Hey All,
I am the proud new owner of a 2009 Honda Fit. It is a Sport and it is white. I traded a 1999 Ford Mustang Cobra for it, so it is a big change. My Cobra had a lot of miles on it and I needed something more reliable and less thursty on the gas. I almost cried watching the dealership drive away with the Cobra but this little car is neat and I am happy with the change.

 

That's funny....that is a big change, enjoy and Congrats! Did you go with the manual transmission for your Fit?

 

Nah, I went with the Auto with the paddle shifters. I have been driving a car with a heavy clutch for a few years as a daily driver. I need a break for a little while. I will buy me a used Mustang in a few years to play with. It will have a stick. I will probably limit any mods to the Fit to cosmetic and handling, and maybe intake and exhaust, lol.

 

Haha...it's clear you are well on your way to being a true FitFreak!

 

welcome to the thread! congrats on your new fit

 

Nice.... domestic to jdm... perfect switch. hahaha XP

Congrats man!

 

Congratulations!

I DID cry when my old car was towed away. Emotional old woman that I am. LOL! Even though the car didn't even run, it was still a connection. It was familiar. It was a connection with the past, of places I had lived or worked or gone to school.

I had my former car for about 17 years. A lot of things happened in that time. It was a stick, and I went for the automatic myself. Around town driving with a stick was too hard on my hip/back, as it could sent shooting pain down my leg. The same leg I'm supposed to be holding the clutch in so I don't bash into the car in front of me.

I have had a few cars in my life, and this Honda FIT is probably the best one of the bunch. Gas mileage is excellent. It's quiet (I once had a big block Chevy that was only quiet when it was not running). It's roomy enough for what I need, but not TOO big or TOO small.

It's kind of like the difference (for me, as I have the base FIT with no mods) between the Incredible Hulk and the Invisible Man. I feel like I am in stealth mode in the Honda FIT.

JPGC, things that I LOVE LOVE LOVE about the FIT over most of my previous cars...back doors. Seriously. Back doors. No need to twist like a pretzel to get access to the back seat area. With those magic seats, I've been thinking about a full-on assault at IKEA. Wonder if I could put an entire living room in the FIT?

That was one of my BIGGEST concerns, because of my back/spine problem. All the space within a vehicle has to be easily accessible. Without excessive leaning, twisting, and crawling. Also, I shouldn't need a ladder to get in, out, or access other parts of the vehicle.

You might never go back to any other car after having your new FIT. It's not just the practical things that make it a great car. Those are what I looked for, because I am an older woman. But it's the kind of car that other people can modify. I get excited when I look at the wonderful cars here. Ah, if only I was young again!

I can see a family having a fleet of FITs, each one completely different. For completely different purposes.

 

Yeah, I do like the back doors. It helps also because I have a wife and daughter, who, sad to say, really couldn't ride in the Cobra I had. I will always be a car enthusiast and I love to drag/ road race. It's a hobby for me, but for now I need a car like the Fit. I will retire in 9 years from the military and I hope this little car will last me til then and beyond. Yeah I will personalize it, but I will also get me a toy to race on the weekends (ie. another mustang). I have always liked both foreign and domestic cars. Cant beat the American Hotrods and you cant beat the reliability of foreign cars. The resale on these cars also seems to be great, which is good if something ever happened and you had to sale it before it gets paid off. Nothing worse than losing a ton of hard earn cash because of a drop in value of a vehicle.

 

It's a major sign of maturity to go for needs instead of wants. It's tough sometimes. But if you are on a limited budget, especially where I have been in my life, necessities and needs become super important. As in "Do you want to have power this month, or buy some useless crap and sit in the dark with no fridge?"

That's a no-brainer.

I still get a lot of excitement from autos, but I don't have a need to do it myself, to have it myself. I still enjoy reading about new cars and concepts. I know a few people that had been into cars that turned their enthusiasm towards home DIY things.

But if you have military housing or get transferred around, then you can't be slapping on the ultimate deck to your digs.

Your new car should last a good 10-15 years if it's taken care of. No doubt. I don't know the age of your daughter, but it could very well be the car passed on to her when she becomes old enough to drive.

My mum had a CRX si, which after 15 years still almost had the new car smell inside. It didn't look dated, and hadn't required much work. She did have an engine installed, after some doofus didn't put the oil plug back in all the way. Oops.

The interior was flawless. I'm personally expecting my car to last pretty much the rest of my life. I don't drive a lot. Although I sure am tempted to drive a lot, now that I have a reliable car.

