It may well have been that the Base I test drove was a bit beat up, but when I test drove a Sport, it seemed like a much tighter and finer constructed vehicle. That plus some of the aforementioned niceties sealed the deal for me on a Sport...

 

Dealer demo's a base and beats it to sell the Sport. Every now and again demo's go for cheap off the lot. Just gotta be there.

You did right, though. Snow's in the winter? I'm approaching my first.

 

Easy decision for me: Sport; for cruise control, very sharp wheels, slightly better styling.

 

All the extas make it worth the sport. The USB/6spkr sound is nice/handy, the Rear Sway Bar & 16" wheels makes cornering more fun, cruise for those that use it is nice and handy and it has a sportier look. None of these things are MUST haves but then again, a motor, seats, and wheels are about all anyone actually needs in a car.

Some say you can add it all for less but I doubt it and even if you could, you'd save maybe $100 and none of it would be warrantied.

~SB

 

I think the sport is way more stylish, aside from everything that's been mentioned thus far. I would never buy a car without cruise control, that's for sure. I don't use it a ton but when I do, it's a beautiful thing- especially in the Fit where perfect comfort on a long haul gets dicey. The legs welcome the break. I can't imagine going for a base just to save some bucks, if you really have the budget for a sport. What I wouldn't, and didn't do is pony up for the sport with navi. There you get into a substantial increase in cost for questionable features for your money. To me, the non navi Fit sport is the way to go unless your budget is just too tight. Sport all the way.

Dan

 

Seriously?! The dealers in Arkansas think that they get to redefine what "out the door" means? I'd be out the door myself and explaining the salesguy's parentage to him as I left.

 

Bizarrely, you do actually walk out the door without paying TTL. That's a separate transaction with the DMV that occurs later. Its not just the Honda dealers here either, when I bought a utility trailer from Harbor Freight it worked the same way. Sales tax and the title fee were not paid at the store but later at the DMV.

All that said, yes, Arkansas does many things differently from just about any other place in the world.

 

It's easy to find some used rims with 185 or 195 for dirt cheap, and add some speakers on the base model for cheap too. There will probably be some used sway bars for cheap when tuners will upgrade them.

Only thing that is missing on base model is the cruise control imo (and power door locks on the cdm dx model).
Acually the cdm EX model is the most interesting imo, and I like the look of the ex/hybrid civic wheels.

 

Check again on the Rims for dirt cheap. good luck finding 16" wheels/tires that work on the fit (that actually look really good) for cheap. (CDM EX/CivHY are I believe 15" or maybe 14" (can't remember) and finding them in great shape will be tough.) it's tough enough to find steel wheels for the Fit due to it's odd sizing. Probably looking at $600-$900 including mounting Balancing, and transfer of the TPMS system on a set of ultra cheap wheels. Anything decent wil be more. The sway bar isn't removable on the Fit. you can add on an additional swaybar but they sit lower than practically anything else on the car. they add to the fit sport's rigidity but a base fit with an aftermarket sway isn't as stiff as a sport with aftermarket sway. There's also anothe $150 after install/shipping as that's not going to be available locally. Adding speakers will run you about $50+shipping if you do the install yourself. and the USB is looking at another $150... At that point you might as well be adding an aftermarket HU.

Add that all up and you might as well have purchased a sport. Because everything is warrantied and rear suspension problems with an aftermarket sway bar probably won't be supported by the dealer under warranty.

~SB

 

This might matter to some, but a Sport will hold it's value a little better than a base. people like the bells and whistles.

 

In addition to what malraux said, the sales tax did show up on my sales invoice, so it wasn't like the dealer hid anything. It just showed up as 'customer responsibility' and is not paid to physically take the car with a temporary plate. You have 30 days to get regular tags, for which you must go to the revenue office, pay the sales tax, then go down the hall to get tags.

Having purchased a car in three other states (including NC)...this was by far the most convoluted process. It's kind of a pain, truthfully.

 

Looks like a huge 'loop-hole' that serves a purpose I'm sure.

I bought a car in Florida and was surprised that the DMV was a actually contracted out to some sort of private concern or concerns. Looked like the place I went into used to be a bakery store.

As I remember - no tax was paid, I got a paper tag for the rear. I then drove the car to NY and somewhere around DC the tag flew off in a rain storm. Drove the car w/ no tags another day to get home and even took NYS toll road and no one seemed to notice there were no tags on the car.

