamant there will be no changes)
-will be a new new car
-will have more available
-maybe will have a new color option or two?

 

Sure guaranteed color - although if pre-orders are allowed then the hot colors could still be in demand

Sure improvements - but they sold hot pre C4C and why invest more R&D money when you know that customers will still buy

Brand New - But technically the 2009 you or I could get could have been built in the last 120 days and has a full warranty from the time of purchase

Wanting to wait until 2010 - But that takes some of the "fun of the game" out of it

I just think that dealerships won't be desperate to sell under MSRP for months and they may take the risk short term thinking that C4C could be restarted next year

 

Is it certain that a new '09 would be no more than 120 days old? Why couldnt they have been sitting on the lot for a year? Sorry, I don't know a lot about cars. The Fit is just now turning me into a gearhead, lol.

 

Auto manufacturers have to keep building cars year round to meet regular buying demand. No way to just show up with roughly 12 million cars (all cars made on average) per year ready to sell. Manufacturers keeping building through the year and then switch to the next model year. Lots of manufacturers cut off production earlier than expected because demand was so low pre C4C. That is the primary reason there are so few cars on the lots, not actually because C4C. With production cut, they do not have enough to meet the current demand and can't build them fast enough now, coupled with the fact that they are building 2010s already. So without a C4C car to trade, this is probably the worst time in recent history to buy a car. That is why I am also looking at this half as a price game, and half if I get the price I want, I will buy. But then may still regret with a 2010 with a higher MSRP starting price.

 

I just spoke to my local dealer, who informed me that there are no changes for 2010, other than the Fit Sport with navigation is not available in a manual transmission. He's not sure why this is the case, but he just today received a bulletin from Honda. Not sure if this affects anyone's decision to pull the trigger on a '09 model. Also, the colors are exactly the same for the '10 models.

 

the relative scarcity of manual transmissions already points to the manual transmission going the way of the tail fin and the whitewall tire, and why not? Automatics add nearly a grand to the purchase price of most cars, and I suspect that a lot of that is pure profit margin for the dealer and manufacturer. Also, we now have a full generation of drivers who may have never driven a manual transmission car and don't know how. It's just one more sign the the American people are becoming shiftless. Nobody gives a shift anymore!

 

In california and other states, it's illegal to talk on the phone without handsfree device. So it is not an issue of using your phone a lot it is an issue of even using your phone even occasionally.
No one wants to look like a douche to put in the stupid earbud device just for the occasional time you have to make a call.

I'll be looking for integrated bluetooth in my next car, with onscreen integrated addressbook/callerID, accepting incoming calls from the screeen/steeringwheel, and muting radio during call.

 

Uncle Gary - You are only half correct. Those of us native Californians (not living in CA anymore though) abandoned stick shifts in the 90s because of traffic congestion. Try manual in stop and go stop and go. Not fun. Only fun in Wyoming. So we made the conscious decision to switch. Then our kids drove our automatics and manuals are dying away.

Raytseng - I am becoming a regular salesman here (I am actually a Gov employee) but try the Quickconnect product. They make a really simple harness for the Parrot kit and sell the Parrot kit too. My subaru I just sold had the color screen. Small, works great, looks good. I would like a factory installed bluetooth but certainly shouldn't be a deal breaker.

 

This is so ridiculous it doesn't even deserve a response. Look up "Argument from Ignorance" or "Argument from Personal Incredulity," if you want to understand why.