Hi gang. I'm in serious shopping mode right now for a 3rd generation Fit EX or EX-L. Most of them with decently low miles (20K-35k) are in the $14,000 to $15,000 range. But I just found 2015 for $12,000 with 68K miles. Is it worth the savings to get the higher mileage car or should I fork over the extra $2,000 for a lower mileage Fit.

Thanks!

Dave

 

When I was shopping, I used $0.05 per mile as a good deal for depreciation. So for every 10,000 miles I'd "gain" by buying a lower mileage car, if I only had to pay $500 more for it, it was worth it to me. If that number crept up to $0.10, it seemed like it wasn't worth it. YMMV, but it is a reasonable benchmark to use.

 

NO... no way op.

 

No.
It's not the mileage but the fact that it's the problematic 2015 model which suffered from assembly quality problems (fit and finish) at the start up Mexican factory and Honda initial design and manufacturing issues with some components on this GK model. For what it's worth, the car gets better each year after the 2015 introduction.

 

what does kbb/nada say?

 

 

Got 90k on mine. No problems so far, and I beat the snot out of it..

 

Here is how I would handle the miles vs cost estimate. My generous assumption is a new Fit with CVT cost $18,000 can go 200,000 miles with relatively minor repairs. Therefore, depreciation cost/mile is 9 cents/mile. From this, I would say pay the extra $2000 to get the lower mile car.

 

follow that mans formula, and pay 2k more

 

 

Not sure if we are talking about the same thing. You were comparing 2 used cars one with 68Kmiles and another 20-35K miles. For $2K more, you are getting about 33K miles more. For 33K miles at .09/mile that equate to $2970, but you are only paying $2000 more, so that would be a better deal buying the lower mile car. Are the other two cars you are considering have the same equipment as the EX CVT? If not, then we are comparing apples to apples. EX model would have a higher depreciation number since I only used $18K out the door for a 2017 LX CVT. That's what I paid.

 

 

I've got a 2015 with almost 63k miles on it. As long as regular maintenance has been done, then it should be fine. At this mileage, I've only had to do filters (oil/air), oil changes, a set of tires at around 40k and the CVT transmission fluid at around 60K. Mine is mostly highway miles so brakes are hardly used up. I'm assuming it's similar with that kind of mileage.

If you have access to the VIN, then run it against this site to see if there are any open recalls: https://owners.honda.com/service-maintenance/recalls

 

The horror stories with endless injector replacements on the 2015's are lurking around the fit freaks. It's the herpes of the early builds GK... u never know when you're gonna get it.
Glad I traded mine in. The thing is, you never know when the misfire/running lean code will be thrown. I got mine at 16k miles. Others got it later. I would recommend getting into a 2017+ model year if you really want to be on the safe side.

 

Quality preowned vehicles around here are not cheap. Used market prices in Vancouver are all over the place, but I found a one-owner 2016 EX with 10K miles (3/4 of which was a single trip from here to Toronto and back) in truly brand-new condition for $11K (translated to USD). My car has absolutely no quality issues and is pretty much perfect.
The fact that it is a 6MT did help in terms of price, but these are super rare where I live and I would definitely not give up the manual, so it took a while to find one.
I have no hard rules for buying used, except one - I have never bought anything with more then 15K on the odometer. All possible initial problems are taken care of by then, and the car is now at its prime.

100,000 kms is a magic number IMO - this is where the car becomes truly "used" and you have to expect some issues starting to surface.
To me it's like when you turn fifty - if you wake up in the morning and nothing hurts, you are most likely already dead.
Plus, first year of any model is always the tricky one. And obviously the later into the production run, the safer you are.
I say, pass it up and look for a 2016/17 MY with below average mileage. They are out there.
Also, I prefer the pre-facelift look - new Fit looks just to busy for me and has lost some of its cohesive, simple design.

 

I might be a fair deal.
I would be hesitant, very hesitant, if only because I believe the 2015 was being assembled in the at the time, newly started Mexico plant, and reports of early fit, finish quality problems did arise.

At the least? I'd take a very close look at the vehicle. Look for panel gaps, hanging wheel well liners.
I'd approach with more skepticism than optimism.

If everything checks out?
OK.

If the search was still "casual", I might just pass. My 2016 was assembled in Japan, and I have had no fit and finish problems.

PS.
This is nothing against Mexico, or even the Mexico plant. I just think Honda faced some early start up challenges. Today? I wouldn't hesitate to buy a vehicle assembled in Mexico.

 

I've now got the 2016 EX-L and the front bumper sag is so obvious anyone would be assuming this thing was in a front end collision at some point in time. My former 2015 was not as bad. But I don't mind and live with it as is. Shoutout to the honda engineers for getting the CVT near darn perfect!

 

This can be fix, take out the bumper and add support foam on top of the impact beam. The newer 17 has that install and can buy the styroform for $12 at dealer. Do a search on the forum.

 

I took a couple dozen data points and plotted the depreciation curve for one of these. Excluding all salvage or rebuild titles, I found they depreciate at 8cents per mile. Oddly, i found it is almost entirely linear, all the way to the top. Riding the curve upward, i wound up just going new.

 

Per my earlier post, found the same thing, and I bought mine new as well. Did get a nice deal on an '11 Sport for my son to drive, but it was below the curve on price/depreciation.