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It's a 2009 Fit Sport, 172,544 miles, $4000 (Carfax says it's worth $5950). It's older with more miles than I've been hoping for, but my budget is *really tight*.
The Carfax report is eleven pages long (this car has had more regular maintenance than I ever put into a car!). Five previous owners, including the dealerships that sold it. I've already talked to my mechanic about taking a look at it. He balked at 172K miles for any car, insisted that he'd give me the straight dope about its condition. Hey, I want him to give me an honest assessment.
And it's ORANGE!!! (the color I've been dreaming of in a Fit).
Update: the dealership sent me pictures of the rust on this car.... :-( At least they're being honest about it. Adding those pictures in a comment below.
Am I correct that's a frame rail that's rusted away? Everyone's in a different situation, and I'm not talking about cosmetics, but I wouldn't want structural damage from rust on my daily. I do have del Sol that is just about as rusty, but that's a "daytime driving on a few days in the summer and hope I don't hit anything" situation.
You may also want to check out insurance costs, for really any car you might buy, cause it may be a substantial fraction of your budget. The Fit is not generally expensive. But you never know how it's going to vary by model in your area. Skip collsion if you have to to save money, do not skimp on liability.
Thanks for the care in your message. I absolutely agree. As soon as I saw those pictures, I called the dealership, thanked them for their honesty and said, "Nope. No thanks."
Yes, indeed. It does look like structural damage. I saw those pictures after I wrote my original post, it looked so "purty" in the first set of pictures. I hadn't yet seen the ugly underside (eek).
I'm actually amazed that they think they can sell it at all, in that condition.
Yes, indeed. It does look like structural damage. I saw those pictures after I wrote my original post, it looked so "purty" in the first set of pictures. I hadn't yet seen the ugly underside (eek).
I'm actually amazed that they think they can sell it at all, in that condition.
I’ll say from the photos in the original post, I would not have guessed it was that bad underneath either. Good luck on your search!
Sorry the orange Fit isn't going to work for you. This looks like the tell-tale signs of a Midwestern/Northeastern car that was rarely or never washed.
When we lived in Syracuse a neighbor asked me to take a look at her Corolla and help figure out a weird noise she was hearing. I think it was 5-6 years old at the time, so still a "new" car to me and my budget. From standing height it looked to be in good shape, but when I got down to jack it up it was like this Fit - the underside of the car was gone.
I casually asked how often she washed it. She asked why and then admitted that she let the rain wash it.
The funny part of this scenario is that my (rust-free) car had just failed an annual inspection because of a 1/4th-inch tear at the end of a windshield wiper (which they said they would be happy to replace for $40), but dangerous cars like my neighbor's were being driven every day.
That car is a mess. Do NOT buy that for any reason.
When I saw the original photos, I couldn't believe my luck. Selling it for $4000?
But then, when I saw the photos of the rust, I walked away immediately.
We have two cars. My wife drives a 2014 Nissan Leaf to work 3-4 days/week and we use the Leaf for all local trips. I mostly work from home so the 2010 Fit is our long-trip car and regularly goes weeks or longer without being driven, especially in the winter. Both cars have PB Blaster Surface Shield applied generously to the undercarriage, suspension, etc.
In the winter I try to pressure wash the undercarriage of the Leaf at least once per week or as the temperature allows. Yes, this sometimes sucks, but I can do it pretty quickly by running one end of the car up on Rhino ramps, spraying, and then repeating for the other end of the car. It also helps to have various angled pressure washer wand extensions.
I pressure wash the undercarriage of the Fit after pretty much every winter drive. Again, we're talking about long drives that might be separated by several weeks or longer, so this averages out to maybe once per month through the winter.
As the winter weather allows, I use a foam cannon on the exterior, let it sit for a while, and then rinse. This obviously isn't as good as a real hand wash, but does get most of the salt off the exterior, saves my fingers and hands from freezing, and minimizes the number of neighbors laughing at the crazy guy washing his car in a snowstorm.
Every spring I give the cars a thorough hand wash, clay bar, polish, and apply ceramic wax (speaking of, it's about time). I wash as needed throughout the summer and then do a final thorough clean and wax in the late fall. Every time I wash I spray the undercarriage. It helps that both cars are garaged, and it obviously helps that I have the space and tools (electric pressure washer with various angled extensions, car ramps, DA polisher, etc) to do this work efficiently at home. It was much harder when we lived in various apartments.
