I just got my new Milano Red Fit Sport A/T last night. It's mostly my car, but my wife had to buy it for me because it was her 92 GMC Safari we traded for the $4500 clunker rebate. She and I worked out a deal - I'll drive it to work M-F (50 miles round trip) and she'll drive it on weekends. I wanted M/T, but she wanted A/T. We paid $16,800 in San Diego with (supposedly) $400 accessories added for free. I threw in a bunch of cash and she financed the balance of $7,000 at 4.39%.

I'm having trouble sticking to the engine breakin guidelines!

Steve
San Diego

 

My parents were kind enough to let me trade in my fathers 87 ford work van for $4500. He would have got maybe $600 for it in a private sale. He has an 08 Tundra so he's not out a vehicle either.

Anywho I never even thought of a new vehicle either until this deal popped up and I knew I just had to jump on it. Im happy as a pig in mud now, as Ive never had a new vehicle and have currently been driving vehicles with no ac and I live in New Mexico and it is horrible without it.

So to anyone thats thinking about trading in their gas hog I say go for it. The government only put out so much money and once its gone you missed your opportunity.

 

Ha I feel the same way about my 96 Explorer. Yeah it sucked on gas but it was my first car and I had a lot of great memories with it. I would hate to see it demolished (I'd prefer they would donate the cars to charity) but what are you going to do? I look at the plus side of getting a clunker/guzzler off the road and a brand new FIT in my position.

 

You trying to get up to highway speed or what?
hehe jk

 

Yeah, me too. I bought my F150 new in '92. With the government actually using the term lethal injection, it feels like I'm having an old beloved pet put down. Damn truck looks like crap, but runs like it's still new. Couldn't pass up getting $4500 for it when I'd be lucky to get $600 - $800 selling it to someone.

 

I completed my CARS (Cash for Clunkers) transaction today, with one exception . . . I left the dealership without the Fit because they have not received their "confirmation" that they are a validated registered dealer in the program. The system is overloaded with registrations and trying to send confirmations. When they get it, I'll get Fit.

In the meantime, I wanted to join the forums, as a Newbie soon to own a 2009 Blackberry Pearl Sport with AT. It's been in the showroom all month, and I've been waiting the entire time for the program to kick in. Clunker was a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport -- not really a clunker, but fully qualified.

I look forward to sharing experiences with other owners.

 

You're making the right decision. For you, and for the vehicle, and for the future.

Less gas use, less pollution. That's good for all of us. Now and forever. Helps keep the cost of gas down, certainly makes for better air, not just from the vehicle but from all the things involved in making the gas for the car.

To confirm that, all you need to do is do the side-by-side comparison at Fuel Economy:
Side-by-Side Comparison

You've just DOUBLED your gas mileage. Which also means you have cut your fuel use in half. Your fuel cost in half. And you have cut the pollutants put out by your vehicle in half.

 

Good job! You aren't the only one who traded in a Jeep Cherokee:
Cash for Clunkers - KHON2.com

 

I almost was swayed (strictly an attack of greed) by the last minute announcement by Chrysler that would have let me get a newer Jeep with double the credit being applied. However, I wanted the Fit, and I thought it Fit the intent of the program more. Any SUV that would not be nearly as efficient (for the same investment out of pocket), did not seem like the right thing to do. The Fit provides as much flexibility, more fun, and less expense where it counts.

 

Are there any Jeep models that would qualify for the full $4,500?

I did a quick check of the models (in AT, 2WD) and the 2009 Wrangler gets the SAME mpg as the 1999 Cherokee. How lame is that? Patriot and Compass are at combined 24. That's not that great.

 

Yes, since the rule says trade in must be 18mpg or less, as long as the new Cat 1/Cat 2/SUV is better than 5mpg, it qualifies for $4500. $3500 if less than 5 and greater than 2mpg.

 

Well, going SUV to SUV, they lowered how much difference there needs to be. That's why I say I didn't feel like it would be in the spirit of the real purpose. This is the first time I've ever taken advantage of government money (other than tax rebates), and I felt I wanted to do with a purpose . . . lower consumption, lower emissions, etc. I feel good about my decision.

