Honda Fit Prices Paid and Buying Experiences

Replying to: Sylvia (Feb 26, 2006 10:26 pm)

Just bought my 2007 Honda Fit Sport Manual Transmission on Feb 22, 2009. I am mostly pleased with it, and I am very pleased in how it got me out of a sticky situation!
 
I bought it from Carmax, which isn't always my first choice when looking to buy a car, but they had the right car for the right price at the right time. Can't complain there!
 
I had to get out of my 2005 Nissan Xterra lease, in which I was 20,000 miles over my contract. Time was ticking, as my lease ended in May 2009. I started to really sweat whenever I thought about it! But I had been "shopping" around for about a year, and looked at various smaller cars that didn't compromise cargo area. I was comparing the Toyota Matrix, Pontiac Vibe, Nissan Versa, and the Honda Fit. At first, the only one I wanted was the Matrix. I just liked the exterior style. To me, the Honda Fit looks like a soccer mom minivan that was shrunk down proportionately by 50%. I liked the reliability of the foreign-made cars from Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, so the Pontiac would be a last ditch option. I read on Consumer Reports that the Nissan Versa did not come standard with ABS brakes!! I was shocked by this! I did searches for a Versa with ABS, and couldn't find one to save my life. So, I figured that might be out of the question.
 
Well, I happened to browse Carmax's website one night, and noticed this great looking 2007 Honda Fit Sport. I really wanted a manual transmission (not necessarily for the mpg, but more for the driving fun). And it was black... very sporty looking! Although the mileage was kinda high for a 2 year old car (55,000), I reassured myself that it's a HONDA... that's just breaking it in!! So, I used the "email a sales person" option and "scheduled a test drive". I'm glad I did this, because people were ALL OVER this car when I got there (it had a reserved sign on it with MY name : ) So, I test-drove it. It handled really well, and although the rpm was a little high, I felt like it was a good deal if I could get them to take my Xterra.
 
Long story short, I got a good deal on the trade-in for my Xterra, the sticker price for the Fit was $11,599 which I thought was very reasonable, and I got great financing with a TON of negative equity!! yay!! So, thanks to Carmax and Honda for helping me to get out of an icky situation with my lease, and into a car that will save me money and that is fun to drive!!
 
The only negatives I have to report are that the leg-room for a 5'10" female who is mostly legs is a little lacking. But it wasn't a deal-breaker for me. I've had the car for a week now, and the lack of leg room hasn't been an issue. The only thing that is driving me crazy is the lack of a "map light" to light up the front drivers & passenger side area. This is really something that should have been included from the start, and Honda apparently learned their lesson because the 2009 model in the showroom has the light! I'm a little bitter about this, but I'm working on a solution... probably a sticky light added to the top of the windshield or something. And the final negative thing I have is that the rpm's are sooo high on the highway!! I cruise at 3k-4k rpm when I'm at 65-75 mph, and I know that's got to be killing my mpg! I am a fairly speedy driver (you have to be when you're driving this little car, dodging all the soccer moms in their SUV's and bankers in their BMW's who live in Charlotte!) so I expected my mpg to be lower than the expected rate for this car. But at least when I'm cruising on the interstate, I had hoped that part wouldn't take a notch on my mpg. Oh well. Something I'll have to get used to. I just filled up my first tank, and I got 30 mpg. That's MUCH better than the 16-19 mpg I got on my Xterra!
 
So, overall, I highly recommend this car as a fun-to-drive subcompact that is easy on the wallet and on the eye. Consider buying a newer model for the interior and exterior feature upgrades.

Replies to this message:
• absconfused (Feb 28, 2009 7:10 pm)

Replying to: megandygrad (Feb 28, 2009 3:35 pm)

Hey Sylvia,
 
I think it's great that you now have piece of mind. We were all very happy with our 07's and equally frustrated with the missing map light. Some of us have 09's now but I would still have my 07 had it not gotten totaled. I know you will be happy with the 07 and I know what you mean about the RPM's but just make the radio loud and do not worry about the gas mileage...unless the road is flat the MPG's will be affected. I now understand how the mpgs work since the new model has a meter in it and so i see how I lose mpgs every time there is a slight incline on the highway. I never would have said there were inclines in the greater metro atlanta area but to my surprise it is not flat like I thought. I think I must not have noticed or else it is because my old Protege ES had a very powerful engine and so it just never registered!
 
Anyway, enjoy the car, enjoy your piece of mind, get the sticky lights and then one day you will sell this car to someone who needs help with their situation. I think you got a fair deal from what I can tell on the list prices of 07 models with miles and also Carmax probably gave you some sort of Warranty? Anyway it's funny how we never think we will shop somewhere and then we do! I would take off any Carmax advertising or dealer license plate frames.
 
Have fun! Best wishes for health and happiness!

Replies to this message:
• absconfused (Mar 02, 2009 10:10 pm)
  • maximom (Mar 03, 2009 4:06 pm)
    • absconfused (Mar 03, 2009 4:20 pm)
  • jay2009 (Mar 04, 2009 10:59 am)
    • dandano (Mar 06, 2009 2:39 pm) and 1 more...
• needafit (Mar 05, 2009 3:00 pm)
  • carsick1 (Mar 06, 2009 8:05 am)
  • zman28 (Mar 06, 2009 8:14 am)
    • conservative (Mar 06, 2009 11:59 am) and 1 more...

Replying to: maximom (Mar 02, 2009 7:01 pm)

Dear Maximom
 
Congratulations that you got your first new car. This car will last forever. To me your OTD price of 16.364 sounds fair. I do not have all the prices memorized like you probably do but this is a great car that will keep its value and will be very reliable. It is never really a good idea to seek out opinions after you pay for a car though. The most important thing is that in 8 or more years when you want a new car, you will have more confidence because now you know what to expect from car buying. While the economy is sluggish, Honda does not normally give its cars away so it's not like there was a huge deal to be had that you might have missed. Any variation on pricing that you might have been able to achieve is minimal over the life of the car. The main thing is that you are happy with your car. Your sales tax is fairly low so that helped out a little as well...
 
Just enjoy your car!!!!!!
sue

Replies to this message:
• maximom (Mar 03, 2009 4:06 pm)
  • absconfused (Mar 03, 2009 4:20 pm)
• jay2009 (Mar 04, 2009 10:59 am)
  • dandano (Mar 06, 2009 2:39 pm)
    • jay2009 (Mar 16, 2009 5:28 pm)

Replying to: absconfused (Mar 02, 2009 10:10 pm)

Replies to this message:
• absconfused (Mar 03, 2009 4:20 pm)

Replying to: maximom (Mar 03, 2009 4:06 pm)

Hey Debra,
 
Sure thing! I know you are going to be very happy with your great new car!! BTW what color did you get? I cannot remember if you said....
 
sue

Replying to: absconfused (Mar 02, 2009 10:10 pm)

Replies to this message:
• dandano (Mar 06, 2009 2:39 pm)
  • jay2009 (Mar 16, 2009 5:28 pm)

Replies to this message:
• cci82 (Mar 10, 2009 12:35 pm)
  • absconfused (Mar 12, 2009 6:45 pm)

Replying to: maximom (Mar 02, 2009 7:01 pm)

Replies to this message:
• carsick1 (Mar 06, 2009 8:05 am)
• zman28 (Mar 06, 2009 8:14 am)
  • conservative (Mar 06, 2009 11:59 am)
    • isellhondas (Mar 08, 2009 8:25 am)

Replying to: needafit (Mar 05, 2009 3:00 pm)