I've been the loving and loyal owner of a beautiful 2009 Sport Tidewater blue Fit for over 7 years now. Unfortunately, I had my first accident in her last Friday, and yesterday my insurance company declared her a total loss. I'm heartbroken, but trying to focus on the positive, which is getting to buy a shiny new car.

I'd been intending to just go buy the latest model Fit, but then I started reading up on the model change and now I'm pretty concerned about whether getting a GK would be my best option in terms of reliability. Before I wrecked my baby, I had every confidence I'd be able to keep driving her with few problems for several years to come, and I want to have that same confidence in whatever I buy next. Seven years ago, that was a really easy call to make, but now, not so much.

So if anyone has a minute, I'd be very grateful for any opinions on the pros and cons of my various options, which right now seem to be:

1. Go ahead and buy the 2016 LX or EX
2. Find a used 2012-2014 GE with acceptable mileage
3. Look at another car entirely, like the Nissan Versa

Any pointers to good threads would also be appreciated -- I've been trawling the forums for a couple hours now, but there's a lot to get through!

 

> 1. Go ahead and buy the 2016 LX or EX

I love my 2016 EX. Some people here buy the LX so they can have a radio with knobs instead of a touchscreen. You must decide for yourself.


> 2. Find a used 2012-2014 GE with acceptable mileage

I bought a new Fit because Hondas keep their resale value in my area so, buying a used Fit would not provide much discount.


3. Look at another car entirely, like the Nissan Versa

I rented a Versa Note once. The rear headrests did not move flush with the top of the seat. I love the full rear view out the back of my Fit.

 

I drove both. The '13 has that sporty "go-kart" feel while the GK feels much more planted and stable The '16 is a bit quicker and quieter.

Around SoCal, low mileage GE Fits are so costly that you get lower cost-per-mile from a new GK, and of course you get to enjoy having a brand new car for a while.

Ultimately, it comes down to your own needs.

 

You can get used fits 2009 to 2013 with low miles for literally a fourth of the cost of a 2016.

I have a 2009 stick so i see the argument of getting the new 6 speed, but the final drive ratio isn't any longer so you're still buzzing above 3k at freeway speeds.

New cars plummet on average 70% after 4 years. Why would anyone ever buy new when deals can be made on slightly used? Especially with fits since the general public in the US hates little hatchbacks.

I would never buy new. Especially since I see 2013s with no miles for less than 10k. Just my .02. You asked for it

 

Last year here in Toronto when I was looking a used 2009 Fit costs $9k, and a 2013 Fit costed $13k. The new 2016 starts at $15k. If you can find a used 4 year old Fit (2012) for 70% off MSRP, or $5k, then buy it. Canadians love hatchbacks.

The Nissan Versa Note is a nice car, with good economy, but handling is not as good as the Fit. Acceleration is also not as peppy. The hatch area is pretty comparable, as is the price. I've rented the Versa Note a couple of times last year.

The Mazda3 is really nice but has a large engine for less fuel economy. Acceleration and handling is better than the Fit, but so is the price.

 

I recently purchased my 2013 GE and thought I got an excellent price for it in comparison to a slightly used GK. Not to mention most of the used GK's I kept finding were salvaged.

I do like the styling of the new GK and how they brought the refresh mode back (not that I think I'd ever use it). But I believe the cargo capacity is a little smaller than the GE and the gearing (M/T here) between the 5 speed and new 6 speed is the same so no big deal there.

I also do not need some of the "standard" GK features like a rear view camera or touch screen monitor (prefer physical knobs) or right-turn/blind side camera assist...I know how to turn my head to check for that. Too many "standard" features that just jack up the base price and also add unwanted complexity to a car that should be simple in my opinion.

At this point though, you would have to test drive a GK and compare it to your prior 7-year experience with the GE. Not to mention if the prices were comparable between a GE and GK.

Lastly the way I look at it, the used GK's you'd find would be the 1st year GKs which I have read had some quality concerns with body panel/interior fitment, it is still a honda and I'm sure the heart of it is perfectly good. Now that is par for the course of a 1st year of a new generation car in my opinion. If you are ok with that then go for it. I opted for the 2012-13 GE because I would like to believe they eliminated most, if not all the minor issues the GE had such as reducing cabin/road noise.

I'm not sure I'd ever buy a new car these days. Base prices keep skyrocketing...I mean I remember the base price of my 99 Civic hatchback was $10k....and now the 2016 (which is nice, but too large for me to consider a civic anymore) is $18k...Rant over lol.

