Hey Wanderer I got an EF hatch and am building it for the kids. It's been a great project. This summer it'll be our 17 yr. old daughters. This is a 1st for me to restore a car and give it away!

 

In 2009, my "new" car was a '93 Ford Escort wagon that I had bought new. It's been a very reliable car, but I take at least two long road trips of ~2000 miles every year, and there's always some probability that a 16 year old car is going to have an expensive problem 1000 miles from home (think clutch, fuel pump, water pump, CV joints, who knows?). I also happened to have an '88 Astro van at the time, so when Cash-for-Clunkers came along, it was a no-brainer. The van got clunkered for 4X what it was worth, the Escort is still going strong as the winter/beater car, and I have the 2009 Fit for daily use and especially the long trips.

 

in 2009, I began thinking about replacing my '95 Subaru Wagon. While it wasn't terrible on gas-20-26 mpg, I wanted something more fuel efficient, but with good cargo capacity. A friend urged me buy a Prius, but I had driven hers and visibility for shorter people is very poor. Plus price was out of my range and other than the hybrid technology, the car is boring. I'd seen a few Fits on the road and liked the way they looked.

Got serious about looking in spring 2010 & tried to find used, but as most of you have found out, it was almost cheaper to buy new. Finally took the plunge and bought my first new car since a 1973 Datsun!

I am still thrilled with this car- my 2010 Tidewater Blue baby!

P.S. Forget to mention my daughter and her husband are Honda Fanatics. Back in 2009- she wanted me to wait until a Fit Hybrid came out, but it hasn't appeared yet in the US. I am glad I bought when I did.

 

It was 2007 I had a new job and working full time. At the time I had a 99 Grand AM GT that I hated. It was staring to have problems and there was NO aftermarket out there for it unless you wanted stickers. So I was on the look out for a new car that would be fun and I could modify also needed to get decent milage because I would be using it for work as well.

My original thought was getting a used Evo or WRX. I dint really like any of the used ones I was seeing in the $20K or less range. I got to thinking why not just get a new car that I want with, what I want on it. So I though Scion Bx, I love those little box cars. My dad actually showed me a pic of the Honda Fit and I fell in love with the car.

So I went to the dealer and put my name down for a Manual Sport in White. a few months went buy and was told they no longer make the Fit in white, bummed I was like ok lets go for a blue or black Fit then. Another month or two goes by and I get a call from the dealer. He says "I know its not the car your looking for but we have a black Auto Sport that the buyer bailed on." So I went to take a look at it, mostly to finally see the Fit in person and drive one. Ended up falling in loving with the car and even though I wanted a manual decied to not wait any longer and get this one that night.

 

Well this is a long one, so strap yourselves in...

When I turned 16, I was provided with a bone stock 1999 Honda Civic LX 4 Door that I lovingly named LeeLee.

I worked 30 hours a week and was on the honor roll, etc. So I helped pay for gas and insurance, but my parents had gotten a sweet deal and paid the car note in lieu of allowance, etc.

I had a little extra money over time and made her look quite nice, if I do say so myself:




She was my gateway into the modding scene. I hung out with many other tuners, and made some new friends, found hot spots, etc. She just had the basics though...rims, tires, i/h/e, ground controls with kyb agx, strut and chassis bars, sound system with subs, si grill, red/white tails, etc.

When I started college, I was working 2 jobs and going to school full time. I had some money and decided I wanted something "faster." I couldn't afford what I really wanted (RSX-S) so I settled on the next best thing...2003 Honda Civic Si HB.
Her name was Stevie and she was the car love of my life.







I spent quite a bit of money on her…
Rims/Tires, HFP full suspension, CTR Rear Sway, Neuspeed front strut bar, intake (not pictured), HKS Full Catback, JDM tails, CTR Spoiler, OEM Fogs, Short shifter and bushings, HOP shift knob, lots of little JDM Interior goodies, etc.
She was my BABY!
One day, she was involved in an accident. Over 6k worth of damage, but they didn’t total her out. However, something was wrong with her suspension the day I got her back from the shop. I went back a few times, but they said everything was tightened. I couldn’t get over the weird feel of the suspension. It was all messed up.

I reluctantly traded her in for a 2005 Nissan Sentra SER SpecV. That was one of the worst decisions of my life. I still regret trading Stevie in. I should have kept at the shop and had it fixed. The Spec was a piece of shit to put it mildly. She stayed stock but left me stranded numerous times due to fuel delivery issues.

I traded her back in 2006 for a Honda Civic Coupe EX 5spd named Reba.
She stayed bone stock but was a good car and got great mpg.



At this time, I was more focused on another passion…


The bike, Blanche, was fun but once I moved and my family grew by 3…she was a hassle. She was out in the shed, I had a passenger to work, etc. It all worked out to her not being ridden very much. I felt bad, felt like I was wasting money and I figured she needed a better home. I sold her in 2009 and decided that with the proceeds, I would trade in my car, put in a down payment and get something with 4 doors. (BTW, Blanche is not being raced at a track on weekends by the new owner)

I looked around but wanted to get my notes as low as possible since we weren’t rolling in the dough and had some uncertainties in our future.

