Do the old Fits have all the tech and amenities, and come in Passion Berry Pearl?

Yeah, didn't think so. Enjoy your old car, I'm happy with my 2015 Fit.

 

Im wondering where you would find an 09 with no miles

 

Certainly not mine. It had 86,000 when I traded it last spring.

 

18 months with my 6MT LX .... no issues what-so-ever .... love my FIT!!!

 

My issues include a paint blemish that is still not repaired. it should be soon, but they have had a few chances to fix, and it is still the same. I will post an update on that once it's fixed.

Other issues include rattling windows, both open and closed. Honda said another Fit on the lot rattled as well, normal operation (I have that in writing). This is extreme rattling that does not stop. And not just the windows, the interior rattles as well. I am going to have to fix this myself, I am hoping that it is possible.

Also the odd transmission, including a jerky rough reverse and jerky lower gears (see pulsating second gear thread). Other issues include the paint and windshield chipping easily.

My main complaint is that I have had the car in the shop over one month in total (paint shop as well as Honda coordination issues) .

I also had to deal with Honda, and that sucked. I spent one week playing phone tag, because Jonathan (old Honda rep on this forum) has a new position, and no one could deal with my paint blemish that he had closed the case on (it wasn't fixed). Honda rep acted like I was asking too much when I said that I wanted my paint fixed to the way it should have been when I purchased it. Basically I've lost time and money on all these defects that I tried to avoid by buying my first new car and a Honda. I will not buy a Honda again, I have already settled that.

At this point I am just hoping that the car is mechanically solid. If it doesn't have a catastrophic failure in it's lifetime, I'd be happy.

So yes, extreme buyers remorse. i would not recommend Honda to anyone. If anything, I'd recommend against them.

 

Yep. Dealership service is a pain. I have some minor annoying tranny issues too. Like unable to go into 1st gear at random times. Jerky first gear, but too lazy to waste my time at the dealer. I'll get it fixed before my warranty expires.

 

Got a '16 Fit. No regrets other than getting a auto instead of an manual but it's more of a family car than a personal car.

 

I feel you OP.
I got this car at the very beginning of 2015. Just got married and my old taurus was a dead horse and fit met all of our purpose.
I didn't have a lot of experience with cars tbh.

After 5 months I realized the car loan didn't matter that much between a 18k and 28k car, and the road and wind noise defiantly kills the mood of long-distance trips.
Then I persuaded my wife somehow and we started hunting cars. It's weird because we should have done this before we pulled the trigger. neah but we didn't have time back then so after everything settled we restarted car hunting.
Well we visited almost all mainstream dealers in town and we eye'd on Subaru WRX.
However after months' hunting we both calmed down. Disregard the fact that we might have a house loan very soon, we found:
1) we kind got used to the road noise;
2) the MPG is the best among all we drove. Well it's not a Puris, but it's 5k cheaper than the cheapest Puris.
3) as the first owner, we experience the most Depreciation. We don't want to get another new car and we eventually need two cars, so fit is a keeper.
4) let's be honest. just for this price range ( 16k - 18k), new cars are mostly "identical" because you got what you paid. Honda fit, Toyota Yaris, etc, etc. Honda fit is the best pick for young couples and new grads (i am new grads, and she just got enrolled into grad school so our budget is always tight).
5) it's versatile. Actually the most versatile car I have ever seen and drivin within this price range. No complains. We traveled, we moved big furniture, road tripped with friends, all good.

Did I regret?
Short answer is I was. If i still have 18k budget i might just boost it into 20k~22k so i might get something different (subaru forester, imprenza, Golf, even ford Fiesta ST). but i might still feel regret whatsoever. Fit taught me couple things
1) GET A MT (i really hate CVT it's the most boring thing i have ever seen. I will never understand why people say fit 'handles pretty good and drives fun'. It's just boring).
2) GET a hothatch
3) You will always get disappointed by the thing you bought. that being said, you don't feel regret with your car, you just feel regret with your decision. There is nothing wrong with this car.

But now we are kind over it . My wife loves our fit so we will keep it. It's low maintenance as a daily commuter, take you from point a to point b. can tolerate long-distance if you can live with road/wind noise. gas saver, huge room. looks kind sporty.

