Yeah Im thinking the white, but the white is kind of boring IMO so I also want to check out the blue.

 

I went from a Lincoln Towncar to the Fit and I find the Fit to be just about perfect in all ways and it's definitely more comfortable and to be honest, the performance keeps impressing me. It may not have the power and torque as other vehicles out there, but for what it is (a sub compact), there's simply no other sub compact that can compete with the Fit. Not IMO anyway.

 

The dealer should be able to take care of all of the plate transfers & registration stuff. no need to go to the DMV (NO ONE wants to go to the Jersey DMV). The extra $$ that you are talking is all part of what you'll want to negotiate with the dealer. There is a cost to transfer plates, register the vehicle, etc... but just make sure you have an Out the door price including all of that stuff before you sign the deal.

Where in NJ are you located. I'm a Transplant to VT but grew up in north Central (somerset county). If you are in Northern NJ, be wary of Planet Honda on Rt 22. they will seriously lowball you on your trade. I walked out of there and bought an integra from Bridgewater Acura instead of a Prelude from them.

~SB

 

I suppose all states are different, but I've bought cars in quite a few over the last fifty years and here is what I've come up with.

1. Taxes are only paid on the difference between the trade in and the new car. This is where you pick up a little of the loss you suffer by trading with a dealer. But you still lose. Look; get 21K selling your car yourself to an individual versus the 17k that you are likely to get in trade from the dealer. Thats a 4k benefit to you. Then pay the 2K in taxes. You still come out with an extra 2K in your pocket. This is not equaling out. I don't know about you but 2k dollars is worth a day of my time at the DMV.

2. Research, research, research. Knowledge is power, especially when purchasing a car. If you go into a dealership knowing what they paid for the car and having cash in hand puts you in control of the situation. Offer the dealership $100 more than the "invoice". Most will take the offer. If they don't, go to another dealership that will.

3. Stay away for the add-ons that the dealership pushes. Pin stripes, undercoating, extended warranties, loans. Especially refuse to pay for anything the dealer has already added to the car. You didn't order it, you don't pay for it. Get the window tint yourself.

Good luck. (Well, you don't need luck. You just need knowledge.)

 

@OP - I get sooooo frustrated with predictive typing! Ha! It makes for funny (or embarrasing) emails/texts...Lord knows I've had plenty of explaining to do after I shot off a text.

@hogwylde - My LS400 was WAYYYY more comfortable than my Fit. How is your Fit more comfortable than your Lincoln?

 

wdnewman has it right. You are still gonna take a loss on trading the car vs selling it...even if it is "not THAT bad." Think about what $2000 to start modding your Fit! WhooT! Take his wise advice.

 

Thanks all and I know to be knowledgable. When I went in Nissan for the Juke the guy was telling me all sorts of bullshit and I quickly knocked him down from his high step so much so that he tells me how knowledgeable I am and then brings out his manager to talk to me before I left. He legit kept me there for 5 minutes while he went to get him so he can speak with me.

 

Some good news !!

So I went to the dealership today, they had 1 black 2010 Sport, test drove it, love it. Came back inside to negotiate and first they said they'll do it for around 800$ + my car, I told them I'm not really interested in black and would like for them to get a blue or white one which they said you need to leave a deposit as we don't have one and would have to go buy one so I told them I wouldn't be able to leave a 500$ deposit today. The guy went back to speak to front desk and came back saying he is able to give me the black one for a flat 500$ including all the fees (title registration, etc.). So I am thinking about just getting the black one and spending that 300$ on accessories.