Apparently my 2015 EX stick is.

Just had my Clutch, Flywheel, Pressure Plate replaced along with new front end alignment because they had to lower the front end to get to the trans and new trans fluid and labor for 4200 out the door.

Then just went in for my usual oil change. The Honda Dealer finds out my right CV Joint was leaking grease. Now along with other issues I'm going to address this repair will cost 1750 plus 599 in parts.

Makes me wish I still had my 1995 Saturn SC2 stick.

 

You don't mention how many miles you have, but the repairs you described are "wear" items that every driver will eventually replace if they keep any car for its intended lifespan.
If you were still driving a 27 year old Saturn you would have replaced some (or most) of the following: clutch, CV joints, wheel bearings, struts, shocks, engine and transmission mounts, engine gaskets, muffler and/or full exhaust system, spark plugs and wires, fuel pump, front and rear brake components, emissions-related sensors, thermostat, water pump, alternator, A/C compressor, multiple sets of tires...
Your real complaint is that you paid dealership prices. Dealership service is a money pit. Not everyone wants to work on their own car and that's fine. An independent mechanic would have done your repairs for less money.
As a rough example, a CV joint for a 2015 Fit is around $50 and a clutch kit is $150-$250 (Rockauto.com). There's a good chance that you could get all the parts replaced in both jobs for less than the $599 you paid for parts during the CV job.

 

Or 15 LX manual has needed nothing other than routine maint stuff, Was letting dealer do oil changes/brake fluid changes/etc until it was paid off and we've crossed that bridge.....have been using K7N filters in engine and cabin with no problems for 5 years

 

Yeah, but how many miles does your car have on it? All that expensive stuff is coming up, it's just a matter of time. The trick is to not get hosed when it does.

 

Aside from the VCT issue that was covered by warranty, everything else Ive done to our FIT was mods and therefore not "necessity"

 

Comparing the two cars my Saturn seems to be less problematic than my 2015 Fit. Sure I had to replace the usual wear and tear stuff and maintenance. My Saturn was the most reliable car I've owned compared to my 2015 Fit. I like my Fit. But not as much as my 1995 Saturn SC2 Stick.

 

There is always sample variation, so you could have had the world's best Saturn and a lemon Fit. In the case of used cars, the behavior of the previous owner(s) plays an important role in future reliability. Without more information from you we can't really evaluate your claim that your Fit is uncharacteristically unreliable.

How long did you own the Saturn vs the Fit? When did you own them in their lifespan? Did you buy them new or used? How many miles on each of them when you got them? How many miles did you add?

Most of my cars have been from the late 1980s and 1990s (I got my license in 1996): Pontiac Grand Am (1987, 1994), Ford Escort (1994, 1996), Dodge Shadow (1990), Hyundai Accent (1998). All purchased when 5-10 years old with with 50K - 100K miles. In all my years of ownership of those cars, I never had any issues.

Would I recommend that folks run out and buy one of those cars for themselves or their family members over a 2015 Fit? Absolutely not.

1) I had a secret advantage. My dad was a mechanic. Each of the cars above were purchased cheaply because of various mechanical issues. We would fix them up and I would drive them for a year or three until I wanted something different, at which time I would sell them for a profit and buy the next.
2) More importantly, no small economy car from the 1990s is going to be as safe as a modern economy car, especially as the majority of the other vehicles on the road have gotten larger and larger.
3) Time keeps moving forward. I would have expected a 1995 economy car to be reliable for 5-10 years with basic maintenance and upkeep. The same is true of a 2015 economy car. After that, it's just a fact of automotive ownership that you're going to have to start replacing wear items. My dad continued to drive one of my Escorts until it was 25 years old with over 300K miles, when the rear strut towers rusted out. Was it reliable until then? Yes, but remember he was a mechanic so over the years he kept on top of maintenance, which included replacing a giant list of "wear" components including everything I outlined in my previous post.

No one is going to stop you from selling your Fit and buying another 1995 Saturn. In fact, you could probably get five Saturns and have enough cash left over to fill at least one of them with gas. I see Saturns almost every time I drive, which lends credence to your argument about their inherent reliability. They usually look OK because of the composite body panels, but where I'm currently located (New England) they're probably rusty Swiss cheese underneath. You'll have the same problem in Chicago. If you do it, report back on your ownership experience. Just make sure you find a talented and honest independent mechanic first.

