hey people whats up.!

Sorry the title should have been "shopping for USED fit"

well i am in the market for a used fit, my buying power is somewhere between 10,000-12,000 but it seems like everything that range has 60,000-90,000 miles, which that kind of scares me.
couple other things.

im worried about front end collisions with the fit having almost no front end seems a simply fender bender would = lots damage and safety concerns for my 1yr child..

also i test drove a 2011, it had a little vibration down by my right foot when i accelerated is this normal..?

any thoughts or inputs..things to check for or look for with that kind of mileage, is it even a good idea to buy a fit with that much mileage.
ideally i would need it last for the next 5 years or so, i commute 120 miles monday-friday..with light mileage on the weekends..

right now a drive a 03 ford focus se 2.3 with 134,000. i know lots of problems are on the rise in the near future..BUT it does conquers my daily commute with ease as of now..

 

Hello socal!

Regarding your safety question, check out the "Do you feel safe in your Fit" discussion under the General Fit Talk forum. You'll find some very useful information and shared experiences from members in there. I personally feel quite safe in my Fit...moreso than I did in my previous car (an Altima, which was much larger). They are designed with an ACE body structure to better absorb front-end impacts and disperse the force of the collision.

With the whole miles thing...given your numbers, I figure you'll be putting around 10500 miles a year on your car. Remember, the Fit is a Honda, which means reliability. So basically you're talking about 120000-160000 miles total depending upon how many initial miles the car has on it. That is nothing for a Honda. Just take care of it and it will last you for a loooooong time. A friend of mine has an '07 Fit with around 125000 and hasn't shelled out a dime for anything other than routine maintenance.

I have a 2010 Fit Sport and I don't have any vibration in my pedal during acceleration. Although the 2010's don't have VSA unless you get satnav (which I don't have). Maybe that vibration is a side effect of the VSA system? I've never driven a car with VSA so I don't know about that, sorry.

Anyway good luck. Let us know how you make out

 

10,000.00-13,000.00 is my walk out price, i need to find a honda fit with in the price range of $10,000.00-$13,000.00, Heres my issue every honda fit i find in that price range has 60,000-90,000 miles on it, which scares me a little to say the least..! MOST of them are not even Honda Certified,so i would have to buy a warranty. a 100,000 7 year warranty is $1500.00

heres a link to some Honda fits i have been looking at.

Used Car Dealers in Corona | Used Honda cars | Honda Cars of Corona

Please if you have time some input would be greatly appreciated.

this is where i stand..

Am i better off buying a used honda with 60,000-90,000 miles on it.?

OR

An American car IE 2010 Chevy cobalt. Yes i know, i said Chevy Cobalt with 40,000 miles on it...this is the contemplation im stuck in.!

Honda= 60-90k
American=30-40K

would you feel comfortable buying a fit with 60-90k on it?

 

At the end of November I paid $16k for a 2010 Fit Sport AT (in NY, if it matters). Seems out of line to pay 2/3 to 3/4 of that for a used car that's used up the best (and least expensive to maintain) 1/4 to 1/3 of its life. But I guess the used car market reflects supply and demand more than the economics of ownership.

Still, if there are any 2010s still on the lot and you're okay with a base model with a manual transmission I'd think you wouldn't have to pay too much more than your budget, if you can find one and scrounge up a couple of extra thousand dollars.

Best of luck!

 

Thanks for the advice brain, new 2010 fits in California are running 15-18,000.

When i trade in my car, what does the trade in value go towards.? car price or tax and fees?

im not understanding why they are asking for a cash down payment if i have a trade in.?

 

I don't know that it makes any difference whether the trade-in value goes for car or tax/fees- it's still the same pile of money you owe. Here in NY you pay sales tax on the amount you owe, so if you pay $10 and trade in a car for $1 you pay sales tax on the $9 difference.

The amount of the down payment, trade-in or not, is to reduce their risk should you default on the loan. But you don't have to borrow the money from the dealer- banks, credit unions, etc. may give you a lower rate or lower down-payment. Regardless, everything's negotiable.