 

if you're on a tight budget also check out the versa note's. those can be had for pretty cheap with decent options. and they do 40mpg pretty easily from watve i read.

if you can drive manual those can be found for dirt cheap new. check ur local dealer inventory for left over 2015's.

 

Ino my area you can't touch a fit for under 10 grand unless it's over 100k miles, I looked at a 13 sport that was 1,000 miles away from being out of warranty and they still wanted almost $14,000 for it! Sadly this was the only one for sale at the time in a 30 mile range of me. They had a leftover 15, ex 6mt for $16,350 and you best believe I jumped on it!

The 13 had a clunk to it that I just didn't like, plus the controls were pretty well worn and I have never been a fan of paddle shifters or automatics in general so I drove the 15 and was hooked.

A lot of people don't like the extra features of the gk but you can disable lane watch (not sure why you would, even if you only use it once in a while I'd say better be safe than in a wreck) and you don't have to use Bluetooth for anything or the backup camera for that matter (again it offers a better view in some situations so why not glance at it real quick before backing up?)

As for the versa, I can't offer you any opinions on that.

Me personally, I'm glad to be back in the Honda family! So if I were you is stick with a fit, but you have to decide what the best use of your money is.

 

Great find on the 2015 GK.

I will agree the GEs have some ridiculous asking prices.

Before I found mine from a private owner, the dealer had a 2012 BASE in manual with 75k miles and they still wanted 12k for it. I found my 2013 sport w/ 56k miles, with most of the mods I intended to do already for less than that.

 

I just did a cars.com search for fits near me in SoCal. The first ten hits were:

1 Used 2013 Honda Fit Base $11,999 59,564 mi (11.70)

2 Used 2008 Honda Fit Sport $7,995 116,783 mi (10.41)

3 Used 2015 Honda Fit EX $14,988 31,582 mi (11.23)

4 Used 2013 Honda Fit Sport $14,995 33,666 mi (11.09)

5 Used 2009 Honda Fit Sport $8,980 103,807 mi (10.71)

6 Used 2009 Honda Fit Sport $8,995 58,000 mi (15.79)

7 Used 2007 Honda Fit Sport $9,695 81,205 mi (12.25)

8 Used 2012 Honda Fit Sport $12,985 34,551 mi (12.74)

9 Used 2008 Honda Fit $6,885 136,995 mi (9.15)

10 Used 2008 Honda Fit Sport $9,995 81,899 mi (11.82)

vs.

New 2016 Honda Fit LX $17045, 15 miles, (11.73)

The last is the car I just bought. The numbers in parentheses is the miles per dollar remaining in the car, assuming 200,000 mile life.

Of all the used Fits advertised, only three (numbers 6, 7, and 8) did significantly better than the new one in terms of miles per dollar. Three were significantly worse.

#8 has been offered for sale at three different dealers and been auctioned once. Something is stopping people from buying it.

#7 has had three owners and has three accidents.

#6 is on a lot infamous for selling cars with salvage titles.

I used to be a believer in buying late model used cars. That was in the days where people would buy new cars every couple of years, but those days are long gone. People hang onto cars longer and the laws of supply and demand jack up the used car prices. Cars that do get traded early are more likely to be those that are having problems of some sort.

This is why I ended up with a new GK. Not only do I get the pleasure of having the newest version car with a full warranty, I also know the complete history of the car, could choose the color and trim I wanted, and I can break it in carefully.

Additionally, I don't have to deal with another car salesman for several more years!

 

It depends of many factors. Do you keep your cars until they die or trade it every couple of years? What do u vale the most? features, fuel economy, quintes, ride confort, etc.

Here in my contry honda fit used where not that cheap. The new version got cheaper because we produce it so 2013 to 2014 are expensive than new ones. So thats a no brainer to buy a new one unless is 2009 to 2011 and in that case for a little more money you get a lot more like better milage, better crash protection(for me this is the most important feature of all), better looking car, you get y point.

If I had the money and it was my decision completely and based that honda has its reliability going downhill I will choose a toyota camry xle l4 2012.

Leather seats, automatic air condition, heated seats, quiet, the most reliable vehicle out there, sun roof, good crash protection(except the small overlap), and a lot of whistles.