 

I'm at 140k with my 2010 MT Fit. Still on the original clutch but I'm planning for the replacement. If you drive easy and carefully, the clutch and brakes can last a long time. If you rabbit the car, the clutch will wear down faster. If you brake hard, they will wear down faster.

The cost of ownership for me has been very low. I had a motor mount break which caused other issues but Honda helped me out and it only cost me ~ $400. I also splurged for the 100k service from the dealership. Otherwise, Brakes, tires, rear shocks and regular oil changes is about all I've done give or take.

 

I bought my Saturn used from a Saturn Dealer in late 1996. Owned it for 18 years. 234,000 miles before it was stolen for the Catalytic Converter.

2015 Fit bought brand new with 33 miles. Now it has a little over 84,000 miles. Great car. But the last few weeks has been a financial challenge with these major repairs.

 

I bought my Saturn used from a Saturn Dealer in late 1996. Owned it for 18 years. 234,000 miles before it was stolen for the Catalytic Converter.

2015 Fit bought brand new with 33 miles. Now it has a little over 84,000 miles. Great car. But the last few weeks has been a financial challenge with these major repairs.

 

It definitely sounds like you had a good Saturn and it treated you well. I think everyone has one vehicle in their life that just works for them and it's difficult to find a worthy replacement. It's a bit ironic that it was stolen for the catalytic converters. After 234K miles there likely wasn't any valuable metal left inside them.

I'm still curious if you're suggesting that you never had to make similar repairs (clutch, CV joint, whatever) on your Saturn as you recently made on the Fit, or if your issue is with the cost of the repairs on the Fit? Sort of the difference between durability vs cost of repairs, which are related but not the same thing.

In the first instance, many would consider 80K miles pretty normal for a clutch. It all depends on where and how you drive. CV joint lifespan is also tied to driving conditions and driving style. When I was a kid we broke them all the time on our farm truck, but it was being operated in rough 4wd conditions under heavy loads or towing trailers. I've never had a CV issue on any car, but I am on the tortoise end of the acceleration spectrum.

As for the cost of the Fit repairs, it's pretty clear that everything costs more today than it did 10 or 20 years ago. The already overpriced dealership repair is not going to be an exception to that rule. I haven't priced any big repairs from an independent mechanic lately, but I think you paid a hefty premium at the dealership. That's not unique to the Fit.

 

My 2008 Fit has been a great car.

 

We are on our second Honda Fit....a 2008, and now a 2019 EX auto. The main reason for buying a Honda is that it performs as it should for many years, and the cost of maintenance is very low. This has been
my experience over these 14 years on both Fits.

 

Early Saturns had Honda engines(which is why they were known to be reliable). GM had a fight with Honda over the coolant. GM wanted to use theirs but Honda insisted on theirs. They were Honda engines and need Honda coolant. GM did what it wanted and as a result the GM engines they used didn't last. Then Saturn disappeared; coincidence? I believe Scotty on YT told this once.

 

Not taking your car to the Honda stealership for services will definitely save quite a bit of $.

 

That's true.

I go to my local Honda Dealer because they have the know how and stock parts availability to get my Fit going. They'll do the work and maintenance right the first time. My neighborhood mechanic can't.

 

Agreed

 

Just curious, what unique (possibly extraterrestrial?) materials or technologies do you guys think are present on the Fit that can only be touched and understood by a Honda dealership mechanic?

I will concede that the GK5 direct injection motors are more complex than the motor found in the GD3 or GE8 generations, but the same type of motor is now found in many small cars which are repaired by both dealerships for other manufacturers and independent mechanics every day.

A small, understressed, 4 cylinder gas engine is about as simple as it gets. There's no magic sauce (unless you spilled something on your Magic Seat) that requires a Honda patch on your mechanic's shirt.

If someone is more comfortable paying a premium to get repairs done at the dealership that's their right, but it seems disingenuous to then complain about the cost of those repairs, which is how this thread began.

 

My issue was that I had to get a new Clutch at 84,500 miles. My last car a 1995 Saturn SC2 stick the Clutch lasted over 200,000 miles before I had to replace it. My Saturn lasted to 234,000 miles before it was stolen for the Catalytic Converter. I always had my Saturn worked on at a Saturn Dealer.

Would I trust a neighborhood indie mechanic work on my 2015 Fit just to save a few hundred dollars? No way no chance.

 

A clutch most likely doesn’t just wear out for no reason. Did you move or do you drive differently?

My car is on original clutch at 160k miles and has nary an issue.

As others have said, servicing at the dealership is just adding a 10-20% surcharge to most any task with no improvement in work quality.