Thought I'd peck a few words, and now realize I have done a GWTW-length post. Sorry. First post, so I'll try to do better next time.
So ... last January, I successfully convinced my wife, Kathi, a treehugger of the first rank, that she should replace her daily commuter, a '99 Honda Civic at c.160K miles, with something newer. It was in quite good shape, but repairs loomed. A believer in the laws of physics, I had in mind bigger, as she slogs 60 miles on the local interstates every day, and contends with crazies in 3-ton SUV's. She had in mind hybrid or some other such itty-bitty green vehicle.
We went to the Atlanta car show earlier in the year, and, to our mutual surprise, she narrowed her look to a VW EOS or a MINI convertible.
The VW demo went fine, tho I almost fell asleep. The hard-charging MINI sales guy said he'd bring the demo to our house. Well, OK.
Naturally, he brought an S model. My Sierra Club queen turned into Danica Patrick in about three blocks; in a few weeks, Kathi had a MINI Cooper S convertible, fresh off the boat. Pepper white, chocolate top, matching leather interior. More.
Surprised me, but, after I drove it (wow, btw), I convinced her that she needed to keep it garaged and saved for weekend trips, etc. What she needed now was a daily commuter that we (code for me) wouldn't be afraid to park in the Publix parking lot for fear of dings and we (ditto re code) wouldn't get reckless-driving tickets unless they were "worth it," i.e., in the twisties, etc.
The search was on again.
Looked at Toyota Yaris, because we'd thought we try a "Nonhonda" after 18 years of an Accord and the late Civic. Unfortunately, the local sales folks revealed some integrity issues that closed that door for me. Know that can happen in any brand, but the VW and MINI experience had none of that, so we next looked at Honda. We live in downtown Atlanta, so the Fit seemed a good choice.
The new car would be an outside car. The not-so-large garage has the MINI and several motorcycles in it, none of which I will permit to camp out of doors unless on a road trip! That (and Georgia's sun much of the year) made white smart. And, Kathi insists on manual transmission. We had also spent (WAY) more on the MINI than I believed we would, so we wanted the base model Fit. The local Honda dealers said they couldn't find one, so, as we (code for Kathi) seem spend as much time in grandbaby land (northern Virginia) as in Atlanta, I tried there.
Next thing I knew, we flew into Reagan, squeezed the grandbabies, and drove away in a white, M/T, 2009 Fit from Rosenthal Fairfax Honda.
As a motorcyclist, I prefer back roads; as an indulgent wife, Kathi goes along without (too much) complaining. As a (moderately) smart husband, I know when to jump the slab. So, we did the 657 miles home last Sunday via a combo of interstate, back roads, and about 40 miles of the BRP.
We were both very pleasantly surprised by the Fit. After the MINI -- which would kick the Fit silly in any sort of performance (except mpg) category -- the Fit actually seemed a more pleasant long-distance ride in terms of comfort, noise, etc., after etc., for well below half the price.
After reading the last few pages of this thread, think we got a very good deal (tho I'll keep the $ details private), and our sales guy at Fairfax Honda (Mike Kim) was quite responsive to an out-of-town buyer on a low-profit car.
Only drawbacks I've noticed so far are:
* needs hands-free set-up. I have pretty well convinced Kathi that using a cell phone while driving is irresponsible (actually, worse; I tone down my views for Kathi and this post
), and she has pretty well convinced me that she HAS to talk on the move, but will use a hands-free device. Have PM'd a member here about a Parrot product. If that works, fine.
* Needs floor mats. The dealer put on splashguards without me asking. Said they "do that for all Fits." Surprised me, but n/c, so great. But nada else. I bought some $12 (really) mats at an auto-parts store, but looking for something better. The prices of the OEM mats are silly, so I'm looking for a better fit (so to speak) than my cheap ones, which are destined for the '93 pickup, which will feel tarted up with those.
* Needs door moldings to protect from the inevitable cretins who bang their doors into yours and look surprised when you take offense. I'll probably break down and buy the OEM ones, as they look better than the after-market versions I've seen. I'll install 'em myself; the $100 to stick those on is insulting. [Note to self: don't put 'em on crooked or you'll regret saying that.]
* The TPMS light stays on. Fairfax Honda said it was "the weather." I didn't and don't think so, because it's still on, 900 miles and lots of weather changes later.
Otherwise, happy with car. Fuel consumption is much better than expected, at least if computer is accurate. I'm going to check against actual usage to see if the computer isn't "optimistic."
And, also happy to see this forum. Maybe I'd still have my first brand-new car -- a 1972 VW 411 -- if the internet and boards like this had been around then. Nah ... probably not.
If you got this far, you need to think about getting a social life or work hard at keeping a job that lets you surf that much!
Bill
You just used up 4 mos. worth of posts, now you have to sit down and shut up! 
Should I wait til after the break in to start modding it? I dont really have the money atm anyways but would it affect the break in?
Linear Mode