For that reason, I settled on the fit….which as most of you know, I named Adele. She was hard to find...I looked high and low for months...for a White, sport, mt. I had emailed various dealers. I had one dealer trying to get me to settle on Orange but I just couldn't. I told him that if he could find me a white one...I'd be up there asap.

One saturday morning, I checked my email and had a message from him saying that an 09 White Sport M/T had just showed up on their lot. I couldn't believe it! I called to confirm, and make sure he wasn't pulling a bait and switch. He talked to me and guaranteed me that the long drive (1.5 hours) would not be futile. I showed up, and saw her! This was the midst of the cash for clunkers and so there were people EVERYWHERE.
But I ended up making the deal that day...and driving home with my beloved, Adele!

She was, in many ways, like Stevie…but with 4 doors, and not as much muscle.
She reminded me so much of Stevie, that I knew I could be happy with her.

I still miss my EP…A LOT. And I hope someday to have another…but for now, Adele is serving me very well.

When I brought her home…



And as she sits now…




I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to own and love these cars (minus the spec) and the financial ability to mod them. My parents were reluctant and secret supporters of my habit. My wifey is an active supporter and even buys me mods for gifts. She loves Adele a lot…and I know she will continue to support my “sickness” in the future. For that, and all of her love, I am very grateful.

 

Your mom told me about you having the wheels off of one of your cars and other parts scattered around the car before you were going out to hang out with friends... She didn't think you could have everything put back together to get to where you were going in time but you surprised her by having time to spare after you finished what you were doing... I wish I was more like you.

 

WOW What a cool story! Love Stevie! She was a hot ride. I was looking for an EP3 when I found "the EF farmer's special" The EP's are a unique ride like a Fit on Steroids. You def. have Honda DNA

 

Lol I would do almost anything to have Stevie back. Or to have another EP. I miss it so much. Stevie was the best car ever.

 

Stevie would have been even better if it was outfitted with the 215ps K20 like it had here in the land of the rising sun. I'm sure it definitely wouldn't have been traded in.

My story and how I ended up with a Fit...2003 purchased my first ever new car, DC5R Integra, had it for 4.5 years and was an absolute blast, even with an accident no fault of mine at just 3 months old, a shattered 2nd gear on a drive one night and a sort of popped motor during gymkhana; it was just a dream to drive and drive hard. Well January 2008 rolls around and a friend offers me a job over in Guam, good career position upgrade, so I take it. Tried like crazy to get the ITR over to Guam, even though they have ZERO smog testing, they wouldn't allow me to bring it in, even as just a track vehicle (if I was in the military I would have been allowed to bring it in). So I sold it to a friend who 3 months later was involved in what looked like a fatal accident (dumb lady turned right into him sending him rolling, almost same exact spot my accident was and same scenario), but the Honda ACE structure and the Recaro seat saved him according to those who attended to him on scene.

Anyways on to Guam, arrive and purchased a 2007 S2000, it was a dealer demo car, actually had 215miles on it, but I didn't want a RSX-S, hate sunroofs too much damn overhead weight and they just blow compared to the ITR and what I had done to my ITR. I needed something with some gusto, plus I always wanted a Snisen since they first were announced, but having kids it was a no go, why I got the 5R. I ended up paying choice money for the S2000, because well it was the only one on the lot and for them to bring in another would of cost an additional almost $8000 bringing the total to $43k. No thank you. 20 months later and my same company had a position open up here in mainland Japan, my eyes POPPED and I asked PLEASE CAN I GO?, Guam is nice and the people are nice, maybe to visit is worth it, but to live, no thank you. The roads are the most horrid roads I have ever experienced in my life and on top of that, there are not any really fun roads to drive and the whole island is like just 30 miles long. So I looked at bringing the Snisen into Japan...just to get it on the road here would have been close to $8k with the exchange rate at the time. I was going to do it, but at the same time, it just wasn't really practical, I have 2 dogs and a cat and hauling the dogs around in the S, I did it, but it just wasn't made for it. So I sold it before leaving Guam, another decent loss of money on my part, but nobody on Guam was going to pay it's actual value. In hindsight, I should of just brought it here and sold it for mint coin being that it was left-hand drive. Japanese really like to be different to an extent.

So I arrive here in mainland Oct 11th, 2009, I start looking for vehicles, always liked the Fit and wanted one as a daily back in Okinawa (but was only allowed to own 1 vehicle). Part of me was like, don't buy another new car, the past 2 have lost you a great deal of money. I looked at a used EK9 CTR, it was beat up a bit, definitely needed some TLC, but the guy wanted a bit too much for it, but was going to do it anyways, tried calling and he never returned my call. Ohhh well, onto the Honda dealer, just got back into the mode of why do I want someone else's problem. Nov 16th, I walked to the nearest dealer, Sato-San (no relation to Takuma) was my dealer, placed an order for a Fit RS MT in Premium White Pearl to include the Honda Access sussy, window visors and Bosch Euro horns. Waited 2 months till January 17th to take the car home. During the wait, ordered some parts and since taking delivery have added just a few things to it. :P

I'm Honda to the bone, my second son I actually named him Soichiro after Mr. Honda himself. Fell in love with the company at 8yo when my dad brought home a 110cc ATC for me.

My apologies for the factual novella.