 

You're so right! I have scanned past the truck/SUV items, since the people here were buying Fits, and I didn't spend the time reading the truck section.

My bad. Sorry.

 

I also started considering a Jeep Patriot 2.0L when Chrysler announced the double cash back. But then I started thinking about how much more I would be spending down the line. Honda will retain much better value (in case you want to trade in for a newer Fit down the line) than the Jeep. Honda has much better gas mileage which will add up quick, especially when gas starts creeping back. Honda is much more reliable than Jeep. And then you have the fun and looks factor of course which I will also give to the Fit, so it's really no contest for me. The only thing I was worried about as an SUV driver in the Northeast was how the Fit would handle in the snow. From user comments, I'm not at all worried about battling the winter in the Fit.

So it looks like I AM FINALLY GETTING A FIT!!!

I go into finalize everything on Monday so nothing is set in stone as of yet but I'm almost there! It's going to end up at $13,700 out the door and with my clunker. I will hopefully be the proud new owner of the Fit come Monday night and posting pictures on Tuesday morning!

 

That was the Jeep route I considered, and abandoned the idea for basically the same reasons. The Fit will retain value, I'm sure, and if the Hybrid version looks good when it makes it way into our mainstream, it will be the best trade-in to use.

 

When I heard Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep was doing that match, of course I had to check out the options too.

Weighing quality, reliability, gas mileage, resale value, and fun factor and back to the Honda Fit I go. I drive 100 miles for my commute and a better gas mileage car helps. I also entertained the idea of going hybrid with the Toyota Prius or the Insight but couldn't justify the extra $$$.

My OTD will be less than $13K.

 

Those are excellent reasons to use this program. Those ARE the reasons, besides selling more cars, FOR the program.

There was a manager at the grocery store who, last year when prices were near $5.00 a gallon, was spending over $1,500 a month on gas. To commute.

The money that we have to spend to get to work is money we cannot spend on anything else. We can't buy goods and services. We can't hire craftsmen or professionals. We get by another year with what we have.

Imagine if that manager's guzzler was swapped, that would have meant he'd have another $750 per month. If he doubled his mileage. Which is real easy to do with a FIT on the highway vs a guzzler getting under 18 mpg. And that would more than pay for the car payment if his older car was paid off. Right?

With lower gas prices, he could still make the car payment with his gas savings. It's like a free car, for people that have a guzzler that isn't worth much, that DO have to commute a longer distance.

Mind you, that man was commuting 60-80 miles each way. He could have saved by driving a bit and then hopping on the local train/BART system.

Still, consider the overall savings in gas purchases, and subtract that from your monthly payments. Because that is really how much you are paying to have a new car. If you'd stuck with the older car with worse mpg, you'd still be paying that much in gas.

 

Has anyone gotten an estimate on the scrap value for the car? I forgot to mention it to the dealer so I'm wondering if anyone here asked for the scrap value and what they got for it?

 

I asked at one point, but the salesman didn't know anything about what they could quote, until they actually contacted a scrap center. I figured it would be downplayed to such a low amount, anyway, that I didn't pursue it further. Those 5 hour sessions at a dealership to complete everything through the paperwork, tends to make one lose track of all the little details you want to cover. Just give me my car and let me out of here!

 

Believe me, I know. At the worst of the gas prices last summer, I waited as long as I could for the price to come down some, before filling up both tanks, 34 gallons total, at over $4.25/gal. I was considering doing getting a Fit then, had fuel prices stayed up, I probably would have.

It's just that weird attachment to an inanimant object that I've been driving for 17 years. As I told my girlfriend, had the thing been a headache of constant repairs, that'd be one thing, but that truck has really run like a dream this whole time.

Ahh well, had a nice long drive out to my brother's place and back today, to drop off a load of firewood. Our last run on a beautiful day, the tanks are run down to a couple of gallons of gas, and ya know what?

I can't wait to pickup my Fit tomorrow!