Hmmm... transmission more expensive that an old engine burning oil ? I know a tranny is expensive, but an engine... it's usually what's most expensive on the car, isn't it?

Anyway, still a good point... If I can manage to keep the engine in good shape for longer than that.

 

Plain and simple I bought a Honda so I all the worrying about reliability would be put aside me from owning Fords, Volkswagens, and so on. I do the maintenance and drive it. Based on all my friends and families experience with Hondas I don't see a problem, whether it be Civic's, CRX's, Integra's, Accord's, and pretty much everything else, I've known someone that has had one to the death and pretty much gotten no less than 300k miles out of it.

My wifes dad would buy what he would call throw away Accords when they lived in Alaska, had 70's and 80s models, drive them till they fell apart from rusting out, they'd still run but wouldn't' be safe to drive.

My uncle had a 89 CRX the thing finally died at something like 450-500k kilometers, those suckers would turn at like 4500rpm on the highway and run all day.

 

Thanks. Very interesting. Would have made a good Honda ad !
(Seriously, that's interesting.. 300K beating an old Accord)

 

The difference is that, as near as I can tell, some old engines are good and others bad. Automatic transmissions are all in not great shape by the time you get to >150k. Plus, an engine that burns a bit of oil isn't all that bad a thing. Oil isn't some super rare expensive thing. A quart/liter every 1000 miles or so doesn't mean that the car will fall apart or stop moving soon. An automatic trans with something wrong though can very easily change from working to a brick.

 

I guess you are right... It's just... My old car was a VW Golf 1996. When I decided to scrap is last fall, it was running on three cylinders and another one had very bad compression... Long story short, I was getting over small hills in first gear... maybe second if I could go fast enough before it... Was able to get to 55 MPH and everything was shaking to death... The car had 130 000 km on it (what... maybe 100000 miles, I am not good for the conversion), which is not that much, but I think those who had it before me were youngsters who beated the crap out of it... That's why I want to be cautious with my Fit...

 

This explains the mild paranoia. You were the unfortunate 2nd owner of a vehicle which may have had some abuse. Likely the oil wasn't changed when needed and basic maintenance procedures weren't followed. Also, i was a VW and while they make nice cars, their reputation for reliability isn't that great.

Balance is key for longevity. you don't want to be too low as you'll lug the engine. the auto, with lower highway rpms down shifts at every slight incline, headwind, or bump in the road because its 5th gear is geared really high. You couldn't gear the manual transmission the same as the Auto because too many people would Lug the engine. Even the 6MT in Japan doesn't have as tall of a 6th gear as 5th in the Auto. The fit's engine likes to Rev as almost all Honda engines do and they can do it all day long. most people coming from other cars (especially German or US with larger Litre engines) have a tough time adjusting to this concept as they feel (as you seem to) that revving the engine a bit is bad. to get performance out of a honda, it's gotta see higher rpms, (oh, and performance doesn't equate to damage or shortening of engine life). I'll refer again to My Integra GS-R. The VTEC intake lobes wouldn't open up until about 5500rpm so the 1.8L felt very Anemic until you got closer to that rpm range but as soon as you did, it took off. Honda Has done some incredible things with their engines: My 2000 GS-R was a naturally aspirated engine with 170hp out of a 1.8L Motor, for comparison a 2000 Golf with the 2.0, was putting out 110hp and the 1.8L turbo put out 150hp. The Down-side for some people is that with the smaller displacement motors, you have to "Drive" the car. Many people like to just "Ride" in cars and for them, an auto box is the clear choice, especially in a Honda.

As for the Fit. Push it and she'll respond, Change the Oil when needed, and she'll reward you. like I mentioned before, for peace of mind, drop synthetic in there as it's only $10 more every 10K miles (can't get much cheaper peace of mind than $1/1000 miles).

The last thing you need to worry about is longevity. You're seemingly active on this board so you are likely more interested in the fit than as strictly a Point A-B Device. do you want to waste 200,000 miles being paranoid... and bored in the car?

~SB

 

Thanks... Very good reply. Thanks a lot for this, I appreciate.

BTW, a lot of people talk about lugging, but I am not sure exactly what it is. I mean : I am not stupid, I know that sometimes when I try to stop and go in second gear the car does not like it at all... but what would be lugging in 5th gear at 85 kph?

As for why I chose a Fit... Well, it's the only economic car that my head does not touch the ceiling ! :-)