Hello,
I have been driving my 2009 Fit for over a decade and I love this car. I regret not buying the last new Fit back in 2020 and now I am looking for a used one, no older than 2019 model year to replace my old Fit. I have no experience in buying used car. Where should I start? I googled a bunch on Edmonds etc. but are these prices negotiable? Is it a good idea to get a car out of state either by driving there or have them ship it to me?

 

It's a buyer's market right now. Dealer sales started tailing out last January -July of last year. Try and stay with private party. If it looks neglected, corroded, stay away. Exhaust corrosion is normal at that age, but it the block or anything else look neglected, avoid it.

Longer days on market gives you leverage. Be patient, be willing to let them have pain if you must. They will lie lie lie and gaslight id you let them, and if you don't know who the sucker is, you are the sucker. Good luck.

 

The first thing I would do is learn how to check out a used car at a basic level (what a messy engine compartment tells you, how to look for repaints or flood damage). Kind of how you look behind the surface stuff to find the house you're buying is a cheap flip. Line up a mechanic you trust who would be able to evaluate a car you're thinking of buying.

Then, look around. Because Fits are no longer sold in the US and they're Hondas and good cars, there's a demand for them. Even the 15 year old ones with salvage titles go for stupid money compared to their cost new. Narrowing down to just two model years likely will require you to compromise on something, whether it's how much you'll pay, how far and how long you have to look for it, or what condition the car is in. Try to avoid compromising on that last one.

I ended up buying my 2017 at a Chevy dealership a couple of years ago. Previous owner traded it in on a Bolt. If the dealership foresaw any problems with it when they took it in trade they would have put it on the truck for auction but they didn't. It checked out well with my tech. So I'm happy. I think I got a fair price for it considering what I see Fits going for in my market now. I didn't have a lot of time to look. Time and the ability to pounce on the car you want will help a lot.

 

@Surviver of the Fittest This might not matter to you, but '07-'13 has a port injected engine. After that, you're dealing with Earth Dreams . . . .

 

Stay away from Car Max and Carvana.

Try Facebook Market Place.

Take a friend with you that's familiar with Fits if possible.

 

What are the problems? High prices or crappy cars?

 

I’ve heard similar feedback, and that’s exactly why I’d take extra steps to verify everything myself before buying. Prices can be high, and when the history isn’t fully transparent, it helps to rely on original factory data. Doing a vin number window sticker lookup https://carfast.express/en/window_sticker allows you to check the car’s original configuration, options, production details, and market version. It doesn’t replace a mechanical inspection, but it gives a clearer baseline so you know what the car was supposed to be when it left the factory.

 

If they "smooth out" the accident history, that would not be good.

 

OP, I'd seriously rethink purchasing a late model GK5. This from a 2016 LX owner.

All cars have problems, but Honda hasn't seemed to solve the major issues:

--Direct Injection engine extremely prone to carbon fouling. We've had reports here with severe fouling with as little as 10K miles. Top Tier fuel helps but won't work forever. Injector repair $3K+. Mine were replaced under warranty at 88K.

--Start switch and starter on keyless models. The circuit is not robust enough to buffer at startup. As a result, you burn through starters and switches. Honda has started goodwilling the switch, but not the starter.

--VTC actuator problem. Grinding noise at cold startup (my car does this). A weak spring within the actuator wears the timing chain at startup and can lead to premature timing chain wear and other engine problems. There is a $22 replacement aftermarket spring, but you have to tear down half the engine to get there.

--Fuel pump recall on '18 and later models.

--Door, hatch and sunroof leaks, especially bad after the mid-cycle refresh. Honda has not figured this out yet.

You can do individual searches here on these issues to get a better feel on what people are going through.

All I know is, no more GK5 for me. Next car will be something else.

 

Steve-o has an excellent summary there. Even the newest Fits in North-America are already five years old. Look for an exceptionally good car in decent price, use time to follow the markets and do look for further away.

Only Fit-specific thing I would add is to avoid push button start and sunroof.

 

In North-American Fits the earlier GK5s appear to have significantly more problems than late production years. Therefore thread starter emphasis on post-facelift model years is feasible.

In general, no car manufacturer "solves the issues" after the warranty period, and especially after the production has ended. And regarding GK Fits, that was already five years ago. And even during the production time, majority of the R&D is focusing on next models. Recalls for safety reasons are a rare exception.