I Bought the Fit's Replacement
 

It was not meant to be like this. When we bought the Fit about 15 months ago, it was intended to last us for 10 years, just like my prior car and my husband's that is now on year #8. However, while our other cars have always been lightly used, this was our first ever brand new car.



Initially, we loved the Fit, and still do for what it is. It's flexibility is unmatched, the fuel economy is incredible, and it's fun in its own quirky way.


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But we couldn't look past the quality defects that have haunted us, and many others on this blog. Loose trim, rattles, clutch creaks, water leaks, a tow to the dealer for the alternator, fuel gauge that wouldn't work sometimes, the dent in the roof saga, sagging bumper...... all silly and minor things, but not reassuring. So sad, we did have high hopes for this car.


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I was happy to keep the car until the warranty ended, ooorrrrr..... if we found a good deal on another car. That good deal came last week in the form of a brand new Chevy Sonic. Comparably equipped to the Fit LX I have and with the manual as well, it had a MSRP of $17500, and we got it for $12,500. We just started out browsing and drove away unexpectedly with it.


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The trade offer on the Fit was pretty poor, so we decided to keep it and sell it ourselves. So, until further notice, we have both in the house. It's a little strange having two competitive cars, both blue, both manual, and similar trims at the same time. I'm still driving the Fit daily, and have driven the Sonic 90 miles total, and there's much I like about both, and there's some things that are so different about them too. There are some obvious qualities about the Fit that I took for granted and will miss dearly, and there are things I certainly won't


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So until further notice, we're still Fit owners. And each morning I walk out to "Slim Fit", I feel a little sad. It's a cute car, and it has helped us haul our parents and their ridiculous amount of baggage to the airport, and has allowed us to do road trips for mere dollars. The excitement from driving it from the lot is still relatively fresh. I still like this car, but know it could've been so much better. I'm thinking of doing a quick comparo soon on both


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So far I know I will miss the following on the Fit:
- the hill hold assist is much more sensitive to slight grades than the Chevy
- The cruise control that stays activated through gear changes
- The nice, soft LX cloth
- Being able to flip the back seat down without having to move the front seat forward
-The huge amount of glass and great visibility
- 45mpg on the highway!
- The attractive radio display and some of the nicer interior trim
- Having two trip odometers and fuel economy readings
- the instant fuel economy gauge (thought it was gimmicky at first, but love it now)

Congratulations on your new Sonic - I hope that it turns out better than the Fit for you. It's too bad that you will get rid of the Fit, but, as you said, it was not meant to be like this - I would think that you still have mixed feelings about it.
For what is worth, I will miss your posts on here, I always enjoyed reading them. Hopefully you will still lurk around here and post about your experiences regarding the Sonic vs the Fit.

Yes please do a comparison of the two. I'm sure people would find that interesting. I never test drive a sonic, just compared on paper with the Fit. The lack of cargo room was a turn off for me, that and it's a Chevy lol

What was the dealer trade in offer, if you don't mind sharing?

I've had my share of problems with the Fit, but nothing that has sidelined me. It's been mainly cosmetic and a few things replaced under warranty. Hopefully the mechanical will stay terrible free as I do plan on keeping it for at least 5 years, if not 10 if it can make it.

Congrats on the new car. Hopeful it will meet your expectations.

Thanks 2015! I like your posts too, and the your yellow Fit!


I'll still around; who knows how long it may take to sell the Fit, and I'll check back here occasionally afterwards. Someone has to keep an eye on all of you! :)

Thanks 2Rismo!


What you said about your car's issues hit it on the nose. All of your issues have been cosmetic, but not mechanical. The impression I have, especially reading about the fella in Cleveland with 100k miles on his 2015, is the engine and transmission will last for the long haul. It's just the car around the powertrain that has problems. Most of the problems on mine are trim too, but there's just so many of them. For me, it wasn't enough to get out of the car immediately and make a bad financial decision, but it was worthwhile looking around for a good deal that would be hard to pass by. The deal on the Sonic was irresistible (thanks to GM's usual rebates)


The trade in on the Fit was $11k, which was way too low. My guess is that the dealer was hoping to recoup some of the loss from the Sonic


I'm not particularly a GM fan myself, and would prefer Ford among domestics, but the Fiesta and Focus are ridiculously cramped. I'll have to give them some credit, the Sonic seems like one of their better efforts.


