Convince me to keep my 2013 fit sport
 

Hi everyone,

Last year I bought a used 2013 Honda Fit Sport (taffy white, auto, without nav) with around 11,000 miles. Paid a pretty penny for it which was worth it at the time for me because I wanted it to be my long-term car that I would not replace for 10+ years due to its versatility and reliability.

It has almost 21,000 miles on it and while it has been a good car, fun to drive, perky, great carrying capacity, it has not been comfortable in terms of smoothness of the ride quality, cabin noise, buffeting easily in the wind, and very harsh automatic transmission (hate when it downshifts into first and I get thrown forward). Low power on the highway is not fun either. It's great around town and in the city, but I don't drive in those conditions often enough.

I love small cars, am a Honda guy, and my previous daily was a 1997 civic ex which is now my beater/backup with over 200,000 miles. I test drove a bunch of sub-compacts and the Fit was clearly the best quality which is why I chose it. Although now I'm feeling that I need a more "mature" vehicle, meaning: smoother, quite, more comfortable in general.

In terms of making the car more comfortable the only thing I can think of are bigger, better tires and adding more sound proofing... I really don't want to rip up the insides to add more sound proofing, though. And one of my main annoyances is that automatic transmission, no changing that.

Your input is appreciated, thanks for reading!

Pics of my Fit:
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We cant tell u what to do. My car is your twin minus i have nav, rear oem mud flaps and tint. I love mine but i dont need people to direct my decisions with big purchases. U cant be that weak can u?

For me it was a question of cost. Got a 2013 Base with AT and with nothing else. It is pretty spartan but adequate basic transportation. When I travel for work I get to drive rental cars and many seem nicer and get as good or better mileage. At the time, if money was less of a concern I probably would have gone with a Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI (not sure I would do that today). Also, but for the cost weight and bother, adding soundproofing to my Fit is tempting. Better tires will have to wait until the stock ones are worn out which will be a while since half the time I have snows on, though I am tempted to buy a second set of rims and one of those rear stabilizer bars. It does seem a bit under powered and could behave better on the highway but I can live with those, and so far plan to take excellent care of it and keep it for a long time.

So if you decide not to keep your Fit, what will you get instead?

tough love
 

dish: I don't mean to diss a fellow Jerseyan but I thought it best to give you a little tough love. First, PLEASE do your homework before you consider getting another car. Write down on a sheet of paper all those things that you require in a vehicle (ie: can't afford gas prices so I need a fuel efficient vehicle; drive long distances so I need a quiet cabin and cushy ride; have four kids so I need adult rear leg room;.........that kind of thing.) Next, consult LOTS of on line forums such as Edmunds, cars.com and other vehicle specific forums which will give you a great overview of the highs and lows of each car as reported by owners of that model.
As for buying the Fit, you really should have known that it generally is an urban vehicle, not built for long distance touring, as you now have found out. However, you have bought one of maybe only three "bullet proof" vehicles produced in recent history. The Fit is an outstanding vehicle and won't drive itself to the mechanic, even when abused. Unless you are having back problems or leg cramps from driving your Fit, I would keep it. Lots of owners on this page take repeated long trips in this car and find it acceptable, not to mention the satisfaction of flying by all those gas stations along the way.
If you really need a recommendation on a very reliable used car that is a joy to drive, I personally would aim for the Avalon (any edition prior to the current one which no longer feels like it rides on clouds). But to go full circle, again, write down important life decisions on paper; pros and cons columns. Keeping things straight in one's head when making tough decisions is normally a recipe for disaster. :nod:

You sound like a naive recent college grad who feels a need to impress their coworkers.

Keep the Fit, unless you like burning money on depreciation/fuel/etc.

I hope you're ignoring jerks who make assumptions <you know who you are>. It sounds like you're asking for help making the car smoother, quieter, and generally less abrasive. I'm new around here but I'm guessing there are a few folks who can help. As a mature (older) individual, I think the car looks great and I like mine very much but you'll ultimately have to be the one to construct a decision matrix for keeping it or ditching it once you get some input on refinements. List all the features and characteristics (criteria) that go into your decision and put a weight next to each one (price 30%, refinement 20%, safety 30%, performance 20%, whatever you like) . The weights should add up to 100 total regardless how many criteria you list. Next...list all the cars you are considering including the existing Fit and score each model 1-10 for each feature. Multiply each line and sum the total. Highest score is your decision. Good luck!

You said it's got an anchormatic. I would never try to convince you to keep it.

I agree with you completely. There are plusses to the Fit, but you nailed all the cons on the head. There's are other choices, and I don't see a problem with what you're saying.


Funny how the people reacting so strongly seem to take it personally that you don't love your Fit the way they do.


