hi all - new here but have been browsing around recently. Am selling my beloved 4Runner to downsize to a more realistic (affordable) gas bill.
Judging by the posts here, seems to be a pretty sizable cross section of knowledgable Fit-er's and was hoping to get some pointers on what to look for in an 07 Fit.
Checked an 09 Sport model and loved it; unfortunately out of my price range. (I'm incredulous what the used ones go for!)

The 07 looks to be a pretty nice alternative for me - any suggestions what I need to look out for when I start shopping around?

Looking specifically at the AT (would be my first automatic in 28yrs of driving.) The only negative I've been able to find thus far are a couple of minor recalls - something about an omission in the owners manual and corrosion of a wiring harness.

Any help greatly appreciated
Hoping to soon be joining the ranks!
-shano
San Diego, CA

 

Hey Shano,

We drove our '07 off the lot 3+ years ago, and have put about 90,000km on it. To date, we've had the lever that lowers the back driver-side seat (warranty, worked but was loose, no hassle) and the rubber under the e-brake cracked in the cold winter (replaced, cosmetic). They had to reprogram the airbag software to correct a timing issue and, in Canada at least, replace a wiring harness near the front of the driver door due to expected corrosion from the road salt (both under TSBs and thus free).

I had a transport truck shred a tire in front of me on a high-speed off ramp and had no choice but to run over the giblets... no problem holding control. Another time, my boyfriend had to very quickly change lanes when a flatbed in front of him dropped a strap with those metal buckles onto the road in front of us at highway speeds. No problem at all. The handling of the Fit is just insane.

As for size, I am 5' 9.5" and my boyfriend is 6' and neither of us have any trouble. In fact, my bf still has several inches over his head. Leg room is about maxed at his height though. I use the relax mode a lot when I am working on my laptop while my bf is at work or whatever. On nice days, I actually look forward to grabbing a coffee, putting the window down and poking away on the computer. It's really comfy! I've had a full sized drier, an apartment sized chest freezer, lawn mowers and other things that just *shouldn't* be able to fit, well, fit.

I'd buy the Fit again in a heartbeat.

In general though, when I'm looking at buying things, I want to hear about what bugs me, so then:

- If you have a lead-foot, the gas mileage will suck. It will do it's best to accelerate for you, but it will suck back the gas doing it. If you like to drive fast, look elsewhere.

- It's light enough that handling changes noticeably even between a full and empty tank. It's never bad, just different. If you are used to heavy vehicles, this may surprise you a bit. However, handling on the highway, even with strong cross winds, is better than my old 3.1l Chevy Lumina van. I've never felt like I was about to be blown into another lane!

- The paint is average, but not great. We've had to put a little touch up paint on a lot of rock chips, but none have rusted. It is thin metal though, so be sure to stay on top of scratches. Rust will eat through faster than on heavier cars.

- The blind spot caused by the thick a and b pillars are noticeable. I've never had a problem, but this is a legit concern. Check it out for yourself before buying to see if it bothers you or not.

- If you live in a cold climate, there is a noticeable drop in fuel economy in the winter. We average high 5s in the summer and mid 6s in the winter (lt/100km, sorry, dunno the MPG). Still great economy though!

- If you live in a hot climate, the A/C can feel a little under-powered on the hottest days. If you get a lot of days over 35c, this might be an issue... Maybe some southern Freaks can weigh in?

- ... I'm trying to think of anything else that bothers me, and I can't think of anything else.

I've owned 2 Chryslers, a Chevy, a Nissan, a Mazda and now this Fit. I have never loved a car as much as I love this thing. It's the safest in it's class, can hold a frightening amount of cargo, is fun as hell to drive and is good on gas. I even talked a couple of friends with two kids into buying an '07 and they love it. They're last car was a Chevy Malibu.

Best of luck with whatever you end up getting!

Digi

 

Digimer's post is pretty spot-on, although I didn't notice the handling difference between a full tank vs. almost empty.

