I am a new Fit owner in the Philly area looking to discuss life and Fits with other Philly-area or Pennsylvania members. Stop by and say hi, or just start a thread. Hope to talk to area Fitters soon!

 

I see people from PA posting in forums.... Here's an opportunity for us to talk to each other, and maybe even set up a Fit Meet somewhere!

 

Whats up people. I've owned my fit since last November. I just hit 9,000 miles on her. I have done some mods so far but I am planning on purchasing the JR supercharger very soon and doing the install my self. I can't wait till that happens. I would love to see a fit/honda meet happen for people in the PA area. There are some interesting people out there that I would like to meet and some nice fit's that have to be seen. So if we could get a meet going that would be great. Its really nice to finally see a forum for people from PA! PA Representing!

 

I'm from the other side of the state and only plan on using my Fit as a daily driver since I've got a much cooler car parked in the garage. Anyway, I'll be making the drive out to Carlisle this weekend for the Import Nationals where I hope to find some parts for my Datsun. Anybody else going?

 

Wow, Carlisle is further for you coming from Pittsburgh that it is for me coming from near Philly! But no, I'm not going

Just a bit about me: I used to drive a 1994 Ford Escort with 170K miles (I put on about 140K of them myself over 7 years), and was spending several hundreds of dollars every few months to keep it running. After a head gasket blew a second time, and the car started idling roughly, my mechanic told me I really needed a new car. Being of low income, I knew I had to buy a tiny car, but I also knew I needed a GOOD car that would last 10+ years. That meant Toyota or Honda, and their small cars, meaning a Yaris or a Fit. My mechanic told me that while Toyotas are very good cars, Honda's product is better by far. So a Fit it was.

I reserved my Fit from Martin Main Line Honda in the beginning of March '07. They had a VBP sport automatic, exactly the model I wanted on order from Japan, and I was told it would be in in 2 weeks. I was even given the VIN at that time. I didn't get the car till the end of March, the same day I stared a new job in Bala Cynwyd, just outside Philly.

A few days later, I realized there was no antenna, and it wasn't in the car, so I called the dealer, who mailed it to my parents' house (I was going to pick it up on Mother's day, when I was there, but left it, so I'll get it the next time I am there). It was then brought to my attention by someone that the mirror brace was not installed, which I found in the car and installed myself.

I was initially ok with the gas mileage, as the first tank (from the dealer) gave me just over 24 mpg. But then it dropped, and I was getting between 20 and 23 mpg. My commute is nearly all what anyone would call stop-and-go, right through North Philly. My 10 mile commute takes 40 minutes, and I go through 34 traffic lights. Consumer Reports' results were 22 mpg city, and since I was above this, I was once again happy.

Then I started reading threads on here about people stomping on the gas, using the A/C, and STILL getting 30+ mpg in the city. Well, maybe their "city driving" wasn't as stop-and-go as MY city driving , but once again, 20-22 mpg seemed a little low. I began driving less aggressively, not accelerating as quickly, coasting more, checking my tire pressure, etc., in an effort to raise my mileage. I got up to about 23 mpg.

I then read about the Idle Learn Procedure. Despite what some people say about the ILP not helping unless there is a real problem, I figured that if my dealer didn't install the antenna, he sure as hell didn't let it idle for 20-40 minutes before I picked up the car. On the tank I tried this on, I got just over 24 mpg, slightly, but significantly higher than the best tank (the dealer tank). Thinking my mileage would only go up, I had high expectations for my last tank, which didn't have the car idling for about an hour. Once again, I was disappointed when it was only an insignificant amount higher than the tank before, not even 25 mpg. I am at 1500 miles and I don't really believe my mpg will somehow get significantly better when I hit 6k, 10k, or whatever magic number you want to give.

At this point, I have accepted two things:

1) I love my Fit. It's the first brand new car I ever bought, and I plan to have it for a long time. I have low payments, it drives nice, looks good (I LOVE the blue pearl), has lots of room, and plenty of cool features like an mp3 player, cruise control (even though I don't use that much), and a remote, all of the reasons I bought it (except for the expected mileage).