 

Here is my "odd" advice.

Yeah, I'd rather have a Honda Fit with 60,000 to 90,000 miles on it, than a Ford Focus with 134,000 miles on it...

But at $10,000 to $12,000 dollar buying power? Is it feasible to simply budget for a few months and put yourself into the position of looking at New?

If the Focus is still viable, I'd try to save up a bigger down payment and look at new. Yes, next years Fits will ALL have VSC...which might make you feel better if you are driving around a 1 year old child.

3-4 thousand dollars more....and you are talking about shopping for a NEW Fit..

Then that gives you all the advantages of owning a new vehicle.

Of course, I don't know your financial situation, and we can afford, what we can afford...but the difference between a 12,000 dollar used and a 16,000 dollar new...

The other BLASPHEMOUS alternative is looking at other vehicles. They get a lot of flak but Hyundai Accents and Elantra's can be bought new at close to what you are willing to pay for a used Fit...

I've seen Accents sold for less...

Good Luck.

And yes, I have a 2010 Honda Fit Sport Automatic, I notice no vibration at high speed. Infact for it's size it handles very solid..IMO..

 

@fitchet..thanks for the reply

I COULD save up more,BUT two things are to consider.

1. my focus has a list of issues that could arise into some major mechanical repairs, the idea is to trade it in to avoid any major mechanical failures and costly repairs which could also result with my car being worth ZERO for a trade in value, or me spending the money i have been saving for my down payment on a new fit.

focus Issues would run around 2 grand to fix.

2. I did offer Honda an additional grand ontop of my trade in value in return for a new fit, but they did not go for and said i have to get a used car.

 

It's unfortunate that these days the economics of used cars are out-of-whack. When I was a kid as soon as you drove a new car off the lot it went down by a third of its value- so buying a used car was a good deal. Now it seems like it just sticks people who can't afford new.

Here are the obvious advantages, should you be able to afford new:
1. Nothing to pay for but car payments, gas and insurance (and washer fluid, but where you live you probably will rarely use it and can get away with water) the first year. Many dealers give a free first oil change- so in the first year, no maintenance expenses.
2. Full, real warranty from Honda. No 'service contract' that doesn't cover everything, that could be from the dealer or some insurance company that could go broke or fight every claim.
3. When you do go to sell it, it's years newer than if you'd bought a used one.

Slight disadvantage is that the insurance will cost more on a new car.

If you can still get 0.9% on a new Honda, that may also help- although I don't know if it's still available nor if you'd qualify, but:
$12,000 at 6% is monthly payment of $232.
$15,000 at 0.9% is monthly payment of $256.
Not a huge difference.

I'm sure you know, but if you can stand the hassle, selling your car privately is way more lucrative. Dealer offered me $500 for my 15 year old Infiniti- sold it privately for $1600 and probably could've gotten more if I'd waited another day or two. Look on Craigslist and Ebay to get an idea what they sell for.

 

FWIW, the best thing you can do for safety for a child of that age is keeping the car seat rear facing, and the next is keeping the seat in the center rear position. With those in place, it's almost impossible to injure a kid.

If you are looking a fit, be sure the car seat fits and you're able to stay comfortable, though I'm sure you've thought about that.

As for the general advice, with the amount you want to spend, I'd also recommend saving and going new. The fit depreciates much slower than most cars; IIRC, it has the lowest depreciation of all cars, which means that its hard to find an inexpensive 2-3 year old car.

 

how funny. i just joined this forum because i just picked up a fit. i bought it for its practical use.

what's even more funny is the link you post shows the car i just bought. i bought the black manual sport. sorry if you were planning on getting it!

corona's customer service was awesome. greg fischer (the sales person) was straight forward with no bs car salesman pitches. had a wonderful experience there.

this car has almost 60k on the odo but since it was honda certified, i'm covered bumper to bumper and powertrain up until 100k. i totally feel comfortable with the milage.

anyway, good luck with your search. and just a little advice, buy a fit from a honda dealership. they offer the best warranties if you're uncomfortable with the milage.