My #1 recommendation: Try the seats first. I'm just 5'8" and yet I grumbled about the lack of thigh and lumbar support. That'll show up on longer drives as sore knees and a not-so-relaxed back. I ended up replacing my seats with Recaro items, which solved my biggest problem with the GD Fit.

The car is thrifty on gas but watch out: fuel economy is more variable on this car than on others. It really depends on how you drive it. If you give it a hard caning it'll drink unleaded at a faster rate than you'd think.

Overall GD Fits are an absolute peach to drive and own. And yep, I'd get one again...as long as it's got a clutch pedal.

 

This I would chalk up to you personally and how your comfort levels are. My passengers usually have to have the A/C at least at 2, usually 3 in this car. IF you are fully loaded, it's probably 3 minimum. (tint helps here of course)
But for me, I just go with no A/C except for the really really hot days (95-100F). Of course I also go and wear long sleeves sometimes during the summer with my blue jeans too....

i'll echo that thought! g'luck!

 

Digimer - wow! I appreciate the detailed response. I don't live in a cold area but do drive to very cold areas a couple times a year for ice climbing adventures. Good to know about the climate control limitations

Pillar blind spots - I've always used the little stick on convex mirrors to work around blind spots such as this. I tow boats at work a lot and come to rely on mirrors at least as much as turning my head and looking (frequently obstructed)

I'm 5'9" and test drove the 09 Fit Sport; didn't notice any space limitation issues in the very short time that I drove it. Something to take into closer consideration on the next test drive but sometimes compromises have to be made. Its just such a bitchen little rig I could probably live w/ some minor discomfort (and do the rolled towel behind the back, etc, etc) I've found the only sure fire way to avoid back/neck/leg pain on long drives is to get off my arse and out of the car for a little jog every so often.

Lastly, the sailboat effect was a concern for me. These cars are very light and probably would probably be buffeted by winds on the beam. I guess thats just a matter of slowing down and dealing. Again, lightweight = better mileage (?)

Thanks all for all your comments&suggestions
-shano

 

Lightweight = better everything from a performance point of view. And yeah, better fuel economy.

 

The automatic won't get quite as good mphg in town but better on interstaes and the shift paddles will let you think you're Michael or Felipe. Great fun.
The 07 didn't have many defects first cause its Honda and second becauise its been around a few years. And there's lots of aftermarket stuff.
As in all used cars watch out for:
1. signs of mods like lowering that needed fender rolls, grinding inner liners, and extraneous brackets or holes.
2. check for smooth AT shifting and smooth engine operation right up to red line PROPERLY.
3. Check for signs of poor maintenance such as riunning your finger around the inside of the oil filler to see if it has a buildup of solids (greasy) that indicate sloppy oil changes.
4. Of course Carfax but don't put much faith in it there's little to nreport.
5. Naturally for collision damage such as miscolor matches, misaligned panels and particularly wheel alignment. You might take a elastic cord from local sewing goods strore to stretch around the middle of all 4 wheels to check 'squareness' and toe.
6. And check the brakes for smooth braking with no pull on a level rioad and no funny noises.
Thats not all but it is a good start.

 

I bought my fit shortly after their release. Well as soon as they were available on the car lot. They only stocked 2 at a time so I had to wait a long while for the color I wanted. Anyway, I love this car except for a few minor problems.

The paint won't hold up and the hood is at a perfect angle for dings. Just a month after owning the car I had several spots where the paint chipped from who knows what. It obviously wasn't hard enough for me to hear it but it looked the size of a pebble. I had a chunk of wood fly off a truck and hit my hood which now has a big dent. So expect your hood to take damage is all I'm saying. The tail scratches very very easily so it might be smart to get the protective film to put over it. I intend on getting the paint all redone in a couple years. I wanted orange but the orange they used back in 2007 was hideous.

The other problem I have with this is it's not parking friendly. The distance between the car and the ground is so minimal that if you pull too close to a curb or a parking block you will scratch it. The car is like a couple centimeters too short. This also creates problems for running over items that would make any other car laugh. I ran over a tire that came off a semi and somehow it halfway took off my front end panel.