2) I can't expect mileage in the high 20's or even low 30's. Not on my commute. I need to take it on the highway and see what kind of mileage it gets then. If it's below 35 mpg, I'll take it to my dealer, but I doubt anything will happen. However, I won't be too surprised if I end up with 40 mpg. I have a strong feeling my commute through the city is just dragging it down. I plan to get a scanguage soon, that may help out.

Wow, this is a long post!

 

I'd be really upset if I got mileage as bad as you. I just filled up my Fit today for only the second time and I did the calulations and found I got 34.8 MPG driving around town and commuting to work in stop and go traffic. Maybe I just have a lighter right foot that you do.

 

I've been doing all that I can short of installing a scanguage to keep my right foot light. I only depress the accelerator just enough to get the car moving fast enough so the guy behind me doesn't get TOO pissed off. Though I do think it's a riot when he zooms around me and then slams on his brake to stop at the light I am coasting up to.

When I get my scanguage, I know throttle position will be one of the numbers I have it display, along with MPG. Haven't decided on the other two yet.

 

So I live in Wayne, PA outside of Philly. I commute via bus to Philly on weekdays though so not much driving of my Fit then.

I love my Fit because:
1) I can "Fit" in the tiny spot at my apartment complex that hardly anyone likes.
2) I can turn a corner going 40mph and scare the hell out of people.
3) I can lay down in the back of my car full length (I'm 5'5" and like to nap).
4) I can finally hook up my Creative MP3 player to my car stereo (I had a Mazda3i before this car).
5) I've got tons of cargo hooks to use to keep my groceries in place when my rear seats are folded down (which is always since I prefer them down).

Great car, cool thread!

T

 

Thanks for posting, and welcome to FitFreak! How do you go around a corner at 40mph???

 

LOL! Well, first of all the light has to have been green and no one should be coming from the opposite direction! Secondly, you hang on for dear life and just turn the hell out of the wheel. That's where the turn "hard right" comes from.

Seriously, I do it a lot because I like speed in small spaces. Way more exciting than freeway driving, especially if it's hilly like Upper Gulph Rd.

Try it, you can do it in a Fit or a Civic...

T

 

Hey

I'm glad someone finally started a community for Pa Fit Freaks - I only saw ones for New York and the general Northeast when I first started posting here last summer - it's awesome that we have a little niche place for our own.

I'm Jess. I'm from Philly. I've had my VBP Sport AT for almost a year (a little over 10 months), and I've got close to 15K on her, mostly from commuting to work (I've worked in N.J. and in KoP over the past year) and random around-town errands. My baby came to me from Piazza Honda of Drexel Hill (an excellent place, btw) just a few minutes outside of the city in Delco.

Regarding gas mileage, a couple of you have said you got low mileage in stop-and-go Philly traffic, and I believe it. I wouldn't take others mileage estimates too seriously, because so many people either estimate mileage wrong or have different ideas of what "city traffic" and "stop and go traffic" actually are that it's hard to compare across the board. Unless you're comparing the numbers of someone with a similar commute, it's sort of useless to look at others numbers and feel bad. I get horrid gas mileage when I'm driving through the city - I literally watch the needle drop as I idle for close to half an hour while I'm creeping a mile. I've seen the lights and traffic in North Philly - 22 mpg isn't hard for me to conceive driving through that traffic, given the lights and how congested it can be at times.

Highway is where this car really shines - I went from Philly to NYC on half a tank of gas and 34 mpg, and that was with a period of stop and go and periods where I drove 85 mph. I can get about 31 if I don't go in stop and go traffic while commuting, but that hardly ever happens, so usually I average somewhere between 26 and 29. If I do errands in the city, it drops.

