OK, I'll break it down. Two weeks ago we visited a regional Honda dealer. We had set our sights on a BOM Sport 5AT and I'd obtained several dealership quotes. Only one of them had an inbound BOM Sport 5AT in a shipment from Japan. So we sat down and talked numbers. The quote I got was for $16,470. OK, so $500 over MSRP but the only dealer in the region with the BOM Sport 5AT coming in. Anyway, after leaving the dealership we were not given a VIN#, didn't put down a deposit, and didn't get a copy of the breakdown of the OTD price. (Stupid on our part perhaps, but we are first-time, somewhat green, new car buyers.) I will add that despite numerous e-mails to the dealership I have yet to receive this information in a hard copy form. So, here we sit, waiting, with a verbal agreement that we will be called as soon as the shipment is close. Perhaps I am paranoid, but I am very suspicious about the whole process. My question is: should I walk away from this, or simply wait it out? Calls to the salesman have been less than helpful, with repeated assurances that he will call once the shipment is close. To cover our proverbial rear ends I am also haggling with other dealers in the region.

Any constructive advice? (ok, apart from the obvious fact we are idiots for not getting any form of paperwork or offering to reserve the car with a deposit )

Thanks for your time!

 

Unless you currently have to walk everywhere, I would wait for a better deal and better service.

If you really really want it and can't wait, then what is stopping you from going back there and putting down a deposit and VIN?

 

Believe it or not, yes, we are first time drivers and don't currently have a car of our own. Since the dealer is an hour + away from where we live it is somewhat a pain in the rear end to be able to get there.

 

I would think that if this dealer was sincere about selling you a car, he would have tried to squeeze a down payment or at least a deposit out of you before you left.

What area of CA are you from? There are responsible SoCal dealers with reps. who are fitfreak members. If you are near the Central Coast or Central Valley or North Bay, there have been a lot of dealers with recommendations from our members.

Good luck- I hope that your headaches go away soon along with your pedestrian status.

 

We indeed did offer a down payment of $1000 on the car, which was even listed on the breakdown of the cost. I suppose at the end of the day I feel like we shooed out the door with nothing in hand. Thanks, I will check for dealer recommendations on here.

 

I think you would've be able to put a deposit on a car that isn't here yet, and without seeing it they cannot verify the VIN. Also, I wouldn't put a deposit on it just yet, as I've seen cars get damaged during shipping and the dealers won't say a word to you, have it fixed and you never know about it since the car has never been registered before...

Be very careful..

 

MSRP Price in SoCal

MSRP $15,970.00 + $595.00 Destination Charge = $16565.00


Your Price

$16,470.00 - $595.00 Destination Charge = $15,875.00

$15,970 - $15,875 = $95.00


Looks like you're actually $95 under MSRP if the price you were quoted includes the destination charge.

 

That is an 'if' and I'll raise you to an 'I wish!'. The price I was quoted does not include the destination charge of $595.

 

I never was allowed to put down a payment even though I offered. My VBP was a no show - the two they got in sold and luckily a deal fell through and I was able to pick up the A/T Sport - so it depends on who you deal with. My salesman hated the Fit, tried to get me into a Civic - more money - more commission so they don't make a lot of money on Fit sales - so they are not committed. I had mine to the dealership on Wednesday to get my accessories and they had a base in the showroom. One lady asked me what I was driving and I told her the Fit she wanted to know what it was. I showed her all the details of the car and even the different seat modes while the sales men in the dealership just stood there watching me! She was thinking that it would be a perfect car for her daughter coming back home from college. She was on her way to talk to a salesman about when the next Fit Sport was due in! Potential Fit Freak! LOL! I think we do a better job of selling this car than Honda salesman do!

Cat :X

 

Cat-

Very nice of you to sell the car for the salesmen. The guy/gal who actually gets the lady's order for her daughter's Fit should give you a free set of mats or a car cover in gratitude. Nice work!

 

i put down a deposit well because i was putting money down anyway
but the dealer had no problem taking my money haha

i should get the car with in the next few days

 

OK, so here's an update on the ongoing saga. After leaving a message with the salesperson regarding our BOM Sport 5AT I spoke to the sales manager. Funnily enough, I got a call back from the salesperson about 20 minutes later with an apology saying that there appear to be no BOM Sport 5ATs in the last delivery. Hm, I think to myself, you mean to say that you already sold it and hoped another one might arrive and we would hang on and wait? So, they say that they have a BOM Sport 5AT sitting at a Honda dealer about 1.5h away and someone owes someone else a favor etc. Well, why couldn't this have been proposed to us at an earlier point in time? Are you not in the business of providing your client base with customer service instead of acting like your pulling things out of your rear end? So, we get the call that the car can be delivered this past Saturday. I refused, based on principle. You treat us this way, you do not deserve our business, plain and simple. We went to another dealer and within one hour got the price we wanted and a pre-purchase agreement with complete breakdown of costs and VIN# - no hassles whatsoever! We will pick up the car this week, so watch this space!

 

Yeah, I think they sold this car out from under you. If you don't put down a deposit, you had better be at the dealer when the delviery truck pulls into the parking lot! As far as I know, no dealer in the Southeast has a BOM Sport with the MT. Only 3 dealers are expecting one to arrive within the next month or so. It's a pretty rare color.

 

no contract, no vin, no deal.

verbal agreement is worthless.

 

Woohoo! Whhhhheeeeeee! We pick up our brand spanking new BOM Sport 5AT tomorrow! And no, we are not in the LEAST bit excited!

 

Congratz!!!! Hope you enjoy your Fit! Hope to seee some pics tomorrow!

 

Nice job- well played! Congratulations from another BOM Sport 5AT owner (bought at MSRP).

 

Okay. I'm jealous. Still waiting on mine!

 

We paid $500 over MSRP, but we got that down from $1000 over MSRP. Dealers here in SoCal seem to be running expensive and they just fly off the lot, if they even reach it without being sold already. Happy bunny here, pictures to follow so watch this space!

 

We did not have to pay over invoice, however, we did put money down for a car that has not yet arrived in Detroit, which is something I have not ever done before.

I wouldn't mess around with e-mail or phone calls. I'd go visit the dealer again. Your physical presence in the showroom changes the situation considerably. On the phone, they might easily dismiss someone, but when they have other customers to consider, they tend to be more helpful in my experience.

Good luck!