To the OP:

I tried a similar strategy in Sept of 2008 (I wanted to buy a 2008 model, just as the 2009 was being delivered to the lots). At that time (things may be different now), there just were not enough Fit's in dealership inventory for the dealers to have an incentive to drop the price by much. Also, they don't make a lot of money on the Fit as it is, so there just isn't a ton of wiggle room.

Your best bet is to start ahead of when you need the car, be patient and keep negotiating with a few people and try and match the lowest prices that you see on the forum (in the thread that people state the price they paid).

 

blazej, I agree with you 100%. And no, nothing changed going from the 2009s to the 2010s. And I bet not much will change going from the 2010s to the 2011s, especially for the MT Fits.

 

I got a $2000 Honda Trading Bucks discount by buying a 2009 last month. It was available for 3-4 weeks to clear out the 09's and make room for the 2010's. I'm going to look for it again next January and maybe upgrade to a Sport.

 

You're the second person from Canada to post info about a substantial discount. Must be different market dynamics because I am just not seeing it here.

 

I also work for Honda Canada so I got the car for dealer net on top of that. Don't have to pay freight or vehicle prep either. In my driveway for a base with air was 12.9K CAD. But don't fret, you guys in the US get better deals on cars than we Canuks do eh.

 

I'd be happy to be proven wrong, but I think the mandatory VSC is for 2012 models. That said, I read somewhere the Yaris will have it standard for 2011, so nothing is stopping Honda from offering the same thing a year earlier as well.

Electronic Stability Control to be mandatory by 2012

 

No, it looks like you're right. The change happens IN 2011, for 2012 models, not in 2010 for 2011 models. I somehow overlooked that.

 

wait and see if 2011 brings a good refresh.

 

ain't gonna be any refresh for '11. the refresh will come for '12.

 

A great sadness has filled my heart.

 

That makes at least two of us...

As it turns out, that one dealership in Va Beach lists cars you're able to order as being part of their inventory, so as far as I can tell, there are no TW manual sports for several hundred miles...

 

manual sport models are hard to come by, let alone one in the color of your choice. If you find one, then jump on it. IMO all the colors are great, they grow on you after a while. I probably wouldnt wait b/c I'm impulsive, but if you didnt notice, there haven't been too many honda fit ads on tv or radio lately. I dont know if it is a early warning sign of its availability for the near future.

 

yeah, if I was looking at buying now and didn't really _need_ the new car right away (which you don't seem to.. since this will be your 3rd) I would wait for the VSA in 2011/2012. I wish I could have gotten it for my 2010.. but the only way to do that would have been spending 3400 more.

As far as deals.. I'm already seeing some honda dealerships with 2010 clearance signs.

 

the financing is the issue, I got 2.8% at Capital One which saved me $3k over the life of the loan (Honduh quoted me 4.99%) which is huge in my mind, I don't think rates are going up anytime soon but......

 

I work for a dealership, so I thought I'd chime in. The fits have about $600 markup between invoice and sticker. If it's at the end of a month, you Mott e able to get about $200-300 below invoice if it's a bg dealership and they need the unit. That said, we also know how hard it is to come by a manual fit sport, so we don't really have to do that deal. Your best bet is to look for awesome financing. Starting the 6 of July through the end of august you can get .9% for 60 months on fits if you have over a 660 credit score. VSA prob won't be standard until 2012, so I don't see a reason to wait for the 11 model. Just my .02 and I prob wouldn't share that if you were anywhere close enough for me to sell a the car. Ha

 

That would be awesome. Is that info publicly listed anyway yet? I've been working a few bank loans, but there's no way any bank will loan at less than 3-4%.

Edit: Duh, look on honda's web site. Silly me for thinking that edmunds would keep their info ultra current.

 

Haha, this is the exact answer I needed from the other post about the .9% financing. I'm surprised you would only need a 660 credit score for it, I was expecting something stellar like 750+ scores only. Jnessel, any down payment amount required for that?

 

im not 100% sure, but even if you have a nice high score if you have other loans they will see that as a risk and not grant the low APR.

 

Luckily I don't have any other big loans, just some small school loans left. Just finished paying off all of my credit card debt today after 3 years of debt hell. I know they also take into account work history and residential history, but I think both of those are long enough to be seen as stable.

 

they also look at how much you're paying for rent as well. they're just covering their butt in this poor economy. hope you get that 0.9%