Which Honda Fit Should I Buy?

In reply to spacecadet (Forum Supporter) :

It is a non planetary automatic, IIRC it is built like a manual with clutches instead of sliders.  That is why they whine in Reverse - straight cut gears on that.

This adds efficiency as there are certain drag losses associated with planetary gearsets and the bands that control them.

Crazy question but I keep reading about swapping springs or a spacer kit to get an extra bit of ground clearance on a Fit. Has anyone done a swap of this nature? I'm not looking to go four wheeling but a little extra ground clearance would be nice for not scraping the front bumper on some curbs and driveways.

Hey since this is already bumped:

We've got a 2012 that my wife would love to keep around until it's good a properly dead.

Thing is, we might buy a minivan, and then we'll have no room for a fun car. 

What are the economics of turning the Fit into a Hot Hatch? Whether its a supercharger or turbo kit, or K-Swap, what am I looking at in terms of pricing? $5000? $10,000? 

My wife would be more accepting of her Fit being turned into my fun car than me going out and spending the same money on a 4th car in the driveway.

10th gen Civic gets almost the same fuel economy.  But if you want a Fit, you want a Fit.

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

The Civic is also huge outside but small inside.   You can haul a LOT of stuff in a Fit.

Also, Fits are small(ish) outside.  One of my favorite Fit tricks is making a U turn in a two lane road without needing to reverse.

We have two Fits for loaners as well as a Civic and a pair of Focuses and the Fits are the only ones people specifically request.

I did, however, find one huge flaw with the 3rd generation Fit.  When you set the alarm, it doesn't toot the horn, it makes a high pitched beep.  That is NOT very satisfying.

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to twowheeled :

We're on our 5th Fit in the family & 2nd Accent(an '07 & '10). Any generation of Fit is a far better car than whatever generation Accent falls in those years. 

I always referred to my '07 Accent as an "adorable little E36 M3box" because that's what it was. I beat it mercilessly for 3 years & 100kmi, and the only problems were the factory head unit died, the AC compressor locked up, and the control arm bushings were just about done. I did have to replace the timing belt 2x, water pump once, shocks/struts, and front brakes, but I consider that normal wear on an older car with that many miles. So I'd certainly say it was reliable(especially considering how often I had it airborne).

The Fit is just a nicer car overall, and our daughter's 1st gen hit 250kmi before it was totaled without needing anything other than shocks/struts/plugs/coils and an alternator over 100k+ of ownership.

Our 2nd gen we bought new is still with our other daughter with over 220k on it. Other than needing an AC compressor this year, it's only required shocks/brakes/tires/etc. 

To me the 2nd gen Fit(09-13) is the sweet spot. They're just a bit more roomy & refined than the 1st gen, don't suffer problems that some early 3rd gen cars had, and are a good value. 

I wouldn't turn down another cheap Accent if I found one though. But if I had to live with it daily I'd prefer the Fit. 

Hey Pete, 

Son wants a Fit. Told him 2nd gen, but he is hung up on 1st gen MT only.  Going to be 16 next month.  Rust is not issue here, but all are salvage title.  Search criteria was 150k miles or less and MT only.  Hardly any pickings within 500 miles. I am willing to hop on a plane to grab one (all his $) but no luck. 

I also recommended Mazda2 (hard to find) and Yaris 4 door hatch MT (most are all AT)

I have had many a EF hatch/crx, and 86 wagovan and a 91 wagovan.  Haven't owned a Fit, moved on to mazdaspeed3, ct200h, and TSX wagon, when the time came. 

I know you like the 2nd gen as well, but what are your thought on this?

1 owner. 28 records honda dealer serviced. No accidents. No paintwork. Asking $7500.  98K miles. Not a sport, but is a MT.  Timing belt/clutch not mentioned in service records.

Different Pete, but you will find that no Fit has ever had a timing belt done, as they are chain engines.  (General rule is all fours on the left side of the engine bay are belt, the fours on the right side are chain.  Honda ditched belts when they changed the engine rotation)

I would reeeeeally look into the 2nd generation Fit, as they are almost exactly the same dimensionally, but the 1st was only sold here for a year or two while the 2nd has a much larger depth of parts availability.  Also, 1st gens, especially with manual transmission, are crazy expensive.  You can almost buy a 3rd gen for that much.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Different Pete, but you will find that no Fit has ever had a timing belt done, as they are chain engines.  (General rule is all fours on the left side of the engine bay are belt, the fours on the right side are chain.  Honda ditched belts when they changed the engine rotation)

I would reeeeeally look into the 2nd generation Fit, as they are almost exactly the same dimensionally, but the 1st was only sold here for a year or two while the 2nd has a much larger depth of parts availability.  Also, 1st gens, especially with manual transmission, are crazy expensive.  You can almost buy a 3rd gen for that much.

