i just spoke with the dealership and they told me to bring in my orange honda fit sport a/t to appraise it.
he said since i have below 1,000 miles, i can most likely just trade it in for a new honda fit sport m/t !!!

im meeting him on wednesday. but my car has a nasty scratch on the front right bumper... everything else is fine. would this make me pay extra to trade it in?

pray for me. wish me luck. break my leg for me.

 

Wow, so the dealer said it might be possible to do a straight across deal! That would be awesome, good luck and keep us posted!

 

With the auto being , what, about $800 more (MSRP) that isn't a bad trade for the dealer! I am sure the depreciation is minimal, I mean come on, it is a Honda!

Good luck!
t

 

I'm a little skeptical of the whole thing. The dealer never loses, so be careful with extra charges or hidden fees. The scratch will probably be a few hundred dollars. A car loses 30% of its value as soon as you drive off the lot. I do hope you get a good deal, but I doubt it will be a free trade.

 

That may be true with other cars, but the Fit keeps it value (and sometimes goes up in value). Check out cars.com and do a search on Used Honda Fits, they are listing for 20K in Washington state!

 

you met a good salesman, he told you what you want to hear so you would go in. highly doubt they would straight swap you for a new car.

 

While the depreciation is minimal on most Japanese imports, the biggest drop in value happens right when you sign the paper. I'd be weary of a swap, you might end up with a "demo" fit sport. Just make sure you read the contract!

 

what is a "demo" fit sport?

 

technically "new" (as in not registered) but used for a few hundred or thousand miles by the sales-force, maybe as a loaner or their personal transportation.

t

 

demo is the car that the dealer let's people drive and show people

 

Unless you're in close with the owner of the dealership, the mentioned straight trade to new is unheard of. Let us know how/if that works out for you. Try reselling any same-year model vehicle and you're going to lose $$$.

 

sure will. I'm ambivalent about this situation. The dealer said they have an overstock of manual honda fits because it is a honda "superstore" so I'm quite frankly happy. This gives me an advantage for haggling.

And the guy was sick today because he was under the heat. So I'm going tomorrow and get my car appraised.

Any suggestions of what I should and should not be doing when I go there?

Thanks

 

A Chevy Cobalt or Ford Taurus, maybe.

With that statement, you're saying that a base Fit is worth roughly $9600 when you leave the lot. It's simply not the case.

I was offered $11,500 last winter for my Element, and that was on a TRADE at a Honda dealer. It had 75,000 miles on it and was 3.5 years old. That's almost 60% of original value, after 3.5 years and a fair amount of mileage.

I'd say these days, with most Japanese cars, you are looking at 10% or so immediate depreciation, but it's pretty amazing (sometimes downright ridiculous) what they are worth down the line.

 

you were right on the money.
they took a long time to appraise my car.
after he came to me, he said that i had to pay $1,000 USD more to get an 08 manual one. he said he couldn't let me trade it in for a 07 one, which i specifically told him that i wanted the 07 one.
Out of rage, i just left without saying a word.
he said he'll call me back as i was leaving.
meh

"the dealer never loses" -samofny

 

$1000 plus tax title and plates? or $1000 out the door?

I can understand your frustration (I have walked out on salesman in similar situations) but if it is $1000 total out the door, that doesn't sound all that bad!

t

 

i wanted an 07 but that was for an 08.
if i liked the 08 i would have taken it but....
the new design of the fit looks somewhat "awkward" for me

 

isnt it the same?

 

The "new design" comes out with the 2009 model year Fit. The 08s look exactly the same as the 07s, only changes are tire pressure monitor and new colors.

 

really?
it looked really weird in my view.
it looked like a yaris.
like a rainbow shape

 

2008 Honda Fit - the Official Honda Web Site