The last few days in Indiana were fine. Up to high 60s and mostly clear skys. More rain coming soon.

Got the wipers flipped with the help of the dealership- I didn't want to rip anything apart and they were helpful. Picked up a cargo cover as well for security.

Got a winter bag stowed in the trunk area. Sometimes the winter isn't that bad.

Now I am back in Hawaii after traveling about 15 hours. Took 9.5 hours to get to Hawaii from Chicago due to headwind. Sometimes with the tailwind we can do the same distance in under 6 hours going east.

 

Wishing everyone a Happy and safe Thanksgiving and weekend.

Be careful out there and don't forget to:

Shop with gusto... but leave the brass knuckles at home.

 

In the Waipio tech area all day, I found parked a black FIT sport with aftermarket black mesh style wheels and polished lip (not sure which brand- not on centercap) 17x7 with 205/40-17 Falken Ziex tires and stock suspension. HI plate PCRxxx so fairly recent purchase May safety sticker. Looked pretty good in Black with black wheels.

The tires looked too narrow for the rims so it's possible they were 17x7.5 or even 17x8 rims.

 

Spotted another black FIT sport at Pearlridge shopping center.

How come the black FITs get out more often?

Still not seeing very many around yet. Did they stop making them????

Hope not.

 

mutha-oofffah now I have 2 door dings on my pass rear door! aarrgghhh! anyone know how to get a hold of some side door moldings, preferably the jdm stuff?

 

If it is not too bad you can use dentless door repair- works pretty well, rough cost about $100.

There is an independent repair guy that goes to various dealerships.

 

yeah, but I don't want my panels removed yet to do it. I only want to remove them ONCE; and when the new head-unit and speakers go in, then I'll do the dent repair... ANyone know where to get the JDM moldings?

 

I travel to Maui a fair amount and have NEVER seen a Fit on the road or in a parking lot. Whats up with that?

Maybe they have low volume sales. Maybe they all migrate to the other side of the island away from Kahului or Wailuku.

Even in Mililani Mauka Oahu I still only see one or two Fits.

 

I'm seeing a few more FITs mostly Fit Sports.

One silver Sport on the H1 freeway headed west in rush hour.

One Blue Sport parked at Waikele shopping center nearer the smaller shops.

Once in awhile I'll see one on the H2 headed north (happened twice).

Still pretty rare.

 

Hey guys, I'm moving to Oahu in a few months and am looking to get a Fit for my wife. I heard Windward Honda was the best, but I don't want to pay more than MSRP, any advice (looking for a Fit Sport, MT). In Columbia, SC I can get a Fit Sport for MSRP.

 

I haven't checked with Honda Windward in a few months but it might be cheaper and easier to buy a Fit Sport MT in SC and ship it to Hawaii than to buy it in Hawaii and hassle with $2000 markup and 4-6 month waittime.

Email or call Honda Windward and ask for Gunnar or if you have Costco then call the main 1-800 phone number and tell them you want to deal with buying a FIT in Hawaii at Honda Windward and they will pass your info on to Gunnar and he will call you back and give you the lowdown on the FIT right now.

Volume of sales is very very low maybe 3 to 5 each month if that many and very very few are MT and most are Sport AT. Colors vary. 4 months wait is common depending on color needed. $3000 over MSRP still doesn't buy much and colors are very limited, MT still hard to find.

Let us know what Gunnar says. If you have trouble contacting him I will call him for you.

 

Thanks for the info. I emailed them, but no response yet. Tony Group quoted my $18,000 + $500 other dealer fees + TTL for a FIT Sport Auto. Needless to say, I'm going to continue to shop around. I'll let you guys know what Windward says.
To ship a FIT from Georgia to Oahu it's about $1,800.

 

FIT Sport MT is MSRP $15,170 plus $595 destination plus 4% sales tax plus title and license. So it looks like Tony Honda is asking for about $2500-3000 over MSRP. Auto transmission is about $800 more than manual.

No matter what they say it's all negotiable but there are other waiting and willing to pay over MSRP if the color is right or if MT.

I have a call out to Gunnar right now. Will stop by Tony as well.

 

I talked to Windward Honda yesterday, they quoted me $2400 over MSRP for a Fit Sport MT, but could't promise any color. They said if I put $500 down I could have the first shot at the next one they got in. I'm passing on that too.

Thanks for the info.

 

I gave jsabowabo an update some time ago but the summary is-
Demand for auto transmission in Hawaii is much stronger than for MT (that's good) but supply is still very weak with only a few MT ever seen by a given dealership in a year. You can count them on one hand (maybe).

Tony Group has a sale with credit unions once or twice yearly (last was early March 2007) and it is "possible" that they will sell you an "in stock FIT" at MSRP or with good financing if you are a member or become a member of one of the participating credit unions. When I did check in early March they had one white Fit Sport AT in stock.

Demand overall for Fit is down from one year ago. I guess people are no longer willing to pay $2000 over MSRP or more. I think one could make a deal at Tony group or with Honda Windward via Costco buying program for $1000 over MSRP or less (be strong). Supply is still very low each month.

I spoke to one HOM Fit Sport owner at the farmer's market yesterday at KCC and she said they bought their Fit a year ago in Salt Lake UT for over MSRP (deal with the owner of the dealership) and moved it to Hawaii which was less than the $5000 over MSRP that the dealers were asking at that time. She really loves her Fit and it works well for her and her black poodle.

 

I drive a SSM Sport a/t on maui!! Bought in sept of 06. Hubby does plenty of island wide driving an this is what he has seen so far:
1 ssm sport in Kihei
1 ssm base in kahului
1 ssm sport in kahului
1 lm base in kahului
1 bom sport in kihei
1 mr in kahului
1 vbp in kahului

oddly we havn't seen any white or black ones. I do want to ask island honda how many they have sold over here.

 

well getting the 2 dings out of my pass rear door (along with the crease that some freak-ah left from an SUV) and the one on my drivers rear door done tomorrow at Dent Doctors. $375 for all 3 with the crease...people there very friendly! Ordered painted moldings from ebay made for our fit. $120shipped to hawaii.

I'll snap some pics when done. Moldings should be in monday - put on tues morning.

Wish me luck!

 

Good luck!

Hopefully it will come out nicely.

Before and after pics are good.


Still not seeing that many Fits on the road. I think they are still hiding.

 

Still not very many Fits out there.

Once a week if I search high and low I can find one.

Spotted a silver Sport Fit at Farmers market in my area brand new.

This month I think Tony Honda is having one of those credit union sales days with financing from various credit unions and usually if they have any Fit in stock you can get it at MSRP. Shhhhhhhhhh! Keep it to yourself but get out there fast. Check the newspapers or call your credit union. Even if you don't have a credit union you can join and get the benefits.

 

great info. i should HOPEFULLY be getting mine this week. add another black to hawaii's list. gonna start modifying once i finish my night warrior. lol fit cruise??