Hey everyone,

Im buying my first new car, and currently am hung up on a problem. I have been VERY interested in the chevy sonic and went to a dealership yesterday to work out some terms. The dealership was not very helpful and wouldnt work with me at all. I am exploring new options and am on the fence about the fit.

I love that its less expensive and would save me money, but am not a fan the leather and heated seats is not an option.

I would love any sage advice on this, it would be appreciated

 

A few things:

You will get biased advice here...

The fit comes with cloth seats but can be converted to leather or vinyl seats via Clazzios (do a search and you'll see threads).

One owner here...Black3sr has put in seat warmers with some really nice switches.
Check out his thread "My Taffy White is shiny again" or something like that.

I love my Fit...but I wouldn't drive a Chevy anyways

 

Do an online search for the car it is bound to pull up some sites that say they will get you the car cheaper...you fill out your information and click all the local dealers you are willing to travel to, then they send you prices by E-Mail...no hassle negotiation...when you get your best price, shop it to your closest dealer, if they won't match it go to the other dealer. If they tell you they won't give you the price on the phone or by E-Mail do NOT let them convince you to go to their dealership, they just want to pressure and beat on you in person.

As for the Fit, it gets great gas mileage, and the only thing I have done to it is replace the oil and wipers for maintenance. It is the most trouble-free car I have ever owned. I have put other wheels and tires on it, especially since the factory tires are pretty weak. Even the oik changes save me money. I was one of the people who would change the oil every 3-5K miles, but with the memory minder system, I just wait for the maintenance light to go on. So far I am on 14K miles and only one oil change (oil is at 50% currently).

 

You know if you're VERY interested in the Sonic you should get it. I was VERY interested in the Fit and it was my number one in my First Car list. Go with the car that will put a smile from ear to ear on your face.

With that being said, the Fit won me over on paper with its interior cargo space. After test driving it I was further convinced because of its responsive steering.

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. I am going to test a fit sport today and see how that feels to me. The sonic was really appealing with the epa 40mpg highway, but as ive found out that number is considerably lower in real life and the fit is actually seen getting higher than its epa.

 

x2

I love how the fit handles and the cargo area is very impressive.

 

Yeah...I was getting 40mpg easy (hand calculated) on my Fit before my wheel/tire combo and more aggressive driving. Now that I have wider tires, drive with more "spirit" and have an exhaust, I get like 38mpg.

 

The Sonic was what got me thinking about buying a new car but the more I researched and priced things out I decided on the Fit without any regrets.

Being a first year car the Sonic was hard to locate as dealerships weren't getting many and then those that had one didn't have the trim level I wanted. Would have had to place order and as you found out they aren't willing to deal as much since it is a new product. Additionally the price was a few thousand more than the Fit Sport when adding up the options I wanted.

The plus sides of the Fit are of course the cargo space and the Magic Seat, I liked the styling better and the console, proven track record of reliablity, the price point was good and inclded enough features that I really wanted.

Things about the Sonic I liked were slightly better HP, Hill Assist, sun roof. Disliked the motorcyle type guages.

 

my advice is get your priority straight. if saving money is your primary goal get the sonic and keep it bone stock, no options other than the bare necessities, or get a used honda or toyota that will last a long time and dont do anything to the car other than maintenance stuff.

 

My primary goal is to get an affordable car, with great gas mileage, and is also fun to drive. I see both of these as contenders for that. I am willing to pay for a fair price for the car i choose.

Chevy pros: leather and heated seats standard

Fit pros: cheaper, id be able to install those options with the money i save

 

Go drive the Fit...see which one makes you grin. Pick that one!

 

If I were shopping today, I'd have to take a look at what Hyundai offers. In 2009 they were not competitive with Hondas. Today they are...

 

You are definitely doing your homework! Take your time and choose the car that best suits your needs.

Here it came down to the Ford Focus and the Honda Fit. The Fit wowed with it's cargo space. I found the Fit to be much more intuitive in this area. After the purchase, one of the very positive pluses has been the gas mileage. I drive in Atlanta rush hour everyday. I'm getting 35 mpg in a mix of city and highway driving. It's a fun car to drive on winding roads.

 

OP, get your priorities straight... Test drive both... Define your deal-stopper/breaker. A dealer is certainly not a deal-breaker for me. There are many others around the corner... If heated/leather seats are, then so be it.

I bought mine used (what I wanted). The versatility of the interior seat configuration was a definite plus for me. Then again I have more than one car. The Fit is fun to drive, versatile and didn't break the bank for me.

If I were to buy new NOW, I'd take a close look at the new Elantras also. Good luck!

 

i donno, i think you're kidding yourself getting heated seats and leather on a cheap car, imho. i would just save as much money as you can on this first car of yours and save up for the real car you want to get next.

 

I too looked at the Sonic 1st. I test drove multiple Sonics but in the end I was very fearful of a 1st year model and fearful of buying a Chevy.

The seats on the sonic are nice but they are not leather, they are leatherette. I found them to look cool in pictures but felt cheap when i went to testdrive.

I must say the Fit is not as quick as the Sonic but it handles better, and will have less problems 5 years down the line.

 

After just coming from a chevy (2004 corvette) to a honda fit, i can honestly say it is one of the best things I have ever done. Once your chevy hits 75k miles, its going to be like a bomb went off. I had 4 check engine codes, 3 bad tpms sensors and a bad mass airflow sensor within 2k miles of hitting 75k. I got it fixed and I was done with the car. Traded it in and got the fit. My only regret was not getting the fit in the first place. Dont get the chevy, you will be disapointed with it in a few years!!

 

If economics factors into your decision, you will come out far ahead with the Fit in the long run. It is Consumer Report's top pick for most reliable small cars, whereas the Sonic's predecessor, the Aveo, is on the worst of the worst list. Don't expect a huge turnaround with the Sonic. Chevy's small cars have been disposable for many years now.

Resale value for the Fit is very high, and that coupled with the expected lower repairs cost far outweighs any potential difference in gas mileage.

However, $$$ doesn't mean everything. If you don't like the Fit, you never will, no matter how much it saves you. Get whatever makes you happy. Me, I grin all the way to work every day in my Fit, and I've been driving it for 2 years now. If you do decide to look into the Fit further, be sure to try a manual tranny if you know how to drive one. It multiplies the fun X 2. My wife wanted an automatic, but I overruled her (this is MY car!). I would've kicked myself every day if I'd settled for the auto.

 

The Fit Freaks are nicer people!!!

$100 for heated seats do it yourself. I have a warm azz.

Here I am installing them under my Clazzio seat covers.

 

The Sonic is no doubt nice, as will be the Dart and a bunch of other cars that give a lot of bang for the buck (Veloster) but I think one of the main things that is comparable in the real world, is the brands' statistics regarding resale value and reliability.

Most internet enthusiasts consider insurance and then resale value last when choosing a car, when the fact is, those two things could swing the financial impact of the end-result vehicle massively. The Fit does not disappoint, but it is loud and kind of raw. Most of these other new subcompacts have gotten more isolating from NVH.

The sonic has potential, but it still seems like an Aveo to me, which has about as little prestige as any make/model sold here.

I foresee people blowing up their Sonics left and right too. Some demographics - you just can't put boost in their hands. Insurance follows suit.