Hi all,
This is my first post here but i'v been visiting this site as a guest for a while. Thank you all for the information provided.
I'm about to pull the trigger tomorrow-----This is what I will get:
Red/White LX,
MSRP $17,270
DMV fees $65
Documentation Fee $289.5
Tax $518 (New Mexico)
Total 18,142.60.
i'm a new graduate and thus qualified for the graduate program. But I have never had any loan before so they can't provide me a lower rate. So far I have 3.59% (negotiated from 3.99%), planned to pay $5000 - $7000 at down payment and get a 60 month plan.
later the sales man provide me a $500 discount, and alone with the new rate it saves me about $700
the final OTD is $17642.

Should I go for that? A not bad deal or i should push harder?

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UPDATE 1/6/2015:
So after I showed some hesitation to the dealer they lowered the APR for me again from 3.69% to 3.19%. I refused all extra packages from them and got the OTD as 17640. The loan interests remain low @ 48mo, about $800ish. Now my monthly payments will be $300 sharp.

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Some thoughts so far:
This is one of the happiest decisions i'v ever made so far. This little car meets all my needs, no more no less.

Pros:
1. Provide a very good MPG. I have to drive my wife to school everyday so I have to make several trips between home-work-school. the superb MPG (will with the fuel price now....) is such a plus. I ran out my first tank at 38MPG with 360mi+, and i put another whole tank with ONLY 8.5 GALLON and now the reading shows a range of 380 miles. So surprised. My old ford taurus has a horrible MPG (about 20). can't wait for the future statistics.
2. HUGE cargo space. It feels a little bit exaggerated to use "huge" to describe the cargo space but IT IS HUGE. on the day1 I went to a flea market and got a desk and chair and they fit in without any problems.
3. The very smart and friendly mid panel. after driving fit for couple days i found out i got spoiled by the bluetooth smart (well i'm so behind on this). I love the technology on it. at 2015 the back camera became standard, my wife just loooooooove it.
4. it's short, so parking IS NEVER A Problem!!!!

Cons:
1. LX provides little extra accessories....no floor mats (wtf lol), no cargo tray. Now i got a cheap set from autozone but the mats does not fit very well. I have to get a good one for driver's side. other two positions (front-right, passenger) are okey with third-party mats;

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APR seems good, but that seems like a lot of money to put down to obtain that APR. Wonder if they would give you the same APR of you put down say $1500 to at least cover taxes and reg and other incidentals. That may be because of your little to no credit history, just assuming.

Always negotiate the actual cost of the car. No matter what all dealerships will fuck you in some way in the financing department.

When I was a college grad I got my 2008. Not wanting to share particulars your deal was much better than mine, but likely because I didnt put as much money down. Since I have traded my previous FITs back to the dealership for more than what I owed ive gotton a better APR than your 3.59% and no money down for the last two FITs. To reinterate, your strongest negotiation position is the resale value of the car. Dealerships make WAY much more money on used preowned cars than new cars. Not to mention the "kickback" check they get from Honda when they sell a car

Hope this gives you some stuff to think about. Cheers

 

Lease and keep the cash in your pocket for vacation. I have an EX. With 3 down my payment is $170/month with 15k miles/year.

 

Take that deal. But if the monthly payment is manageable, drop the financing term to 48 months instead of 60. You'll feel much better having it paid off a whole year sooner. It will also do wonders for building your credit record.

 

I would get a EX, so many more bells and whistles for about 20.00 more on your payment.

 

Go for it man! This was my first car purchase too and I have zero regrets. I would encourage you to look at credit unions for a loan though. Honda wanted to give me a 5% interest rate, my bank offered 3% and I got less than 2% through a credit union. I put $6k down on an EX and pay $180/mo on a 60 month loan.
Leasing is a good option if you don't plan on driving a lot. It wasn't for me though; I got the car in early August and have 12,000 miles on it already.
As for the Fit, you will love it

 

Thank you very much. I'm going to push once more (but i think the possibility is pretty low) on the APR/car itself again.
I don't have to put $5000 - $7000 down. That's my own thought because I want less monthly payment, and tbh i'm not the person enjoy high loan----it freaks me out all the time
Thank man!

 

Like others have mentioned, to each his own.
For me $20 a month comes to $1800 total at the end.
For that money I could take a nice vacation for two, or buy a new laundry pair, or whatever, instead of things I don't need.

 

Exciting! The 2015 was my first car purchase, just like m_x and I love the car. I put 3,000 down and had 1.9% financing from Honda (I'm 30 and have a longish credit history). Someone else mentioned seeing if you can find a lower rate through a credit union. I would second that. However, 3.5% still seems decent to me.

I completely understanding wanting to put more down for the car so your loan is smaller. I put $3,000 down so if mine got totaled the next week, then hopefully my insurance would cover the cost of the car. Someone here mentioned going for a 48 month instead of 60 month loan... if you can safely swing that, I would recommend it. I stuck to 60 month just in case I lost my job, it would give me more cushion. I will make extra payments on the premium when I am able :-)

Good luck! :-)

 

some thoughts and experience updated

 

We have not-so-good financing terms here, 1.99% for 3 years or 2.99% for 4 years or 3.99% for 5 or 6 years.
So it make sense to put a larger downpayment and take a 3-year term.

Or, by the way, if you are afraid of losing your job, it's better to make larger payments and clear the loan earlier. I bet if you do lose it, you won't be able to make any payment, low or high.