 

I got a BASE 5MT $14,700 OTD - The advantages are it is lighter by almost 200lbs than the sport auto and it has a faster 0-60 (along with more usable HP) however, my only dislike is there is no cruise control. Both are great cars but the base is for if you want a light fun car to autox and the sport is for your daily grind. Both are awesome and fun to customize!

 

That's exactly why I am not going with the Sport.. nothing in the "package" made me want it.

Fog lights and different bumper and side skirts.. I actually don't care for them. The base looks cleaner.

Remote entry? Base can do that.. don't pay the dealer either, all you need is the key FOB.

I've got a long commute.. 60 miles round trip. Never in my life have I used cruise control on the cars that have had it. I find with a manual keeping a consistent speed.. is easy.

2 extra speakers and USB.. okay those are pretty okay.. though I can add the USB to the base if I felt I needed it, which I don't.. when I get an MP3 player I'll just use the aux input.. I've always felt the head unit controls for Mp3 players to be clunky at best.

16" alloy wheels.. the Honda wheels don't excite me. They are okay but they don't make me want to buy them. For the money there, I'll just drive the stockers on the base till the tires wear out and buy some nice 17's.

Sway bar.. would be nice, though it would surprise me if I couldn't find a bigger aftermarket one.

Body color mirrors would be nice, but not a deal breaker.

The "package" has value if you like what it includes, for me the "big deal" would be the sway bar and body color mirrors.. which are not a big enough deal to pay more for what's going to be a commuter.

 

Also to add on the 2 extra speakers are tweeters and the base is ready to accept them you just need to pop the plastic cover off and plug the tweeters in. As for the FOB I bought it for 35$ from the dealer and programed it in the parking lot. So the frame of the base is pretty much the same as the sport have most of the wiring already run and the parts you can get for cheap except the cosmetics on the outside.

 

So the wiring for the two tweeters is already there?

Just another reason for me to stay with the base

Don't get me wrong... buying a car is about getting what you want.. if the features of the Sport appeal.. go for it

 

IMO the base is better since:

the fog lights dont do anything, but can easily cost you since they can get busted easy from a rock

base rims stand up better against pot holes

less chance of people taking your rims

the car is low enough, as the added lower body styling can cost you

the ipod thing is nothing but trouble from reviews, as the aux plug is all you need

my base came with 6 speakers

auto entry is easy to DIY for 40 bucks or less

Cruise control is a dam nice feature

 

the pot hole thing doesn't really matter here in Oregon or Washington.. nothing like what you guys back east have.

 

The sport isn't a the choice for everyone but I'd hedge a bet and say that it is a better value for most.

A Few have had issues with busted fog lights, most haven't. And they are useful in the foggy night and morning drives. (this morning was very foggy here in VT and heading to workearly proved them to be useful.

While the base rims will stand up to pottholes, the sport rims/tires will help you avoid them a little easier

I don't believe the body trim actually lowers the under side of the car, (maybe the nose is a bit closer to a curb) but you do get those handy foglights.

iPod... Don't use it... but I do use a flash drive (8GB) which stores plenty of music. who wants to always switch discs or fiddle with a hand held player?.

Check your Base again... it has 4 speakers with the grilles for two additional ones in the dash. You got lucky if you have 6 as someone made a mistake.

Auto entry... handy... and yes optional for $40

Cruise is nice, even though I don't use it much...

for the other posts. The Aftermarket sway bars end up being the lowest part of the car as it bolts to the bottom of the suspension.... Less ground clearance.

Arm rest on the sport isn't great but it's nice for longer drives. I put it up on my daily commute as I'm shifting alot more through the twisties.


for someone who doesn't need or want the above, the base is the best option. Why pay for features you don't want or need? But for those that want the options above (like myself and a majority of the fit community), the fit sport is a much better deal than buying a base and upgrading. Wheels, tires, cruise, fogs, USB, keyless, extra speakers, etc... will cost more than the $1500 difference in price. And, it can be rolled into the payments of the vehicle and again, is warrantied.

Not for everyone, but is for most.

~SB

 

Oh I plan to upgrade the wheels to some bronze 17's eventually, don't care for the H alloy wheels