The handling in this car is awesome. It's quick to go and actually scares some of my passengers. People are always surprised by how much power this tiny car has. I get around 32 average in my car driving somewhat aggressive and most roads I take are 45+. In Florida you pretty much have to drive aggressive to not get taken out by some idiot trying to fly between lanes with only 4 feet of space and a giant SUV. Fortunately this car brakes and handles so well I have made it safely out of several accidents just waiting to happen. Not to mention the safety ratings on this thing are as good as you can get. You will feel safe driving this car.

I want to mention if you are a fan of aftermarket stereos or speakers, expect a bit of a fight. This car is put together to be theft proof. It took me quite a few hours trying to rip the head out of this thing and wire a sub. Doing that in my corolla was simple and a couple hours total. The fit was more than half a day.

The AC isn't really underpowered. The car off the lot doesn't have very good sun protection. This car just gets hotter than others especially if it has the black interior. I sat it outside next to my corolla and the fit got hot way faster. Easy fix is to have UV blocking tint installed. The AC gets really cold but the fan doesn't have a ton of power so even on 4 your not getting a ton of output but the air is like ice so if it's blowing on you on a 95 degree day you'll feel fine.

About those blind spots. You can adjust the mirrors out quite a bit to account for the blind spots. I have a wrap on my car that blocks out my back windows and due to my adjustments on the angles of the mirrors I see everything without any effort. No extra mirrors.

Don't worry about the wind either. I've taken on 40mph storms in the rain with no problem. Sure there's a bit of a gust but every vehicle has to deal with that. This car has a very low profile so wind isn't much of a problem. It also has very good cornering so you can take turns and on/off ramps at pretty high speeds safely compared to other cars.

 

There's a very specific way of disassembling the center console so you can fit an aftermarket audio headunit in the GD - it involves some dexterity with your arms and a socket wrench and trying to wrench bolts off through the glovebox. No kidding.

Agreed on the weak factory tint - I haven't changed the tint of my GD1, so getting into the car on hot summer afternoons requires a good stoking of the A/C on max cooling and full blower speed. Not a fan of dark tint either, so if you're like me your best bet is something like V-kool but it's pretty pricey.

Conversely however, on most evenings I don't need to crank the A/C up more than 1/4 of max cooling. The A/C itself is pretty efficient - it's the vast greenhouse-like window area that brings on the heat.

 

so that explains why everyone else isn't going fast enough....

 

if it is a beloved and it is not troubling you then why do u need to sell it... what is the price you are selling it...

 

Sounds like he want's something that doesn't drink gas like water.

 

+1 on everything they just said.

I will add that there is a HUGE aftermarket for performance parts. Not as much as for a Civic, but you can add suspension, brakes, HID kits, supercharger/turbo, intake, header, exhaust, etc.

Also, you may notice the difference if you fill up with 93 octane. It seems to help the torque up to 2000 RPM.

You may also want to test drive the automatic and the manual to see which has the characteristics you want. They're different enough that each is good for specific things. I have the AT, but I want a MT. I live in a rather hilly area, so maybe that's just me.

 

okay, done deal. My 4RNR is gone (sniffle) and I picked up an 08Fit standard tranny. Not exactly what I was looking for (wanted the AT but this rig was $12000 with 63k miles...) but it was from a local Honda dealer and came w/ the 'certified used' warranty and all that so I'm pretty comfortable with that.

Planning on a short road trip next wknd to see what kind of mileage I can squeeze out but early indications are that I'm using about a quarter tank of gas per 100mi (very rough estimate.) I wouldn't make any bets about the linearity of the gas gauge either. My Runner would go about 100 miles before the gauge budged, then started sinking like a lead brick.

Fun to drive but feeling somewhat like a freshly castrated dog after getting out of years of 4wd trucks and into smarter econo cars. Not the manliest rig on the road but $30 to get me 400miles down the road certainly will take the sting out of that quickly enough

Thats all for now, glad to have joined the club!
-s