And what was the 'transaction fee' ?Anything more than $200 was over MSRP.

 

Hey,
I'm not thrilled about "Administration Fees" either but I have to put one on every car new or used that I sell. It is generally designed to cover the costs of doing business when we sell so many cars close to invoice.

Ours is $249.

 

@mahout

There were some fees, forgot about those. Sorry if I mislead.

 

Got my Sport AT 2 weeks ago in Chicago area for 15,585. That is 1/2 way in between invoice and MSRP. Even though the dealer lied about the price (it was quoted to me in writing at invoice ~15,100 but when I got there there was a 'mistake'), it was still cheaper than anybody around and they gave me a loaner until it came in (one week later).

Of course, all four of my wheels were stolen last night but other than that, the car is great

 

Did you notice the transaction fee amount on your sales contract? Its the easy way to add profit onto the MSRP. Once you paid for taxes, license, tags, and registration, any 'transaction' fee is gravy. Add extended warranties, paint protection, etc and they can easily afford to give you a car halfway between invoice (not including the 3% holdback) and MSRP. There is more than one way to skin a customer. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Be saisfied tho; you aren't alone. We've all been there.
Sorry though that your wheels were stolen. At least your insurance company will be willing to let you choose some nice aftermarket rims with wider offset instead of those expensive factory rims.
good luck.

 

There were no other transaction fees and the price I got it for was with destination fee included. The argument I had with them was that they quoted me 15,157 (which is invoice + destination fee) and I confirmed TWICE that that price included that fee (its in writing) and then when I got there, it was a "mistake" so that $15,585 price is what we agreed on. They wanted to give it to me for $15,827 (15,157 plus the destination of 670) which is where the bait and switch was.

The only things added to that were tax, title, license and "document fee" (standard Honda fee).

 

I paid 16,200 drive out for a base MT with tint and floor mats. John Eagle Honda in Houston had the exact car I wanted in stock. I did the whole deal on the internet using carsdirect.com. Gave the dealer my charge card with 500.00 to hold it. A friend dropped me off at the dealership two days later and I was out of there in less than an hour. Great purchase, great car.

My advice would be just get it now. It's not going down in sales price and nothing can touch it for the money!

 

Document fee = transaction fee. Anything more than a couple hundred dollars was added dealer profit. Normal.

 

What is the 3% holdback, you mentioned?

 

In milwaukee, I have seen a 20k mile base fit @ 18,366 (sale price) and a sport @ 18k with 30k miles. I was told that the new fits are impossible find and used go for 4 grand over new. wtf

 

Dealer principals, the actual owner, gets a 3% fee inside the invoice so he makes a 'profit' regardless. The owner, by the way, is nearly always a single person, not a group. There are other incentives for him and GM etc when they exceed targeted sales.
You wouldn't believe the fighting inside to get allocation 'improvements'. Its a very complicated sales business. Several Honda execs and dealers got nailed; other brands did too so it wasn't all honda.

 

Hate to do this, but I think I've got a related questino....

I'm going to look at a Fit or two today and I'm not sure what to expect. On the dealership site, they have their Fits listed at MSRP. But I don't know what the sticker is going to be?

If it's higher for any reason besides logical things (destination, options, ect) would it be worth trying to negotiate for a lower price? Or should I take it at MSRP and be happy?

Also, this is my first new car buying experience. I have no credit, but my wife does (we just paid her car off today). We plan to try and apply for credit at the dealership, and if that fails we'll be getting a loan through the bank she's dealt with before (Father-inlaws g/f is VP of a Savings and Loan).

And finally, my last question... am I going to need money for this now? I keep reading about the associated fees, but I haven't been able to tell if those are charge on the spot or included in the OTD Price.

And I'm guessing the OTD Price isn't the same as my loan... or is it?

I'd appreciate any insight...

Hopefully the Fit will be the right choice for me! I've done the research and now I'm ready to drive and decide!

 

I got my fit for 18,300 OTD a week ago. They marked it up a little but i am glad i bought it. It is great on gas they are only geting more expensive. I got the vivid blue sport MT so i am happy here she is

 

Picked up my manual 08' Sport Blackberry Pearl this past Saturday at Davenport Honda in Rocky Mount, NC for $16,800 with new tags and NC tax of 3%. Was the best car buying experience I've ever had, did everything over the phone for me and all I had to do was pick it up. This was only one of two BBP's I could find in the state on the lot. Loving the car so far!

 

There isn't much room to negotiate the price, honestly. There are so few of these cars, and the margin on them is so low, that sticker price is the lowest you will get them...The play that I have found is in the dealer add-ons - if the car has had stuff put on it by the dealer, you can usually knock half of that cost off with little negotiating. You probably won't get ALL of that cost taken off, so if they are options you want (wheel locks, for example, or window tinting) then try to get them down to 50% of what they say it cost them.

The problem is, the next customer in the door will take it right out from under you at whatever they ask, so your power to walk out with the sale is gone. If demand is high (which it is) and supply is low (which it is), you are not going to be in the catbird seat you might be at other dealers. You do know that most dealers are already taking deposits for "first refusal" of the '09's, right?

I have a possible Sport AT, in the color I want, coming "naked" to the dealer, and if I decide I want the car, I had better call my sales guy TODAY and give him a check, or I won't have the option. And I expect to pay MSRP for it. They do offer a lifetime powertrain warranty at this dealership, which is a tiny perk but at least it's something. Some other dealers are offering loaner cars for any work over $200, which is something you probably won't ever use with a Honda...so whatever.

Some people hate negotiating for a car, and would rather just pay the bill and go. Some think of it as a challenge. I fall somewhere in between - I hate the games that dealers play and I hate it worse to feel like I've been taken.