 

cross posted from the other thread, but probably better suited here:

as a previous honda fanboy of 25+ years, the fit has fallen short of previous honda quality by quite a measure. gone are the days of 200k+ trouble free econo cars. this is not necessarily a Honda only problem. in recent years all the manufacturers have taken quality hits, mostly due to cost cutting and further outsourcing of cheaper parts. my previous commuter car, a 2012 kia rio, i purchased new. only had it for a little over 2 years and 70k miles. aside of a slew of mechanical issues, the car had rust issues and was in the process of rotting out, so, i offloaded it for the new fit. i immediately had a large mechanical failure in the fit... not a good start, imho. now i have a bunch of little issues, none of which cause me to not to get to work,. so they are dealt with.

although not the cheapest in it's segment, we need to see this car for what it is. it is an entry level commuter car and should be treated as such. expecting any more, and you will be let down. it will have "issues". took me a few years to accept it, but expecting perfect fit and finish is not realistic anymore. honda is now living off it's bulletproof reliability status earned in the 70's, 80's 90's and early 2000's. things have gone downhill since they put struts in the civic...

again, it is not just honda. toyota too is living off a previously earned reputation. i had a 2011 tacoma that at only 59k miles needed a/c compressor, both front wheel bearings, replacement radio, rear springs and had rust on the frame. in july of this year i offloaded it for a 2015. some rattles in the new truck, but overall it is ok. only have 7k on it at this time, so i am sure that will change in the future...

am i annoyed when i walk up to the fit in the morning, notice the bumper edges pushing out, notice the plastic clips on the lower shield broken/missing, or piss poor engineered afterthought of rear inner fender liners? sure i am. but a quick wack with my hand solves the bumper issue, sourcing better quality plastic clips for the lower shield, and more vigilant cleaning of the rear of the car in winter solves the issues for me.

my driver seatbelt is making noises, squeaking at the clip. i went to the tool box, found some teflon spray and put a dab of it on the little spring. first time i ever had to do this on ANY car before. i feel lucky that in my youth when i was "broke", i had access to some bulletproof cheap econo cars.

i guess my point on this long winded post is cars are not what they used to be. it is a different world with different goals. imho, it seems manufacturers are putting together cars that just try to make warranty end date, not the quality vehicles we have seen in the past.

 

I noticed you bought the LX CVT... I believe the EX has more sound deadening material; rear wheel wells if I recall. At any rate, I find the noise level of the Fit pretty quiet compared to my 2002 Odyssey; both wind and road noise.

Those are good choices, although lower MPG, except for maybe a diesel Golf.

Agreed on 'boring' relative to active engagement with shifting, etc, but regardless of the transmission, I do think it drives; steers and maneuvers nicely. The CVT makes it a cruiser car and for that, it does a very nice job.

Side note: And nobody ever mentions that as a passenger, the linear acceleration of the CVT is more preferable to having your head jerked about from the MT driver's shifts. Just look over at your passenger the next time you drive an MT to see what I'm talking about. Small point, but its one of my rationalized arguments for the CVT, haha.

Yes, more fun, less mileage, probably less cargo space than the Fit and definitely more $$. As an only car, I would have chosen the Fit MT if cargo and mileage were my predominant criteria, otherwise the ST for not much more dollars in base trim. My ST is fully optioned and cost 4.6K more than my Fit EX-CVT, so not a good apples to apples comparison. I like them both for what they do and no regrets with either purchase.

 

In general products today are not made to last as long as products of a previous era. You can buy long lasting used products from the '60-'80s but they don't have the new features of today. There is added complexity in today's products that make them more prone to break. Maybe we should redefine quality to include the modern upgrades that we seem to desperately desire. I don't think any product we buy today is made to last.

I did not buy the Fit because of Honda's reputation for quality. Of course I hope that the engine and transmission will last if taken care of, but the Fit is a budget car, so I expect budget quality for fit and finish. Comparable cars like the Accent, Rio, and Versa Note have similar price and fit and finish. The Fit is built to a price point. Before I bought I came to FitFreak and read about various fit and finish issues, so I knew some of the potential issues with this budget car.

