First post here guys....going to look at an 09 Fit Sport Monday, 28k miles, light blue color, auto, carfax one owner, $12979 listed price. Called the salesman and he said it was a one owner, trade on a newer car. The price seems to good to be true. Other Fits in the area are starting at over $14500. Have bought from this dealer before, very large dealership in Lancaster county PA. Does the low price mean that he got it in trade for very little and will still make money on the deal....I'm a little wary?

Thanks for any input.

 

A quick check on kbb.com shows that is a good price given the condition the vehicle looks to be in. Excellent: $14,455 Good: $13,655 Fair: $12,355. It looked from the pictures that the car is closer to good or excellent condition, though things like rust on the body wouldn't show easily.

The major downside is that this isn't a certified pre-owned, so the only warranty is what's left from the original manufacturer. Of course, you should take it to a mechanic to get it checked out to see if its in good health.

 

Is the salesman at liberty to tell you where the previous owner was from.. which geographical location the car was normally drive in ?

I know of someone who bought a used vehicle for a great deal. After two months, while washing the wheel well and the underside of the car, he noticed some abnormal discoloration on some parts of the joints, seams and crevices UNDERNEATH the car.

He theorized that stones must have chipped off some parts of the underside and salt mixture had began to sip in. He later found out that previously, the car had been used in an area where there was frequent serious snow storm with snow on the roads many months of the year.

Also, cars that had been driven in harsh winter conditions will have a great likelihood of running directly into pot holes as the driver most probably cannot see the pot holes on snow covered roads.

He quickly traded in the vehicle before the symptoms rear its ugly head.

I've also heard that cars frequently driven near the sea side communities will constantly be in contact with sea breeze which is laden with salt. This will not only affect the body work but may also compromise the electronics and fragile circuits boards, which is made of various types of metals particles. Correct me if I am wrong, I think atmospheric air gets into most parts of the vehicle.

I am not implying that all vehicles from the coastal areas or from a snowy places are bad. My point is if you have two clean pre-owned vehicles to choose from, one from sunny place away from the coast and another as described above, which one would a person choose to consider as first preference.... especially.... it is not certified pre-owned and the new 2nd owner may be left holding the bag

My 2 cents

 

Assuming its this car, then it was probably driven around the E-town area. So snow+road salt part of the year, and assuming the roads are like when I lived in the area, then a fair number of potholes.

Really the best thing to do is get the car on a lift and look for rust on the underbody.

 

I think that's a good idea. It won't hurt to do all due diligence because in many cases, a salesman is normally your best friend until a certain point.

They will very likely answer your call on first ring, patiently try to answer all your questions, buy you coffee/lunch until you sign the dotted line and he has your cheque in his pocket... then, when I called him, he would direct me to call Honda.. he would say it is not his problem because I am basically on my own as the vehicle is not certified pre-owned...... very common scenario

 

I sold my 1995 Infiniti G-20 in November after more than 15 years of ownership. I live just north of NYC, the car was always outside (I don't have a garage) and about ten hours a week for most of the year it was parked twenty to forty feet from the Long Island Sound (i.e., salt water). The first few years I washed and waxed it regularly, but eventually didn't do that all that frequently. And only in the last few months was there any rust at all, and that was in just two tiny spots.

Oh, and the town I live in salts and plows and salts tons whenever it snows.

So I wouldn't worry so much about a year or two in the northeast.

That said, despite a degree in economics I don't really understand used car pricing. I paid $16,000 in late November for a 2010 Fit Sport AT and that came with 0.9% financing (which I didn't really want but the dealer said they get paid for arranging financing and wouldn't sell the car for $16k without it). That's for a new car.

So a used car that's a year older (which matters a bit at resale/trade-in time) for $3000 or about 20% less, with 28,000 miles on it? Even assuming the car lasts, say, 200,000 you're giving up the BEST and MOST RELIABLE 28,000 miles to save about 15% on a car that somebody else already drove and you have no idea how?

Keep in mind that the last 28,000 miles you put on the car will probably require some repairs whereas the first 28,000 won't. And just replacing the probably-at-least-half-worn tires is a few hundred dollars.

I don't know if the new Honda Fit market is as competitive where you are as here, but since the 2011s are coming in the dealers ought to be more motivated to move the 2010 than they were 40 days ago when I bought mine.

 

Infiniti is a great quality well built car. I wish I am as disciplined as you, washing and waxing regularly for the first few years.

I think your first few years of washing and frequent waxing may have set a good foundational layer in further protecting the bodywork down the road and that may be another contributing factor why you only got two tiny spots of rust despite driving under the harsh conditions.

