First of all, let me give you a little information on me. I'm a car enthusiast that has never owned a car I could be enthuisatic about. For those who aren't interested in back story, just skip to what brought me to the FiT.

My first car, in 2000, was an '89 Mazda 626 LX 5-speed. It went through three teenage cousins before it was given to me at over 200,xxx. I named it Quirky, because well, after 3 male teenagers, it had it's share of quirks. For the $10 I paid for it (Missouri state law states a car title can only show one "gift", so my aunt sold it to me for $10) it was a champ though. 1.5 years later I gave it to my dad as a gas saver for jobs where his F-150 wasn't needed (he's a carpenter), and it blew up at 286,xxx - probably because it couldn't handle being treated nicely for a change. No engine work was ever performed to the car despite being wrecked 4 times, and totaled twice - when I gave it to my dad it was the original silver, with a blue hood and front passenger panel. Sexy.

Second car - 1994 Dodge Shadow v6. Acquired at 130,xxx as a more reliable mode of transportation for visiting home from college. Only automatic I'll ever own - dropped the tranny a month after ownership. Bought a rebuilt tranny, it had a shimmy in 3rd gear. Not too noticable on the highway, completely noticeable on any kind of incline. Took car back several times, got the dumb girl treatment. Shop refused to let me drive to recreate the problem, and claimed they couldn't recreate on their own. Gave up as shop was at home, and I was living at school. Exactly 1 month out of the 1 year warranty tranny dropped again in Topeka, KS - a good 3 hours from school and 5 from home. Donated car as it wasn't worth towing at 170,xxx. v6 would have been nice but in such a light car with an automatic transmission control was a slight issue in rain, and a huge one in snow.

Current car - 1994 Saturn SL1 5-speed. AKA: Peaches. Yes, I know, a Saturn. I'd love to rip on her, but I just can't. $1600 cash almost 3 years ago, and no major work done to her. She's been all over Missouri, to Kansas, Chicago, and Indy more times than I can count, and even ventured to Florida once. But ya'll, she's tired. The odometer stopped last October at 177,xxx, and I imagine she's well over 200,xxx today. The front skip button in my older pioneer head unit gave out on the very same roadtrip in October '05. Several months ago the hazards quit, and the horn gave out a month or so ago. One of my idiot lights now blinks if I try to accelerate too quickly in 1st. The shift light, though stupid to begin with, appears to have lost all sense of what the hell is going on. She's gotten noticeably more sluggish in the last 4 months. And the straw that broke the camel's back - the friggin' dome light just randomly decided to detach from the ceiling two weeks ago, and now swings around wildly.

So what brought me to the FiT?

Well, my tags expire in October, and my car won't pass Missouri safety regulations. Thus, car shopping. This is the first time I've had a choice in vehicles, and I've been comparison shopping for quite sometime. I live an active lifestyle and want a vehicle that will accomodate that, but I didn't need an SUV as my boyfriend owns a Wrangler that he intends on keeping once it's retired as his daily driver for our purposes there. However, settling for a low mileage Civic sedan (insurance prices kept me away from the coupe) or other comparable vehicle felt just like that - settling.

The FiT was like the answer to my prayers. It has all the versatility that I'll ever need, with the gas mileage I want. It's unique without screaming I'M COMPENSATING FOR SOMETHING! It will serve well for the many roatrips of it's future. Considering the vehicles of my past, the few things reviews complain of it lacking (arm rest, bluetooth?!) will not really be missed. It has an H on the front, which makes me much less skittish about purchasing it in the first US model year (something we all know spells disaster for domestics). All of this for a price (manual/sport) under what my best friend payed for her Focus, which after a six months is already worth several thousand less than what she owes.

As I said my tags expire in October so I'm up against a clock. I found a few in the area, so hopefully I can get a test drive in before too long, as I'd like to have one in my possession by mid-September at the latest.

Loving all the advice and information here! Sorry about the legnth of my intro - I ramble, yo.

 

hi shellica. i have purchased a little Jazz 1.4 Dsi and boy am i impressed by this red number. we unfortunately do not have the Fit here in RSA but had the pleasure of having the Jazz V-Tec launched recently, in Feb 2006 to be exact. this one hot looking car. it's got the power of a beast yet the suttle smooth drive of an angel. personally buying this honda was the best investment i made. it's so spacious and economical. trust me on this. if the fit is half as good as the Jazz, then go for it.