Used car dealer price gouging Honda Fit buyers

Gouging? Of course not. The fit is not some commodity that a consumer must have. Sure it is one of the only low-end electrics but still it is not essential to life in any way. So a used car is priced at what a dealer thinks someone will be willing to pay. If there is a shortage of new versions of the car and it is popular then it gets priced near the new ones. On the other hand, when a new high-end performance car and all the rich guys want one the dealer is likely to add $ to the MSRP. I guess that's OK too if the guys with deep pocket want to dig deeply. Again, it's not something essential to life. So, it's not "gouging."

Last May, I bought a used Orangeburst 2012 Honda Fit. That looks like the color shown in the article. I believe this color was just for 2012. I've seen it on a Honda Element too. It likely replaced the Orange Revolution color and then was replaced by the Midnight Plum Pearl for 2013, per my 2013 Fit brochure. I was looking to save some money but would have bought new if I would have saved just hundreds. I didn't want to wait for the new model with all the big changes, including being made in Mexico vs Japan.

Anyway, I used cars.com and found some Fits absurdly priced and some as very good deals. I saw many with under 10-15Kmiles. Some appeared to move fast and some languished on lots. I saw a orange manual sport for around $14K but never checked it out as I wanted an automatic this time. At a Hyundai dealer, I drove one that was on the lot for a month or more, but I waited too long and someone had left a deposit on it. It was a one year old 2012 Blue Sport with 7K miles for a bit under $15K. It was absolutely flawless and I would have bought it in a minute, if it was available to sell. The orangeburst one was on the lot for more than a month too and I took it for a drive. At 24,500 miles, it had more miles than I wanted but was in good shape (a few minor scratches and dings I over looked as it was a great deal). Some blemishes I saw later as the car was not clean when I bought it so don't buy cars in the rain or dirty ones! I offered them a bit less than the asking price and bought it for $13,700, which was $4500-5000 less than new. On this Honda dealer website, I saw a window sign on this car that they were asking $14,600 at one point. Maybe the color was too strange for some and would not sell. They had a black one for a similar price and lower miles that sold quickly. I very rarely see the orange ones, but see this color or very close on other models and makes. I like it as do many others who see the car. Anyway, that was my buying experience. Of course, I haven't looked for Fits since but would expect their prices to drop given the all new 2015 Fit out there.

BTW, I like the car. Not nuts about the constantly shifting automatic, mostly on just about any hill (but not when going over 50 or so), it could use more guts and torque but it handles well, has lots of space for its size and gets great fuel mileage, usually over 40, more on the highway. Better than expected. I don't find it noisy but don't expect a Lexus. It has the tiniest, low power battery I've ever seen in a car that I need to trickle charge if I don't drive it every few days. Without modifications, that some have done, not much room for a larger battery under that tiny hood. Some services, like spark plugs, look tough to access but most new cars have these issues. Oil changes are very easy once you raise this low car.

Keep looking and using sites, like cars.com, to see what's out there.