I think my Honda dealer lied about my Fit

In early July I decided I wanted an Orange Fit, and went to my current Honda dealer who quoted $19,000 without tax (Sport Model). I asked why it was so much over list and was told that there weren't many and that they could deliver the car and other dealers couldn't.

I went to another nearby dealer and was surprised that I could order it at list, so with tax the whole thing came to just about $18,000, $2300 cheaper. I posted at the time a thread called "Will My Fit Arrive" because I was unsure.

My salesperson, Mazen, gave me a card with someone else's name but wrote his name and number, so I guess he was new. Three weeks later I went to check on the car, and he was no longer working there but I was assured that the car was on order and should be in in a few weeks. I even added the choice of Silver instead of Orange because they said the Orange one was very difficult.

At some point I started another thread, "My Fit NOT Arriving" and accused the dealer of bait and switch, and Elmo, properly, castigated me for being inaccurate. He was correct, I think they just had no intention of selling me the car at that price and if I bought another one, that is ok with them. But I think what happened was that Mazen did something that he shouldn't have done and they weren't going to fill the order.

Yesterday I called Honda USA. They told me that 9 weeks was a long time to wait and that Paragon Honda had only one order for a Sports Fit outstanding, and it was Black and much more recent. There is no evidence that the car was ever ordered.

Now I don't know if HUSA is accurate but it would seem that they would know what is being ordered. At this point I'm cancelling the order and I'm curious as to what you folks think about this chain of events.

Reply to
dgk
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Car dealers like real estate agents, doctors, lawyers and politicians are all bottom feeders having little in the way of ethics...

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

Too general. In most things there are good and bad. My doctor is a dedicated guy who is simply one of the best people I know. I work for a public defender office and the lawyers here are also very good people, working for less than they could get elsewhere.

My aunt was a real estate person and did her best to sell houses fairly, without regard to racial steering or other crap. There are also decent politicians who really care about the public good, but they get corrupted by money pretty quickly.

There are probably also decent car dealers but I haven't found one yet.

Reply to
dgk

"dgk" wrote

I think the decent ones for one thing will be found among those who deal online. We're getting some reports here of positive, price-competitive experiences using this approach. Not all, but more than if one shows up at the dealership proper.

Reply to
Elle

We had a similar situation - and the dealer wanted to add $500 'theft-proof wheels' because the FIT wheels were such a high-risk item (though few were/are on the road).

We let our fingers do the walking, and found a car in the desired color and trim at MSRP (even got the IPOD connection thrown in) a reasonable distance from home. We were treated okay, though the 'closer' wanted us to buy the long warranty at an inflated price.

My point is that the telephone is your friend... it's far better than online, because on the phone you can get a salesperson to actively help you. Online you just get in queue.

Good luck!

Reply to
ego

More information. I just found out (from talking to the general manager of the dealership) that usually cars are not ordered directly. Mostly they "look" for them by seeing what is coming in to them and other dealers and trading around. It seems an odd way to do things in the computer age but this way cars are available for immediate purchase. It sort of makes sense. But if you want a car that isn't available that way, you would think they would just place an order with the factory.

This would explain why Honda-US doesn't have any orders for my car from the dealer. It also explains why I don't have a car.

Reply to
dgk

dude, you are SO naive.

of COURSE he's going to tell you that. At least that way, he has a chance of your changing your mind to a different color. Worst case, he's no worse off--he doesn't sell you a car.

you are SO naive.

Go away.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

What the masses of sheeple don't realize, survival is the first instinct of virtually all animals including humans. Hence, lying mixed with an ample dose of cheating serve as everyday tools for the dominators.

Ol' PT Barnum was right except that I think that there's more than one sucker born every minute these days...

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

I have seen Civic LXs sedan at 17,500 on the lot at my dealer. Why a Fit at almost the same price -- and you might be able to deal the Civic down. At

19k you are getting close the price for an Accord LX I4 with a 5 spd.
Reply to
tww

Because I want two things out of this car. One is to be able to throw a bike into the back without needing to get the bike rack. The second is to have a long roof for a 9 1/2 foot surfboard. The Fit is better than the Civic in both ways. I rarely need to carry five adults and there really is nothing that the Civic has that the Fit doesn't that I care about.

Well, not quite right. I assume the Civic has a dead pedal. That's a serious problem with the Fit. Well, history anyway now. My 91 Accord is currently undergoing timing belt (and waterpump) surgery so I'll keep it for another year or two.

Reply to
dgk

But didn't you say that calling it bait and switch was wrong? If he knew he couldn't get it and wanted to offer me something else, that is bait and switch, no?

I'm curious about the way the dealer "find" system works though. Do the dealers pay over the "dealer cost" to get a popular car from another dealer?

Reply to
dgk

As for the "find" technique, I have found that dealers simply trade comparable cars. When I ordered my Odyssey Touring, all my favorite dealer had on the lot were some EX-Ls, so they called another nearby dealer and traded a hybrid Accord and a hybrid Civic for it....it was originally going to be a Ridgeline, but the 2nd dealer got a shipment in later that day.

So essentially, it's just a matter of which dealer needs more of what, then they work out a deal to get it to their customers. However, with a seemingly rare car like the Fit is now, I'd think that there wouldn't be many dealers willing to give it up...

But that's just my thoughts.

Reply to
Robert

For me no deal pedal is a huge selling point.

Reply to
Body Roll

Sounds like an Element is more what you are looking for. More money of course, but not that much more.

Reply to
tww

Suzuki is coming out with CX-4. Same money as Fit but more room and awd. Check out the preview on roadandtrack.com

Reply to
Body Roll

23/28 mpg? Big freaking deal! I have a 94 Lexus ES with 168,000 miles on it, and--using Shell 93 octane--I get 24mpg city and 29mpg highway.

We are not amused.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

Heck, my carb'd '87 Accord gets 28mpg city!

Reply to
Matt Ion

I am. Probably they got gearing right. Huge selling point for me. Civic Si I'm considering is no better gas guzzling wise. That's acceptable for me. Many more cars do much worse.

Reply to
Body Roll

The funny thing is that I'm not overly concerned with mpg that much; I only drive 5-6k/year. I really wanted the Fit because it was a cheap way to get a reliable new car with the space that I want.

So I keep the 91 Accord another year or two. I just spent $1000 to do the timing belt and take care of the oil in the sparkplugs. Essentially it was the Honda 90k service plus a little more. It took $80 at the cheap muffler place to take care of that, and for another $300 or so I can likely fix all the other annoyances that have crept up over time. All except the rust.

And maybe in a year or two I can pick up a nice used Fit.

Reply to
dgk

snipped tale of woe

No contract, no lie.

Reply to
ACAR

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