Exactly right. You want to play now, you're gonna pay. So many things work this way. Look at LCD TVs. Who was more right; the guy who's enjoyed his since 2003, or the guy who got one much cheaper this year?

Mav, keep the hope alive on getting that Fit under MSRP in less than one month. Unless you're friends with the dealer, that wont happen.

Civics eventually went under MSRP, but they also made a lot more of them too (compared to the Fit) to offset that high demand.

I'm an old guy; i dont care if its MSRP. That'd only be 15.5K for a Fit sport, or thereabouts.

 

I don't think it matters how old you are. The point is why spend money in such buorgiesie way, seems wasteful. Besides you guys do the math..if the average dealer is only getting 2-3 Fits and has a line of people waiting to buy do you think he's going to sell for 15.5?

So by your logic the guy who payed $1K for a xbox 360 is smart? I don't think spending an extra $600 to be the first makes sense? Who are you in competition with? Or the guy in Texas who paid $52k for a S2K did an intelligent thing..seriously people..The fact remains the same "impatience will cost" LCD's actually dipped a signifigant margin within the first year of consumer launch btw...But you also have a very valid point if it trully makes someone happy to be the first, then their is no monentary value on that..This is also true

 

If it wasn't for Scion, Honda would not be bringing the Fit to the U.S. And if it wasn't for the Fit outselling the Xb in Japan, Toyota wouldn't have brought the Xb to the U.S in the first place.

These b cars are on the dealer's lot to create traffic first and foremost. I think Honda dealers letting a Fit go at MSRP is going to make them swallow hard. Honda is looking to turn that Fit customer into a Civic or Accord customer and I imagine that's going to occurr on a regular basis.

Last compact I bought was a 2002.5 Protege5 with full power, CD, moon roof and roof rack for $15,500 before TTT. With a 130 hp bullet proof cast iron block engine (like those old Honda engines that last forever), alloy wheels and four wheel disc brakes, that thing was a steal in comparison to a Civic.

 

I've had a 1985 GTI, a 1995 Jetta GLX, and my wife had a 1985 Cabriolet. We didn't have any unusual problems with any of them. Point is, VW's are out of the running due to cost.

I am going to buy the Fit. I'll be getting it as soon as I return to the U.S. in December. By then, all the initial fervor will have died, I will get a Storm Silver Sport 5MT for a decent price. In the meantime, keep the posts going even after all of you get yours. I will be living vicariously through you.

 

I think buying the fit in December is a wise move! I am also going to be buying mine December for 2 reasons...
1) Let initial frenzy die down.
2) See what model changes occur for 07..My feeling is Honda will be offering sunroof and cvt by then, so it's obviously worth waiting for..If nothing changes for 07 model year I can get a good deal on the older 06 model...win win situation

 

OK, I broke down and went to the Honda dealer yesturday. I asked if the had an info or broacher for the FIT. They said that the car will be there before any info or broachers arive. Also talking to them I got the feeling that I already knew more about the Fit than he does. Turns out I was right. He said we probably knows just as much as you right now. But if you would like to put down $500 I will try and locate one for you when they ship. He said his company owns 27 Honda dealerships in the US. I asked for a black on black Fit Sport with a 5spd. He said that out of all his dealerships that 5 (FIVE) Fits meat my specifications in the first shipment. NONE of which will be in Michigan, my home state. I will most likely buy a used car for now then trade it in on a Fit 6 months to a year down the road, when I can order what I want and not rush into it as I am 2 months away from lease end.

Nissan GOD

 

Uhm, the Fit will be sold as a 2007 model as of April, like they did with the Ridgeline. Don't expect many changes in the 2007 calendar year, unless they end up with a redesigned 2008 model in November.

 

Yes I realize that..I bet the Fit that comes out Jan of 07 will have sunroof and cvt, this is what I am really waiting for

 

Once I’ve driven a Fit, and decided that I like it, I’ll be trying every possible method to get a sunroof equipped Sport built, with heated mirrors and rear disk brakes, with a manual transmission of course. Odds are if there were more people capable of waiting a few months for delivery, they’d probably be more willing to offer them in the NA market.

There’s power in numbers!

 

I'm not saying that I'm getting the Fit for under MSRP within a month of release. The Fit isn't even for me but for my wife and shes in no hurry either. Nevertheless the Fit will start selling for less than MSRP within a month. It will happen. Why?

The Fit isn't a low production, limited car. After the initial shipment, the market will be flooded with them and there will be plenty to go around by May.

The Fit is not a Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari, or any other high end brand. Its Honda's 5 year old base model entry into the NA market. With the exception of limited production, high end sports cars like the NSX, Integra Type-R and S2000, Honda usually cannot command a MSRP price for long. Not that Honda is bad, I love Honda and have owned four Hondas my life, but in this country, Honda is not known for its rich history in motorsports and being an elite luxury brand. Hence Acura was born, because no ignorant redneck would buy a $50K Honda, but they would buy a $50K Acura.

And above all, the Fit is a entry level, b-segment car. Truth be told, most Americans will just see it as another cheapo piece of crap car and won't look twice.