I think the price of the Fit is too low. i would have paid a bit more for better quality, but I liked the Fit's design and frugal small engine. We don't get the option to add more money in for better quality, but only to move to a different manufacturer that has chosen to offer higher quality for a higher price, like a Mazda3 or a Golf.

Because the price and quality level of the Fit is not so high, I'm expecting to do more maintenance on the car as time goes on. This is the tradeoff for the low price we paid. For example, the hatch flooring is really thin and weak, especially the back of the rear seats. This material will certainly rip in the future. I'm expecting to have to remove the rear seat cover, rip out the mouse fur and replace with something more substantial and long lasting.

New cars have better safety and tech, look modern, the price is kept low, but will not last as long. This is how our whole consumer society works, and cars are no different. Maybe an expectation adjustment is needed here.

 

Don't even start with the Fit EX-MT part....I wanted to get a EX-MT back then but for some reason we chose the LX-CVT. Almost the same price, and lost soooo many fun of driving stick.
FML.

 

Just bought a salvaged 2015 Fit EX 6 speed. Took a chance. Drove it from San Diego to Vegas in 5 hours. Mechanically it seems sound. Im sure there will be things that will bug me and I hope the car lasts as long as my last 3 Hondas (all 3 went 200,000+ miles).

One gripe I have about this 6 speed is the gear ratio of the 6th gear - it is too short. I was doing 4,000 rpm at 80 mph. It's almost the same as the 5th gear. It should be at about 3,000 rpm when going 80 mph - that should get me better gas milage and maybe quieter ride at speed. Other than that, Im keeping my fingers crossed that this one will also give me 200k+ miles. Love my Hondas for everyday driving!

 

the fit is Honda's cheapest car. you get what you pay for. Is my 16 EX-L CVT as much fun to drive as the 2006 Mustang GT 5 speed convertible it replaced? Of course not. The build quality of the fit is better than the much more expensive ford it replaced even with the dash gap. I lost 175 horses and 206 torques. I gained over 20mpg and I don't have to put the top down to fit things in the back seat that are too big for the trunk. My chances of getting speeding ticket have diminished greatly. I can fit four adults with leg room in the fit. The new fit also cost over 15k less than I paid for my mustang in 2009. A lot of what I read here seems like people expect the Fit to have the same build quality of 5 series BMW. After almost 3000 miles I'm glad I made the switch.

 

This is a common complaint with the MT, and I agree that 6th is too short. The issue is that if you are in 6th and it was longer and you hit a hill you'd need to gear down. I'd prefer to gear down and have a longer 6th, but if you did not gear down you'd think the car does not have enough power (auto journalists)

 

I like my 2016 FIT. Low line and wish all of the following could have been left off.

Power windows
Power locks
Rear camera
Cell phone related items

Hate that stuff and bought a Honda Care warranty because of the gadgetry.

 

I think you wasted your money on the extra warranty. Power windows and power locks have been in Hondas for ages from Civics to Accords, CRVs and especially Acuras. The cameras and the cell phones are not hazards to the operation of the car. Obviously YMMV

 

The Canadian Nissan Micra 1.5L in manual transmission for $9.997CAD fits this bill. The manual trans is smooth, but not as smooth as the Fit. No aircon or cruise. The hatch space is much smaller than the Fit as well. The engine is the same as in the Nissan Versa Note.

I actually had a lot of fun driving the Micra MT. Here in Canada they made a racing series out of the same Nissan Micra.

There is also the Mitsubishi Mirage, but it has a 1.2L engine and is really under powered. I did not drive the MT, but rented their auto for a weekend. I will never do that again. Bad handling and under powered, there are too many other options.

 

Sounds interesting. Owned 3 Saturn SL models which came totally stripped lacking power steering and only available in 5 speed manual.

Shame a FIT cannot be spec'd out that way if you need a city car and have no need for accessories. I still remember learning stick on a Willys Jeep CJ-6 working my way through university on a graveyard shift in NYC.

 

You guys must be stronger than I, front wheel drive w/o power steering is beyond stiff. At speed, not bad, but low speed and parking ... PITA (Arms)

Been there, done that, and all I got was sore biceps.