Anytime you drive something new, you learn things. You've learned things that are important to you in a car, that the Fit doesn't do well. Make a list of the things you want in a car, and start looking for cars that check those boxes. Test drive them, see what feels right.


I'm wanting to get rid of my Fit for the same reasons you expressed.

Top reasons I tell people why they should get a Fit:
1: Space, best in class
2: Fuel economy
3: Fun to drive around the city
4: Easy to maintain

Hey everyone,

Yes, it can be easy to trigger peoples' negativity when they take even small, objective critiques personally. But ultimately it's on them, and not my responsiblity.

Thanks for everyone else who shared their constructive thoughts! We have various vehicles in the family, all meticulously researched and purchased after much forethought. A 2007 Accord Se, a 2010 Civic Ex, my fit, and a 2011 Prius III (for mom). These are some of the best cars in terms of reliablity, quality, resale value, etc... The Prius is not as engaging as the others but my mom doesn't care plus once I got up to 54mpg in it. I would love to get another Civic or Accord but my personal policy is not to get a "repeat" vehicle.

I did do the same thorough research before buying the fit and was happy with it for a while until the issues I listed started to wear on me. It's all the great things and especially the "bullet proof" quality which have me torn. I'll do some research on another car but to be honest I'm exhausted of researching, there are very few cars out there other than the lineup I already own that are engaging to drive, reliable, have high resale value, etc... Maybe an impreza wagon, as I've heard Subie is getting better in terms of reliablity, same with Mazda perhaps? Hmm.

Thanks, all, for the food for thought!

There are various reasons I didn't get a 5spd... My beater is stick, NJ traffic sucks, and mainly this:

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If you are due for tires, you could try new tires. Otherwise, get rid of it. Your post stated accurately what's good about the car and what's not so good. Except you forgot the crappy, uncomfortable seats.

I love the car (except for the seats), and I don't mind the noise and low power, so it sorta works for me. But you, not so much. Would a new Civic or Accord do it for you?


P.S. Are your AT problems a common issue or is it just your car?

Are you financing? If you are, trading the car after only a year is a terrible idea, because most of your payments have gone to interest, and very little of it to the principle of the loan.

I felt the need after around a year to trade up as well, and pretty much every dealer I went to offered me way less than what was owing on the car (or to pay off the balance and let me start fresh, but I had to buy a Dodge or Hyundai, i.e. never get ahead of the balance of the vehicle again in terms of resale, thus ensnaring me for life on the same deal over and over). Now that I'm near done, I could trade up and get a significant chunk of money off pretty much any car I wanted. At the same time, I've gotten used to the Fit and its cons, so I'm going to keep it and start saving money when I'm done paying for it toward my next vehicle. That way when I do sell it, I'll be able to put whatever I get for it plus some savings down, and maybe even avoid a car payment altogether.

Subaru really is a reliable car. In 2005, they surpassed Honda and Toyota in terms of reliability. Definitely give some of their models a look.

Sorry to hear about your dislike of the AT. I totally understand why you would not like the car. I drove the sport with the AT and did not like it at all. It feels like it came from an 80's Civic with more gears added on. Jerky downshifts and it just bogs when it's flogged.
Life is short. If you don't like the car, it's not a waste of money to trade it in for something better and more comfortable. I don't like my Fit that much so I bought another car last year. Now my '10 Fit is my bike carrier and winter beater.
I have driven the new Mazda3 with both manual and auto transmission; they are very nice.

+1

I don't like ATs, but I really couldn't do one of these with an AT because they're too underpowered. The driving dynamic wouldn't be there and all the other problems with it being so small and lightweight would come out and be in my face all the time.

I added the leather seats, some THICKLY padded mats and good tires. The good tires took quite a lot of sound away (from 185 to 205). Then upgraded the speakers, sub, amp. I did keep the stock head unit. I also added an interior light kit. The next steps are to upgrade the brakes and a mild suspension upgrade.
but its up to you. I have an entirely other car that I keep to race around in.
-bix

Are you me? lol

Hi all, thanks for the great replies. Nope, the car is fully paid off. Tires have plenty of tread. Interestingly I never had any issue with the seat!

^ That's very interesting, I still see them rated lower on consumer reports, etc.

This is very cool, great work!

I think I'll make a decision to sell it soon. Right now my CBR is getting the miles as I'm trying to refrain from using my Fit as much as possible :-P

Still wondering what would be a good replacement *outside* of the cars we already have in the family, an accord, civic, and prius. So far I'm deciding between an impreza hatch or Mazda 3 hatch...will have to look up the best years for these since I would be getting used.

Thanks again all!

It's funny, I test drove a Mazda3, and was very disappointed with the way it drove. Felt so lifeless and detached. The interior is comfortable, but that's about all I liked.