Hope your dealer gets their act together soon. Some dealers have already stopped selling under CFC (via autoblog.com and autospies.com) due to worries about short funding and actual collection on the rebates. Wonder how many others will be going that way.

 

We took delivery yesterday on Storm Silver Sport AT. Got $4500 for our 113000 mi 1997 Grand Caravan that had "check engine light" (air pollution control device issue) burning even after 2 repairs totaling about $600. Dealer matched a Costco price from a much more distant dealership. Didn't push too hard for "salvage value" but did remove and give away head rests.

We had looked at Fits back in March but with the complexities of accommodating dog, kayaks, bikes, we decided against replacing our "haul" vehicle at that time. Cash for clunkers was a real motivation. When we did decide to purchase, I was able to have the dealerships bid by phone for my business. A minor annoyance was having to visit the Department of Motor Vehicles to get our title issued without showing a lien since we had neglected to do that when car was paid off. The dealership did have a furrowed brow about the previous day's date on the reissued title but seemed to work through it. Took a while though, 2-2 1/2 hours. Love the car.

 

Got my reply back from the Ohio Dept of Taxation,

Like I said in my previous post, I figured this would be the case, considering Ohio's budget issues.

Tedster, have you checked the cars.gov site to see if your dealer has gotten registered? Be aware that they maybe listed under another name and are DBA as the dealership name, so you may not see the actual dealership name on the list.

Like Janizary said, some dealers are stopping the program due to fears of the money running out. The dealership I got my Fit at on Monday was going to stop taking C4C's at the end of day Tuesday. I think they sold about 30+ C4C deals. The Hyundai dealer where I testdrove a Accent SE (nice car, similar to the Fit, but noticeably less zippiness and room) was in The Columbus Dispatch today, they have done 130 C4C deals.

Good luck, I hope your dealer comes through for you, and can get the deal done!

 

Sounds like you did good! Shopping around and getting the title fixed.

It's the biggest little car you'll ever have!

By the way, I saw the royal treatment for a huge dog in a small vehicle not unlike our Fits. The back seats were folded flat down. And where our cargo tray goes, they had a HUGE dog bed, and the dog was VERY happy.

If you haven't browsed this thread, check it out:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...-your-fit.html

 

Hey! Do you all know about the ability to write off the sales tax as part of the stimulus plan?
Economic stimulus bill includes tax break for car buyers: Consumer Reports Cars Blog

New Car Tax Incentive

Tax Breaks In Stimulus Bill for Buying a Home Or a New Car - The Finance Buff

2009 New Car Tax Credit

Check it out people, more potential savings!!!

 

Wow...took the car out to lunch today and was showing it to one of my co-workers when I realized, in addition to getting the best deal that I've heard about on my Fit (details below), the dealer had also installed the rear bumper applique' which retails for $58. Nice bonus on an already smokin' good deal!

Warner


2009 Honda Fit Sport auto

$16,479.00 Purchase price
$ 151.65 Doc preparation fee
$ 896.00 Sales tax
$ 81.00 Title and plate transfer fees
$ 799.00 6 year/120k mile/$0 deductible HondaCare warranty
$ 25.00 Illinois fee

$18,431.65 Total cost

-$4501.00 Cash for clunkers money

$13,930.65 Total financed at 4.44% for 60 Months

$259.32 monthly payment for 60 months

Oh yeah.....the dealer also threw in floor mats, wheel locks, cargo tray, and rear bumper applique'. Not big expensive stuff but $72, $35, $75, and $43 totalling another $225 (at College Hills Honda prices, which are low).

My purchase price was $732 UNDER invoice (not even counting the floor mats, cargo tray, wheel locks, or rear bumper applique' - which would bring that up to over $950 under INVOICE) according to Edmunds who lists an invoice price (including destination charges) of $17,211


Warner

 

Cool, I was not aware of that!

I left the last link because it seemed to explain it the best, down in the comments section, below the article

 

Yep....knew this, but it's an excellent point to make! The finance guy that worked on my deal gave me tax-specific paperwork so I can write off the $896 of sales tax that I paid on my car.

Warner

 

Oh. My. God.

We didn't have our hands on our original title for our clunker (bought cash in 1998) and the dealer told us it was no problem on Sunday when we bought our Fit.

NOW they say, if I don't find my original title by tomorrow, they will "unwind" the deal.

