I wonder if the recall of an unknown number of 2009 to 2013 Fits plus the 2014 Fit EV has put a chill on the pre-owned Fit market.

Some of these Fits have a Takata airbag inflater that pose a higher risk of rupturing and hurling metal shards into the occupants of the vehicle. It won't be clear which actual Fit vehicles have these inflaters and will be subject to the recall until the VINs are added to Honda's VIN online recall lookup tool by around Feb. 15th.

Honda has warned dealerships that they incur all legal liability if they sell a vehicle on the recall list. I did a search of several Honda dealerships in my area. Many aren't listing any Fits on their online inventory list. But there are a few listing Fits that could be subject to the recall such as 2011 and 2013 Fits. I also saw on some inventory lists CR-V's from 2008 and 2010 that could be affected. But inventory lists aren't often updated in real time.

And a few 2015 Fits are listed for sale, but so far, they're not subject to the recall.

I have a feeling it'll be tough to find a used Fit except a couple 2015s through a Honda dealer the next few weeks.

It looks like these Honda dealers are stuck with vehicles they cannot sell including Fits and several other Honda models.

Recalls announced Wednesday for specific vehicles (meaning not all vehicles will be recalled):
• 2007-2011 Honda CR-V
• 2007-2014 Honda Ridgeline
• 2009-2014 Honda Fit
• 2010-2014 Honda FCX Clarity
• 2010-2014 Honda Insight
• 2011-2015 Honda CR-Z

 

I was just in the market for another vehicle when a driver running a red light at high speed totaled my '08 Sport a few weeks ago.

I was on the fence between the various '09-13 models and the new '16. I eventually chose the '16 LX / CVT. Just picked it up a couple days ago, in fact.

This was before the expanded Takata recall. The issue I ran into was that prices for '09-13 Fits in good shape were approaching new Fit prices, and those '09-13's were pretty much out of warranty.

The '15s might be a harder sell because of all the problems at the Celaya plant. I really wanted to stay away from those and didn't want any of the 15's for that reason. So I went with a '16.

The expanded recall probably wouldn't have affected my decision much, although it might have influenced my peace of mind testing all those '09-13s. In the end, I'm happy with my '16 LX.

 

It won't effect anything. They will fix the airbags under recall. Since the recall is tied to the VIN and not the owner, so whoever owns the car will get the recall notice for the fix.

Takata makes millions of airbags for all vendors. Honda isn't the only manufacturer effected by this. I actually have a 2005 Mustang GT Prem (conv) which is under recall for the same thing, along with millions of others.

 

Bargain Guy, I have a 2016 Fit LX as well that I bought on 12/31 and I'm happy with it too. While I'll take a huge depreciation hit, given the air bag issue I'm glad I decided to buy new plus I apparently avoided the risk of issues at the Celaya plant with the 2015s. And I love the features that came standard with the third generation Fit.

 

That's is correct. Second generation Fit is the holly grain of modern Honda subcompacts. It has the perfected and trusted fuel injected single overhead cam L15 engine that returns excellent fuel economy, has good low end torque, happily spins to 5000 rpm, and has a known and exceptional reliability.

These engines, in fact, have been used as a small private airplane engine and they have been officially adopted as the US small engine in racing class.

They were all made in Japan so they have decades of service left in them with proper maintenance. That is why they hold their value well and can't easily be found with heavy discounts.

Enjoy your '16 though, should be a good car if direct injection and cvt hold up over time.

 

I agree with John21031. I have a '13 Fit. It was the last year of Gen2, made in Japan and Honda got the bugs worked out of it. Except for the lumbar support & lousy sun visors.

 

Even my first gen engine was practically trouble-free. I babied it...I think it was nearing its 30th oil change at 146K when the red light runner destroyed it. Didn't burn a drop of oil.

Other than the typical maintenance - plug replacement at 100K, valve lash adjustment and regular oil changes - it was happily chugging along. Still had the original coilpacks. I cleaned those up when I replaced the plugs and was waiting to see how long they'd last. Turned out to be a good move to wait.

I had no problems with the second gen, would have bought one if the price and circumstance was right. Ran into an awful lot of low-mileage rebuilders that had issues of one sort or another, a lot of them not disclosed to me and I had to go snooping around on my own to find out what was really going on with them.

For ex., I tested a '12 base with less than 16K mi., stick, clean carfax, and priced at $9995. Sounds like a deal, right? When I first tested it, it drove fine, but it was getting late and hard to see anything with the exterior. The next day - Sunday, where all car dealers are closed because of state law here - I went to take another look and caught something that had escaped my attention previously: Driver's side mirror was black while the passenger side was color-keyed to match the red paint. Hmmm. Even on the '12 base, both outside mirrors should have been color-keyed. That led me to take a much closer look at what was going on with the driver's side mirror, as it was obviously an aftermarket replacement. The driver's side door had been in a collision, the door panel alignment was way off, and there were chips all along the front edge of the door. While the car had a clean carfax, that doesn't mean it wasn't in a collision. Someone had done a hasty job with the mirror and door repair. Pass.

