I still have my Harley-Davidson after 16 years and 154,000 miles, so I like things that last, and hate to keep buying the same thing over and over again. I hope to keep the Fit for at least 8 years (probably 150,000 miles at current patterns). I have no set time interval to trade cars. I look for a new car when I feel I can no longer trust the car I'm driving now, or when I get tired of patching rust holes.

In upstate New York, the two big problems are rust and deer. New York applies an obscene amout of salt to the roads every winter, and you just can't keep it washed off all the time. I've already hit one deer with the Fit and am STILL waiting for parts (two weeks now).

 

Boy do I look stupid now talking about *possibly* trading in my Fit for the 2011 CR-Z. I guess this is one of those do as I say, not as I do moments.

 

My previous car was a 91 Accord Coupe that I bought used with 145K that I had done some engine performance bits and a tree got in my way at 180K so I bought a used 02 S-2000 2 1/2 years ago, my wife had a 95 Accord Coupe that we bought new in 95 that got flooded at 140K and the insurance company totaled it 8 months ago and she got a new 09 Fit. We plan to keep it for at least 10 years.

 

Heh. Well drive it first, and report back.

An interesting corollary question might be; if your Fit was totaled, what would you get to replace it?

 

ahh i like your first post. i too wanted to put the honda reliably myth to the test as well. I plan on driving it untill a major repair is required to keep it running.

 

Long time. It's spacey enough to be used as a family car.

 

Don't you just hate that when trees cross the street in front of you?

 

I'll tell you, I learned a lesson that day, I was racing a Porsche and the streets were slightly wet and my tires weren't very good and I had to stop for the traffic in front of me and it started sliding and I was going to hit the car in front of me and I made a left turn onto the median and there was this tree that caught my right front wheel and I landed on the other side of the road. You should have seen the look on the Porsche driver's face when he passed me!!!

 

What were you doing racing a Porsche with a Fit? Back to the topic. The reliability is no myth. (Except for the damnable timing belt needing replacement)

 

The timing belt has nothing to do with reliabilty, so why mention it as part of your thought? It's a wear and tear service item. Plus doesn't it only needs to be replaced every 160,000km! I know that's the Civic service interval for the timing belt.

 

My 2007 Fit only has 15,000 miles on it and I would hope that I can keep it going great for at least another 10 years. My plan will be to keep the car and do a rebuild after it is paid in full and I am ready to purchase another DD - The next car will be a Honda Accord most likely used but I want to keep the Fit for a long time and mod it out as my permanent import tuner entry for local car shows. In another 10 years who knows if Honda will discountinue the model.

Cat :x

 

rebuild? There's no reason the engine won't go 250K-300K miles with proper maintenance. You may have things like cv joints, starter, alternator, or the radiator need replacing. You'll have to keep it longer than 10 years to need an engine rebuild. It's a Honda.

 

I mention it because it is a pain in the A** to have to do it. It should not have to need replacing. I am aware that imports have this dismal feature, but it still does not make such an expense necessary. That said, it is still a reliable long lasting car.

 

Are you talking about the Fit? It has a timing chain.

 

Its this "dismal feature" that helps Honda's have impressive fuel economy in their small engines. Timing chains require more parts to function along with the timing chain, which equals more weight, more fuel used. Everything in a Honda engine is engineered to be as reliable and light as possible to give the best fuel economy possible.

And being that it is a rubber belt, it will wear at some point, and the fact that they are engineered to last as long as they do is pretty impressive. And let's face it, the majority of car owners usually get rid of their car before it's due for the timing belt replacement interval. It's us enthusiasts who care to keep our cars longer than 5 years or buy them used and have to deal with them. I'll take replacing a Honda timing belt over driving and REPAIRING a crappy Cobalt or Focus every damn time.

 

Are you talking about the Fit? It has a timing chain.

 

Great, undercut my argument! D'oh!

Well at least in MOST cases , the weight issue does have merit.

 

Yes, but it's a Honda timing chain. Made of super alloy designed to last a million miles and save gas.

I think most OHC cars have gone from belts to chains in the last few years. For that matter any american OHC of more than a few years ago had timing belts. Saturn example.

 

It has a chain? I guess I got so used to all the Hondas I had over the last 20 years having belts, I just assumed this did too. Kudos to Honda. I guess that makes it damn near perfect, then. (for the forum members who go crazy over not following the manual to the letter, I will still change my oil without regard to the minder, and keep my tires at 36 psi)

 

It has a chain. And an intelligent oil change minder.