Working on the deal 2011 Fit Sports Auto
we got the car down to invoice price but the dealer add-ons are kill the deal.

example.
- Tint, Wheel locks, Rear bumper protector ???, Pin Strpe... $899
who in their right mind will buy them at $900??

why do they do this? any ideas on what i can do?

 

Walk... no, RUN AWAY!

 

they have the exact color and combo I wanted plus they are willing to sell the car at invoice.... i'm going to offer them $250 for it to see if they are willing to sell it.

i just can't believe dealer will do such of thing

 

Buy the vehicle alone at invoice and avail of the 0.9% financing.

Order your options at College Hills Honda and install them yourself. Get the tint done by somebody else. You'll have enough money left over to buy even more options for self-installation.

 

It's not really selling at invoice if they are adding all that crap on to it. At best, its selling at invoice + $500, and that's generous.

 

I used to be a dealer. Tell them that youll buy it at invoice minus rebates if any and minus hold back. Hold back is what honda gives the dealer for selling it. Seeing as how some are already put onto the car, i would just order it or get it elsewhere.

 

My Honda dealer had added a bunch of stuff to my silver base Fit. The rubber door guard things that go on the edge of the door, mud flaps, floor mats, the rubbery cargo tray, and an alarm. They called it the 'Protection Package' or something, and because of it they wanted something like $500 or so more.

Well I argued about how I didn't value any of that crap so I didn't want to pay for it, and they told me they couldn't remove the stuff because it was already installed and they would just lose money taking it all off.

Finally I asked them to keep my number and call me the next time a silver base came in, and to call me BEFORE they put all the extras on. That did the trick - The salesguy realized I was ready to walk because of the stupid extras. He had the alarm removed in about 10 minutes, and I drove off with the other extras for free.

 

It was the boobs that did the trick

 

Dealer add-ons are sooo killer...however, $899 over invoice is a pretty good deal, even without all the add-ons. The tint and wheel locks are good things to have for the fit. It gets hot pretty fast in that car so the tint would be needed {as long as they give you some kind of gaurantee for bubbling/fading, etc} and wheel locks seem to be necessary as many people are having their wheels stolen.

 

Close to or below invoice is the sweet spot depending on the car and timing.

Manufacturers also send the dealers "holdbacks." Money literally held back until after the car sells. Dealers can sell below invoice and still make a profit.

Dealer add-ons are high profit.

Check truecar.com. Actual dealer cost is about $300 less than invoice.

From their website:
What is Dealer Cost?

Understanding the dealer cost structure is essential to negotiating the best deal. Dealer Cost is an estimated value of what a dealer really paid for a specific vehicle. While every dealer has a different set of fixed and variable costs, Dealer Cost is determined as the factory invoice total, minus holdbacks, customer incentives and any applicable dealer incentives.

 

eggyacid, I ran into the same situation when trying to buy my fit here in Dallas. I ended up buy a nice 2010 with 9k miles on it for $15,8k.
BUT, David McDavid Honda in Frisco had a manual tranny 2011 Sport, those were my requirements, and were willing to sell me the car at list price without charging for the dealer add-ons, it was a really funny phone call with a new car manager.

They had the car listed on autotrader for MSRP, no add ons in the price, I spoke with a salesman and said I would buy one for that but needed him to get me the total price (tax/tag/title) so I could figure my loan price out with the credit union.

A day later one of the sales managers called to follow up, I had never gotten a reply from the salesman, the mgr asked if the salesman told me about the "protection package" on all new cars...went something like this...

"Oh man, seriously? The only reason I called you guys was because you had it listed on autotrader at MSRP, thats all I'm asking, is that a dealer sell me the new Fit at MSRP."

"Oh well, the protection package is great and it has..."

"I know, I know, nitrogen in the tires, tint on the windows, wheel locks and crappy wheel well and door trim I will remove when i get home, all for like $2k?"

"Well our charge is $1,899 for those services."

"Yeah, I'm not interested, thats like $300 worth of stuff, and Nitrogen in the tires is the biggest current scam in the american auto dealers pockets right now."

"Well what if we were to give you the protection package at 1/2 price?"

" I appreciate the offer but I'll just buy a used one I've found thats closer to home."
"Well what if we just give it to you for free?"

"So 30 seconds ago you were going to just profit, a fairly obscene percentage on such a low priced car, but are willing to give it to me for free, and you think I'll still buy the car from you?"

I bought a 2010 that was perfect, Honda certified, and low mileage that was sold by this dealer new in July of 2010 with the "protection package" on it and it brings no premium to the resell of the car. They charged the same for the used car whether it had the package or not. I got mine for like $15,700.

 

pin stripe? yikes...

 

Hendrick Honda in Woodbridge, VA sticks an "appearance package" on - black door edge-guards, miss-aligned black wheel arch guards, and a vinyl pinstripe for $549!

Wheel locks are $249, and they start talking at MSRP + about $900. It's hard to believe anyone would buy a car there.

 

I think the worst dealer add-on I've seen is from Vacaville Honda in northern California. $2,000 for something they called "Touch of Class." $19,000 for a Fit Sport, WTF.

I walked out and went to the other dealer in town. Got a sport plus the add-ons they had on the car already and the add-ons I wanted for $800 above MSRP.

 

one time I was shopping around for a Civic, and the window stick actually had this line item: "$500 dealer markup". You have to give them credit for honesty.

 

Oh yeah, I remember when the Miata's came out in the 80's dealers were charging what they called a "Market Value Price Adjustment" on the cars in certain cities.

I have the pinstripes on my Fit but they are actually pretty nice, very minimal and done by hand, kind of old school hot rod. You don't even notice it honestly, I left mine on. If I get tired of it I'll take it off.

 

My local dealer tried to sell me one with all of the extras on it. Luckily, I walked the lot before we started talking, and found mine fresh off the truck It hadn't even been checked in yet, so they never got a chance to add all of that crap to it.

 

The whole package deals are a joke.. When I bought my 2011 fit sport they had a package on mine which included a pinstripe, door and wheel well guards.. It was an extra 500.. I fought with them until it was free.. Then when I got home I removed all of it.. I'm not a fan of the pinstripe on our fits..

 

They do it all the time. Here, the Toyota dealer DEMANDS $1200 for a wax job. He calls it Clear Coat. I told him the clear coat is part of the paint from the factory..He just mumbled as I walked away.

 

I have to give a big shout out for First Texas Honda in Austin, who sold me a red 2011 base model Fit without any addons. They have a great policy of selling you the base car, and letting you pick the options you want!
I took it without any options, and got my floor mats and cargo liner on Amazon at discount. A very good buying experience!