Funny, but I spent months trying to find a blue Fit all through the northeast. Every dealer charged $19,025. Of course the standard fees would have been added, but the quoted price of the car was always the same. I bought a silver and a black, one in NH and one in NY. The final price of each was almost identical.

One dealer gave us $300 for a '97 Civic with 302,525 miles. I thought that was fair.

 

One dealer gave us $300 for a '97 Civic with 302,525 miles. I thought that was fair.[/QUOTE]

Wow. Over 300k miles on your Civic? That's pretty amazing.

While I've read stories online of people with a lot of miles, the most I've seen in person was 228k miles. It was old later traded her 13 year old Accord for a 2014 Civic EX-L.

Congrats on the achievement.

 

Wow. Over 300k miles on your Civic? That's pretty amazing.

While I've read stories online of people with a lot of miles, the most I've seen in person was 228k miles. It was old later traded her 13 year old Accord for a 2014 Civic EX-L.

Congrats on the achievement.[/QUOTE]

If the auto transmission didn't start slipping in first gear, he'd still be driving it.

 

It's been tried, first by Saturn and currently by Scion. The actual price is set by the dealers but it is the same for every customer.

For me, it was very helpful. I bought an original xB during the feeding frenzy that went for months after its introduction. I paid the same price as I would have later on. Easy and about as quick as it could be with a dealer involved.

Like many, I'm watching Tesla very closely. Their procedures are the future and the conventional dealers are scared to death of it.

 

Why?

And on what do you base this information?

It seems an odd goal...?

~ S.

 

This is based on what Honda has internally told dealerships. At least that's what my dealership has been told.

The why is simple. The Civic is not our entry level vehicle anymore. Actually it hasn't been since the 2007 Fit arrived in America.

A Civic starts at just under $20K, while a Fit is around $16K. Initially, only around 50,000 Fits were imported into the US, which is why it's been outsold by other models, like the Kia Soul, for years. Now with the new factory in Mexico, with an initial capacity of 200,000 units, they expect that to change.

And here's more food for thought. There's rumors that global production for the Civic might be moved to Ohio.

In any case, if Honda can eventually sell more Fits than the Civic, it will be a huge win for everyone. It gives the possibility of more models introduced in the future, better availability and more support by aftermarket tuners.

 

I actually had a great experience with getting my refund. I had a car on hold then found another dealership that I ended up buying from. I had the money posted back to my credit card the next day after I called and canceled! It was a nice and easy process

 

I went from a '96 Civic HX to a GD3. I don't think I'd be interested in another Civic. Mine was great but I like the Fit much better.

If the Fit is supposed to be the new loss leader entry level Honda, what's the next expected purchase up the model line?

 

My dealer had me sign a no refund paper. It had an expiration date in case they didn't come through. They may have refunded if I needed it and raised a stink but I am betting not. It was the first time I had used them and pretty sure the last

 

I'm pretty amazed at how long some of these can last. My '99 Accord Coupe V6 made it to *almost* 300,000 -- I'd guess I was about 4,000 short of it. I got almost nothing for trade -- they were mostly offering me a pittance to take it off my hands (I probably got $300 for it, too, as the other guy). But considering the transmission was slipping pretty badly and about to go and I didn't have time to fool around with trying to get more selling it myself, that was acceptable.

What was even more remarkable was that I wasn't very diligent with the maintenance with that car. I did every oil/filter change at 5,000 miles like clockwork, but was terrible about radiator flushes, other filters, various fluids, etc. Not having done any of the other things is probably what eventually did in the transmission, though surprising it lasted that long with my carelessness. I didn't drive it especially hard other after I got the first 50,000 miles of "wow, what a powerful car" out of my system.

 

I leased a 2015 blue. (Love the blue). Honda Fit EX. My lease is a three year 15,000 mile@year lease. 134.00 @ month. That was with a 2000$ trade in and $1000 cash. I hope I did ok? Any imput? TY

 

I avoid leases altogether, since I try to keep my cars for as long as possible and tend to put many more miles on them than even a more expensive lease would allow.

 

Seems like a good deal to me. The current lease special on the EX Fit in NJ is $169 a month, with $2,099.00. Factor in taxes and fees where you live and it pushes the total out of pocket over $3k.

Based on the info you shared, without asking for any more particulars, it seems like a good deal.

Congrats on the new Fit!!

 

Some dealers do offer non-refundable deposits. It's usually on special orders or vehicles specially brought in. There are extra costs involved bringing in a car that was not in a stores original inventory.

My advice to you and every other member is this. If you don't feel comfortable with the deal or the dealership you are doing business with, walk out.

Only put a deposit if you are sure you want that particular car and you are comfortable doing business with said dealership. If they are pressuring you or use any negative tactics, perhaps you should not be doing business with them.

 

That makes sense. But in some cases leasing with the option to buy can be cheaper than buying in the first place. Here's an example.

When I worked at a Lexus dealer, a particular month you could lease a GS350 with the option to buy it at the end. If you added the amount of payments for the 27 month lease, then add what it would cost you to buy it after, it actually totaled less then buying it up front.

How is this possible you ask? Because the banks often offer extra discounts if you are leasing. It's in the banks interest for you to lease, so you can come back in 27 months and lease another car. And if you don't buy out the car, they now have a fairly new car, which can be sold as a Certified PreOwned vehicle.

Everyone should consider leasing, even if they want to buy, if the math works on your favor.

 

Technically the next move will be a Civic or the new HR-V, when it's released.

 

Since Honda is hoping for Fit to sell as much or more than Civic, I don't believe this is considered a "loss leader" car at all. In fact, ramping up Fit production to sell more cars was one of the primary reasons they spent a lot of money building new plants in Mexico. Just because the Fit is Honda's entry level vehicle and a subcompact doesn't mean they don't want to make money off of it. Civic is the next model up from Fit, followed by Accord. The HR-V is based on the Fit platform, but is geared towards small cross-over and SUV buyers, so I would call it more of an entry level car to the CR-V. The HR-V competes with cars like the Nissan Juke or Jeep Renegade.

 

Absolutely right. And here's another fact. Honda already makes their money by selling directly to the dealers. Obviously Honda spent millions on the new plant in Mexico, but they are not loosing money on the new Fit.

Here's another very interesting fact:

Honda is the only manufacturer who has never posted losses for a year in America. The only one.

I was at Lexus when I learned this and it was mind blowing to me at the time.

 

OK, I stand corrected. I thought the Magic Seats ate up a lot of what would be profit on an entry level car.

 

Not sure what you're referring to specifically regarding the Magic Seat and profit? Magic Seat has been around for a while and has even branched off into other models like the Odyssey. If you're talking about the cost to actually make these, I don't think they are any standout cost in the production of the car itself.