State of California won't get me a duplicate for 4 to 6 WEEKS.

I'm speechless.

Sandy

 

Take a deep breath.

There may be a way...but it requires the dealer to cooperate. Remember that according to the rules, they can't submit a deal without the title (page 96 of "The Rule" pdf). And the reason why it might not have been an issue just a few days, is because I guess the dealer didn't know/realize how quickly the money might go.

If there was guaranteed money for everyone no matter what, through Nov 1, sure, they could sit on the paperwork. But now, time is of the essence. If the deal doesn't go through, they might not get paid.

------

So, there is a way to expedite your title request. If you've already sent one, they might not even have it yet.

You can request 72-hour processing for your duplicate title. You can same-day express mail your request to them. As well as provide a way for them to same-day express it back to you.

Here is the link on DMV:
How to Request 72-Hour Special Processing (HTVR 23)

Can I expedite my request?

Yes. You may send the completed and proper paperwork by express delivery.
Attach a note to the top of your paperwork indicating, "72-hour special processing."
Please mail to:
Department of Motor Vehicles
72-Hour Special Processing - MS D238
2415 First Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95818
NOTE: If you want the item returned express delivery, you must include a prepaid return express envelope.


There is an additional fee for expedited processing, and certain requirements for payment type. There's a phone number there for help in computing fees.

Get that all organized, today, now, and contact the dealer too, and ask them if they will consider HOLDING your FIT on the lot until the end of next week (OR WHEN THE MONEY RUNS OUT FOR THE PROGRAM).

If you have an alternate form of transportation other than your clunker AND your Fit, you might even say you can leave your clunker there as "good faith".

Expedited title, should arrive at your place no later than the end of next week.

------

Are you able to afford the car using an alternate plan? Do you have any money saved up or is your clunker worth maybe a bit more than they gave you for scrap, so that you can do the deal in a regular way (financing, down payment, etc)?

I ask that, because THEN the dealer loses NOTHING. And you keep your car. So you would potentially have TWO deals for the same car.

One conditional on providing the title to them before the CARS program runs out of money. So while CARS is active and you're waiting on the title, that's the deal that is supposed to be processed.

However, if the money runs out before you get the title for the old car, then the SECOND deal goes through. Using your old car as the trade-in. Plus whatever else you can toss in for the down payment.

You still get to keep your Fit, and get rid of your old car. The old car doesn't get scrapped unless it needs to be scrapped.

I KNOW it's not the same as getting a super good deal with the large rebate. But there are a bunch of people that don't qualify for the rebate and buy cars anyway. I didn't get a giant rebate on my car, I've paid more for my Base Fit than people can pay for the Sport with Nav under this CARS program. I wouldn't have qualified anyway, my old car had mpg over 18.

I'm not upset about it. And perhaps you've noticed I'm very excited for everyone that DOES qualify. I'm happy that people are getting this rebate. I'm bending over backwards to try to get the latest information out to people so they can use the CARS program.

-------

Remember also there is that new car tax credit, which may apply to you, if you cannot get in during the CARS time. That's a savings for you.

------

Take another deep breath.

 

Tidewater Blue Fit Sport AT, with wheel locks, $13,570 out the door. No surprises, no attempt to upsell me (other than extended warranty). Martin Honda, Newark, DE. The entire sale took about 2.5 hours, including waiting for faxes from GEICO, since we didn't have the VIN before today.

Walking in with your own copies of the CARS forms and regulations helps, as does having all your paperwork in order.

 

TaffetaWhite,

Thank you for the invaluable information! I thought I'd covered the entire DMV site, but obviously not. I even called DMV today for help and they didn't direct me to this option. Hmm maybe I should just fly up to Sacto for the day and do it in person?

The annoying thing is that they assured us that the DMV duplicate title request form was acceptable. Apparently it is, for conventional business, but not for this.

Thanks again, will let you know how it turns out.

Sandy

 

You can't do it in person, I already thought about that. LOL! They don't allow hand delivery of the paperwork, it has to be mail processed.

I called DMV too, and quizzed the person extensively. I had the DMV website up while talking to the young lady at DMV and made SURE I could find it online before letting her get off the phone. I had to ask her what to search for on their site in order to get the correct results.