As for financing, the dealer will give you the entire value of the car, but perhaps not for the fees, taxes, etc. And the bank will give you less. Do you have any cash you can throw in? Previous car you can sell? Have a quick yard sale?

 

I appreciate everyone's replies, but I really wanted to know if I need money for tonight? Or will they just give it to me if i have the credit? I'm sure this is a silly question, but once again.. this is my first car I'm buying from a dealer.

I have nothing in savings and will not be putting any money down.... so I'm kinda sunk in that department. But my wife hopefully has the credit we need to get it... if not I think we could have financing in a few days from our previous bank.

The dealer I'm going to has 4 Fit's total: 1 base MT, 2 sport AT, and 1 Sport MT

And they do have some dealer incentive... lifetime tires. Don't know what the qualifications are... but another local Fit buyer thinks it's great.

Also, since I told them I wanted to check one out.... the Honda dealer called me twice yesterday. So I know I need to get in there and find out if it's the car for me...

Hopefully I'll be able to report something back tomorrow...

 

We've always put money into the deal, so I just don't know. Have a BIL you could borrow a couple hundred from? You could call another dealership and ask...

 

Maybe if my wife gets her bonus tomorrow.... then I might have like $500.

But we're not sure... I have a bunch of Transformers action figures I'm going to start selling this week but it would only be like $500 also...

 

To be honest, if you don't need the car right this second, you might be better off hanging around the forum and reading a bunch before going over there. You don't seem to know anything about car buying (which is perfectly fine...we've all been there) but these car salesmen do this 20 times a day and you do it once every 5-10 years. The advantage is theirs and they are certainly out to make money. I'm concerned you're going to be taken advantage of if your main question is "do i need a downpayment?"

This is not meant to be insulting but I would hang around for a week or two, ask a bunch of questions, learn from the people here (most are VERY helpful and very knowledgeable) and put yourself in a better position to understand what you're going to be looking at.


The answer is generally "no, you do not need a downpayment" but they are going to run your credit for a potential 18K instead of 13K etc. and the your credit score (and your wife if she co-signs) will determine the interest rate your get to finance for. The higher your credit score (that is good), the lower your financing rate (that is good). If you do not put down a down payment, your payments will be higher per month and you will be paying the finance company more money in the long run. If you're concerned about the monthly payment, you may be able to extend the term of the loan (5yrs or 60 months is typical) to cut the payment down but again, you'll be paying more in finance charges overall.


For example, I went it and put 7K down so they ran my credit for 11K (approx) and when my score was high, they gave me a low rate. Since there is no early payment penalty (you could pay it off tomorrow if you won the lottery with no penalty), I opted for the 60 month, knowing I'll prob have it paid off sooner than that.

If you have further questions, this is the place. I'm a newbie but some of these guys put the 'E' in expert.

 

Whew! But let's try.
First, although yoou can get the wholesale - invoice - cost from Edmunds etc it won't matter with the Fit (ordinarily you'd be negotiating up from wholesale but not on Fits now) Even if you bought the Fit at invoice the dealer makes 3% of invoice. So you are dealing from MSRP the manufacturers SUGGESTED retail price, which the dealer is not obligated to honor.
Lets presume your trading a car.
Any vehicle you are trading in you will have to find the net value, that is the difference between the trade-in value according to NADA, Kelley's. Black Book, etc and what you owe on it, which your financial loaner can tell you. Thats the cash you ae bringing with you to buy. Plus of course any actual cash you have. Warning: if the trade-in value is less than the amount you still owe (its often calculated on the rule of 12,The digits 1 thru 12 add to 78; interest is recovered by the finance in reverse order of the digits. 12/78ths is recovered in the first 12th of the loan, 11/12ths the second 12th of loan, That interest, not the prinicipal. whatevers lefet of your paymenrt after paying the interest part goes to reducing the principal so for much of the loan period you are mostly paying interest and little toward the principle.
Starting with the MSRP PROUDLY PROCLAIMED ON THE monroney label, which should include all manufacturers installed options and shipping charges, subtract any cash value from your trade or wallet you have from the MSRP and thats the basic cost to buy. (if there's no trade-in only your wallet has anything)
Now add the required law mandated charges:state taxes, a % of the purchase price, license. title, Now wecome to the hard part, unrequired by law but rquired charges or fees by the dealer. There's a docukentation fee (many names but its said to pay for dealer internal costs to sell you the car amounting to $200 to $1500, Then there are protection packages for paint, extended warranty, typically about 700 to $1000 - note prefer the manufacturer based ones cause he's not likely to go away, or insurance that they can con you with.
Summary: MSRP - trade-in net value - cash in your wallet + (taxes, tags, title) plus any other things they can lay on you = out the door price.
You can argue about the amount doc fee, and refuse protection packages and extended warranty.
You mentioned your wife's g/f is an officer in a S&L. you certainly should get him to review all this so he can guide you so you can be well aware of what happens, and taking him with you would be a wise move. Very wise. And no your OTD price is not the loan value; but it can be. Just not the case ordinarily.
Thats it in a nutshell.
As far as payments go you can expect to pay about 20% of your loan value added to the loan value and the sum divided by 60 for a 5 year loan,
Now here's an example:
MSRP $17800
Trade in -3200
Cash -200
Purchase 14400
sales tax 432 example 3%
license 120
title 60
min cost 15012
doc fee 600*
Ex Warranty 1400*
'protection'* 800*
Final* $17812 if you ate all those costs, at least only doc fees of some kind will be actually required.

And in case the loan value of $17812 would have payments of about $356 per payment over 5 years. If you are talked into insurance too that is added though your insurance company would be better unless they aren't real happy with you.
Anything you don't need do not accept. Here's where a g/f would be good help. And don't take these examples as gospel they are only examples.
Good luck.