First time caller. Here's my story...
My wife is five years from retirement. I'm not far behind.
She mentioned a few weeks ago that she would like to buy a new car and retire when it's paid for. Neither of us have bought a new car since the '70s and never financed one. Since the kids are grown she mentioned she wanted something fun.

I told her (within reason) "take your pick". My job was to keep her out of old Jags and the like. She drove VW Bug convertible, Toyota Avalon Hybrid, Jetta Sportwagon, Miata, Mazda 3 and 6, and several others. The Honda Civic (we had a civic hybrid years ago) was near the top of her list. Now these may not sound like fun to a lot of folks but "zippy" was the term she most spouted when proclaiming her desires.

Enter the Honda Fit.

The local dealer had only one on the lot. She drove an LX and came back with a smile. I told her if that's the one she want's, get it all. Get the leather/navi/floormats/back seat cover/etc...Get the color you want (white pearl), and check all the boxes.

So with a $500 deposit and subsequent communication that it would be November until she got it, we waited.

In the mean time, I put a "Cars.com" tickler out for the car and found two in California, one in Florida, and one just outside Washington DC. I hit the online chat and was answered immediately by a attentive salesperson that noted the car was coming off the truck and available. Another $500 deposit and it was nearly ours. Now....how to get it to Western North Carolina....Stay tuned. It get's good from here.....

 

cont....so that was last Monday. We were pre-approved for $40k so the bank finance person got on the ball getting the money ready.
How to get it 450 miles back?
Hmmm. The cheapest air travel was $400 one way to an airport far away. The dealer said he would pick me up there but was there an alternative?

I'm a sucker for adventure so how about the bus? One way less than $70. Overnight so I can sleep. Dealer can meet me at the station and I'll be on the road and back home in less than 24 hours from stepping on the bus...What could be wrong with this picture!

1st. Sleeping on the bus...Didn't happen for me. Did happen for the 300 lb drunk guy a couple of rows behind me that urinated on himself during the first leg of the trip. Thankful for transfers. Second leg. Full bus...next to a guy fresh out of prison with only a cell phone and pics of his scantly clad "little girl". I never asked or assumed it was his wife, daughter, or squeeze. He awoke in a panic and grabbed me with both hands and wide eyes, apparently having a flash back or something. I had to scream at him to bring him back to reality. He apologized profusely. No sleep that leg of the trip. More to come...it get's better...

 

Wow. This story is getting intense. Go on...

 

Dude don' tease... Spill the beans already!!!!

 

cont...
Leg three of the trip. New seatmate. The buses are full even at 3am. Nice enough guy, maybe homeless, gets really anxious if the bus doesn't stop every 1.5 hours so he can chain smoke. Gets back on the bus to retrieve an inhaler and huff frantically on it for a minute or two. Then he coughs uncontrollably until he passes out. I'm a small ball curled up against the window. Four more hours. Some sleep. Maybe 45 minutes. Feels like more.
I remember the free Wi-Fi sign. Hmmmm. Dig for the Android tablet stuffed in my backpack and log into HBO Go. What to watch...Select "All" movies and flick the list spinning until it lands on....hand on my heart....Midnight Cowboy. Headphones on. Wi-fi leaves me wanting as it is slow. Choppy movie until Ratso Rizzo invites Joe Buck to stay with him in his appt. The connection ceases. On to saved music files....

Three stops and associated huffing and hacking by my new friend later and we're at my final destination.

There is my next new friend, Michael, with my wife's new Orchid Pearl Fit. Freshly detailed and shining like a, well, pearl in the Greyhound lot.

The biggest contrast experienced on this adventure was the smell of the interior of the Fit vs the olfactory world war of the bus. I felt like I should shower before climbing in. Would my wife notice the residual microns of pew that would surely rub off my garments onto her fine leather upholstery?

Quick visit to the washroom at the dealership to switch into my spare shirt and a sink bath with baby wipes. Good enuf.

The next hour is a blur. Sign here, here, here...Print, sign, date, Honda Care? "why do I need it? Is it going to break? Should I be concerned?" No Honda Care. When the Michael and I walked to the car, I noticed the rock guard/mud flaps purchased were not on the car...??? Nor was the cargo tray...???
Michael, perplexed, ran for the service department to return minutes later with the news that those items aren't in stock and will be shipped to me.
The all season floor mats, rear seat cover, and net were "installed" as expected. My wife checked a lot of boxes. (no LED lights or remote start). We negotiated on extra stuff to send with those to compensate for the cost of installation already paid for.

Next....an hour in the parking lot reading the manual and setting up the Navi/XM for the 500 mile ride home....to be continued...

 

I would have spent the $400.00 for the flight....in fact, back in the early 90's, I flew to Atlanta to purchase a Volvo. The dealership paid half my airfare, and picked me up at the airport. I gave up Greyhound even before I went into the Navy, as I could not stand the terminals, let alone the buses.

 

Great story so far, can't wait for drive home!

 

A very interesting adventure and very well written. Love all the little details in the story. Congrats on the new Fit!!

 

I read this story, and others, of people traveling hundreds of miles to find their Fit, and I am so lucky that I only had to drive 40 minutes into the Western suburbs of Boston to find mine.

You guys and gals are truly hard core!

 

cont....
Phone sync'd...XM stations picked for preset...mirrors, seat, steering wheel- check.
I drove 1/2 mile down the road to for a steak. My gift to me for the first half of this 24 hour adventure. I spread the family bible size stack of owners manuals on the table while I wait for my meal and choose the Navigation book.

