I'm currently shopping around for a good used car. My primary concerns are longevity, good fuel economy, and a good price. The Fit seems to fit that price, and I've been looking for used models in my area.

I came across a 2007 Sport Fit that has about 68,000 miles on it. That is selling for around $9,500. My primary concerns are how much is the age going to impact the longevity. (The mileage doesn't seem to be that much fir a Honda.) I'm wondering if it's worth paying a few thousand dollars more for a newer Fit and/or Civic.

I was also wondering if that price was too high or about right. It's under blue book value, and it is being sold by a Honda dealership. But it does have an accident in it's vehicle history though that just appears to be damage to the frame.

 

you certainly are on the right track. The Fit is a no brainer pick as far as used cars go. Virtually bulletproof, and the insurance companies love it.
My 2007 Sport model, automatic with 94,000 was only $6500. I know that is a bargain, but the price you were quoted is too high in my mind, and it is WAY out of line for a vehicle that has been in any kind of accident. I continue to monitor cars.com and craigslist and have observed that many first generation Fits have been offered up lately and their prices continue to fall. I'd keep looking around. If you belong to USAA, they have a used car service offering both dealership and individual owner car sales. So that's three places you can regularly look for bargains. Good luck.

 

high dealer retail for an 07 auto with that mileage is $10,500. Low dealer retail for an 07 manual is $6,800. This copy with accident history would be at the low end. The auto (if you want one) is worth about $500 more than MT. (per edmunds.com)

Keep shopping. And be careful on what you choose; an accident free history doesn't mean it's true. You need to check carefully for repairs. If you're not sure, take it by some shop you trust for a pre-purchase inspection.

Damage to the frame is the worst kind; severe. It doesn't have a frame; no car does these days, but this implies severe enough damage to compromise body structure.

 

Agree. Walk away from this one. There are a lot of Fits available.

 

I have never gotten a new car, but I have bought used from a dealer and from private sales. 20 years experience this way say private sale is best bet - never had a clunker, always paid less. Some hassle involved with the transfer and the sale but worth it for the xtra money.

I looked for a fit for a while - but I did have a working car and no real time limit. I got a 2009, 25 k mile (1.5 yrs ago) for 11,500. lowest dealer price for that age car was 13k for a car with 40 or 50 k miles plus whatever other garbage they add on. I could also sell my old car privately for more than the dealer would give me (and that is still at a price that moved it in one weekend)

The caveats to private sale are obvious - do a title check, you have to have the full amount in a bank check (verify the bank check if you are the seller) so if you have to finance you are out of luck. The not obvious - If you buy used - make sure you get all the codes you need from the old owner ( radio etc).

So I saved about 1.5k on the original sale, made 2k more on the sale of the old car.

Mentally also it is better. I live in NY - I get little dings and scratches in every parking lot. Stats say that within 2 yrs someone is going to hit me. I love the little fit and I take care of it, but I am less freaked out by every little thing when I paid half of what it costs new. There are little things that bug me about the car (like the usb interface to the radio) that would make me nuts if I bought it new. One of my colleagues bought a new fit at that same time I bought mine and his usb has similar problems. He has had it in the dealership several times (still covered under warantee for him, but also still not fixed and I have better things to do with my weekend)

If you have some time to wait for a decent one - go used.

 

Also think of buying a Honda Certified used Fit. I just bought a 2013 with 3490 miles on it (went thru USAA) and the fact that it was Honda certified made a difference to me. Dealer also gave us a Carfax report and a history of what had been done service wise - had all been done at that dealer. Hope you find a Fit, they are great cars.