Re: OP’s older Jeep not given much trade-in value by Honda Dealership
It’s like when I told my gf one afternoon that I was driving my truck down to the junkyard to see if I could find a part for my Corolla I needed. She told me “Watch out George! Better park your truck on the street! If you pull it into the parking lot, one look at it as you drive in, they’ll think you are there to junk it and will haul it to the crusher.” … lol …
@kmccune , Yeah, you’re right. OUT with the old and IN with the new. I know the Fits sell because I see 'em all over the roads around here. Probably the best I could do is get bids from at least 2 Honda dealers and go with the best one. Before I leave this earth, I want to get me a boat and go out there and look for ‘Chessie’ myself, so to speak, but that’s a few years off at least.
@FoDaddy , Mathematically, I guess you’re right, but I’m already suffering from ‘old f**t syndrome’, where everything looks outrageously overpriced to me because I remember what stuff used to cost back in the day. Inflation is an insidious beast, a cancer on money that erodes its value over time.
“I don’t know if I’d purchase a car with a CVT” I notice a lot of folks on this forum express this sentiment. Problem is, traditional automatic transmissions seem to be being phased out in favor of this technology, and in many instances, the Fit being an excellent example, the manual transmission version seems to exist only on the Honda website, not in the form of an actual physical car that one can buy.
@GeorgeSanJose , Boy, that would be a bummer, huh? You go into the local “Pull-it-yourself” to get a part, and when you come out, somebody’s pulling a part off of YOUR car because they mistook it for one of the wrecks! Some days you just can’t win. 
But he really acted like they might offer me something for it,
This is one of the oldest tricks in their book. The reason they took this approach is because you can’t leave while they have your potential trade in hostage “being evaluated”. You’re more likely to stick around while they try negotiating, in fact you HAVE to stick around. Sometimes, they even lose your keys for a bit to lengthen the stall tactic…
I never give them my keys or anything that can prevent me from standing up and leaving. Try this next time- “That’s OK, if we come to an agreeable price on the new car, then we can go visit Sam over on the used car lot for an offer on my trade-in”.
They tried that tactic with me at a particularly sleazy Honda dealership, quite a few years ago.
My response–as I pulled out my cellphone–was, “You have exactly two minutes to find my keys before I call the cops”.
About 30 seconds later, they suddenly “discovered” where my keys had been placed.
Needless to say, I would never return to that dealership, and I let all of my friends and co-workers know about that experience.
@TwinTurbo & @VDCdriver Yeah, I thought of that. I think I’ve even read your account of having to threaten to call the cops. I gave him my spare (valet) key, not my whole key ring. It was getting late in the day and the dealership closes at 8pm on a Saturday, so I figured they couldn’t keep me there all night, AND I do have a cell phone now if needed. This salesman WAS more aggressive though, I think he really thought he was going to get me to buy on the spot - not gonna happen. IN FACT, if I .DO decide on the Fit over the Mirage, I’ve got until the end of November to make a decision, the only time constraint on me is the fact that the Mirage is on clearance.
MAN OH MAN I WAS REALLY HOPING @cwatkin WOULD CHIME IN AND TELL ME IF THAT SHIFTER ON THE MIRAGE IS SUPPOSED TO FEEL “CRUNCHY” LIKE THAT.
Since him and his girlfriend both have these cars, I figured he would know. That information would really help me in my deliberations.
cwatkin must be waiting for road side assistance.
But anyway I AM narrowing down my plans. I can pretty much get the color I want (blue). Basically it boils down to whether I want to ‘stick to my guns’ regarding the manual transmission. I CAN get a Mirage with a manual transmission NOW (unless the salesman tells me they’re all gone when I call him back). If I go for the Fit, I’ve pretty much got to throw in the towel and surrender to the CVT transmission, or, possibly, try to wait out the summer on the off chance a manual transmission Fit in Blue, in the LX trim comes along (not likely).
ALSO, buying the Mirage over the Fit saves me approx. $7,000 give or take a hundred dollars or so. I could make a lot of moves with $7,000. YES, the Fit is a nicer car, but let’s face it, that ‘new car feeling’ wears off in a few weeks and then its just a car. The warm tingly feeling I’d have inside from having $7,000 more in my checking account would last much longer, plus I’d have bragging rights for years to the great deal I got.