Now I'm in the tech industry and have written fortran, cobol, pascal, and a host of other archaic languages in my career. I look at the pages and think "my wife will never figure this stuff out if she only keeps this car 10 years". Don't get me wrong- she's a brilliant lady but one bounce against a button that doesn't do what she thinks it should and it doesn't get used again. She likes knobs with numbers on them. She's gonna love the environmental controls.

I finish my steak and stuff the stack of manuals, now blotted with butter and steak sauce, back in the handy cordura holder.

Onto the highway and directly into a traffic jam that lasts over an hour. Enough time in park to figure out the traffic overlay and that the accident is six miles ahead and any exits are just as crowded. I flick buttons like a chimp in a Mercury capsule. Open and close doors. Move my drink to all the holders. (By the way, I've grown to love the one in front of the AC vent. My drinks stayed chilled all the way home) Flip up the moonroof- open the moonroof- closed the moonroof least my scalp be roasted-make lots of phone calls..."hey can you hear me? How do I sound?" I try my voice at different volumes. I call my dad who, with VA issued hearing aids, misses many important parts of a conversation.. "Hey pop...what' you doin'?" He responds "A tomato sandwich, why is it that loud?" "NO...what are you DOING?"....anyway, not the fault of the handsfree system.

Traffic moving again.

Something about me. I'm an engineer and cripplingly curious fellow, and a little fanatical about fuel economy. I have converted more than one car to run on veggie oil, owned hybrids, and currently have a Golf TDI with modifications that averages 60mpg. The biggest impact to mileage is the way one drives. There is a zen-like state that can be achieved and with the proper feedback that can result in many percentage points of fuel economy.

With my eye on the instant mpg graph (I wish this were digital) I play with the eco button, air conditioner, and predicted response to the next hill. I reset the info screen to a new trip and watch as the next 100 miles realizes an average of 46.2 mpg. Average speed is around 70. Is the computer close? Let's see. Pull in for a fill-up and subsequent calculations show 46.3. The variable here is- did the dealership fill the tank and stop at the click and was the car level at fill-up. The next fill-up will tell.

I was somewhat disappointed in the ride of the Fit until I hit NC highways and realized the VA roads were quite pocked and uneven with a lot of cement. The smoother roads in NC were a joy. Almost as good as my Golf. Not a car that I would want to cross the country in but that wasn't the biggest check mark on my wife's "perfect car" matrix. Speaking of which... She always has plants-mulch-antiques-dogs-art and books spilling out of her cars but rarely another passenger. Much rarer someone in the back seat. I think that was the Fit trait that sold her. Flexibility. The Fit fits. Zippy-functional-pretty lights in the dash-moon roof- and that sparkly Orchid Pearl paint sealed the deal.

More Labor Day traffic. Some slow, some stopped. Some averaging 80 mph.

The goal, when this party started was to be delivered to the bus station, and return with a new car for my bride in 24 hours without spending a lot of money or having the dealership travel two hours to pick me up at an airport.

I missed the mark by one hour. Running on concentrated iced tea and power bars, I pull in at 10:30 last night. We spend the next two hours with her behind the wheel making motor sounds in the driveway while I try pathetically to explain what each button does. "Put it on 70's R&B and show me how to open the sunroof...I'll be fine". I'm catching up on my sleep. She left this morning and I haven't seen her since.

 

Entertaining tale! Thanks for posting. Did almost the same back in January except I flew from Nashville to MD to pick up a new T***** Highlander and drove back in s snowstorm. Got my '12 Fit locally, tho'. And I, too, appreciate the economy in my Base with stick shift. Something over 40 on the highway. Hope your spouse enjoys her ride.

 

Great story!

I flew out from LAX to Salinas, CA to pick up my fiancé's EX-L Nav Orchid white. Little over 4 hours with a little Norm and Patton to keep me company.

 

I loved this story lol....especially the part about her in the driveway! That sounds like me.

 

I love reading an entertaining and well written story.

My wife is very similar to yours, in that my wife doesn't like discovering what certain controls and knobs do. She just likes them to do what she expects them to do!

Now, my wife is not a car person and has owned many new vehicles but I have not seen her be anal about any of her cars except for this last one......a 2014 CRV. She babies it and cleans it almost daily. Her 1st accessory purchase was some seat covers but she has since gotten some covers to cover the seat covers.

 

Thanks all for the feedback. I've always had to hire technical writers. Seems even my simplest process outlines turn into a story.

So my bride did come home. She's washed the car and wipes the all weather floor mats when I get out. I'm glad to see this. Seems she wants to participate in the development of its soul. In 1976 she bought a new Camaro and kept it until 1989. It still looked new. I expect this fit will find itself well cared for.

I tend to hyperfocus, over analyze, and obsessively consume information about a product or interest du jour. My RSS feed for all things "2015 Honda Fit" is like a wall street ticker on my laptop. My wife asked me wistfully last night..."so what will you do now?" and seemed proud that I bit my tongue when talking to the salespeople about the car when their statements were inaccurate. e.g. "Honda has their own satellite to provide traffic data"..."Timing belt, quieter, still 120k replacement"..."navigation updates via satellite for life"...

But we made it to the starting line. Yes...Starting...this is only the beginning. I'll rely on you fine folk to steer us in the right direction and I'll post a hopefully useful nugget when I find it. Reciprocity. Now...off to find out what wax to use to keep the pine sap from sticking to the White Orchid Pearl glow.