 

Yep, that is the car......looking underneath is not a bad idea. I appreciate all the suggestions thus far. We'll see tomorrow when I drive it/see it in person. I have bought two used cars from this motor group and they have treated me well so far. I drove my first Fit yesterday at the local honda dealership, 09 sport, 31k, they wanted $14742, nice car, certified pre owned all that, but, the salesperson wouldn't budge on the price!! At all! They have something called Live market pricing, she said kind of like saturn used to be, no haggling. I just smiled and walked..,..keep looking.

 

Good luck in your search and decision making process, Kingfisher. Hope you had a great buying experience like you did have the last couple of times.

We would be interested to know how everything turned out in the end

 

One of the best things you can do is run a Carfax on the car. In fact, the dealer probably already has and should share it with you.
Obvious key things are signs the Fit was wrecked; carfax doesn't always know but if they do its surely been damaged.
You should look for signs of misaligned or mis matched paint panels, check brake pedals and pads for wear, likewise tire wear and pattern of wear, and finally how well it drives - no twitchiness or 'pull' or funny sounds from the engine or tranny, listen for unusual valve sounds with a listening device even if its only a broomstick. A good runup from 60 to 100, safely of course, in 20 seconds or so is a good test, too. Thats not hard on engines and quickly shows any real deficiencies. Check seat belts for wear and condition. If its too risky check for a Fit test on line and compare time from say 30 to 60 mph.
Check for modifications, especially in the fender wells and suspension.
And last check engine oil for signs of moisture or very dark color that indicates too long since last oil change. There's more of course but this is a good start.

 

I like the thoroughness of your tests, Mahout.. I'll bookmark this thread for my future reference in case I buy pre-owned vehicles in the future

Would Carfax be able to reveal if the FIT had been "drowned" in flood waters and refurbished eg recent flooding in LA. There may possibly be no dents or obvious visual damage to the body/paint work to previously flood damaged vehicles yet after the car has been dried out and engine fixed etc, the vehicle may be sold to unsuspecting buyers

The reason I asked because our vehicle enforcement organization in Canada (equivalent to Carfax) has no record of vehicles previously damaged in the flood waters during the New Orleans flood. A number of such cars had being refurbished and sent across the border from US to Canada. We have heard of Canadian buyers been left holding the bag with previously flood damaged vehicles...things will start to deteriorate very quickly over time

Is there any way to test the FIT that had previously being "flood victims"?

 

If it were in a flood, it would probably have a salvage title, assuming the original owner claimed the loss on his insurance.

 

14,742 is way too much for a car with 31K. I bought a new '10 MT Sport for 700 dollars more with 13 miles on it. I would just walk away and tell them I am going somewhere else and buy one.

 

Carfax reports any federal or state documentations relating to accidents, title, or repairs. And references to odometer readings with inspection data. It is more than a good reference to use. Go to ebay and check some cars that offer Carfax rep[orts to increase marketability of their offers. Its one reason why buying on ebay is better when done from dealers rather than individuals.
For that reason alone I'd use carfax instead of the Canadian 'version' if you can access Carfax for Canadian vehicles.
And that brings up another caveat: Canadian prices are higher than USA because of the difference between poundsEnglish/Canadian and the dollar Us. That 14,000 Canadian may be only 12,000 US.

 

Be very skeptical of CarFax. It's not always 100%, I'd get the car inspected at a body shop if you're concerned about prior accidents.

I bought a car with a clean title, clean carfax. Four years later I went to trade it, the dealer ran a new CarFax on it, and it came up as salvage. The title was laundered at some point, and things can take time to get into the CarFax system. Also, if the accident isn't reported, it will never show up in Carfax.

People put too much faith in CarFax, in my opinion. There's a lot of used cars out there with many problems, I'd pay a few $k more and get a new Fit.

 

well, the car i went to look at was sold on saturday, salesman said he marked it down to basically the cost they got it in for because it had been on their lot for over 90 days. I'll keep looking, lots of deals to be had, but i'll have to travel a little bit to get a good price.

 

Got one!!! found an 09 sport with only 16k miles today near allentown, pa, got it for $13999 and because I bought it today (big snow day) they gave buyers a $500 American Express debit card. Great car, loved driving it home.

only things it didn't have was the owners manual and spare key....what the heck do the original owners want with the owners manual!!! they probably losst the spare key

i'll post pics later

 

Congratulations on your FIT. Hope you will enjoy your new purchase.

If the previous owners has a set of your spare key, would that worry you, I mean, if they know where you live, they can use their spare key to drive your car away correct?