Surprisingly, with the rear seats up, the Sonic has more cargo room than the Fit, but the Fit just trumps it with the seats down and the ease of folding them. But the Sonic is better than most, and does have a flat cargo floor like the Fit.


I'll write up a comparison soon, since they really are so similar in size and price

Last year I did rent the 2014 and 2015 Chevy Sonic, both automatics. The car drives nicely. If you are into electronic doodads, bluetooth, and connectivity to smartphones, there is no question the Sonic beats the Fit. I just did not find the car as nice to drive, and I did not get as great gas mileage as the Hyundai Accent or the Nissan Versa Note. The backup camera and sight lines out the car were great.

Unsurprisingly I think the Sonic was designed for larger people, like Americans. I think the Fit was designed for slightly smaller people. Having owned only Asian cars, I recall being perplexed as to where certain features were located. It was initially disorienting, but after a while I got their user interface. Their UI is not better or worse, only different, and certainly not Asian.

One interesting point is that I searched quite a while for a gas cap button/release lever. In fact they do not have one. The gas cap cover simply opens and you put in your gas.

I also could not find the trip meter, no matte how hard I looked. Maybe it was there, but I could not find it.

At $12,500 for a manual Sonic that is a really tempting price. How is long-term quality?

Not a surprise, Sonics seem to be common sights on rental lots.

With the Chevy MyLink interface, OnStar, wi-fi and XM radio, the Sonic does have more tech features. We didn't get the MyLink (just one more thing to go wrong) and it has a basic radio, but the car is set up for the other features. All of them are additonal cost, of course, and we'll just skip 'em (except maybe for the XM, it may come in handy on long drives).

The Fit is probably more fun to drive, as the Sonic does feel heavier (because it is) and like a larger car. The trade off is the Sonic has the road feel and ride of a larger car too. But it still handles well, and isn't slow for a small car. Because of the weight, I already know the Fit will beat it with fuel economy. The EPA ratings are about 3mpg higher for the Fit on average

It's obvious that the Sonic is geared more towards Americans, and for us both being 6'4'', the front seats have a roomier feel and the dashbaord clears our knees better than the Fit. The controls and buttons are shared with other Chevys, but at least are better than Ford's imitation cell-phone pod for the radio. The digital display, inspired by motorcycles, is unique, yet does offer all of the necessary info at a glance

Why is it that most American cars don't have a gas door release, while most Asian cars do? I've noticed that too. Are there issues with fuel being stolen in Asia? Lol Or is it just a cost cutting measure here in the US?

It's there, but not as intuitive as the Fit's. The display is in the digital dash, but to get to it, you have to twist a control lever that's on the blinker stalk. One of the odd parts shared with other GM's

It was hard to pass up, and this is the mid-level LT trim. It's not even the base LS model

Sonics rank on Consumer Reports as average in reliability, or about where the '15 Fit is and well below the previous Fits. Not bad, not great. What I've noticed with GM generally in the past is that the first year models are plagued with issues, and they work out the bugs as the years go by. By the time the car is ready to be redesigned, it may be a pretty solid car. This is the 4th model year for the Sonic, and I hope that any of the inital issues are gone by now. I also hope the same for the 3rd gen Fit once a few model years go by

I have to say for the price, it's hard not to switch to the Sonic. I think my EX was around 19600 OTD. What did you pay OTD for the Sonic?

I think you can get a much better selling the Fit on your own. I remember when I was shopping for the Fit, there was a used GK with about 2k miles on it. It was selling for a $1000 less than a new one.

