Hi everyone. I've been perusing these forums for about a month now, but this is my first post. Glad to be a part of the community. Anyway, I'm super excited to get my hands on a 2015 White Orchid Pearl EX 6MT direct from the factory, despite the (relatively minor) quality issues I've been reading about.

I've been waiting about about two weeks to take delivery of my sweet piece of Mexican-grown rice, but I'm starting to grow impatient. I should have taken delivery by today as I was promised to have it by "the first week of January." Turns out, according to the dealer, that there's been an unforseen and uknown delay, and, as of right now, they're not sure when it's going to arrive. Apparently communication between the factory and dealers is piss-poor.

I know patience is a virtue, especially when getting an untainted car direct from the factory (and paying invoice instead of MSRP), but this is starting to get ridiculous.

Has anyone else experienced a similar situations and, if so, how long was yours delayed? Thanks!

 

I went to my dealer in April and said I wanted a Fit. He said they'd have them in about a month. It's that "Freedom of Speech" thing that's causing all the trouble.

I finally got a car in NH at the end of July. My son got his three days later about an hour from where we live. The local dealer never contacted us. I was following every dealer in the northeast, and they would say whatever entered their heads.

Be patient. It will arrive, and you'll love it.

 

Waiting 2 weeks is nothing. The car is in demand. You're lucky if you don't have to wait 2 months.

 

The biggest problem they seem to be having is not communication between dealers and plant, but between dealers and the shipping company - that's the one area they are really having issues, with the new plant and using new carriers.

 

Sorry to hear of your delay's. I was lucky enough to pick my fit up today in the color we wanted. They are moving off the dealer lot's here NY pretty quickly.

 

Invoice?!?! I'm wondering if paint issues are holding up production at the factory. I see 2015 Fits in one majority color. Modern Steel Metallic. They are everywhere. I have yet to see red, white pearl, yellow or the purple. Well, the dealer had one purple but it was a CVT.

 

I put a down payment on an LX CVT on December 13th, and the dealership swore that it would only be a couple of days since the car was already in the US and en route to them (so this was not a special order - the car was in their inventory and had a VIN). A month later, still no car or definite delivery date. If it's not here by the end of next week, I will be trying to get my downpayment back and going elsewhere...

 

Perhaps it's Oregon versus Florida, but I got my red EX in June and I've seen two others. Also several silver, two blue, and two white. But only one MSM, one PBP, and one black. Yet to see yellow however.

 

I bought one in NH and another in NY, and there were no choices. If I hadn't put a deposit on cars that were in transit, I'd still be waiting. That was at the end of July.

 

Why surprised?

 

Hey things happen! The vehicle may have very well been damaged in transit. Not at all uncommon. Dealership said there was an unexpected and unforeseen delay.
Sounds to me like it got damaged. Just relax and wait for the perfect vehicle. Coming from Mexico, I would expect a couple of months for delivery.

Also with case of the vehicle supposedly in transit and had a known VIN at the dealership. Probably damaged somehow. I do know shipping from Mexico to USA isn't as straight forward as you may think.

Let tell you a story. I own a 2014 Ford Fiesta. I have been on this forum because my girlfriend and I are considering a new FIT for her use.

My Fiesta was a build and order and took me 11 weeks to get from order to delivery. Still, not a long time. The Fiesta is assembled in Mexico. I did get details through a Ford Customer service rep of my build and transit. I forget the exact city it was build in. It was shipped from the factory by rail to a port by the Gulf of Mexico. From there it was transferred to cargo ship and shipped to port in Baltimore MD. From there it shipped by truck to my dealership in PA. It was not a simple and straight forward shipping process as you may think. Depending on customs, it may take considerable time getting it out of the country or getting it in to US.

I also follow a Ford Fiesta forum. It is watched over by Ford reps and sponsored by a couple different Ford dealerships. Customer service reps try to aid in assisting owners who have vehicle trouble and complain on the website. Also they help track status of vehicle by issuing you a private message througj the website or a private email. This is how I learned how the vehicle was shipped and learned the shipping routes and various modes of transport the vehicle incures.
They also told when assembly started, when the vehicle was issued a VIN, when assembly was done, when it left port in Mexico and when it arrived in US and was in transit to the dealership.

