Of course they did. I put it in every email to the dealerships, and it's the first thing I said when I sat down to discuss price and terms in person. Not that it didn't stop them from offering me financing, which I politely declined.

 

Car salesmen don't seem to hear you when you say that you're paying cash (or you're financing the purchase without going through their finance department). But like negotiating price, seeing you walking out the door can be an effective way to get the point across. On my last new car purchase, that was an effective way to get him to shut-the-fit-up about monthly payment amounts.

 

I had to tell the guy I didn't want an extended warranty on mine at least seven or eight times. Makes the dealership experience rather unpleasant.

 

One more postscript to this story.

When I solicited all the Honda dealers in my area via email for their best price on a '16 LX / CVT / Aegean Blue / no options, I found I had to read their bids very carefully.

Many of them would list a really low price at the top of the email - then buried at the end in mice type would be the "gotcha."

Specifically, sometimes the bid would exclude the destination fee, the documentation fee (capped at $299 in the state where I live), or both. I got out a piece of paper, recorded all the initial bids, then added the destination fee and the documentation fee to arrive at the total price if not included in the initial bid. Only that way could I really compare bids from dealer to dealer.

One dealer actually submitted a bid of under $16K. At the end of the email in mice type, "excludes destination fee." I can't remember what the destination fee was for that dealer, but the number $833 sticks in my mind for some reason. I rejected that bid immediately because the total was actually more than all the other bids. So I get my vehicle with my $1138 discount from another dealer (the one where I showed the invoice) and take it home.

Couple days later, I get an email from the dealer that excluded the destination fee, asking if I was still interested. I said no, I found a good deal somewhere else and already purchased the vehicle. They didn't stop there - they asked if their bid was competitive. I said it would have been if it included the destination fee. The salesperson sheepishly tells me that the destination fee was included in that sub-$16K price, and that the notation at the end of the email was a mistake. I told them, that cost you a sale, because otherwise I would have purchased my vehicle from you.

Now I don't know if this salesperson was pulling my leg or what. Seems odd to exclude the destination fee in the bid and then suddenly reverse course. But I had already purchased my vehicle somewhere else, so what exactly did they have to gain by telling me this? Wasn't like I was going to purchase another vehicle from them.

So if this story about the bungled destination fee is true, there is an outside chance that I could have gotten my '16 LX / CVT for under $16K. We'll never know.

 

Again it Doesn't matter what you paid, I paid or what anyone else payed. It's about what your local dealer is willing to sell it for or how far you're willing to travel for better pricing. In the burbs of Chicago most dealerships were in unison on price which was their internet price. Not too hard to legally price fix by seeing what your competitors are selling for on the internet. I had to drive 60 miles to Ghetto Honda to save additional money. That was available to me since I live in a major metropolitan area. If someone nearest dealer is 30 miles away, they might not have that option

 

Okay guys I got official numbers since the cars finally came in:


Vehicle Price: $19,835.00
DMV Fees: $458.50
Documentation Fee: $699.00
Tax: $1,282.43
Amount Due: $22,274.9


That still seems high right? I'm trying to find out where there is wiggle room to negotiate. TrueCar is telling me market average for my area is $19,244 which isn't that much off...I guess I can shave off some money from that. TrueCar is telling me MSRP is $19,175 but then the Honda website is telling me MSRP is $18,960 so I'm not sure what to believe.


Here's the site because maybe someone can make sense of it since I can't: https://www.truecar.com/prices-new/h...-pricing/2018/


Still very confused about what is a reasonable price to pay for this car. I was under the impression that Fit's sold for 20k or under, even new ones, and I guess that information is wrong.

 

A number that is total profit. Cross this number out. You should be able to get $800 to $1000 off msrp. plus tax and license. Make sure they don't cheat you on license. Verify that's what goes to DMV if they list that number as DMV. Some states allow them to charge you a fee of $50-$150 to do the registration work for the DMV.

 

Thanks for the reply. I know it's total profit but not sure if I can completely cross it out, they have to make something and I know they won't agree on making $0 from this sale, it's a brand new car after all. And I'm still trying to figure out exactly what MSRP is because I'm getting different numbers.

 

Go to honda.com to find out what MSRP is. The dealer will make their profit without the extra nonsense "documentation" fee. It's just an arbitrary extra markup. Some car salesmen refer to it as the "sucker fee". Seeing a potential customer walking out the door usually convinces them that the customer is not a sucker.

