My Fit got to totalled last week. Wanna get a replacement and can't find one anywhere!! Went to 3 dealers and they all said they were waiting on deliveries. Something going on?

 

high demand.

 

More likely low supply. The HR-V is now being built in the same plant. And they are, apparently, trying to build supplies if it at the expense of keeping a full pipeline of Fits.

 

It's a strange move on Honda's part, if you ask me. The Fit was selling well, and they decided to stop offering it for months at a time. Hmm.

 

I did a search on cars.com, for a new Honda Fit, within 50 miles of Los Angeles zip 90010, and it came up with 98 hits. Can't speak to the trim level or color, or even if they are on the lots (might be in transit, but they are out there. I suspect you will need to expand your search radius and start calling dealers further out from your local area.

 

So in one of the busiest markets in America, they have less than 100 of them. That's pretty telling, I think. Do the same search for a Civic or Fiesta and see how many there are. (This isn't sarcasm, I'd really like to know the numbers.)

 

Here in Ontario, Canada, I checked a couple of weeks ago and there were 10 2015 LX 6MTs in the whole province of 14m people, and no 2016s. I was thinking about alternatives, but could not think of anything suitable, not even a Golf.

If you need a car NOW, then maybe rent for a while, like a couple of months? I really think Honda is making a supply mistake. No supply means no sale, which means Fit sales will be negatively impacted this year. There's only so long that people will wait.

 

> There's only so long that people will wait...

My well-informed and very-believable salesman explained that Honda was trying to lower the number of Fits produced each year. I surmised that it would increase Fit prices (supply and demand) and possibly divert impatient buyers to higher priced Honda models. Maybe the Fit is a sort of loss-leader to get people into the showroom.

Think about it. Honda just wedged a new model between the Fit and the CRV. The HRV is made at the same plant as the Fit. Honda is probably expecting some Fit customers to buy HRVs instead.

 

Honda made some mistakes with the Mexican plant. It had a lot of startup problems so the pipeline didn't get as filled as it could have been before they had to switch production to their new showroom darling, the HRV.

This may be good for us, as Honda has stated that they will bring some JEM cars into the US in October. I hope that they do what they say they will!

 

Another thing to think about is that Honda makes very little profit on the sale of FITS- this very well could be a reason theyre making so few of them. And the fact that most people who live in the city that need a car who care about the environment and gas mileage all want these subcompacts- so perhaps the dealerships in urban areas have more of a supply..In all honesty, they are all over the roads here in Boston! All 3 generations can be spotted daily on a short trip. The 2016s are here as well.

 

Well, Los Angeles has many many zip codes. I chose one at random. When we were searching back in June 2014 for our Daughters Fit, we had a list of dealers that we were willing to drive that far to purchase the car. We called everyday, and happened upon a dealer that had just received a delivery that morning, with the car my daughter wanted. We drove 2 hours that night to purchase the car. That is how you need to approach the so called "shortage" problem.

 

Well, Autoland got me the car back in December, so I have gave them the challenge to find me that car I want again. They themselves said they are having a difficult time locating one. I personally searched withing a 250 mile range and couldn't find one.

If I can't get the car in 2 weeks, Honda lost a sale. Too bad, I really liked the Fit, met my needs just fine.

 

There are plenty to pick from..Don't pay MSRP!! You might have to travel a bit and/or be flexible on color and options but you will find one. The vast majority of Fit owners are very happy with the car. Just make sure you get a great deal.

 

As I've said before, Honda offers the Fit because they need to have a car to compete in this market segment. However, because they don't make much money on it, they deliberately keep the supply tight to encourage prospective buyers to "move up" to a Civic, HRV or CRV, where Honda and the dealers make more money.


You'll notice there's no shortage of Civics, CRVs and Accords anywhere, are there?

 

Kind of ironic, that Honda has perhaps the best car in its class, but they act like they don't want to sell it.

 

Have you looked at the HRV (they are also hard to find right now)? I see it as a Fit on steroids. In some ways, I prefer the HRV, because it sits higher off the ground, so your not falling into and climbing out as much. It also gives you a higher viewpoint, which improves your ability to see whats around you. It still has the "Magic Seat" in the rear, and the trim levels closely mirror the Fit (LX, EX, EX-L). Of course, the EX also still has the LaneWatch that so many people like about Honda's, along with the moonroof and push button start.

While I don't agree that Honda is intentionally limiting supply of the Fits to push people into cars like the HRV (I think it has much more to do with the desire to build them in Japan for currency conversion reasons, and the production surplus for the Fit currently available in Japan). I do think the HRV is a nice alternative to other small cars from other manufacturers.

I would pass on either another Fit or HRV personally, and take a look at what Subaru offers, if for no other reason I am not a fan of the solid steel rear axle both the Fit and HRV use in the rear of the car. The Subaru has a 4-wheel independent suspension and comes with what many consider to be the best AWD on the market. Price may prevent you from going that direction however, which is why I asked you about the HRV (which runs just a little higher than the Fit).

If I was in the market for a Fit, and wanted nothing else, I would rent and wait for the new 2016 model and find one that was in fact built in Japan. That could be October however.

 

WSJ Automobile Sales stats

Small cars -5.3% from last year
Midsize cars +1.1% from last year
Large cars -60.8% from last year

Small SUV +15.2% from last year
Midsize SUV +10.6% from last year
Crossover +19.5% from last year

Hypothesis: Cars are selling poorly and SUV/trucks are selling really well. Gas oversupply will continue for 3 more years, Trend will stay the same.

Experiment: Cut Fits, increase HRVs. Reduce the downside risk by making less Fits and increase the upside by making more HRVs. You reduce the number of Fits to match the reduced demand, and increase the number of HRVs to match the expected increased demand.

Outcome: Stay tuned. We're not there yet. Fitfreak posters are outliers.

 

Because, we all know that lower gas prices are here forever, right?


Maybe it's time to sell the Fit and buy a Dodge Challenger, with a HEMI!

 

I have been wondering what the margins are for the Fit. Surely they cannot make much money because they put so many features into this car. You cannot blame Honda for wanting to make a profit. Clearly they know what they're doing they've been around long enough.

I still maintain that the Honda Fit is the best value per dollar for a car.

 

I see this quoted a lot, but the fact is that Honda made enough profit on Fits to import them from Japan where workers make a minimum of $6.39 per hour. They're now making them in Mexico with a minimum wage of $0.62 per hour. Although they may make more margin on an Odyssey they are certainly not selling Fits at a loss.

Honda doesn't have any obligation to service a particular market segment. They don't make a supercar, a cargo van, or a 1-ton pickup. They sell subcompact hatches because they are good at it and it makes money for them.


And proud of it!