Honda Fit Advice

[Montana Socrates]

Hello fellow mustachians. My wife and I are looking to buy a used Honda Fit (2009+). I have a question about cost vs. mileage. Here are the three options presently available on Craig's List in the Denver area:

2009 Fit Sport 82K, $8900
2010 Fit 70K, $8500
2010 Fit Sport, 59K, $10900

All three have clean titles, manual transmission. Is it worth the extra money to get the car with the lower mileage? Is there a rule of thumb for calculating these things? Thanks!

[FIRE me]

http://www.kbb.com/car-values/

http://www.edmunds.com/appraisal/

[madmax]

22K is nothing on modern cars, I don't think its worth the price difference. Assuming that the cars are priced accurately according to the prevailing value in the local market,  I'd go for the 2009 Fit Sport. Not a fan of the base Fit, cruise control and remote is a nice to have IMO.

[neo von retorch]

With my 2008 Fit Sport, I estimate overall cost per mile at around $0.20. But the depreciation portion is only like $0.04 per mile. $0.09 for 23,000 miles is kind of... eh. Either way. Pick the one in the color you prefer ;) Or drive both and see which one "feels" more like it was loved by the previous owner.

[Rufus.T.Firefly]

With my 2008 Fit Sport, I estimate overall cost per mile at around $0.20. But the depreciation portion is only like $0.04 per mile. $0.09 for 23,000 miles is kind of... eh. Either way. Pick the one in the color you prefer ;) Or drive both and see which one "feels" more like it was loved by the previous owner.

Wow, yeah I once did some rough calculations and came out to a similar number for my '07 Fit Sport. Mine has +150K miles and has never required any service other than the obvious maintenance. I am feeling good about hitting +300K miles in it.

To the OP, my confidence in these vehicles' reliability is sky-high. I would go with the higher mileage and save the 2K. (I'm assuming all else being equal between the cars; i.e. tires are both equally new etc.). The first major service bill required in my experience is the coil replacement at about 120K miles.

[neo von retorch]

(Slightly) Off Topic:
My ignition coils actually started to misfire by 80K - but four of them are just over $200 total and you can do it yourself with a $5 ratchet set and 5 minutes. Doesn't get much easier!

[Montana Socrates]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I've been reading the blog for some time but this is my first time taking part in the forum. A really cool idea and great way to bring Mustachians together.

[horsepoor]

I'd go for the 2010.   IIRC, the Sport has larger wheels, which probably means more expensive tires. 

FWIW, my '95 Civic never needed much of anything until it was in the 140,000 mile range (aside from scheduled maintenance).  But it was still reliable, and the guy I sold it to replaced the clutch around 160K and then started having trouble with meeting CA emissions when it was nearing 200K.

[RWD]

I'd go for the 2010.   IIRC, the Sport has larger wheels, which probably means more expensive tires.

Yes, the Sport has 16" wheels while the Base has 15". That doesn't automatically mean the tires are more expensive.

I decided to check TireRack for some real numbers and found the cheapest set of four tires (same model) to be about $33 cheaper for the 15" wheels. There are more options for the smaller wheel too. Though considering you only replace tires every 5-6 years I don't think that alone should be a significant factor.

[In the hole]

I'd go for the 2010.   IIRC, the Sport has larger wheels, which probably means more expensive tires.

Yes, the Sport has 16" wheels while the Base has 15". That doesn't automatically mean the tires are more expensive.

I decided to check TireRack for some real numbers and found the cheapest set of four tires (same model) to be about $33 cheaper for the 15" wheels. There are more options for the smaller wheel too. Though considering you only replace tires every 5-6 years I don't think that alone should be a significant factor.

The tires on the fit base are super cheap. I especially like to shop for them using the Costco $80 off deal that is constantly cycling between bridgestone and michelin. 80 off makes a big difference when the tires are so cheap.

You're right that it's not a significant factor but to me there is no good reason to pay more for the fit sport. In fact I consider it a downgrade in value. As far as I understand it is basically just different wheels/more expensive tires and a very slight appearance package (including a dumb spoiler that I would rather not have).

[Montana Socrates]

Related question: how much importance should we attach to manual vs. automatic transmission? There seem to be many more automatics available on the used market. For example, if we go automatic these two options become available:

2009 Fit 52K $8500
2009 Fit Sport 42K $9200

vs. the original manual choices:
2009 Fit Sport 82K, $8900
2010 Fit 70K, $8500
2010 Fit Sport, 59K, $10900

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

I'd get the $8500 one.

I have a 2010 Honda Fit base, and while I wish it had cruise control, the thing I miss more is ESC, which would be on the Sport but not on the base - consider whether that's important to you.

Currently mine has a weird bounce to the ride that turned out not to have been from an alignment issue. Not sure what's up with that. But otherwise it meets our needs excellently.