I have a private buyer for my 06 Lexus IS350 and I知 looking for a replacement. I知 seriously considering a Fit. I spent $48000 bucks on my Is350 thinking I would have to travel a lot in it (rush hour traffic) but it turns out that I switched offices so my daily drive is 10 minutes now (5 mile one way). I put 10K miles on my IS350 in over 2 years. I'm thinking now that I want a very cheap, very good gas mileage small car for the drive to work. I keep reading that the fit is a "fun" car and that痴 important. The Fit will be my 12th Honda!

87 Crx Si
88 Civic Hatch DX
93 Del Sol Si
95 del Sol VTEC
98 Honda Civic EX
00 CRV SE
00 S2000
01 S2000
02 Acura TL Type S
03 Acura MDX-T
05 Honda Pilot-EXL

In-between there I致e had a:

04 Subaru WRX-STI
06 Lexus IS350 sport with Nav/Mark Levinson


I've already got financing set for a Fit Sport right now. I知 going to head to the local Honda dealer to test drive one in a few hours. I will know 100% on Monday if my IS350 is sold and I知 80% sure it already is. If I buy it, I値l be a regular around here. I am a car enthusiast at heart.

I may even consider getting a 2002 S2000 in the future for the garage. I知 thinking the Fit and an S2000 is a perfect combo.

 

My wife and I test drove a lot of cars...we narrowed it down to the Fit, Civic Si, and WRX wagon. The Fit was the most fun and the interior design is amazing. It comes close to holding what my Explorer can.

 

I say go with the Fit, espesially before the new 09 models come out.
You will definately like it, and you can see the spirit that it has in it just like the CRX and Sol VTEC that you owned in the past.

Ask anyone around here that has a S2K and a Fit if they like the combonation or not. I'm pretty sure all will say yes. :]

 

I just came back from some test drives and wrote this up:


I had 3 test drives today:

1) Honda fit ($16000)
2) Honda Civic LX ($18000)
3) Mazda 3 touring ($20000)


1) 15 min road
2) 10 mins freeway
3) 10 minutes in a parking lot driven as if I were AutoXing (which I have done extensively)


My rankings:

1) Fit
2) Mazda 3
3) Civic LX


My rational is that t I understand these are economy cars and they are cheap (at least to me, I drive a $50K Lexus). I am primarily targeting this:

1) Fun to drive (usually handling related)
2) Ergonomics/comfort
3) Space (2 kids and hailing stuff around)
4) Build quality
5) Standard equipment



The Fit was just awesome. It excelled at "fun". In the parking lot, the thing felt like my old CRX Si. IT was a blast to swing around. Even on the road its celar power disagvantage was not felt (probably due to weight). It felt quicker then the Civic and the 2.3 liter Mazda 3.

as far as looks go, the Mazda 3 won in my heart but you know what, in this class what I知 looking for right now don稚 matter much.

the fit annihilated the other two in MPG.

 

I just purchased a used Fit a couple of weeks ago and am loving the car. I was thinking about the Mazda 3 and test drove 2 of them, but the Fit is more fun to drive around city streets and gets better mileage, as you have stated. And you can fit an amazing amount of stuff in the car for such a small vehicle.

 

Given your screen name and your cars, I'd have to say: Hi Todd!

It's been a while...but I am sure it is you.

I think your combo of the S2K and the Fit truly is the perfect vehicle combo.

I got rid of my S2000 due to it being too much of a toy. However, my 97 del Sol VTEC is still in the garage. I think I have the best combo of sub-97" wheelbase cars ever made.

You'll love the Fit. If I ever have a moment that I don't absolutely love mine, I remember what I paid for it and then I am good to go.

Good luck with the plan!

 

If you only have a 10 minute commute, it seems kind of silly economically to ditch your nice Lexus for a Fit and suffer the depreciation and huge step down in luxury/features/performance. Unless you absolutely need cash right now, I don't know why you'd go through with it... You'd might make up enough money every week for a couple of coffees in saved gas, that's about it.

 

i say do it.


i wish i could afford an is350


but hey, i say do it anyways.

 

I know the buyer of my IS and they are paying me well for it. Selling it isn’t a problem. Cash isn’t a problem either, I actually almost traded the IS350 in for an IS-f a few weeks back and was thinking about a new M3. My decision is really being made for one reason. I’m tired of the Enthusiast car rut. My purpose is to get into a small cheap car that I never have to worry about. If someone hits it... good. If someone keys it... good. If I get rock chips or scratches, I don’t care. But my few prerequisites are that its at least fun to drive and the Fit clearly does that! I also want a new car with factory war. I also need to be able to take the kids in it (5 and 7) since I drive them to school in the morning. When I had my S2000's they were garage queens and I drove a $3000 88 Honda Civic DX hatch to work. I absolutely loved the car! People would egg in front of my old house… bah.. get a hose, wash it off and not care.

At this point I’m waiting for my buyers to take in May 1's. I have a loan ready. All I need to do is walk in and buy a Fit. Since I originally posted this, I have spent a lot of time looking at the others cars in this class and the Civic class and I still plan on buying a Fit.
Amazingly enough, my insurance only goes down $125 every 6 months between the two!

rjm161 => You got me pegged
You still have your 97 del Sol! I sure wish I did to.