Ordered my 2016 EX in PBP back in November, got a 90 day delivery estimate, which expired last week. Two weeks ago received a call from the dealership with a message that the car is on schedule to arrive by end of the month (today). Just got another message that "they'll get a VIN any day now". What does it mean??? Is the car built already? At what point the dealer would get the VIN? Can anybody advise? Should I expect a few more weeks of waiting? I am growing nervous and impatient.

 

Doesn't help answer your question, but I ordered a new Ford F150 pickup truck in 1984 and I got the VIN while I was sitting there. The truck came in exactly on time six weeks later.

If Ford could do that more than 30 years ago, I have a hard time believing Honda can't do that today.

 

If it's one of the ones being made in Japan transportation issues may be part of the problem. Getting goods through west coast ports is problematic. There's a reason why Honda originally switched manufacture over to Mexico. That being said though the time it's taking does seem excessive. You should really be talking to the dealership for answers to your concerns.

 

I don't see that color as being available in 2016. It was in 2015. Is that why you had to order the car and is that color really available on a 2016?

 

Sure about that? Look under Set the Tone, last color listed:

2016 Honda Fit Subcompact - Official Site

 

I am sure I see that color under Set the Tone. But when you use the "Build Your Fit" tool, that color is not available. And I have never seen it as color choice on any dealer pages either.

Build and Price a Honda - Official Honda Web Site

 

Here you go.

2016 Honda Fit EX HF2016375473PRXXX | Plaza Honda Brooklyn, NY

2016 Honda Fit EX HF2016375474PRXXX | Prescott Honda Prescott, AZ

 

That makes me wonder why Honda themselves doesn't list that color as being available.

I also wonder what would happen if someone challenged those dealers and asked if those cars were not really leftover 2015s. They don't provide the full VIN, which to me is suspicious.

And if you look at the stock numbers, they are identical. The web pages themselves are remarkably similar, once you get below the top banners.

Here's a pair of some other questionable listings, both for the same identical car, same VIN and same stock numbers, one in Michigan, the other in California. What's up with that?

2016 HONDA FIT LX CANTON MI | Vehicle details | Victory Automotive Group

New 2015 / 2016 Honda Fit For Sale Sunnyvale, CA - CarGurus

 

Honda dealers have the VIN numbers of all cars allocated to them as soon as they are built. So it has either not been built yet or the sales person/manager is lazy.

 

As I understand it, Honda dealers get whatever cars are allocated to them. They can then trade among themselves if a customer wants a specific color and trim.

Back in "the day" there were a lot of options on a Ford or Chevy. You'd order a list of them and they would build the car to order. It was well understood how long the process took and so delivery dates were pretty solid.

With Honda, they seem to produce the cars in batches. White LXs arriving lately have serial numbers in the 15,000s, 19,000s, or 24,000s but not in between. So, if you want a specific trim and color you have to wait for that variation to be produced.

It doesn't seem that Honda gives their dealers much information about this. They are trained to take whatever arrives on the truck and be happy.

Dealers in turn will quote you a delivery time designed to keep you on the hook. If they said "6 months" you'd probably buy a Mazda, so they will say "about a month" or "about 90 days" and hope that a car shows up in that window. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.

 

Got the VIN today!! Waiting to hear back on when the car is arriving from Japan.

 

Still no car... last update was - expected by 4/12... I really doubt it will happen. What is going on?? They'll start producing 2017 models before I get my car...

 

Here's an example westbound Ro-Ro (roll-on, roll-off, the kind of vessel used to ship automobiles) schedule. (Couldn't find any eastbound ones.) Baltimore to Yokahama is around a month. Eastbound might be a few days faster wince there might be more direct routings from Japan to the NY area due to volume. But there is still queue time from the factory to the port, from the port onto the ship--not like FedEx with daily departures, and then from the arrival port to your dealer. Yours is probably close. Hang in there. Good luck!

 

Finally got my car on April 21st. The dealer threw in wheel locks and a moonroof visor to somehow compensate for the wait. Couldn't be happier with the car!