So you will get a lot more for your money with a camry 2012 xle l4. Remember, if you stay with a car for ages a car vale is measured with maintenance records and milage. But it all depends in what you are looking and what matters more for you.

Other excelent option but a little more expensive would be accord exl 2013.

Well at least that are my options. What I value the most are 1.crash safety 2.ride comfort/luxury/amenities/quietnes 3.reliability 4. fuel economy.

Hope it helps

 

It ultimately comes down to what you want in a car, and like KikeDiaz hinted, how long you plan on keeping it. From what you've said, visibility and reliability are important.


As many pointed out on here, used GEs almost match the price of a base new LX model. You'd be getting a fine, reliable car, but probably not the best bang for your buck.


You may as well spend a little extra and get a new GK. Due to some quality issues, I'd say avoid any leftover '15's and maybe try for Japanese sourced one, just to cover your tracks as best as possible. Only our crystal ball can predict how reliability will be, but hopefully many of the quality issues from the first batch of '15's will be smoothed out by now.


The Versa Note is a surprisingly good car. I looked at it as well, and had low expectations. The interior packaging is almost as good as the Fit, with the exception of the rear seat flexibility. It also drove nicely and was pretty pleasant. My biggest complaint is the sea of hard, dull plastics and just a general cheap feeling. The Fit trounces it there, but it still seemed like a decent, honest car


I'd recommend the Accent if you want to look elsewhere, but the rear visibility on the hatch isn't great. It's sister car, the Kia Rio, does have more generous usage of glass, and if you find one certified, thanks to Kia's not so-stellar depreciation, you'd be able get one with the infamous 100k/10yr warranty for much less than a used Fit. Also, the Soul has fantastic visibility, Fit-like roominess, and also the longer warranty; new or certified. I just can't get over the looks of it, but that's subjective, and it is an amazingly practical car

 

I just wanted to post an update with my thanks for all the excellent and helpful advice. This weekend I purchased a 2016 Fit LX for what I think was a decent price. I'm not in love yet -- it feels a lot cheaper and less solid than my 2009 Fit and less spacious inside, but I'm enjoying the backup cam and the bluetooth, so I guess there's an upside to everything.

 

really? huh, i thought my wife's EX was a nice upgrade vs the 09 GE-sport she had before. the interior space is MUCH larger in the back foot wells too.

 

I drove a '13 sport and '16 LX Fit back-to-back and the '16 feels like a much more solid car to me. I can see why people like the "go-kart" pointability of the '13, but for getting from point A to point B the '16 seems the more comfortable choice. Back-seaters will definitely prefer the '16 too.

 

I will admit that the backseat is considerably roomier and more comfortable now. My friends are actually willing to ride in it now!

I'm getting used to the rest of it. The ceiling feels a little lower, but I could be imagining that. I do feel like the view out of the windshield and windows is a bit more open, which I totally love.

 

> The ceiling feels a little lower...

Check, the front seat is vertically adjustable and may be higher than you need it.

 

My GD3 was recently totaled at 146K, so I spent a lot of time test driving various GE8's before I ultimately settled on a '16 LX.

I would have been happy with a GE8, but what I ran into was high resale prices. This was before the Takata airbag recall hit the GE8's, so it might be a little different now.

My favorite example was a '13 Sport w/55K mi. at a Mitsu dealer. They wanted close to $14K, and it had been sitting on their lot for 2-1/2 mo. I told the dealer flat out - if I wanted to spent $14K on a used GE8, why not just spring an extra $2K and get a new GK5 with a full warranty? Blank stare, then have a nice day.

The GK5 is perhaps not quite the point-and-scoot the GE8 is, but the tradeoff is in ride quality, which seemed much better to me. Plus I wanted to give myself an opportunity to check out the CVT to form my own opinion. I found I liked the CVT a lot more than I thought I would. This, from a guy whose last seven cars (including the GD3) were all sticks. The CVT was not as frenetic from a stop as the GE8 auto was, for ex.

All in all, I'm happy with my GK5. Glad I didn't get that GE8 for $14K. And I don't miss the stick in the least. The gearing on the GK5 CVT is taller than the 6MT, so better gas mileage than the stick without all the work.

 

Something else to think about is safety. The suggestion is that every 7 years a leap in safety from the previous 7 years makes buying a new car worthwhile on it's own.

Not even 7 years but just a generation:

2013:
2016:
Between the two models the overlap crash test went from poor to acceptable between generations.

 

i wish i spent a little more and got a MK7 GTI