This is my first Honda vehicle, after a long relationship with Focus's. I like to do ally own work on my cars, and hopefully this thing will be no exception. Also this cars is kinda a "3rd car" mainly for saving gas, and I like to have an extra vehicle around just in case one goes down.
​​​​​​Onto the car.... It was cheap, like 2k OTD cheap, so that's like 1800 bucks here in Ohio. Seemed to good to be true. It's got 234,000 miles😮 on it, yikes. But it's a Honda right? 5 speed manual, sport? (As it has cruise control)
its rusty (pretty rough actually, but I could see that before I bought it), and the rear hatch latch seams finiky. Really that's all I can find that's broke. Looks like a new battery this spring and the whole exhaust looks brand new. And the tires are shot.
just for a kick in the teeth, I pulled the carfax after I purchased it... And it's been fully maintenance at a Honda dealership in new york, everything it's whole life, lol. And one owner. One heck of a gamble there.




It needs tires right away, it currently has 185/65-15, but it looks like 195/55-15 should be the stock size? I should be able to fit the stock size on to these rims right? They don't look like stock rims either, I'm thinking it shipped with aluminum wheels.

Hopefully this thing can give me a few years of use, before the rust fully consumes the car. "It's a Honda" it should last right?

 

Do you feel good about it?
It's not your ONLY vehicle...so you have that insulation.
You seem to know, roughly it's shortcomings as far as rust damage.
You didn't pay much for it.

"It's a Honda it should last" however is not a magic spell....
It's a Honda it HAS LASTED is the truth. 234,000 miles..are 234,000 miles. And rust is rust.

If you work on your own vehicles you know machines wear.

For what you paid, and for the intended role of the vehicle? I wouldn't feel bad. But it simply can NOT come with any guarantees.
Since you do now own it? I'd just deal with the wear and rust/age issues the best you can. And enjoy.

You seem to have a good handle on what you have purchased. If a few years of use are all you are looking for? Then there is every chance you might get it. But with a used, rusting Honda Fit, with over 200,000 miles on it? I don't think anyone can offer either an indictment of the purchase or a guarantee of it's future.

 

I am in a similar situation to you - I bought a Fit with 153k on the clock. Mine is auto and the base model; on paper, this is the most fuel efficient combo, but the differences are negligible. But this car is also our third and for me to commute to work with (60 miles roundtrip, not a lot, not a little). I plan on using it for a few years before the kids are ready to drive. At that point they will learn on this Fit (driving and maintenance) and I will buy myself another.

Did the previous owner swap out the Fit wheels for the 15" wheels? I thought Fit Sports came with 16" wheels.

 

We got our daughter a Honda Fit for her 16th birthday. Couldn't pass up the deal since it was almost FREE. My brother's wife brother in law is an Uber driver and was driving the Fit when it made a loud noise and the car stop moving forward and couldn't go into reverse. He thought he blew up the trans and was going to junk the car. My brother offers to buy the car from him, but he told my brother that he would give him the car. I looked at the car when AAA was going to tow the car to my brother house and told him that the car had a snapped axle and that is why it isn't moving under its own power. Bought two new axles and two new wheel bearings, since if we were going to replace the axles, might as well do the wheel bearings. So for just under 200 bucks, we had a running Fit. Our daughter is enjoying the car and love to show off to her friend and cousins that she got a car for her birthday. My wife enjoys driving the car since it is small and it has the factory navigation so she isn't worried about getting lost. Now if these two could fill the car with gas when it gets low that will make life easy for me.

They could be winter tires.

 

These are winter tires... They are almost beat, and howl like a lifted 4x4. At lunch today I'm going to get some new ones ordered. I'm just not sure of the size I should go with.
some websites say a 195/55-15 should fit, and I'm finding that size cheaper.

 

Also the TPMS light is on, so I was going to order a set of sensors from Fleabay and toss them in at the same time. If I can't get the light to go out, oh well I can live with it.

 

Winter? What is this winter? Sorry, I live in LA where our winter is 50deg. (Good point about the winter setup)

My worry is my wife and kids will put diesel in the car. I fill up the cars as general insurance against that.

My other cars had a "learning" procedure for the TPMS - I have not looked in to it but I imagine the Fit has something similar.

 

Before leaving the tire store make sure the TPMS light is out, if not tell them the light is on. They have the tool to fix that.

 

Stock tire sizes...

Base - 175/65-15
Sport - 185/55-16

A 195/60-15 would put you close to stock height.

Can play around with the options on willtheyfit.com

 

I paid $1200 for a one owner '09 Fit with 390k miles two years ago. Currently has about 483k miles on it now with normal wear and tear items changed out. Do you feel better now?

 

I read thru your whole thread already, cool story. And yes it does. Keep up the joruny.
Also, you should contact Doug Demero, I bet he would come do a review of your car!

 

You are definitely the right person to give the OP warm fuzzy feelings!

I'm about to add boost to our 200k mile GD. I see no reason not to. It uses zero oil and runs like new.

 

when you hit 500k .... please update us!

we've gotta get the official blogger to do a shout out or send you a card/flowers or something cool

 

One tank in almost and still trying to figure this thing out. I have learned that the radio does not completely suck. The last owner had the bass and treble all screwed up, lol took a week before I caught on. I use it mostly for podcast on my commute tho.
I have had a Scangauge 2 for years, and was always just in "in the window" on my focus. But I have less gauges in this car so I find my self looking at it more. I need some ideas on where to permitly mount it.
I need rear struts, seems easy enough to do.
And hopefully today or tomorrow my new tires will get installed. These winter tires have got to go!
Also have a dash cam to get mounted and wired once I font some time.

 

Also this shift knob sucks, and the oem fell about years ago probably. Can someone recommend one that actually threads on? This one from the pats store has a plastic insert and is just as crappy as it can get.

 

Thread pitch on the shift knob is 10 x 1.5. Tons of choices ranging from $4 eBay knobs to $100 JDM stuff. Just remember that, if it has to index a certain way due to writing or design, you'll want one with a nut at the bottom. If, no design and just round, it can just thread on till it stops.

 

Thanks, that's the info I was seeking!!

 

Could you mount the Scangauge atop the steering column? That was where I placed my magnetic mount. I use an old phone connected to an OBD2 scanner to grab info and display it, but your SG is even slimmer and would cover less (if any) of the gauge cluster.

Are those safety glasses in the cup holder?

 

I thought about that, but it will block the ODO reset. I seen one photo of it mounted in the center just in front of the vents. on a bracket... Im still up in the air. I may, never move it lol. Cuz im kinda lazy.

Yes, those are safety glasses, I use them as sunglasses. They are $1.99 @ Harbor freight. I got sick and tired of loosing/braking glasses, and these things are cheap. I have pairs everywhere. I am never more than 10 feet away from a set when im at my house.

 

I put my SG on the little window on the drivers side




but I see that your phone is presently taking up that space ... you'll need to somehow make room