Picking up my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater this weekend

[MetroMPG]

For those who didn't see this in our cheap used Mirages megathread, I bought this 2008 Honda Fit 5-speed a week or so ago:


It will be my Winter Beater 2021/22. Keeps the Mirage out of the salty slush.

I'm going to pick it up this weekend... and that will be the first time I've laid eyes on it, never mind driven it!

I've never bought a car in a different city via email and e-transfer of funds before.

It's only mildly alarming though -- I'm getting it from friends who have a used car dealership, and they've been using it as their personal car for a month or so. They tell me it's a fine little beater that was traded in at the local Honda dealer [they get many of their used cars from the new car dealers].

Normally they would invest some time & money to spruce it up and put it up for sale on their own car lot, but this one's got a number of strikes against it, not least of which is...



HondaRust [TM] !

That's strike one.

Strikes 2 through 4 are:

- AC doesn't work [don't care]
- 255k kms = 158k miles is getting up there
- Manual transmission [nobody wants those these days]

Annnnnnnd... yer out!

On the plus side, the Carproof report shows no accidents, and the last owner seems to have been on a 5000 km oil change schedule right up to 250k kms. It also comes with 2 sets of wheels & tires, winter & summer flavour. The winters are supposedly in OK condition. Not sure about the summers. Oh, and a full set of Weathertech style winter floor mats. So maybe the mouse fur carpet isn't ruined.

Anyway, I will find out much more tomorrow morning. It's not far - about a 400 km round trip. Wish me luck!

[MetroMPG]

Maybe no accidents on the Carproof report, but I keep looking at that front right bumper corner, and it looks like a badly matched respray to me. Either that or a weird shadow?

[Mark]

Maybe no accidents on the Carproof report, but I keep looking at that front right bumper corner, and it looks like a badly matched respray to me. Either that or a weird shadow?

I think the plastic bumper just fades differently than the metal front panels over time.

Good luck getting it this weekend!

[dspace9]

Fixer upper. I wouldn't buy a car sight unseen from a "complete" stranger. This is a bit different.

I always liked Honda Fits. Is that a shadow, or was there body work done on the front bumper?

[MetroMPG]

Not sure. I'm betting it's a respray area.

The closest I've ever come to buying a car sight unseen before was promising a seller a $100 non-refundable deposit to hold a car until I got there to see & drive it. And I agreed to pay his asking price if I took it. That was for my first Pontiac Firefly.

I told my Fit friends I wasn't going to pester them if the clutch goes out next month and/or every time a lightbulb needs changing.

[dspace9]

Not sure. I'm betting it's a respray area.

Those other spots on your Fit can be touched up too. On my old VW I did some respray myself, but that was a white car so this makes things easier.

Another thing is I believe Fits have true 60/40 fold down seats, that fold down flat.

I'm happy with the amount of cargo volume I get out of my Mirage. For being such a small car, they utilized the cargo space well with the seats down. New Fits were a lot more money than brand new Mirages back in 2014, so I didn't even bother visiting a Honda dealership. I'm not living large buying brand new Hondas.

[Mark]

Another thing is I believe Fits have true 60/40 fold down seats, that fold down flat.

I'm happy with the amount of cargo volume I get out of my Mirage. For being such a small car, they utilized the cargo space well with the seats down. New Fits were a lot more money than brand new Mirages back in 2014, so I didn't even bother visiting a Honda dealership. I'm not living large buying brand new Hondas.

Honda Fit has magic seats. Yes, that's what they call them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwU1wKm3QUo



Honda knows how to make rear seats. Mitsubishi not so much!

[dspace9]

Honda Fit has magic seats. Yes, that's what they call them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwU1wKm3QUo

Honda knows how to make rear seats. Mitsubishi not so much!

The magic seats demonstration video is interesting, the 4 configurations. I'm not sure if anyone would ever use the Refresh Mode or whatever, making the car a 2 seater lazboy chair with a roof. Seems more gimmick than useful. Overall though, the configurations would be handy. At least you can mold your cargo area to the cargo, and not other way around, and struggle.

[AtomicPunk]

The magic seats demonstration video is interesting, the 4 configurations. I'm not sure if anyone would ever use the Refresh Mode or whatever, making the car a 2 seater lazboy chair with a roof. Seems more gimmick than useful. Overall though, the configurations would be handy. At least you can mold your cargo area to the cargo, and not other way around, and struggle.

Except for MPG, its a superior vehicle to the Mirage. The magic seats are really ingenious. Only pain is changing headlight bulbs; you have to go in through the wheel well, at least on the left.

[Mark]

Not sure. I'm betting it's a respray area.

The closest I've ever come to buying a car sight unseen before was promising a seller a $100 non-refundable deposit to hold a car until I got there to see & drive it. And I agreed to pay his asking price if I took it. That was for my first Pontiac Firefly.

I told my Fit friends I wasn't going to pester them if the clutch goes out next month and/or every time a lightbulb needs changing.

I am looking forward to your opinion of the Honda Fit. I sort view the Honda Fit as the Gold standard of small cars, but I've never been in one (let alone driven one). Thus, I am not basing that on personal experience.

If I only owned one vehicle & a small car alone would serve all my needs I would be attracted to the Honda Fit manual. I look forward to your review of it in the future!