Unfortunately, no thanks to a driver coming the other way suddenly coming in front of me when I was making a left turn at a major intersection, my beloved 2012 Honda Fit Sport AT is no more. Due to the fact the frame of the car was damaged, it would be too expensive to repair the car, and both the collision repair shop and the insurance company said it will 99% be written off for salvage only.

Any suggestions for a replacement? I'm thinking about getting a certified used 2012 Honda Fit Sport AT, but I might get a 2015 Honda Fit EX if my dealer can swing a good deal.

 

Civic. You know which one.

 

I don't get it. You made a left turn and a driver "suddenly came in front you"? Did you have a priority turn?

 

Sorry to hear that. If you loved the Fit, why not look for another one. Personally, I decided on a used one over a new one for 2 reasons. Cost primarily and I wasn't comfortable buying the first year for production in Mexico. Not trying to knock our neighbors to the South, but anytime there is a significant change in production, there are bound to be some kinks that have to be worked out. I try not to be the guinea pig for auto makers.

 

No, I was making a legal left turn from the left turn lane, since the left turn "arrow" signal was green. Suddenly, a car appeared out of essentially nowhere and BANG!, I got hit pretty badly.

 

Was Michael J Fox driving?

 

No, an issue here was the other car was a rental car driven by an older person from Italy here in the USA on business. I think the driver may have been confused by the signal lights (they recently installed a special set of signals specifically for a bus traffic lane in the center of the road, which has sometimes caused driver confusion at this intersection) and the driver may have mistaken the left turn green light for a go-straight green light.

To be specific, the intersection of Watt Avenue and Folsom Boulevard in Sacramento, CA. As part of the major rebuild of the Watt Avenue/US 50 freeway intersection, they put in a center bus lane on Watt Avenue with its own set of signals from just north of the freeway intersection to the entrance to a major bus stop just south of the Folsom/Watt intersection. Unfortunately, that new set of signals has confused drivers north and south bound at the Folsom Boulevard intersection, and that confusion may have been a contributing factor in the collision.

 

I'd say if you like the 2nd gen Fit, get another one of those. I would actually say DON'T get certified preowned. If you were getting a BMW or Mercedes where there are all kinds of unreliable, expensive to fix do-dads, maybe certified would be worth it. If you check the KBB prices for, say a '12 Sport with 40k miles, certified pre-owned is almost $15k. Private party is only $12,600. What is the likelihood of a non-certified Fit needing $2400 in repair work? Basically zero. You could buy a car with a bad engine for full kbb private party value, pay $2000 for a new engine installed at the Honda dealer and still be $400 richer than going CPO.

And of course if you buy from a private party, you can always pay a local reputable independent mechanic (or the dealer) an hours worth of time and you're basically getting your "certification" for $100, not $2400.

 

uh type r duh

 

Thank you for the suggestion. But alas, I'd rather pay more for a true certified car because if I buy it from a third party and a mechanic says there's going to a lot of repairs needed, there goes the couple of thousand dollar savings in no time flat. A 2012 Fit Sport AT has a lot of "hidden" electronics for the engine and the ABS/stability control system, and I want to make sure I get a car with all of those fully functional.

Of course, there is the possibility of getting another brand, but I'd still consider a 2012 or 2013 Fit first because I had pretty good reliability for the most part (well, except for the air conditioning compressor clutch, but that was because the clutch went bad before its time).

 

When my 2009 Corolla got totaled I debated about whether or not to get another Corolla or something else.

I got a Hyundai Elantra instead but kept missing my Corolla. I was thinking of getting another Corolla to replace the Elantra but for the price of the new Corollas and the features compared to the FIT, the FIT was more worth it and I trust Hondas. My FIT is also the same color as the Corolla was.

 

Or just buy it from a dealer. A used Fit from a dealer isn't a Certified but it's still been through a shop that actually knows the car.

 

If you want something faster, Civic Si. Otherwise stick to the Fit. The 2015 model has gotten great reviews so at least try to find a good deal. Otherwise, 2012 is great, too.

 

Sorry for your loss.


Now you can get something better!

 

I'm actually considering getting a 2015 Honda Civic SE--it's only just a little more than the Fit EX. But I may stick with getting a 2015 Fit EX, though.

 

You might consider the Mazda 2 or 3.

 

Mazda 2--no way. There's a new Mazda 2 coming to the US market, but that weak engine and only four-speed automatic--no thank you!

Mazda 3--maybe. But Mazda asks way too much money for their very good models.

EDIT: By the way, I'm more and more inclined to get a 2015 Fit EX automatic. I've test driven one and while it doesn't have the go-kart like handling of my former car, I do like the vastly improved acceleration (it accelerates like my old 1998 Civic HX CVT coupe from many years ago) and much smoother ride, not to mention the fact the sunroof doesn't impede headroom like old Hondas had a bad habit of doing.

 

By the way, an update: right now it's down to the choice between the Honda Fit EX CVT and the Honda Civic SE sedan. Let's who can get me the best deal depending on model. (Mind you, I do hate haggling to get the best price, though. )

 

Good news: I got myself a 2015 Honda Fit EX hatchback (Alabaster Silver Metallic color). Wish me good luck trying to figure out the car stereo, though.

 

Congratulations on the new Fit.
Could you share how the insurance has worked out, which company were you insured with and what kind of coverage did you have?

Thanks.