Overall, I love this car, though I hate the ease with which she gets scratches and dings (sucks when you live in a place where you have to park on-street and the bumper gets assaulted by parallel parkers, and when you go shopping and your doors are assaulted by Wal-Mart storegoers). Even though I've started to see several Fits a day around here (Fits are a good city car, I think), I smile each time I see one, and I'm looking forward to meet other area Fit owners.

 

From Wilkes-Barre, PA here. Deff. not new to the honda scene, I have had my shave with a b16a swapped eg, b18c swapped ek hatch, ep3 for less then a yr, and now the fit because of gas prices. So far I am liking the fit because I am getting around 37mpg city. There are a few things I do not like as in paint, travel noise, no dead pedal and cheap ass carpeting. I also plan on keeping it stock and just tinting the windows. Well, thats it for now.

 

When you say 37 mpg city, how often are you stopping for a traffic light?

 

Okay, maybe not from the middle of the park but from an area just off 202 called Chesterbrook. I got my Red Fit Sport Auto on May 1st from Martin Mainline Honda. Technically sold as certified used with 20 miles on it. Salesperson said the dealer bought a few of these cars from Honda USA that had been used in the Honda Classic Golf Tourney as courtesey cars. Whether I believe him or not, getting the better certified used warranty was a good deal for me.
I've added the zeta dead pedal and a set of sun visors I got off ebay. I immediately added a 10" JBL subwoofer which really gives the stereo some nice punch (although my rearview mirror now has Parkinson's).
My first tank of gas with all paddles got me 25mpg. The next tank I went with regular drive/no paddles and tried feather footing and got 30 mpg.
I really enjoy this site and the forums. It would be great to figure out a way to get together and show off our Fits to each other and the world.
Take care,
Gregg

 

I also got my car from Martin Mainline Honda, and it had 10 miles on it. How many miles does a car need to have before its considered used? They gave me a great price of only $100 over invoice (yes, invoice, not MSRP), but almost everytime I called to find out if it was in yet, I had to leave a message and they never called me back. They also didn't do much of a dealer prep, if anything. A few days ago, I thought my transmission was slipping, so I left a message to schedule a time to have it looked at, and they never called me back. It did turn out the trans was fine, but they didn't know that!

Now some paint is starting to peel. It actually looks like it has rust underneath. I don't know if I should go to Martin, or to another dealer.

 

left a lot to be desired. Apparently whomever was prepping the car whilst I was inside filling out paperwork spilled their coke all over the front passenger seat. Not a good start! The best Honda dealership around is Scott Honda in West Chester. They are top notch all the way. I bought an 06 Odyssey there in October. Unfortunately they weren't expecting any Fit Sports in for a while when I called.
As far as your question about what is considered a used car, the actual mileage has nothing to do with it. For a car to be used, it has to have been resold. In your case, the dealership was the original owner so the car is considered new. In my car's case, since Honda USA wanted to use it at the golf classic, they needed the car insured. Therefore it was technically sold to the Honda Golf Classic where it was insured and used (albeit briefly). Therefore, when Mainline obtained it, the car was considered certified used.
Interesting.
I hope that helps.
Gregg

 

I live in a pretty large city with maybe a stretch of 3 miles on the highway I travel. I dunno, I have been getting around 320-330 miles per tank and filling up with around 8.25-8.5 gallons of gas.

 

Hey everyone,

I love this site and the forums in particular. I am in the market for a Blaze Orange Metallic Sport, 5 speed. I think I've found one way out in Mechanicsburg (near Harrisburg). Any advice or suggestions on the buying process? Any dealers you've found to be good to deal with in western Pennsylvania. I'm willing to drive a few hours to get my Fit. Hopefully I'll have a pic of my Fit to post as my signature soon! Thanks.

 

I just got my fit yesterday. Exciting. (BTW - I only waited a week to get my black fit sport auto )

 

Ok, now I'm a little discouraged. My last fill-up I calculated a bit over 23mpg! I don't feel that should happen. I'm not that hard on cars. LOL!

I checked the tires and they're still up around 42psi so I guess that's not it. Anybody know anything about brands of gas that are crappier than others?


T