 

If '09 > '13 FITS start collecting on lots then an impact on trade in could take a hit . Plan to check trade in / resale value every few weeks until the fix is complete . I think you usually loose about $45 a month .

 

do you mean not all models in the fit range is effected ? or every fit in the 2009 -2014 range but not the civic for example

 

I've been in the market for a used Gen2 Fit and spent time on cars.com and Honda dealer websites checking them out over the past 5 weeks. My personal experience is that up until the recall announcement last week, most Honda dealers had 1 or 2 used Gen2 Fits and then they disappeared. I'm guessing they pulled them due to the recall and Honda's reminder not to sell them. They still appear on other manufacterer and independent used car dealers websites. Some Honda dealers still list them but no where as many as before the recall. I just bought mine yesterday (2012 Base with 11,500 miles for $12,600 and $1,000 trade on my rapidly aging 2005 Nissan Altima with 220,000 miles). After thinking about it, I'm not concerned about the airbag recall. This will be our 2nd 2012 Fit and I'm sure both will be impacted and need the igniter replaced once parts are available. From what I've ready, this is a proactive recall for the Fit due to failure of the igniter at a higher rate than is acceptable in the lab tests they are running. I don't believe any 2009-2013 Fit's airbag has ruptured during an actual crash.
Since Honda dealers appear to be locking their's up until they can be fixed, the used inventory will go down, holding prices firm for those sold at other locations and privately. However, the trade in value will probably also go down, especially at Honda dealers. Since there were never a lot of Fits sold, I'm guessing that things will return to normal once the Fits at Honda dealers hit the market again.
Just my two cents after being in the market for a used Fit...

 

i would think the recall will have zero affect on resale value.
in a few years, if i was someone in the market for a used fit, and started researching them. i think the 13 would be the way to go instead of the 15 and all of the problems with that new factory and the redesign

 

Was told that you'll have to leave your FIT at dealer lot until fix when you have a loaner . Not likely with a waiting period up to 6 months . Especially when there are monthly payments on it .

 

every single dealer I called would not sell me a used fit. They are currently all recalled at least as far as I've been told. I'm forced to be looking at anew one...is the new one louder then the older ones in terms of road noise?

 

Honda is allowing some depreciation assistance . As for trading in towards other manufacterers ( Toyota , Hyundai , etc. ) , not sure . They should .

 

We checked book value for the '13 FIT base with auto and 20,500 mis. on 2/5/16 at Very Good . It came to $10,631 . Rechecked on 2/19/16 with 20,600 mis. and dropped to $10,568 at Very Good . That's a difference of $63 in 2 weeks . That seems a bit sharper since the Recall . I believe it was in the $45 range for every new month . We average the Low and High of the Very Good at K.B.B.. The car is not used as much since the recall and did estimated miles .

 

This may also have been more because of the fact that fuel prices have dropped drastically and are now stabilizing at a lower rate. Economical Vehicles are no longer as in demand as when gas is in the $3+ range.

That said, the Recall shouldn't affect the resale value as it is an item that once replaced will not impact the value. plus the fact that half the other cars manufactured in the last 2-10 years all have the same issue.

~SB

 

Likely both as factors .

 

Or, likely neither are factors and it just depends on his zip code & website used.

A recall is a guaranteed fix, which it is tied to the VIN, not the owner. Cars depreciate daily. Once the issue is resolved, the car will be fine, unless there are those that don't have faith in the brand/maker of the airbag, which could certainly affect value. Many probably won't buy a car w/ takata airbags, certainly families affected won't. But having said that, we're not talking about the exploding Ford Pinto's here... We're talking about millions of cars on the road today (Honda, Hyundai, Ford, Toyota, etc..) that are affected.

I picked a fictitious car not affected by the recall. 2012 Malibu LT, good cond:
35K miles = $10,644
40K Miles = $10,351
45K Miles = $10,102

Cars go through a weird cycle depreciation/appreciation, and unless it's a prominent name plate, i.e. BMW M3, M5, Merc S-class/AMG, Mustang GT, Ferrari, Challenger, Lambo, Cuda, Corvette, Z-28, they will start to appreciate in value over time.

I wished I had never sold my 89 Mustang LX 5.0. In good cond, it's worth more now than I paid brand new in 89. B.T.W., it had no airbags, no abs, and drum brakes to boot in the rear!!! Add rear wheel drive, 225 HP V8/290 LB of torque in a lightweight Fox body... LOL. My 05 Mustang GT Ragtop Garage queen has the takata problem.
That car has gained value since I've purchased it.

 

I do concede that you probably won't be able to trade the car in until it's fixed.
The dealer could make up some song & dance about having to sit on the car until the parts come in. But on the other hand, a good sales person (unless mandated by law or corporate) should be able to put a good spin on reselling the car with the guarantee of replacing the part. They will certainly low ball you on the trade-in value though.

On the bright side, at least Honda has stated the fix will be in Summer of 2016. I just found out on my Mustang, one part is available, the other part has no date in sight. They suspect sometime in 2017.

 

Disagree , there likely will be or already is an impact on book value . There was a lawsuit for depreciation against TOYOTA due to the unassisted acceleration . We had a few Toyotas at that time and received a few checks for loss of value .