And yes I do have a few hookups at Honda and local dealers. Most likely we'll be getting ours for invoice in May/June.

 

To those of you who absolutely can't wait to get your Fit......don't try crack cocaine.

 

Everybody's in a different boat. If you've got a nice or decent ride and can wait for the Fit to be sold at invoice that's cool. However, life is short. Let's say you've got a young recent college graduate or someone who needs new wheels. You know, you're only young once, you'll probably have a wife and kids in another 5 or 6 years. Say you wait 6 months on buying a Fit hoping for $1,000 off meanwhile buying a POS beater for a ride. You've now spent something like 20% of your single carefree days riding around in a POS beater to save what, $1,000. You will make many thousands in the years ahead but you'll never get that time back.

As for the old farts, if the Fit is what they want for their urban/suburban lifestyle, easy to park, scoots around in traffic soo much better than a lumbering gas hog SUV, a $1,000 is nothing. Be interesting to see how many of the autotragics are bought by people 50 and up. And that Honda dealer would just as soon sell them a Civic or an Accord. Those will be below MSRP.

I don't think Honda has any plans to make Japan (higher labor costs) produced b cars a big part of their future. That strategy is for Accura.

Finally, reality is as insurance rates point out, accidents happen more often to drivers below age 25. The Fit is probably a lot safer for that than the average alternative mode of transport of someone sweating $1,000.

 

Young people typically are on the low end of the pay scale. They are the ones who need to conserve spending more than anyone else.

I won't be waiting 6 months to buy a Fit (if I buy one). I've bought enough cars to know that I can negotiate a good price within the first month of release. But I'm really wasting my time with all this. Some people don't common sense when it slaps them upside the head.

 

There's something to be said lining up the exact car you want now vs. taking a risk that you may shave a couple of hundred off the price but say settle for second choice color.

The real reason Toyota did the Scion no negotiating the price thing is because the primary purpose is to create floor traffic. If someone does buy a Scion, Toyota's hoping they buy a Toyota Camry or up next time.

You have to factor the huge difference between Japan and U.S. car market. In Japan young people have to buy new practicaly because of the very strict Japaneses regulations which get the old cars on a ship for export. In the U.S., it's way different. Honda sees young people in the U.S. primarily buying used (for myself, I don't even like to walk on a used carpet, I want new). This is also why the U.S. will never see the hot b cars because Honda has the more upscale Civic Si for that. Can't afford it, Honda figures you'll buy used.

Couple of bottom lines:

1. Honda is not going to cannibalize its existing line up to get into the b car segment. Not going to happen.

2. Honda has a corporate philosophy of protecting used car values. Look at the Ridgeline vs. Titan. You can buy new Titans for what a two year old used one has to sell for in order for the owner not to be upside down on the loan. Ridgeline, Honda cuts production.

My advice for someone needing a car and wants new is get down to Honda now and put your choice on order. Soon as people see them, you'll not get your color choice (we know that game!) for under MSRP for many months.

 

You could not be more wrong.

If the dealer doesn't have the car of your color and option choices, you can always have them order it or perform a dealer trade. And more than likely, for a car like the Fit, if one local dealer doesn't have a certain color, the other local dealer down the road will.

Your biggest mistake is your thinking that the Fit will be some rare, exclusive car when in reality its far from it.

 

Why are you guys that surprised that the base FIT will be 14K? The Scion xA is about 13.5K base... but the FIt features more room, more horsepower and more airbags.

 

Perhaps we could all agree that if the gas situation goes sour this summer, say $3.50/gallon, the guy that pre-ordered his Fit is going to be feeling pretty good about his decision to do so.

 

I never suggested that I or anyone else should pay above MSRP for anything. I did recognize that people do in fact do that in a low supply/high demand situation. What I specifically said was I'd pay MSRP for a Fit and not be particularily bothered by it. I wouldnt go a dollar above that just on principle.

I dont believe dealers are actually going to "markup "Fits. But I do think they'll ask for MSRP or damn close to that for a while. Just taking 100-200 off to appease a customer on the spot, I wouldnt consider proving me wrong. They'll get MSRP or really close to it for 2-3 months or more. And if you hear of someone that claimed to get 1K or more off, you can bet he got taken on something else, like his trade-in or his financing.

 

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

Your assumption is wrong because you are assuming that the Fit will be rare and limited, which it is not.

I think there will be plenty of Fit's to choose from by the summer. The Fit will certainly be a popular car and a definite sales success but Honda is planning to send at least 33K of them our way this year so I think there will be several of them available from local dealers at any given point after the initial April 20 release.

 

Initially I think this car will be much more rare then a current Civic or Accord because of the fact that its a brand new model in the US and Honda wont flood this market with them without seeing first how this market reacts to the car as far as hype and sales. Im not sure if that 33k figure is set in stone but im if things go well then we might see all of that 33k come over before year end but that figure can be altered if Honda has a ton of these left at dealerships collecting dust, we have to wait and see how the public reacts to this car. A small forum like this represents less then 0.5% of the US general public so even though hype is high on this forum, more then likely we wont be the biggest percentage of buyers who decide to buy a Fit, same way it is with Scions.