That's probably a bit over the top, but my 2010 Fit remains rust free and I would like to keep it that way. It definitely helps that it's not a winter daily driver in salty central Massachusetts. My wife's car that is regularly driven is more of a battle. It had a rusty rear fender lip when we got it, which I paid $1250 to have "professionally" repaired: cutting out the rust, fabricating a new fender lip, and then paint and blend the quarter panel. Even with the steps outlined above a rust bubble reappeared in the repaired area after less than two years, which was quite frustrating. I returned to the same autobody shop and they said "Yeah, we can fix that for $1250..." Seems like a pretty good business model for them. I hate rust but my wife doesn't really notice or care, so for the time being I'm managing it with the Blaster Surface Protect on both the exterior and between the fender panels (as best as I can access after removing the interior trim) which seems to have halted the spread.
@TiggerLou Lou, back way slowly and keep your hands where I can see 'em.
I don't buy used cars, but if I did, I wouldn't consider anything with more than 100,000 mi. on it. And a Chicago car, or a snow belt car, is going to have rust issues.
I know it's a brutal car market out there, Lou, but be cautious.
We have two cars. ... Both cars have PB Blaster Surface Shield applied generously to the undercarriage, suspension, etc.
In the winter I try to pressure wash the undercarriage of the Leaf at least once per week or as the temperature allows...I pressure wash the undercarriage of the Fit after pretty much every winter drive... As the winter weather allows, I use a foam cannon on the exterior, let it sit for a while, and then rinse...Every spring I give the cars a thorough hand wash, clay bar, polish, and apply ceramic wax. I wash as needed throughout the summer and then do a final thorough clean and wax in the late fall. Every time I wash I spray the undercarriage.
That's probably a bit over the top, but my 2010 Fit remains rust free and I would like to keep it that way. .
Wow... I'm impressed!
While reading this, I was wondering where you live --yup. Massachusetts! East of the Great Lakes, there's so much more snow than here.
I'm in Chicago, which gets quite a lot colder than Massachusetts, but we have far less snow. I've never once seen salt on the roads in the city, at least not in Chicago proper, as opposed to the suburbs, and I almost never drive there.
Is it just a matter of salt? Or are there other reasons for this kind of upkeep?
It all depends on where you drive. I'm originally from rural Missouri where you have both winter salt and lots of dirt/gravel roads. Even without the salt, if you get all the nooks and crannies of the undercarriage packed full of dirt, which turns to mud every time you drive in moisture, you'll have problems. Add in the increased rock chips from the gravel roads and you just accelerate the corrosion.
Other states use various de-icing chemicals that are supposedly more corrosive (and sticky) than salt, so even if you don't see salt trucks in Chicago I suspect there's something being spread on your roads in the winter that you don't want coating the undercarriage of your car.
@TiggerLou Lou, back way slowly and keep your hands where I can see 'em.
I don't buy used cars, but if I did, I wouldn't consider anything with more than 100,000 mi. on it. And a Chicago car, or a snow belt car, is going to have rust issues.
I know it's a brutal car market out there, Lou, but be cautious.
Yes, as soon as I saw those pictures of the rust, I immediately canceled all plans to go see the car. Unfortunately, I've never been in a position to afford a new car. I bought my previous car with a little over 100,000 miles on it, and it lasted 11 years.
It was running beautifully, until it got t-boned in a freak accident, while it was parked in front of my house. A guy who had just been released from a heroin treatment facility stole a car, and hit three cars before mine. He swung around to the opposite side of the road then gunned right into my parked car. Would you believe the address he had listed on his license was the parking lot for a public school...? Life in the big city. ;-)
BTW, Chicago isn't in the snow belt (we're west of the Great Lakes, which dumps a lot more snow on the east coast than we ever see). We get sub-zero temps, but very little snow. I've never once seen salt used on the roads here.
Before this car arrived at a Chicago used car lot, it was mostly driven in Pennsylvania. I just heard that they use LOTS of salt on the roads there. Another good thing to take a look at, in the CarFax report ;-)
It all depends on where you drive. I'm originally from rural Missouri where you have both winter salt and lots of dirt/gravel roads. Even without the salt, if you get all the nooks and crannies of the undercarriage packed full of dirt, which turns to mud every time you drive in moisture, you'll have problems. Add in the increased rock chips from the gravel roads and you just accelerate the corrosion.
Other states use various de-icing chemicals that are supposedly more corrosive (and sticky) than salt, so even if you don't see salt trucks in Chicago I suspect there's something being spread on your roads in the winter that you don't want coating the undercarriage of your car.
04-27-2024, 01:57 PM
