Hey there everyone! I just wanted to introduce myself and say hey! Here's my story: I've owned a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the past 6 years which served me very well while I was at school at NMU in the U.P., the winters are crazy up there and it was nice to have a reliable 4 wheel drive car with some ground clearance and know that you can pretty much get anywhere no matter how bad the conditions and feel safe doing so. Nothing is too far away from town, so I never worried about gas mileage, but since moving back to IL after graduating, and doing a lot more long drives to and from work and stuff, my eyes we're opened to how bad of gas mileage I was getting in the Jeep and knew that I wanted to sell it and get something that was better on the MPGs and was a little more sporty while still being practical for everyday.

I settled on the Fit after researching a bit and was stoked to go out and look for one! I found one at a local dealership that my mom had just purchased a new Subaru from. It looked GREAT and I knew it was the one I wanted after looking at a bunch of them (older model years, with more mileage) and not being totally satisfied. Only one problem....it was a maunal trans, which I had never driven before. I had always wanted to learn and figured, what the heck, what better time to do it! So I got my financing in order and after haggling a bit, with me and my dad playing "good cop/bad cop", I was the very, very proud owner of a 2013 Honda Fit Sport MT with 26,000 miles on it. It was listed for $14,700 and I managed to get it for $13,700 which was a hell of a deal because the car is in really good condition! Anyways, since getting it about a week or two ago, I've learned to drive stick and feel really confident driving it actually. I picked it up way quicker than I thought I was going to which is awesome! After buying it I realized it had a "FitFreak.net" decal on the windshield so thats how I found you guys, so the previous owner must have been, is still a member which is pretty cool too I thought!

I'm excited to start putting a little work into it and getting some new parts! I already have a new sound system in the mail that I'm going to install this weekend. (Pioneer double-din DVD headunit w/bluetooth and some Infinity components). Anyways, here are some pictures of my "new" Fit (it was rather snowy on the day I bought her and as you can see, I was pretty excited to get the car!) Everyone always seems super helpful on here, so thanks in advance for an questions or advice that you can give in the coming months!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39566115@N03/13145304965/http://www.flickr.com/photos/39566115@N03/13145304405/http://www.flickr.com/photos/39566115@N03/13145583235/http://www.flickr.com/photos/39566115@N03/13145594014/http://www.flickr.com/photos/39566115@N03/13145592954/http://www.flickr.com/photos/39566115@N03/12988866803/

 

Very nice! I have been mostly satisfied with the sound in my '13 Sport. My fiance has the base model '13, with only 4 speakers, and you can really tell a difference. Sound could be better, but more speakers will have to wait. You're gonna love the paddle shifters once you get used to them.

 

my 13 fit sport manual is getting 38mpg, so you should be happy with the mpg.

i see the rear wiper has been modded, and clearly the "h" emblem along with the front grill modded also. so buying used, you already have joined the modded club !

living in illinois too, i purchased a spare set of rims and put blizzak snow tires on it for the winter. i came from an awd element and we end up having the worst winter in 30 some years and i had no awd ! you have all spring and summer to browse craigslist if that is the way you want to go.

with gas at 3.60 a gallon, enjoy the mpg

 

Yeah thanks guys! I've been averaging between 38 and 42 MPGs which is mind blowing to me since the jeep was getting like 15 on the highway haha. Yeah it does have a couple of appearance mods but I might redo the front grill because the plasti dip is starting to peel and the rear emblem was just red because the guy put those little vinyl die cuts in the stock emblem but they were not done well and looked really crappy up close. I was super happy to have the car already tinted though! I might eventually go darker.

Haha yeah it's been a brutal winter for sure! That's why I was holding out with the jeep for a bit longer haha Did you notice a big difference with the snow tires on the Fit? That's definitely in my list if things for the summer.

 

I can't speak from personal experience, as I've always made do (sometimes barely) with all-season tires, but good snow tires do make a substantial difference on most any vehicle—much improved traction in the winter, and typically mediocre performance and high road noise (and rather poor tire life) in the summer.

Snow tires aren't usually something one does for the summer. I'd suggest waiting until fall or the start of next winter, unless you're expecting a repeat of 1816 or something like that. There are good reasons why people go through the hassle of swapping winter and summer tires every year.

 

Who's car was this? I actually think I know who's it is but I can't remember his username, I do remember he was from Chicagoland area, only because I too am originally from Chicago. He came on for a short time and posted a bunch of little appearance mods like those.

Welcome to the club!

 

Manuals don't have paddles, that only the sport automatic.

That seems so half-hearted.

 

It looks like your fit came tinted also, that's great! Did it happen to come will all season floor mats? If not you should get some!

 

very nice! I have the same color, love it!

 

No idea! I got it from a dealership. The sales guy said he traded it in for a new Subaru. I'm a lucky to be the one to have her now though, she is awesome! Thanks!

 

It did come tinted indeed! I think its at like 15% or 25% maybe and looks pretty good though. I think im gonna go darker in the future though. Yeah it did come with the all season floor mats too.

 

I wouldn't normally have looked for a blue car but when I saw this one, it was pretty magical hahaha

 

in my opinion, our blue looks awesome tinted with the wind blockers on it... i have almost the same cosmetic setup as you do now. congrats again, bud.

 

the blizzaks made a huge difference, i wouldn't go into the winter without them. you have all summer to keep searching craigslist, should be able to find a set of rims for a good price in chicago.

to bad about the plasti dip, but the wiper mod is cool, on my list for this summer

 

I would definitely agree! Thanks!

 

oh ok awesome! I'll definitely be adding some blizzaks to my list of things to buy!

Yeahh I want to maybe get some new rims but honestly, I have ZERO idea what I'm looking for or looking at when looking at rims. I dont know what any of the bunch of numbers all mean?

 

Welcome to the club! lol just got my '13 fit two weeks ago and in the same color. Hope you enjoy your new Fit!

 

Oh man am I enjoying it! I just put in a new Pioneer Double-Din DVD head unit, and have Infinity component speakers and an HID kit from xenonsupply.com on the way in the mail! I hope you're enjoying yours too my friend.

 

Hello. I'm from Montreal, Quebec and I also recommend getting winters. I also recommend getting top of the line winter tyres since I've tried budget winters and hated them. Maybe I was unlucky but I hate slip sliding around on crappy tyres. I'd say skimp on the summers but get great winters, the difference will probably be more noticeable since traction is so bad in winter. Winter tyres do have reduced traction on dry pavement though. I recommend buying rims and mounting winters on one set and summer performance on the other (or wait till whatever you have on now get worn and need to be changed). I have the 2007 honda fit and run stock alloys (15") in the summer and 14" Integra rims for the winter. Also, changing rims is childsplay once you get the hang of it. All you need is a jack, a breaker bar and a torque wrench.

The top three brands that always seem to get good reviews are Blizzaks, Michelin x ice and Nokian Hakkapelitta. Take a look at tirerack.com for sales. I bought my set of Michelin x ice tyres from them for 66$ a tyre! That's about a 100$ less per tyre than at my local shop!

 

Congratulations, I love the car!