 

Honda's website said the MSRP is $18,960 but Truecar is telling me it's $19,175 so I don't really know what to believe since I thought Truecar was the golden rule of this information.

It's interesting you're telling me I can knock off the documentation fee, I was reading that with most dealerships this is nonnegotiable most of the time so I'm glad someone is telling me different.

 

pumpkin im from homestead which dealer did you buy yours at largo?

 

I haven't bought anything yet, just requested pricing, and yes this is what Largo Honda offered me.

 

Over your concerns about build quality since all new Fits are assembled in Mexico?

Still worried about how a Fit handles in cross winds?

I'm just trying to gauge the sincerity of the OP in terms of REALLY purchasing a Fit.

 

If you want a better deal, you will want to either shop 2017's or wait a bit on the 2018. Dealers are just getting in their first shipments of 2018's and aren't motivated yet to sell them.

I'm seeing only $50 off or so for Internet pricing at dealers in my area on '18's. $500 or so off of '17's. The '17's also qualify for .9% interest rates if that's a motivation. No specials on the '18's.

I know that you see lots of "I paid XXXX" for my new Fit posts and the prices sometimes seem really low. Those are usually from people who ignore the fine print and details. Like they had a trade that the dealer profited from or they didn't bother to add on the dealer fees, tax, etc. to their actual price paid.

In short, Honda's have lower dealer mark ups than most other makes and the Fit is the cheapest car on their lot. That doesn't usually leave the dealer with more than $1,000 or so total to work with for negotiating.

Edit: This is all provided that we're not talking about "dated" inventory that the dealer is motivated to move. Our dealer had 3 SSM Sports with manual sitting on their lot when we bought ours. They were having a hard time moving manuals. Luckily for us, that's the only thing we were shopping.

 

This is 2018. The internet has abundant of information free to you. Google is your best friend. https://automobiles.honda.com/fit#build-price Besides, there is a sticker on the window, it is called MSRP. By law, the dealer cannot remove it until it is sold. Don't worry, the dealer is not in the business of losing money (overall). So, don't feel sorry for them if you didn't pay too much.

 

Most dealers now have a rule that the dealer/document fee can not be removed from the deal...period. The GM's and sales managers have been told by the owners at most dealers to not sign any deal that excludes the dealer/document fee. Even employees pay the fee at dealers I know.

I'm just letting you know in case you run into that.

However, that's not to say you can't negotiate the final "Out The Door" price and subtract that fee from the total you tell them you're willing to pay.

As for MSRP, that's the easiest thing in the world to find. It's on the window sticker. If you want to know before starting the negotiating, go to the dealership after hours and look at the window stickers.

I do a lot of my car shopping at night when the lots are closed. Best time to wander around and look at colors, options, etc.

 

Hi guys I'm back, I've been really busy so I haven't been able to do anything car related for a while. Fingers crossed I'm getting my new Fit next weekend The stars have finally aligned.

I got more information about the numbers I got for 2018.

The initial offer for 2018 was was $19,835 for the "total vehicle price". They got this price from the MSRP which is $18,960 and the $875.00 "Destination and handling" fee. Which sounds incredibly high to me but I'm reading from multiple sources that this is non-negotiable.

There doesn't seem to be much wiggle room here. The only other "fee" in the initial proposal is a Documentation fee for $699 and I'm hearing that those are hard to talk down, I will try though of course.

Is Florida just really expensive or something?

Again, the initial proposal was:

Vehicle Price (MSRP + Destination fee): 19,835.00
DMV Fees: $458.50
Documentation Fee: $699.00
Tax: $1,282.43

Amount Due: $22,274.93

Maybe someone can help me out with how to negotiate this thing.

 

I was at the Harley-Davidson dealer the other day (I'm interested in an '18 Softail), and a quick check of the hang tag showed that they had added the $390 dealer prep fee into the price TWICE on two different lines. This was not just on ONE bike, but EVERY bike on the floor. Obviously, they're hoping the starry-eyed prospect wouldn't notice. God I hate dealing on new vehicles.

 

Here's what's always worked well for me, once I know what car/model I want to buy. Email three dealers internet sales department. Tell them exactly what model and color you want and let them know you are contacting other dealers internet departments. Tell them you aren't going to do the back and forth haggle thing and ask them to email you their best out the door (itemized) price and let them know whoever is the cheapest of the the three dealers will win your business and you'll be in within 48hrs to purchase the car at that price.

 

sound like a scam. just go to the dealer in person and deal