If there is a way to attach an additional note to your paperwork, I'd go ahead and state the reason you are desperately needing the rush service is because of the CARS program. I'd say that you already requested one via regular sources, but the dealer changed their mind on what could be used and now you REALLY need it in a jiffy.

They probably don't point everyone to that option, because they don't want everyone using that option. It should be a "special circumstances" option, that's why they can get it done faster. The fewer people that use it, the faster they can get it done for special cases.

------

One more note...depending on how fast the money is gone through may well encourage additional funding for the CARS program.

Check the "general" gauge here tomorrow morning:
CARS.gov - Car Allowance Rebate System - How To Qualify - Formerly Referred to as “Cash for Clunkers”

This morning was 858 million for autos and 74.5 for the trucks. If there is a huge drop (and there will be as more deals get through the computer system), call your Congressperson.

Start making calls and sending mail and email to any related political person who can pass on the information that you really WANT to buy a car, and you HAVE the new car, and they want back and money is running out.

If enough people do that, it may well spur additional funding. Besides, all you can do is wait for the title to arrive anyway, can't make that go faster once it's in the works. Make use of the time you have to help get more funding, so you CAN have that good deal!

 

I traded my 1989 Chevy S10 Blazer for 4500$ for my new SSM Fit Sport AT. My blazer had 146,000 miles and i originally bought it for 3200 (pretty good investment return after 60k miles), it was a great truck and i was really sad to see it go, especially to be scrapped when it still worked so well. I spent alot of time working on it (did all of my own auto work, sigh, cars were still simple then)

Anyway, my salesman wasnt very knowledgable or helpful, the dealership didnt really do much to help me get things in order and i had to go back several time to resign paperwork. But hey $4500 ill jump a few hoops.

My dealer actually let me take the car the week before the "cars" program actually went into effect. They had the make model and color i wanted, in stock (they had like 10 fits!).

Love my new FIT!

 

Hey Sandy, that was the dishonest dealer anyway...the ones who charged the bogus fee that they aren't allowed to do. They might have done this kind of thing to several people, the telling them "no problem" and then demanding the car back.

Check the funds tomorrow morning on the CARS site, and if they are a lot lower, go ahead and give them back the car. Take your clunker, work on getting the title, pressure local politicians, and look for an honest (or more honest) dealer. And talk to that new dealer about working on a deal.

You might also contact the newspaper, with your story. Newspapers cover the upside, but they haven't done a story like yours (that I have seen).

 

Well, at the risk of sounding like the girl who cried wolf, after taking off early from work to tear my house apart, I actually FOUND the title, in all it's pristine glory. I really had no expectation that it would turn up.

TaffetaWhite, I'm sure that the info you posted is going to help someone else. Maybe it should be in a forum sticky for others who think they won't be able to participate in the CARS program in California because the title is AWOL and the replacement time is too long.

One more thing that was really upsetting about the whole thing, was that we had dropped the insurance on the clunker the day after we handed it over - and so technically if we unwound the deal, the clunker would no longer be eligible due to the lapse in insurance.

As for the possible dishonesty issue, I really think that the problems we have had are more due to ineptitude than bad intentions. We chose this dealer in part because they had an "A" rating with BBB.

Thanks again,
Sandy

 

Woo hoo! I bet you feel so much relief. :-) Go and get your Fit then.

 

Yes it would help immensely to have the entire CARS "The Rule" printed out, and pre-fill out the forms so YOU know what info you have to provide.

You did a great job, and now you get to enjoy the fruits of your labors...your new FIT! Congrats.

See if you can catch your TWB changing colors...LOL! It's a chameleon color!

 

YAY SANDY!

And you could be right, they may have seen the "you can have $50.00 for fees" part and missed that it's supposed to come from the scrap value.

They could have their own deal bounce back, because of that, if they don't work on fixing it. But that would be THEIR problem, THEIR error.

P.S. where did you find the title hiding?

 

Another success story. Well, you got the car and the rebate! Remember that it's new to them too, the CARS program, the rules and requirements and all the forms.

Just like any other business, some will be on-the-ball and some will be a bit slower. And, remember, all the people that did pre-deals, like with Hyundai, they ALL have to return to fill out the new paperwork. It's not like Hyundai got the paperwork before anyone else.

And you NEEDED a new vehicle, as that Blazer wouldn't last forever. Plus, you'll be saving at least a third on gas, while cutting your CO2 by about 40%.