the fits a 2nd car for us - a family of 4 - with 2 kids (2 yr and 6yr) in their car seats

our primary family is a nissan xtrail suv (sorry us guys didn't get this)

the fit holds what we need and even going to costco/groceries is our weekened warrior & my daily work home driver

decided on a 2009 5speed

other choices was a 3 hatchback and versa

but the fit - being cheap on gas, holds its weight and fun to drive (at least as a stick), and easy on insurance won

 

hmm i dont mind waiting 6 months, but my sister is just bugging my dad for a car, shes going into her senior year in high school soon. i really do like the fit, i have considered other alternatives but for the amount of money for the other alternatives (20k+) i rather go with the fit.

i have no test driven the fit yet, but i do plan to do so very soon. my dad is paying what its worth, about 8k down payment. its a good option for me because my sister doesnt do long distance driving so the v6 coupe would be a good car for her, while i do tons of driving so the fit would do great for me

 

You pretty much got everything right in your post. What are you waiting for? Pull the trigger! And what do your friends drive? The Fit is not super fast or whatever if thats why they're telling you not to get it. But I assume you want a car thats fun to drive and gets good mileage. If your friends know that, I hope they're not persuading you to buy a yaris or versa. LOL.

 

If you're going to the Automatic Fit I will have to agree that you should look into the alternatives first. Some of the alternative vehicles that Selden mentioned are actually cheaper than the Honda Fit yet offer good features. I mean to say the automatic Fit's are not bad but the manual Fit are just more fun to drive IMO especially if you wanna get the most of the car like the mpg and power.

 

I'm 22 and work in sales too. And I bought my own Fit as well. High 5! LOL. I saved up and paid 5k downpayment, and I pay almost $400 a month for the car and insurance. Its entirely do-able with no pressure! . Unlike a friend of mine who bought a STI and has to regurgitate $500 a month just for the car payment. sucker! LOL

 

im just super busy and havent found the time to hit the dealership yet. my friends that are telling me not to get the fit drive a 2010 wrx, 2009 bmw 3 series, and the other has a prelude i believe. lol they think its ugly and slow but i think it looks cool cause im a huge hatch fan. and also, i love hondas, i dont think i can drive a yaris or versa lol

its fine, i looked into other alternatives such as, mazda3 and wrx but they're expensive and dont save as much fuel. as for getting a yaris or versa? no way, ugly hatchbacks lol ill test drive the AT fit's sport mode and see how i like it from there.

lol yeah my friend just got a 2010 wrx he loves it, but he just got a job with me to be able to pay it off hahaha

 

Had my Sport less than 6 months. The only other car I test drove that even came close in price and utility to the Fit was the Scion Xd. I probably would have been happy with either car. The Fit exceeded it in every spec except 1, the Xd had a slightly smaller turning radius. Just too many great features on the Fit outclassing the Xd. The test drive will tell the tale. Thats the critical test. Let us know what you think.

 

Ask them to find another car with comparable:

reliability
mileage
utility (interior space + seat configurations)
passenger space (assuming you don't need to fit 4+ people in)
price
decent "fun to drive" factor

I don't believe there are any competitors with this bundle of factors...

 

Why do you want a Fit? Well, here's what mine is like after it's first 6K miles...
The suspension has lost some of it's initial harshness while still being firm, the motor just hums, and the steering- WoW! -I can't remember when I enjoyed a car so much! I can let go of the steering wheel and the car will track straight and true without deviation and yet respond and turn so effortlessly, and then it makes a U-turn in a tighter circle than my smaller Toy Echo can!

I can load in a bunch of conga drums and musical instruments, -all kinds of large hand percussion stuff, with ease, and also our big Poodle loves to stretch out in the back!

I even like the fact that it's not as highly powered as some of today's big tanks are; when I step on the gas to pass someone the engine pulls, well, okay, but also it makes a good solid sound to remind me that I'm using up more gas! -Which AFAIC is just exactly the way a good car should sound in today's energy threatened world!

I'm in my 70's, have had many a car since my 20's, from Plymouths to Fords, Chevys, Toyotas, Volkswagon Beetles, and early Civics, and this 2010 AT Basic Fit is hands down the best handling car I've owned yet, and the most fun to drive! -Even after 6K miles I haven't gotten used to the joy yet, and doubt that I ever will feel 'jaded' about the way this jalopy drives!

 

If friends tell not to get a Fit get a Fit and new friends as quickly as possible.

 

One selling point you can give your father about the MT, no need for jumper cables if/when your battery dies. Good luck trying to get going with an AT if no other car is around.

 

???
Are you saying if you are getting a MT then get the Fit, but if an AT, then don't? Do you really think that a Fit having an AT is so much less fun to drive that it then becomes not worth buying? -Shhhesh, do I disagree with that one!

-Also, if you look at the rated MPG figures, you'll see that the AT Fit rates higher than the MT does! The AT Fit is extremely smooooth; it shifts right about where I would on a MT, it's engine doesn't have to rev as high at speed on the highway, and I can pay more attention to enjoying the same responsive handling without having to depress a clutch and row a lever alla time!

I usta drive sticks alla time too.. In fact our previous car is a Toy with a 5-spd stick, -but now I let the wife drive that one alla time 'cause I enjoy the AT trans and the excellent handling on our'10 Base model AT Fit so much!

You can preach alla kid stuff about "fun shifting" ya want to, but I ain't buying it! -I wouldn't go back to all that unnecessary stomping and rowing around in traffic now if you paid me to!
So here's to the AT Fit, and to smooooth easy take-offs and excellent highway cruising and ease of handling thru almost any kind of traffic imaginable!

MT's? -Bah! -1930's stuff! Are you kidding, or wot?!!

 

Flashback! I did my time at BurgerKing and a summer of 50hours/wk got me my 86 Prelude Si 2.0 (5MT). Also went for the no-interest Dad-Loan which was paid back in 6 months with my 93 Integra GS. The GS-R was all on me though and that was my first new car.

No... No... no! there are enough jobs, just not enough people are willing to "stoop down" and take a lesser job. I took a major step down going from a Dot.Com to working at a computer shop then staples (both at 1/3 the salary). You do what you have to do... lots of former co-workers at the Dot.com felt that taking a lesser job was beneath them, they remained unemployed and are now finally doing what I did... and I'm years ahead of them, back in I.T. as a Technical manager.

If the AT is your only option, Don't drive the MT. When we bought our Altima, I test drove the 4cyl, then I test drove the V6. I ended up with the V6 even though I probably could have survived with the 4cyl.

Also, the Auto is going to suit you better with the commute you have. Especially if it is mostly highway. It's geared a little better than the 5MT at highway speeds. Quieter and better on gas.

~SB

 

I'm willing to be wrong about this, but nowdays it is my understanding that, if the battery is so thoroughly dead as to not run the electric fuel pump, then it isn't possible to catch the car in gear, even with a rolling start.
Lots of good reasons to want a manual tranny, but roll-starting with a dead battery is no longer one of them.
Moon

 

Well I guess I should have been more specific. Not completely dead, still has some juice to power accessories, but not enough to turn the motor over, you can roll start.

 

I've caught some cars in gear in my life, and, on reflection, it was probably a bad idea. I did it with a VW Beetle most often, which had manual steering and brakes. Modern cars have neither, and two or three things can happen when you try to get one rolling without either; most of them are bad. Far safer to get a (correctly done) jump.
Not meaning to hijack; back to the topic.
Best,
Moon