Hi! After coveting a Fit for several years, I am finally planning on getting one! While I would love to just buy a new car, I am a student and a thrifty person so am very hesitant to go that route. What do ya'll think about Honda Certified Vehicles? Good idea? Safe idea? I know NOTHING about cars and am super nervous about making a poor choice. There is a 2008 MT LX with 21,619km for 13,799. Is that a good deal? (I am in British Columbia, Canada).

Other question - should I be suspicious that the car has so few kms? I looked at the Carfax report and it says that it was always registered in a small town so maybe that explains that?

Thank you for your advice!

 

So in my view, buying a certified used car is generally fine. They go through a inspection process, anything that doesn't pass Honda doesn't want to resell under their brand and they get sold to a general used-car dealer. Often, the certified used car comes with a better warranty than new!

Having said all that, currently the used car market is quite hot and especially for high-resale-value cars. You might find used Hondas sell for near new.

Last, I'm talking about the US market. Any of those things could be different in Canada as it is, of course, a separate country Good luck.

 

Thanks for the input. I test-drove a 2012 today and i think I am going to go with the 2008. :-)

 

I second this. Generally right now, unless you have a dealership that will work on the price with you, you are, IMHO, better buying new. Then again, even a slightly used Fit with 100k warranty for a few hundred less than new may be worth it to you, if you want the longer warranty, but I doubt you'll use it. The Fit's have proven themselves to be very reliable.

 

Low mileage vehicles always raise a yellow flag. Most (not all of them) are low because they have been of the road due to a wreck and are usually declared totaled by the insurance company. They are then bought up and rebuilt. A rebuilt vehicle is usually worth about 40% less than a like car that has not been in a major accident. Most states (not all of them) require the insurance companies to report any vehicle they have owned due to an accident. Those vehicles are issued a "Salvage title".

After they are rebuilt they go through an inspection, the quality of which that varies by state. After they are passed they are issued a "Rebuilt" title. The inspection isn't much. They are usually only looking for any stolen parts that may have used in rebuilding the vehicle and any very obvious safety items. I ran a Chevy Colorado through one of those inspections once. All they wanted was a picture of the damage before the repair and receipts for any major parts that I used fixing it.

I do not know the rules in BC. I just checked and BC does issue both salvage and rebuilt titles. What I could not find is if the insurance companies are required to report all damaged cars to the Province. I have a few friends in BC in Abbotsford, Kamloops and Ft. St. John. The next time I talk to them I'll ask to see what they know. BC might be like a few states here where these type of cars are not required to be reported.

You might want to check quality of the paint especially on the hood and front fenders. Look for flaws in the paint as starting indication. Also ask to talk to the previous owner for additional information about the car you want to buy.

A good bumper to bumper warranty by the seller would relieve some of your worries in this area. Rebuilt vehicles are a good deal IF the rebuilder did the job correctly.

I hope you really have a low mileage (KMs) undamaged car there. Just do some research. Honda Fits are known to be very reliable.

Good luck.

 

In addition, if you are financing, be sure to compare total payments. Often used cars carry higher interest rates than new, so the total cost of the car including interest on the loan can make new cheaper than used.

 

Thanks everyone! It is in Kelowna and I am in Vancouver so am going to check it out on Monday. I will be sure to inspect the paint. Apparently there are a few scratches on the drivers side door from parking lot dings...

 

Forgot to add, I looked at the CarProof vehicle history and there are no reported accidents and it was insured every year since it was imported. Hopefully a good sign!

 

I did not mean to scare you. I just wanted you to check it out carefully due to the unusually low mileage. (I do not know if kilometerage is a word.)

 

Nothing wrong with buying a certified used Honda, if you're willing to pay the difference for it. But I've purchased 5 used Hondas, none of them certified, and they've all been great vehicles. So it's certainly not a requirement for me.

 

Hey!

I just signed up to post this: I just got a Certified Used Honda (2007 Honda Fit Sport AT), Its still under warranty for 6 months and around 95,000k. Everything checked out, the car was used in a trade in, no record of accidents or any issues. However the day I drove it off the lot I started to notice issues, whenever I was sitting idle with the AC on the car would hiccup. After driving it around for a few days I noticed this problem happening ALL the time. I called Honda and they told me to bring it in. They had the car for 2 days and claimed they test drove it for 2 hours (but I checked the km and they only drove it 30km?). They then claimed they don't see the problem and tried to brush me off. Its been a constant battle of frustration trying to get them to even look at the problem and acknowledge it. When I picked up my car it happened again RIGHT there in the parking lot!

Anyways its been frustrating because I thought getting Certified Used Honda would mean they actually CHECK under the hood, make sure things like spark plugs etc are all good. I thought you wouldn't have to deal with such frustrations like this vs buying off a private seller or used dealership.

However I was wrong, buying certified used honda is no different then buying used from a private seller or a used dealership. You run the risk and no matter what they try and sell you on its all just a sale. In the end its a risk of your own and if something is wrong you are on your own because unless you can prove it 100% they will dance around you and try to avoid paying out of their own pocket for repairs.

Then again maybe I just got a bad experience ...but this is now my 3rd used car and 2nd bad experience ...never again will I get a used car.

 

Maybe Its not doing anything wrong. Idk what a "hiccup" is........ I know on every certified we do, we put at the least $600 into it. Normally do a B service and change all fluids and filters. Tires and brakes HAVE to be replaced if they are less than 50% or they CAN NOT sell it as a certified (this is all from Honda)

 

Long story short - you bought a CPO Honda. It has warranty. Use said warranty to have issue checked at another dealership.

With that said, without a video of the issue, its hard to diagnose over the interwebz. A/C zaps a lot of power out of an engine (especially when the clutches first engages) that only has a little over 100hp, so it may be normal.

 

Yeah, you are right its not like a 2007 Honda fit at 100k could had a misfire

misfire - Unofficial Honda FIT Forums - Threads Tagged with misfire

I mean when I asked what type of spark plugs I have they couldn't answer and admitted they never even checked.

 

Oh, so a misfire only when the ac kicks on? Because those 2 systems are totally related. You still have not explained what is actually happening. You won't misfire only when the a/c turns on. When the ac clutch kicks in, it WILL drop rpm and maybe even shake a tiny bit.

 

Maybe, you could be correct. But I spent a good 15 minutes describing the symptoms to the service manager. I even told them I don't know what it is and if it is normal just let me know. I explained that its very obvious when it happens and that is why I'm bring the car in as it concerns me.

If for some reason it is 'normal' then fine but to deny to me and lie to me? Not cool man. When I went to pick up the car the service person tried to brush me off and told me to just go get my car, it wasn't until the sales person who sold us the car came up did they do a 180 and flip their attitude saying they will make sure nothing is wrong and double check the car.

I do not doubt that Honda Certified cars are better than buying from a dealership or private seller. This is why I went with them, all I'm saying is its not perfect and somethings issues can happen and somethings certain dealerships don't want to be bothered to pay out of their own pocket. I could be wrong 100% and I could be right, either way its something to consider that sometimes people are good and offer great service and other dealerships don't.

 

Again.... What is your actual issue. Start a thread.

Some dealerships suck. Some places are great. Some service advisors suck, some are great. If you truly feel its a problem, hit another dealership

 

My Element was Honda Certified, had a 100k warranty, got it with 38k on it, the dealership put in all-new filters (I checked), new fluids. Got a hell of a deal on the car too through haggling, so I guess it didn't cost any more than if I had got one non-certified. Guess you can't really do that with the Fit though, since dealerships are pretty firm on their prices these days on that particlar model.

Of course, I never had to use the warranty. I traded it in with 90k miles.