Honda Fit : any owers ? If so ...

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Originally Posted By: The Critic
I've driven my friend's 09 Fit base way too many times. The engine is noisy, the transmission shift quality is poor, and the build quality is so-so. More specifically, the rear hatch sounds like it is ready to fall off. The dealer fixed it once under warranty (said it involved adjusting the striker), but the rattle came back 10k later. After 47k, the car drives like it has double the mileage-- not just because of the hatch, but the entire body has creaks.

For the money, you're better off spending 2-3k more for a Camry. If your terrain is hilly in any way, the 1.5L engine cannot keep up and you'll be flogging it a lot anyway-- and you'll probably get 25-27 mpg like we do.


I have actually had a Camry before I picked up my '11 Fit... and I prefer the Fit.
 
After driving the Fit for a day, I'd still recommend it. It rode well over the broken roads we have here, it got 35 mpg doing a mix of city and hilly 2-lane road driving, and it fit my stuff quite well. The dash rattle we previously had was gone.

FWIW, my fiancee averages 32 mpg in her 50 mile round trip zipping at 75 mph to work over hill and dale on the interstate every day.

Critic, we test-drove a base Fit when we bought ours. It drove totally differently in a bad way than the Sport. The transmission downshifted more, and it didn't corner/ride nearly as well. Go figure, since the Sport is basically the same car with bigger wheels and a rear sway bar, at least AFAIK. Must be there were some other programming changes between the base and Sport versions.
 
Looks like we're not likely to buy a FIT at this time . Partly due to dealers giving very little to no discounts ( JAPAN crisis / gas ), low trade in value , and never hearing back by email / phone from the 2 HONDA dealers we visited . We appreciate all your input . Maybe we'll change our minds and give 1 more HONDA dealer a try at a later time .
 
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Originally Posted By: odie
Looks like we're not likely to buy a FIT at this time . Partly due to dealers giving very little to no discounts ( JAPAN crisis / gas ), low trade in value , and never hearing back by email / phone from the 2 HONDA dealers we visited . We appreciate all your input . Maybe we'll change our minds and give 1 more HONDA dealer a try at a later time .

If they are offering you a bit less than the Manheim auction value for your car, then it is a fair offer. The reason is why is because if they are unable to sell your car on their lot, they have to be able to take the car to Manheim and resell it without a loss.
 
I recently had to take my '01 Civic to a dealer for a recall.

They had 4 Fit's on the lot, and basically 4 rows, so probably close to 50 Civics.
confused.gif
 
Bought the 2011 base mode FIT with auto, but at a different dealer . Gave $1,000 more for a trade . Then tossed in cargo cover for free and gave 15% off floor mats and mudguards . On the way home from dealer we were sitting at a red light in a steady drizzle and we heard a clicking like noise with the wipers on low setting . Not sure if it's the wipers or the motor . Turned up the radio to drown it out . Have any of you encountered this ? Thanks
 
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Originally Posted By: odie
On the way home from dealer we were sitting at a red light in a steady drizzle and we heard a clicking like noise with the wipers on low setting . Not sure if it's the wipers or the motor . Turned up the radio to drown it out . Have any of you encountered this ? Thanks


My 07 Civic does this too. You can hear a click when the wiper motor actually activates, on low, high or any intermittent setting. I think it's just a relay clicking. No worries.
 
Originally Posted By: rationull
Originally Posted By: odie
On the way home from dealer we were sitting at a red light in a steady drizzle and we heard a clicking like noise with the wipers on low setting . Not sure if it's the wipers or the motor . Turned up the radio to drown it out . Have any of you encountered this ? Thanks


My 07 Civic does this too. You can hear a click when the wiper motor actually activates, on low, high or any intermittent setting. I think it's just a relay clicking. No worries.


I noticed the '11 has the relay noise too. No big deal. the wipers are working fine.

I actually originally went to the dealer to check out a Fit, but ended up going with a Civic for not much more money.