Shame on Honda for not providing something like this to their customers. Also if anyone has ever built and ordered a vehicle, my name is the window sticker. From the the time production started the my name was accosiated with vehicle and every step of the way it was know that this vehicle was sold and destined to a specific person. Kinda cool!

 

The point is was trying to get across was that getting a FIT to USA isn't as simple a leaving the factory and driving a truck to the US-Mexico border and then transferring to another truck and driving to it's destined dealership.
Turns out, it's far more complex. It presents alot of variables and reasons for delay and unforeseen damages.

 

Waited five months for a yellow EXL-naiv,which never came in.The dealer made a trade for a yellow car without naiv.

 

Hang in there, it's worth the wait.

The car is fantastic. Can't stop smiling while driving.

 

You got that right!

 

I put a down payment on an Alabaster Silver EX CVT on 7/22 and picked up the car on 8/18.

Went in for my first oil change today @ 7700 miles.

There was not 1 Fit on the dealer's lot which tells me that they are still in high demand.

Hopefully you will get your Fit soon and love it just as much as I love mine!

 

As a Honda salesman, let me take a second to stick up for the supply chain. As dealers, we don't know exactly when a car is going to arrive, whether it be Accord, Fit, Civic, etc.

Honda gives us an Allocation date. For example, as of today, my dealership has a Milano Red Fit EX CVT allocated to us which was assigned to our dealership on 12/23. It was supposed to be built 12/26 and its ETA is somewhere between 1/15-1/19. That car could arrive in February, or it could be here Monday.

There really isn't a way of knowing when the car will arrive until it's here. They don't tell the dealership that a specific car has left the plant. Is that bad communication? Maybe. But keep in mind how many cars these plants make in a day. It's just too much to relay EVERY SINGLE STATUS UPDATE.

If a salesman told you a timeframe for a car to arrive, chances are it's pretty accurate. What do we gain in lying to you about when we get to sell you the car??

Salesmen are just as eager to sell a unit as the owner is to buy the car. Believe me. What gets really annoying is when our prospects constantly ask "when will it be here??".

Sorry to rant a little bit, but the public seems to think every salesman and dealership is in business only to screw people. I'm in the business to make an honest living and for the dealership to profit. I don't enjoy taking people's money unfairly.

Now back to your regularly-scheduled anticipation

 

I'm sure demand is high, but I fear production is low. It's been over six months since their introduction, and it' still hard to find what you want. I've seen only two 2015's around here.

 

Thank you for sharing the "other side" of the car buying equation! However, with all due respect, I don't believe that at this day and age it is impossible to have regular updates on the status. After all, other car manufacturers manage, so I'm sure Honda could as well.
Also, I was told by another dealer that there is a way to see if the car has left Mexico or not. So when, as in my situation, the dealership swears that the car is already in the US and will be here "any day now" it's incredibly frustrating to spend a month waiting and still not have any definitive (or approximate) date.

 

Hello again, everyone. I appreciate all of your responses. Here's the latest news:

As stated previously, I wanted an EX 6MT in white. I had test driven one at a local dealership just before Christmas where they were asking $18225 MSRP plus about 1900 for some options (upgraded security system, wheel locks, splash guards and cargo tray) and to top it off they wanted to finance me at 4.99% through Honda. I said fugg that and I went to my credit union where they offered me 1.9% and used a members only car buying service to arrange the one I'd been waiting for at invoice price ($17760). After this delivery delay we've all been discussing, I decided to go back to the dealership yesterday and negotiated them down to $16988 and had them drop the price on the included options so that I'd only be paying about $200 more than the one I've been waiting for strait from the factory. I'm now a proud owner, have all the extra bells and whistles I wanted, and I'm only paying about 3 dollars more per month than I originally expected. The wait is over and I'm loving my new baby.

Thanks again for all your input. I agree that, this day in age, it's not too much to ask for a reliable, accurate and up-to-date tracking methods so that all parties involved know what's going on. Especially when we're talking about products that cost tens of thousands of dollars.