All Petes are great!

Thanks appreciate the info on the timing chain! He doesn't want to spend more than 10K. 3 summers worth of savings. I told him to stay at around 7-8K, and keep some for mods/maintenance sure to come. 

I loved our first gen Fit, but as others have said the second gen is a bit better and likely less expensive. The rear hatch water intrusion issue is a big hassle, and from my understanding they all suffer from it eventually. 

I personally really prefer the looks of the first gen, but they're all getting old and parts are getting more scarce on the ground. 

As an aside, I really dig the variants they came up with in Japan. There's the Fit Shuttle, a Fit wagon essentially. And there's the Freed, a Fit with sliding doors! 

Erich said:

I loved our first gen Fit, but as others have said the second gen is a bit better and likely less expensive. The rear hatch water intrusion issue is a big hassle, and from my understanding they all suffer from it eventually. 

I personally really prefer the looks of the first gen, but they're all getting old and parts are getting more scarce on the ground. 

As an aside, I really dig the variants they came up with in Japan. There's the Fit Shuttle, a Fit wagon essentially. And there's the Freed, a Fit with sliding doors! 

 

Thanks Erich! INterestingly looking at some manual First gen, found a couple a few states away, both under 75K miles.  There aren't as much 2nd gen manual fits around. Most are in rusty OHIO/WI/MI which we don't want of course.

I'm guessing it HAS to be a fit? Name brand and all.

bobzilla said:

I'm guessing it HAS to be a fit? Name brand and all.

Rio5?

eastsideTim said:

bobzilla said:

I'm guessing it HAS to be a fit? Name brand and all.

Rio5?

There's quite a few nice SX's out there manual and auto for really reasonable money. For what you'd spend on the fit you would have money left over for wheels/tires, deferred maintenance and suspension goodies to be really fun.

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

Huh, that's interesting for sure. If I was looking at Fits again, I guess I'd buy whatever was the nicest manual trans I could find in my price range. I wouldn't touch the auto - the stick shift just makes the car feel much more soulful.

From my experience, the Fit is pretty rust-resistant. My wife was the driver of ours, and she *never* washed the thing, and no signs of rust even through 10 Michigan winters. Of course if you have the option to get one from a salt-free state, do that!

Bumping since this is the most recent Fit thread:

Do we all still really love these? I am starting to shop for my next project and they caught my eye...

I've read some of the info from the forum and interwebs and the news sounds good. Not fast, but fun; Not a huge aftermarket but enough to race on and some classes to slide into.

My main goal will be doing hillclimbs and track days / autox / tt whenever I have time. Think nice enough to drive there and back with a seat/cage/harness and gear in the back.

Is a second generation too old by now or are they still well supported Hondas that run forever? Does the third generation have enough improvements and aftermarket to make it worthwhile? Any recent owners experiences welcome...

More concerned with having fun vs. Going Fast. For me fun requires it to be relatively easy and affordable. Thanks

Our customers request Fits for loaners so often that our fleet of Fits is now up to five.  The Fit is indeed "go" 

The latest acquisition was from a customer who did not want it repaired.  3rd gen with a bad trans, a bad PCM, and a bad VCT actuator.  Trans and PCM are dealt with, VCT actuator is on national backorder but we found one on Japan eBay, make all the overnighting jokes you want   I spent about 50mi driving it on curvy back roads to suss out the new transmission.  I WISH my Volvo had brakes this good!  And time the trail braking right, it turns in so hard you think it's going to roll.

But the chrome strip over the nav screen has to die screaming.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Im glad that you are sharing your knowledge of these, better info here than anywhere else!

Where do we come down on 2nd gen sport vs. 3rd gen ex-l? I know about the engine and suspension changes but am ignorant to the aftermarket support, longevity, etc.. issues. 

In reply to tb :

There really aren't many.  Issues, that is.  2nd gens have the contemporary issue with the A/C compressor clutch sticking, 3rd gens have VCT actuators that rattle like a K24.  The CVT does not seem to be as robust as the old 5 speed but few automatic transmissions were as good.  This was the first Fit I have seen with an issue, but 3rd gens are pretty rare.  Have replaced a couple HR-V transmissions and the HR-V is basically a tall Fit with an R18 engine instead of an L15.

The 3rd gen definitely feels like it has more torque. The chassis feel pretty similar though. We've not seen as high of MPGs in our 3rd gen as we did in our 2nd gen fwiw. 
 

I definitely prefer the 2nd & 3rd gen better than the 1st gen.