That actually wasn't a bad deal on your EX. The Sonic ended up being $14,100 out the door, which was about $4k less our Fit was. Once again, pretty hard to resist


I'm aiming to sell the Fit for about $14k. It does have only 4k miles after all. Granted, the downside of the Sonic is that will not hold its value nearly as well, but the low price offsets the sting of depreciation a little.


I've some used GKs out there being sold for more than they are brand new. I guess depreciation doesn't apply to some dealers!

Asking's one thing, getting's another. Anybody can ask any price they want-doesn't mean it will sell at that price. then again, keeping the supply of NEW Fits tight means that used ones will continue to demand a premium.


When I traded my '09 Fit Sport in to the dealer (5 speed with 86K), they put an asking price of $11K on it. After it sat for three months, they ended up letting it go for closer to $8K.

i briefly looked at the sonic during my earlier purchase of my '12 GE back in 2012. the turbo one looked fun to drive, but the cargo capacity while the rear seats were occupied was just too darn small for my use.

I wasn't sure how reliability was on the car either, so i didnt get it. hope you have better luck on the sonic than the GK. i bought the 16 EX for my wife last August and it went in twice for the door window fix. i couldn't believe i would have such lame problems on a honda. since the fix, the car has been doing well.. but the parting lines, etc is just not at the level of what i expect from a honda.

So this is only marginally related, but if you remember the ad for the Chevy Sonic was also a music video for OK Go with a song called Needing/Getting (great video, by the way, I recommend looking it up).
:offtopic:

I hope the power window snafu was just a fluke for your wife's Fit, and the rest of your ownership experience goes well. The trim issues are very un-Honda like. Does your wife notice them? Most average consumers probably won't notice these details like all of us do


With almost any GM, reliability is a concern, and you probably made the right choice with going for the GE. 2012 was the first year of the Sonic, and there were some teething issues. Plus you would've gotten much better resale on the GE

Just watched it for the first time. Very clever and entertaining! Thanks for mentioning it

I had the Sonic as a rental last week and all I'll say is that I was very happy to be in my 09 Fit with 150K miles. It was faster, smoother, has a better transmission... than the 2015 Sonic with 40K miles (I know rentals are abused, but still...)

I think we all had expectations of the GK that have been mostly unmet. Sorry to hear about your experience, it seems all too common on this forum. Hope your Sonic is a step up in all areas your GK wasn't.

My '08 Sport was totaled a little while ago by a driver running a red light at high speed and I'm looking for a replacement. Preferably a '12-13 if I can swing it. Trouble is, used models with low mileage seem to command almost as much as a new base GK, and with the help of this forum, I'm not going anywhere near a Celaya GK. I would consider one of the Japanese '16 GKs if the price were right, but for the most part I'm still looking at the '12-13's.

Not me. I'm entirely happy with mine. It's been perfect and I couldn't be more thrilled. I know I'm not alone.

I drove a Sonic, not great. My Fit zero problems. My guess is you're a bit tough on cars. Come back sometime and say how the Sonic is doing. My guess is that it will be the same as the Fit.

Quite the contrary; I'm extremely gentle on my cars. I was the one posting on here about changing the car's oil at 3k miles vs the advised 7500, and dented the roof while being adament waxing it twice yearly. I rarely rev the engine north of 3500 rpms

I still own a 1988 Daihatsu Charade and 1992 Ford Explorer, both pampered and cared for, and they always receive compliments on how clean and taken care of they are. The prior car to the Fit was a Focus that was loved, tended to, and was in great shape after 10 years.

Despite the same treatment and respect to the Fit, I've never had a car with so many issues in such a short time.

However, mine may be an oddity and I'm glad that yours is treating you better

My Daughter loves her 2015 Fit! I don't even mind the recalls because it gives me an excuse to have my Daughter home from school.

I even asked her on her last visit if she regretted getting the Fit. I was concerned because since we had the 2008 Fit that we sold to get her a car with a CVT (she did not care for the manual), I might have pushed her to the new Fit.

She said she loved it and there was no other car she wished she had considered.