I thought the Fit sport looked great, but 2 things I could not get over was the cockpit vs the Civic.. Civic is a much nicer drive, and the power. The Civic feels no faster if at all than my Saturns, but the Fit was painfully slow. I do a lot of rural highway commuting, and the extra power with the Civic I felt was almost necessary.

They also get similar gas mileage on the highway.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Not to be the only guy in the thread who says "buy domestic", but go look at a fiesta, just as nice imo.


As someone who has driven both cars, there is absolutely no comparison between a Fit and Fiesta. The back seat and utility of the Fiesta is severely lacking.
 
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Originally Posted By: rationull
Originally Posted By: odie
On the way home from dealer we were sitting at a red light in a steady drizzle and we heard a clicking like noise with the wipers on low setting . Not sure if it's the wipers or the motor . Turned up the radio to drown it out . Have any of you encountered this ? Thanks


My 07 Civic does this too. You can hear a click when the wiper motor actually activates, on low, high or any intermittent setting. I think it's just a relay clicking. No worries.


I noticed the '11 has the relay noise too. No big deal. the wipers are working fine.

I actually originally went to the dealer to check out a Fit, but ended up going with a Civic for not much more money.

I thought the Fit sport looked great, but 2 things I could not get over was the cockpit vs the Civic.. Civic is a much nicer drive, and the power. The Civic feels no faster if at all than my Saturns, but the Fit was painfully slow. I do a lot of rural highway commuting, and the extra power with the Civic I felt was almost necessary.

They also get similar gas mileage on the highway.

I think the FIT has a 8.something 0-60, but I guess the 1.8 has more torque as cruising rpms. Also the Fit is only 160lbs lighter than the Civic Sedan in base trims. When I have a small trailer on the Tracker, it needs to be downshifted to do almost anything on the highway and it is a bit annoying after awhile. I can see how a Fit would feel the same if you're not in a sporty mood to downshift.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Not to be the only guy in the thread who says "buy domestic", but go look at a fiesta, just as nice imo.


If you are actually utilizing the storage of your hatchback, the Fit is the clear winner. There is so much more room in the back of a Fit its astonishing. The only other car that comes close in cargo capacity in its class is the Versa. I wish I could find the link with the actual cargo capacity in Litres, but the Fit has something like double that of a Yaris.
 
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Not to be the only guy in the thread who says "buy domestic", but go look at a fiesta, just as nice imo.


If you are actually utilizing the storage of your hatchback, the Fit is the clear winner. There is so much more room in the back of a Fit its astonishing. The only other car that comes close in cargo capacity in its class is the Versa. I wish I could find the link with the actual cargo capacity in Litres, but the Fit has something like double that of a Yaris.


I think the xB might actually be a cubic foot or two larger with the seats down, but you can't buy a new xB with a 1.5 anymore. The xD might compare but I think the Fit will still win in cargo.
 
FIT has much more room than the 3 door or 5 door YARIS . We had both , the FIT wins . Especially the versatility of the rear seats . Front passenger seat of FIT can be folded forward . Says 7', 9"s from front to back on the passengers side .
 
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We've stuffed a 5'x3'x2' dresser into the Fit before with room to spare. We also stuffed 2 large snowboard bags into it with tons of food and a large suitcase for a 3 day trip and still had room left on the floor.

The practicality is strong with this one.
 
The opening for the rear is a taller and wider than that of the YARIS . There's going to be a time when there's a need for a new snowplower or something large . Nice to know it'll FIT in the car . Did fit in a 8 foot ladder from a hardware store in the 2008 YARIS sedan . Removed the headrest of front passenger seat and reclined it back to meet the rear passenger seat that was put down to make a nearly flat surface . Then stuck ladder top in first through the trunk into cabin of car . There was about a 1/2 a foot to spare before touching the windshield . Was easier to remove than to put in .
 
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Owner of a 2009 Fit base and I support all positive comments on this car. It's amazing. Factory fill went 10k miles and came out fine on UOA. Our car has actually been in three minor accidents (about $10k in repairs paid by at-fault drivers' insurance) and it has held up well.
 
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