 

Hiya TaffetaWhite,

Do you have any problems getting in or out of the car? I don't know how old you are (I'm 62) but I've seen lots of articles that say older folks like to have a car that's easy in/out. I've only sat in a Fit at the new car show last month, and no problems getting in or out. I really loved that little car.

 

I don't know if I could have made the trade you did! Seriously. I want to cry just reading about it!! A Cobra for a Fit...er....choke...cough...mmmm....tears start running....

I am so sorry!

But as long as YOU are happy about the switch...you did it, so move into your new life with the Fit as your DD.

I hear you about the shifter, but didn't that nice ROAR from the motor make up for it???

 

That was one of my concerns. It's not too high, nor is it too low. I'm 49. But I'm also 5'4". So "not too tall" for me might very well be "too low" for you.

That's another reason why I am looking into vinyl (or leather) seat covers, to be able to slide and swivel to get in and out. Nobody does vinyl interiors anymore. Remember the old vinyl interiors where EVERYTHING was some plasticy thing and one could almost hose down the interior?

I know the vinyl or leather can heat up. But I'd like to have something water proof. And they would be much easier to swivel on to get out.

 

My first Civic had vinyl seats. I swear I'll never get anything with vinyl again. I got burnt too many times when wearing shorts. Besides, they don't last long. After about 3 years they started to rip at the seams.

 

JPGC,

What branch of the service are you in?

Like you, and others who've replied to this thread, I'm a car enthusiast, and a Fit owner ('09 Sport, BSP, AT, no nav). I think the Fit's performance is not in terms of speed or acceleration, but in terms of being fun to drive (try it on a twisty road sometime!) while still getting great gas mileage AND providing space for four people and LOTS of cargo.

And for siguy, I'm 61, 5' 10", with two knee replacements, and I have no problem getting in or out of the Fit.

 

I won't be going on a twisty road until I have mastered the steering. It's much more sensitive than my old car. One little jerk and I could end up in the Pacific Ocean off Highway 1.

It is SO much more sensitive that I have taken a couple short drives in residential zones, making turns, just to get the feel of car going nice and slow. Same with mastering the accelerator and brakes. Very different feel.

One should always get used to the new car and how it handles BEFORE plowing into the side of a house or careening off cliffs.

 

First of all, great site! I picked up my 09 Fit Sport auto in black yesterday and already have two coats of Zaino Brother's best wax on it. I traded in my 04 V6 Accord EXL on the Fit. Big change, but I grew up with hot hatches (diesel Rabbit brought me through high school and college at 5 gallons a week) and have had everything in between. Looking forward to adding a few classy yet trick parts to my Fit, tint is first.
First impressions, great car, lots of room, not nearly as sluggish as some have said the automatic would be.

 

Believe me, I still get a little choked up over it. I have lots of videos of the Cobra in action so I can still listen to the sound of it when I want. I am in the US Navy, refering to the question of what service I am in.

 

JPGC, I was in the Air Force, 1964-68. My first base was Walker AFB in Roswell, New Mexico. Yes, THAT Roswell. Never saw any aliens, altho we did have a few strange folk on base....heh heh. The base closed, so we had our "choice" of where we wanted to go. I put in for SoCalif (my home then) and got sent to Montana. Ah yes.....

 

I think that sometimes we make a tough choice for the right reasons. For where you're at right now, a new Fit is a good fit.

I bought two Fits at once, whatever they had in stock is what I took. One Orange Sport Auto, and one Tidewater blue base Auto. I drive the sport. My wife the base. They are suited to the needs we have at the moment. It cost me under $18 to fill up the other day. The Odyssey we're keeping took $30 (at the height of the oil price frenzy it took over $60). My wife's 1999 Civic had been with us for ten years. My wife was a little sad to see it go, she'd relied on it for all that time to get her back and forth to work. It was good on gas, and never needed anything more than your typical wear items. When we sold it, it needed bodywork on nearly every panel. It needed a windshield. It needed rear brakes. The ABS light was on. It had 93K miles on it, ran well. And still sold for $3500, my asking price. KBB.com said the car was worth $4900, so I think given all it needed I priced it fairly and the buyer agreed.

But as nice as the Fits are, we don't miss the Civic much. We're enjoying them a great deal. I've sold vehicles and felt sad to see them go, but so far I have not really regretted the overall outcome of having done so.

I hope you're able to say the same.

Happy New Year. Happy New Fit.

 

Happy New Year to you too and thanks. I took the Fit for its first 1+ hour drive today and I can say I am happy of the choice I made. For one, the car drives good, even at 70- 80 miles per hour. I expected it to be a hand full at higher speeds but not at all. I was also amazed that the fuel level on the guage barely moved after 140 miles.