Used car dealer price gouging Honda Fit buyers
I’d drove past the late model used Fit several times. On first look, the only thing visually exceptional was the asking price of $15995.00. Was this a misprint? I would pull up to the lot on a rainy Sunday and take a closer look.
Note: A 2015 basic model Fit LX posts an MSRP of $15,525 plus delivery, sales tax and applicable dealership charges. The fully equipped EX-L sports a list price of $19,800, if you can find one.
At first glance the Orange Revolution Metallic Fit appeared to be in good if not exceptional condition. I had learned years ago thanks to a checked German lacquer Mercedes Benz paint job, to never buy a car on a rainy day. With no intention of purchasing I walked my way onto the car lot from a neighboring business.. Loved it! no sales person on site.
2012 Honda Fit Sport
The disclosure list posted boldly on a side window informed me that this little orange metallic hatchback was a 2012 Fit Sport with 16,800 miles showing on the odometer. Looking to the interior I viewed great condition black on gray cloth seats, 5 speed automatic transmission, smart wheel with paddle shifters and a decent multiple speaker stereo system. It all looked good, but was this lightly used Fit worth anything near the asking price?
Orange Revolution Metallic was discontinued in 2011
Looking to original Honda Fit specifications, I discover that Orange Revolution Metallic was a color choice discontinued in 2011.* According to Edmond's Auto Guide.* I could use a bit of help from my readers here. If in fact the Fit in front of me was a 2011 model, it would have been originally sold in Oregon sometime in 2010, making this car no less than 4 years old. Yet amazingly, the dealer’s asking price is higher than the MSRP on a new 2015 Fit LX; only $4,000 less than the sticker price of a fully loaded Fit EX-L. Are used car dealer’s gouging perspective Fit buyers?
Is a measurable short supply of the “Made In Mexico” 2015 EarthDreams Fit driving the retail price of used Fits through the sunroof?
Can’t find a low mileage used Fit
Once again Torque News discovers that an affordable, good used, low mileage Honda is a rare commodity. Looking to Cars.Com: Only 9 Honda Fits of various trim levels are listed for sale within 100 miles of Eugene, Or. the second largest city in the state.
Ranging in price from $14,997 for a low mileage Fit LX manual to a 2008 basic 5 speed manual with 78,000 miles showing on the odometer($11,900,) I confirm my suspicions that the rare Fit is perhaps the highest residual resale value hatchback in its class. Earlier in the year we found this to be the case with Honda Civic with Si being the highest residual value automobile in North America.
Are used car dealerships price gouging perspective Fit buyers? Looking to Kelly Blue Book(KBB) I find that most dealers are adding a $1,000 to $1500 premium to Fit.
My contact Chris Martin of American Honda tells Torque News that Fit production should be ramping up a second shift soon. This should pull used Fit prices down a bit in the long term.
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