I'm thinking of purchasing a 250,000 mile Honda Fit. The current owner has replaced most of the wear items within the last 3000 miles. This would include brakes, timing chain, clutch, throw-out bearing, alternator, belts, spark plugs, wires, coil, tires etc, and installed aftermarket keyless entry. And he has reciepts to prove all of it was done at the dealer.

The price is such that even with this many miles, it's hard to resist. My girlfriend owns a 2012 Honda Fit and we love it, and I'd like it more if it were cheaper and 5-spd.

Even so, that's 250,000 miles on the original engine.

So, what do I need to worry about over the next 250,000 miles?

 

water pump thermostat lol and and some oil and transmission service

 

Suspension bushings are the only thing I can think of that he hasn't replaced. And yes maybe water pump and thermostat like Wafulz said.

But getting back to that replacement thing, the previous owner spent thousands of dollars replacing all those things recently and is now selling the car? Why?

 

With that many miles I would probably look for something with less miles and pay a little more then have the possibility of expensive maintenance or repairs to keep it on the road. Not saying it could not last another 250k but the risk would seem higher.

 

Current owner has a truck and sports car, and both don't have enough space for hauling a bunch of players of a traveling baseball team. The Fit is the most recent, but still not large enough. Current owner is a Honda dealership salesman.

Depends what a little more is? I'm getting the car below KBB/NADA estimates, I know the maintenance history of the vehicle from the reciepts, its never been wrecked, not a salvage title, and wear items have been recently replaced.

By comparison, most Fit's with around 150,000 miles still sell for twice the money, and don't have half the maintenance records this one does.

A few thousands dollars can buy a few spare engines and lots of spare parts. Luckily I can do most work myself.

 

Not sure where you are located is it half of these?

2007 Honda Fit

This one claims dealer history on maintenance

2007 Honda Fit Sport 5-spd

In the long run if you are happy with the car that is all that matters and who knows it could be a bargain that in the future you could sell and get back your investment.

This guy has 369k on his 2007 Honda Fit. http://hondabeat.com/highmiles.php

Good luck.

 

I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

That 2007 Sport looks pretty nice. I'm just hoping I can get out there to see it before it sells.

 

Better look closer at the receipts. The Fit doesn't have sparkplug wire to replace. And no single coil, it has 4 coilpacks.

 

Don't buy a 250k mi. car.

 

well the 250,000 mile car looked and drove better than the 140,000 mile car.

Less rust, better body, better interior.

Also the owner of the higher mileage vehicle had better history of recent repairs than that of the 140,000 mile car.

The only unknowns for the 250,000 mile car are if the coil packs have been replaced and water pump has been replaced. The current owner has only had it for 6 months, so he's not sure if the previous owner replaced that stuff or not.

 

thats not a bad deal as long as its between 3500-4000 MAX!! It sounds like he has been taking decent mechanical care of the car.

 

OK, at first you had me in the "I'd buy it in a heartbeat" camp. But once I read that the current owner had it for 6 months, I say "Just Walk Away" Kelly Clarkson. First, and all insults intended, the owner is a car salesman. That is one step below Congressman. Second, he/she actually put all that money into repairs after owning it just 6 months? Either they are stealing parts from their own dealership and misusing labor laws to have them installed for free, or he's a millionaire and has money to throw away on a car he/she just got. While my 2007 purchase was from a one owner vehicle, when looking at multiple owner used cars, I always make sure that the owner I am buying it from had the car for a good long time. To me, 6 months is within the timespan of the dealer flipping game that is going on all over the US. I won't pick up a flipper. I know it is not easy to find a deal on a used Fit, however there are other great alternatives out there to add to your search. Used 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibes are pretty easy to find and as a car with either a Corolla or Camry engine, you get a fantastic vehicle as well. As the owner of both, I can say that the Vibe is not as bullet proof as the Fit but it is an excellent car and a good alternative to the Fit should you be looking at a fuel efficient hatchback. Best of luck on your search; don't give up.

 

Update:

I ended up backing away from the 250,000 Mile Fit.

The car drove great, looked great, and sounded really good for a car with that many miles. The problem was that if I wanted to sell the car, of even if I got into an accident that left the car totaled, I wouldn't be able to get near what I had into it.

Another factor was that for $1000 more, I could buy a car that had 100,000 less miles.

Ultimately I decided to fall back on a different route, that is to stay within the Escort family. I've been driving Escorts for going on 8 years now, and I tend to buy them cheap and sell them for profits after ownership. I picked up a 1998 Ford ZX2 manual for $875. It needed a fuel pump, which was easy and cheap to replace, and I've been driving it for a month now no problem.

I still have my eyes on a Fit, but I'll wait till the 2009+ drops in price and aim for one of those.

Thanks for the insight folks.