OK OK I CONFESS! I lied. The clearcoat sloughed off the first year I had it.

This was all just a conspiracy to get you to buy one and experience our shame.

 

Believe what you want. The Subaru guy told about Subaru's head gasket problems before I even asked. I suppose when the evidence is over-whelming, you lose credibility when you try to deny it.

However, the Subaru guy explained that Subaru has redesigned the engine, and that Subarus have not had these issues in recent years.

So far, I have not seen that sort of explanation about Honda's paint problems. I honestly wish there was such an explanation.

BTW: why are you misquoting me? I believe I said that the Honda guy told me that the Honda paint problems were only with some older models. But I did not get any explanation about what happened, or what changed.

I wish somebody could say "yes, Honda had these problems for these makes, and models, for these years, because of these chemicals, or those processes. But Honda has since corrected these problems by doing things differently"

But when I just see incredible denials, in deference to clear evidence of Honda being forced to extend warranties -twice- due to massive consumer outrage, that just makes me all the more suspicious.

I have not given up on buying a Honda. I just wish I could find evidence that Honda has fixed the problem, instead of denials (in deference to over-whelming evidence) that Honda ever had such problems.

 

If I remember correctly, didn't Subaru just torque the head studs to a different spec for the head gasket? Unless I'm think of 7m-gte issues.

That said, my black 08 that sits outside rain/snow/sun is still decent except for swirls.

My brothers garage kept 07 silver accord looks great.

My 91 civic looked great barring rust.

My moms 12 fit and grandmas 09 fit looked good as new wen cleaned.

Grandparents 06 odyssey with 200k miles looks better than most 06 with 50k miles.

Only car I've had issue with was my Milano red 99 integra. That's a well known color with issues.

My friends Milano red 99 si looks great too.

Op, how about my many anecdotal cases?

 

When my wife and son took our Fit into the local Honda dealership for the repair paint job, the body shop manager told my wife some of the horror stories associated with the Civic. I don't think this is a "technical" issue...the car manufactures know how to paint cars and they know how to make a paint job last. I think the issue here is how much can corners be cut, what minimal level of paint and clearcoat (including the quality) will work without causing too many failures. That is what I think the issue is. Sadly, depending upon the environment (such as strong sun exposure and high temps) your paint might hold up well, and it might not. I would much rather pay a car manufacture $50 to $100 more for adequate clearcoat coverage, than having to have a corrective paint job.

 

I think Subaru did more than that (although, it sure took them long enough). If you take a look about halfway down these forums, you will see photos, and diagrams, and an explanation of the design problems that caused the problem, and how the engines have been substantially redesigned to fix the problem.

('09-'13) FB25 and the head gasket issue - Subaru Forester Owners Forum
You may be right about that. On the upside, Honda may be helping to save the envirnment. Honda brags about this all the time:

 

Did we do a good enough job convincing you that the paint is a non-issue OP?

 

Sadly no.

I just sent an email to the guy who was holding the 2010 Fit for me, and told him to sell it to somebody else.

It's a shame, I really liked the car. Most likely, the paint would be fine. But, I could just not bring myself to spend that kind of money when I feel this uncertain.

 

Well that's unfortunate

You might as well disregard any car in the subcompact category because you will likely have the same issues

Otherwise I would just suggest you get a brand new 2013 Fit and get it throughly clear-bra'd and that will give you an additional layer of protection

 

I just want to add my experience:

I used to be a very frequent poster on here when I had my '07. This was a huge problem with a lot of Fits then. Within 6 months of purchasing that car new, the paint was literally peeling off of the bumpers. I babied that car. There was absolutely no reason for the paint to peel except that it never sealed correctly and the bumpers were attached too tight at certain spots so they didn't dry properly. I had to have both bumpers repainted (at Honda's expense, not mine).

Traded that in for my '11, and I've had no issues with paint whatsoever.

 

My roof is oxidized extremely bad, I have a 07' Fit. I take care of my paint and always have.

 

George! You left a red car out in the sun in the Mojave Desert! Please define care? Also what are your parking arrangements?

 

I can share my first hand experience in a 2001 Subaru Outback, 2004 Nissan 350Z , and 2010 Honda FIT.
The Outback – Yes, people complained about the head gasket issue, and YES, my Outback had the exact same issue and the gaskets were replaced at a higher than expected cost. The car is not perfect, but I love it when the roads are covered in ice and snow, or when I have to move things around.
The 350Z – Yes, people complained about paint issues, and NO, the paint on my 350Z is perfectly fine after all these years. However, there are complains of other issues, I experienced some of them, but not all of them. The car is not perfect, but I love it when the road gets twisty and when the sun is shining.
The FIT – Yes, people complained about the paint, and NO, the paint on my FIT is perfectly fine. I waxed it twice since new, and the car is driven thru sun, snow, road salt, hot, cold, or whatever the elements have thrown at it. In fact, other than oil changes, it just happily humming along. The car is not perfect, but I love it when I commune around town and pull up to the pump, and it is lots of fun to drive.
I suspect OP asked the original question looking for some kind of unscientific poll from the FIT owners. I would recommend other sources like Consumers Report for more detailed and objective statistics instead. Keep in mind there is no perfect car available anywhere. If “problem free” is what drives you, you may be better off look for a car with good statistics and go from there. You can decide for yourself if the FIT is one of them.
Since you live in Denver area, my opinion is that the FIT may not be the best choice in CO due to the thin air and snow. Something with AWD with a turbo would be a better choice (found out when my 350Z lost too much power when I lived there). Hope that helps.

 

the car has been garaged its whole life

 

at night, but what about during the day? got covered parking at work? Rosamond doesn't seem like a covered parking kinda place.