Which car is the wiser choice?

[BucketBike]

Trying to decide between these two:

2009 Honda Fit sport with no nav, 66,000 miles - not sure exact price yet but likely $6,000 ($6,600 after title, tax and registration)
2016 Nissan Versa Note with 36,000 miles - $9,900 ($10,800 after title, tax and registration)

I can afford to buy either car with cash but would likely finance the Nissan at a good rate, leaving that money to be invested. Would likely buy the Honda with cash. I want a reliable car that I can drive for 5-7 years. Does the Honda have too few miles for its age on it to be considered a good choice?

Oh and another thing to consider is the Honda doesn't have ESC, only 2009s with the nav package had that. And the Nissan will have lower resale value down the line.

Thank you :)

[BucketBike]

Something I'm worried about as far as the Honda - I don't think it was maintained religiously. It also sat for periods at a time (a month or two) due to the owner traveling.

[Laserjet3051]

Having bought a used FIT recently  (which I LOVE), I am certainly biased, but in order to make a fair comparison, I would want to know the difference in operating/maintenance costs between the two and if there is any warrantee left on the Nissan that you could take advantage of.

[Trifle]

Any idea if the Honda was garaged when it sat for a month or two periodically?   I hear what you are saying about the miles possibly being too low, but 66k isn't freakishly low.  It might be just fine, and a great deal.   

I'm assuming clean title and no major repair history on both cars.  Going by the Edmund's valuator, it looks like the pricing on the Honda is better.  According to Consumer Reports reliability data the '09 Fit turns in 'Excellent' ratings on major/minor engine reliability and transmission, while the '16 Versa Note turns in only 'Average' on those two measures.   

If everything seems ok to you in the test drive/checking the car over, I would go for the Honda.  You could also have a mechanic take a close look at it if you had doubts.

Full disclosure/anecdote alert: I own an '08 Fit, and it has been rock solid and cheap to keep.

[BucketBike]

Thanks Trifele! I don't think the car was garaged. Clean title and no major repair history, yes.

Thank you for the info from Consumer Reports, that is definitely helpful to know.

[BucketBike]

Laserjet, the Nissan is CPO so there would be the CPO warranty. It is a 7 yr/100,000 (whichever comes first) limited warranty. This is just a powertrain warranty.

The Fit gets up to 28 city / 35 highway and the Versa Note gets up to 31 city / 39 highway.

[Thegoblinchief]

There isn’t a lot of major maintenance that Fit would have needed at such low miles. I wouldn’t overly worry about it if it checks out on inspection.

Have you looked at older Priuses? Those are often good deals.

[clarkfan1979]

I would buy the Honda Fit. In 5 years you could probably sell it for 4K, losing 2.6K in depreciation. In five years, the Versa will probably be worth 5K, losing 6.8K of depreciation.

[moustache79]

I had a similar Fit and really loved it

[Laserjet3051]

Laserjet, the Nissan is CPO so there would be the CPO warranty. It is a 7 yr/100,000 (whichever comes first) limited warranty. This is just a powertrain warranty.

The Fit gets up to 28 city / 35 highway and the Versa Note gets up to 31 city / 39 highway.

Ive got a 2013 manual fit and get well above the official fuel efficiency. I get 34 city/40 highway and 38 mixed (city+highway). My best fuel efficiency on the highway has been 44.0 mpg, but that only occurs on flat terrain.

[SilveradoBojangles]

I bought a Fit sport that was 5 years old and had 32K miles on it (this was a 2007, purchased in 2012). However, I knew the owner so I knew it had been well maintained. That car has been a workhorse, and we love it so much. It's in the low 100s now, and has never needed anything other than it's regularly scheduled maintenance. I'm obviously super biased, but I also think Hondas are just better cars (whether you plan to drive it into the ground or re-sell it). So I would buy the Fit.

Have a mechanic take a look at it. But I bet it's fine.

[JLee]

I would go for the Honda.

[RWD]

The Honda Fit is faster, cheaper, and gets practically the same fuel economy (slightly worse EPA rating, slightly better according to Fuelly). Although there isn't enough data on the newer Versas yet historically they have not been very reliable, while the Honda Fit is much better than average.

[BucketBike]

Thank you everyone! It looks like the vote is unanimous. I'm going to get the Honda inspected by a mechanic I trust and if all checks out, will go with that one. There will always be cheap Versa Notes to be found anyway.