So, here's my dilemma:

I'm the kind of person who babies his car. I.E. I let it warm up, I wash it every time I see dirt, I keep the RPMs low 90% of the time, etc.

I've got this fear that if I buy a Fit off the lot, it will have been test driven to hell, revved up to the red line and had it's tires squealed from a start, around corners, and by hard breaking.

I tend to think that the 600 mile break-in should be respected.

So, do you think that buying a car off the lot will likely end up being a purchase of a car that has been disrespected during test drives? Or do you think I'll be safe?

If y'all think it's probably going to be beaten up off the lot, I'll place my order now(and have to wait 3 months )

 

well i guess it really depends on what it is. If it was a Sport Manual than there might be a possibility where the test drivers would throw the car around corners like crazy but if it was an auto i highly doubt such a thing would happen just based off the fact it was an auto. From what i've noticed of people test driving fits though not a lot of people beat the crap out of it on the test drive but instead get the feel for the handling without having to test it on the spot. Atleast thats how i felt when i test drove my fit.

 

Buy one off the lot that has low miles on it. I picked mine up off the lot it had 6 miles on the odo when I test drove it and those miles were from inspection and storage (the car was kept in a seperate lot from the dealer, I always pick my cars out to test drive out of their overflow inventory.)

I guess really though it is how bad do you want one and are you willing to wait for one that hasn't been driven. Also chances are that if you order one and its brought in that some young employee will be the one doing the intial inspection and beat the piss out of it anyways.

 

That's what I was going to say. The dealer had 4 SSM manuals in stock. I went through them and found the one that still had the plastic on the seats and hadn't been driven. There's enough Fit's out there that you will find the one you want with no test drive miles. Just might need to try a few dealers.

 

Are you looking for a new or used Fit?

If you want a new one then buy one with little to no miles. The dealer i bought mine from had a manual and an automatic transmission that was for test drives only so their other Fit's didn't get abused. I bought mine new off of the lot with 23 miles on her and i have babied her ever since.

If you are looking at a used Fit and take care of your cars like you do then stay away from it because you will never know how the previous driver was.

Don't wait for 3 months drive up to Lincoln or Omaha, NE because all the dealers have various 2008's sitting on their lots and they will make you a deal on them.

 

Buy it off the lot. There's so few trim levels and options that it's pointless to order one, just find one in good shape.

 

i wouldn't worry too much.

 

man i remember back in the day when you couldn't even find a fit to test drive, i had to drive to a dealer 45 minutes from my house!

i ended up buying the one i test drove, with 12 miles on it.

 

A little dealership experience for you here, every dealership nationwide requires that the car is taken for its PDI, basically a tech is going to get into your car, and beat on it for (whats supposed to be 12 miles). This is done to make sure there are no apparent faults with the car.

This is just my warning to you, I used to work with what I would call respectable people (definately not a statement true of everyone I worked with) but they all beat on cars during the PDI

 

I bought mine off the lot (well, it was in back), and it only had 13 miles on the odometer when I first test drove it. After opening the hood, you could smell that "new engine smell".

If you can find one with few miles on it, I think you'll be fine with one off the lot. It's much faster than waiting, and probably less of a hassle.

Good luck!

 

First post here-thought I'd add a perspective
I know some people that worked at the local port offloading cars. Each manufacturer has specifications on how their cars are to be prepped for transport and there is an area from the holding lot to the prep area that has no cameras! Of course you can be fired for doing burnouts in M5's or Elises but when you hire 18-19 year olds-well you can guess what goes down at night to your Fit.

 

NOT Off the lot homie. I got mine with 10.6 miles on it. No probs. Especially when dealing with honda ppl love to drive the hell out of them especially before they own them lol. If you have the option go for ordering it.

 

Mine was off the lot with over 20 miles. I was a little disappointed with that, but it has been flawless so-far. Plus, there's that "Drive it Hard" break in theory, that claims that you should drive a new engine hard to seat the piston rings. I didn't do this, but apparently BMW does it to every new car off the production line.

Someone has to do a real scientific study to see if the traditional babying break-in method or the "Drive it Hard" method is better.

 

I beat the piss out of the Fit I test drove (sport MT) and if I do end up buying one I would expect (and don't particularly mind) the same amount of "wear and tear" off the lot.

Honda knows a thing or two about building engines and I don't think a few hard test drives will cause any sort of power loss or catastrophic engine failure down the line.

 

agreed, but why risk it? Thats my reasoning, it jsut is safer and that makes more sense to me, unless he needs it immediatley, or its way more expensive to have it ordered(which it shouldnt be)

 

I guess I just think (IMHO) the whole "soft break-in" thing is a bit archaic, just like the "change your oil every 3000 miles" deal

 

I think it just depends on where you buy it. I drove my Sport AT off the lot with 6 miles on it. I don't think there was anybody breaking it in from the dealership with that low of a reading. Even when you order it someone will drive it at some point other than you...

Just pick the one with low mileage. I did look at a black sport that had 122 miles on it. I wanted that color, but once the vivid blue pearl's odometer lit up at 6 (my lucky number) I knew which one to get.

 

i didn't order mine, but my timing was perfect. the truck with the newest shipment arrived while i was at the dealer. got my bom an hour after it came off the truck. 1.5 miles on the odo.

 

I didn't realize when I posted, but there is an engine break-in thread stickied to the top that goes into detail about the Drive It Hard method, and looking back on my first week with my Fit, I did have some hard acceleration cycles. Had to. Had to merge on the highway and to get into the rotary (a.k.a. "roundabout" or "traffic circle") near my house every morning. So I probably did the "Drive it Hard" method by default just from the way you have to drive around here.