I’m considering calling the 1-800 customer service # for Honda I got off their website. I feel it’s deceptive advertising that I can build a manual transmission Fit on their website, but no dealers actually have any. If Honda has made a marketing decision not to offer any manuals this year, that is their prerogative, but they should remove that option from their website. (Kinda sours me on Honda a little; makes me think of Mitsubishi as the scrappy underdog)
Edit to add, regarding preceding post: Ha Ha very funny, @Nevada_545 
From my experience taking a trade-in to the service department for a mechanical inspection is very rare, I might see this once a year. Trade-in appraisals are performed in the parking lot, for a 1996 Grand Cherokee it would have to be in perfect condition to consider an offer over scrap value. The wholesalers don’t want that vehicle, no dealer at the auction will buy it and a dealer doesn’t had time to deliver it to the salvage yard. Taking a vehicle with no value is just more paper work.
The Honda dealer a mile away from me has a manual transmission Fit, there must be others. I noticed the manual transmission Fit has a made in Mexico VIN, the autos have a Japan VIN. Perhaps the Mexico plant only produces these part time and production and deliveries will resume in the future.
Exactly, @Nevada_545 He could have glanced at it through the window and offered me $250. That’s why I thought he might be going to try to hold it ‘hostage’ and I was ready for that, which only raised my anxiety level. That’s generally why I hate being at a car dealer. The experience at the Mitsubishi dealer, (both of them) much more laid back. If all things were equal, I’d prefer to do business with the Mitsubishi dealer. But of course all things never are equal. Just like in the Rolling Stones song, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” (but if you try, sometimes you’ll find, you get what you need).
Fact is, NO, he didn’t hold my Jeep ‘hostage’. I suspect that may have been the plan, but by the time we got back from the test drive, the haggling and bs’ing, it was almost closing time at the dealership, so he was going to have to let me leave regardless.
It is doubtful that there is someone in the shop at 8PM on a Saturday who will stop what they are doing to inspect an old vehicle, I think the salesman was just entertaining you by just going through the motions and this is the best we can do.
(Well, it wasn’t 8pm when I got there. . . )
In summary, there’s only 2 ‘snags’ holding me up now.
IF that manual transmission Mirage had shifted smoothly like I had expected it too, I’d have told the salesman to go ahead and send for the blue one. . .
IF the Honda Fit, LX, Blue, were in stock somewhere near me in a manual transmission, I would probably be at that dealership arguing over price right now. .
And then there’s the matter of $7,000 - a significant sum of money. I basically agree with @kmccune about deserving the Honda. . . but. . . I wouldn’t be where I am today if I just bought everything I feel like I deserve to have.
Edit to add: Interesting tidbit about the Japan / Mexico VIN#'s, @Nevada_545 . Thanks. If I were to say I’d prefer a Japanese made one, would that be a prejudicial remark? Considering a ‘made in USA’ one isn’t even an option. The Mirage Monroney sticker says Final Assembly Point: Chonburi, Thailand Country of Origin: Engine: Thailand Transmission: Thailand. Had to go look at my world map to see where Thailand is. That’s kind of an authoritarian regime in Thailand, isn’t it? (Looks like I’m beginning to realize which car I should buy by articulating my thoughts on this forum. Thanks everyone for putting up with me and responding so thoughtfully. Isn’t this fun?)
Ho hum. I don’t play games with dealers or salesman and I don’t deal with folks that do if I can help it. I remember when I was buying my 74 Olds. I asked the local dealer for his best price on what we wanted. Then we went to Minneapolis and got a better deal and bought the car. The local called me up afterward asking why I didn’t come back to them again. I said I thought I said to give me the best price so what would be the point in coming back? He was furious but I did end up buying the next Olds from him. Just saves everyone a lot of time and hassle. I hate buying cars as it is and just expect to make a deal on the spot between adults. If I leave, it is doubtful I’ll stop back for more punishment. Deal or no deal, just don’t play games.
What does Consumer’s Report say about the best way to deal with trade ins? They seem to know the ropes as good as anyone on optimizing new car negotiations for the consumer.
Ed doesn’t have a trade-in, he has old vehicles that are not marketable by a new car dealer.
I think you need to drive a different stick shift Mirage before you decide. And if the next one is better make sure you can test drive one before you buy it,
I agree with @“oldtimer 11” on another test drive. Sometimes you have to go back after a few drives to get another feel for the car.
As far as the Mirage goes, I would rather buy a one year old used Hyundai Elantra, Kia Forte or Chevy Cruze all of which could be found in stick and would be a more comfy ride.
The dealers aren’t ordering manual Fits, because there is little demand.
I had a friend that did all his negotiating over the phone. No need to go to the dealer until the price is finalized.
Just wondering, why are the Mirage and Fit the only two cars you’re considering? There are other cars that would seem to fit the bill for you, including the Ford Fiesta. The Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio are very reliable cars that aren’t quite as space-efficient as the Fit, but they’re cheaper and they sell a lot of them with manual transmissions.