Topic: Honda Fit impressions/reviews

[wing]

Mazda 3

[hondasalesguy]

Agreed the rates from Honda Finance are steep. But since the Civic has had the same (6.95 purchase and 7.95 lease) rates since the fall, it is no surprise. Honda knows when they have a hot item on their hands, they are taking advantage of the supply and demand for these cars. None of the manufacturers who have incentive rates are doing it because they are nice guys, it is simply to move the iron...

People on here are forgetting how many people have preferrred lines of credit available to them, in which case you can probably borrow at a rate under 5%, and bring us a bit fat certified cheque.

A payment buyer who is leasing will be disappointed to find the Fit is probably out his price range and will be for the forseeable future, no way Honda Finance will have any "deals" on the Fit for God knows how long...

[Panzer]

Mazda 3

Big time.

[gosteelerz]

A line of credit is an option that is worth considering but the only problem is that the rate is not static.  Now you are at the mercy of the prime lending rate.  Also, you have to be disciplined enough to pay it down at an adequate pace rather than just making the minimum.

A lot of buyers in this market will be payment buyers, probably fairly young too.  If people had the cash to buy a $20,000 car straight up then they would be looking more upscale than this segment.

[hondasalesguy]

Agreed that many in this segment ARE payment buyers, it will be tough for Honda to capture these people when they can get the Hyundai/Kia/Aveo for so much cheaper per month.

A lot of other buyers will be older, looking for a 2nd or 3rd car, a car for their kids,etc. They won't be quite as price conscious. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the Fit is somewhat of a 'premium' subcompact and is actually priced closer to the typical (non Honda/Toyota) compact.

Line of credit buyers can be reasonably sure that interest rates will stay low for the near future, but yes they have to make sure they pay more than just the interest. The best way to do it is to set it up for your account to automatically transfer monthly between main account and line of credit balance...

[Shnak]

Why is everyone complaining about the high rates of financing for the Fit... the 48 months leasing rates for the KIA RIO5 are 4.9% and 6.9% for the Yaris. Their financing rates for 60 months are respectively 5.9% and 5.9%. Sure both are lower than the Fit, but 1) the Fit was released like 2 weeks ago... and 2) it's a Honda. People have never minded the higher interests rates for Hondas. It's nothing new.

I don't know about you guys, but the extra money per month a 2% difference in rates, especially on a sub-20k car, isn't something that would make me want to buy something else.

With that said, if I were in this market, I probably would be tempted by the Kia Rio5 EX Sport which is priced slightly below the Fit LX, with better leasing/financing rates and warranty. And besides, the Kia Rio5 has a 5.9% financing rate over 60 months, but only 6.6% over 84 months. I'd probably take the 84 months terms, enjoy the even lower payments, and pay it off whenever I can. And besides, I'm sure that in a few short months the Rio5 will be available with close to 0% financing... 

The Fit will interest me once they appear on the used market... there should be a ton of lease-returns, and a Sport A/T at close to 50% of its original value, that will be interesting!

[hondasalesguy]

yes there will be lease returns, but not tons, with them selling about 7500 in this calendar year, there may be 2000 of them leased, 700 of those in Ontario, and you will have to wait 4 YEARS for the very first one to come off lease! (95% of Hondas going out on lease are for 48 month term)

[gosteelerz]

With that said, if I were in this market, I probably would be tempted by the Kia Rio5 EX Sport which is priced slightly below the Fit LX, with better leasing/financing rates and warranty. And besides, the Kia Rio5 has a 5.9% financing rate over 60 months, but only 6.6% over 84 months. I'd probably take the 84 months terms, enjoy the even lower payments, and pay it off whenever I can. And besides, I'm sure that in a few short months the Rio5 will be available with close to 0% financing... 

I would try to shorten the financing on a Kia to as short as possible to avoid being severely upside down.

I made the mistake of fininancing a then new Hyundai Elantra ($12600) over 5 years.  I traded my 5.0 in for $1800.  Twenty seven months later I desparately wanted to get rid of it so I visited a Honda dealer.  I still owed $6500.  I had to give the dealer $1000 and add an extra grand to the selling price just to get rid of it on a trade.  Being upside down on a car sucks and should be avaoided as much as possible.

[mwqa]

A whopping 1 mile per gallon less than the Yaris. Whoop de facking doo.

I have no problem with the mileage. It's the emissions I don't like. The Civic and the Yaris are both ULEV-2. Why not the Fit?

[Shnak]

I have no problem with the mileage. It's the emissions I don't like. The Civic and the Yaris are both ULEV-2. Why not the Fit?

Because Honda wants to make the most money, and the quickest possible. So they decided to launch the Fit right away with an obsolete engine instead of planning a few years ago that they wanted to release a hatchback in the near future and develop a worthy engine to go with it.

[Loudpedal]

It's not the last generation VTEC engine in the Fit that bewilders me, but rather the SOHC engines in many of the other products they offer.   SOHC engines are a turn off for me.   

Seriously though, I sat in a Fit Sport over the weekend, and I really liked it.  I'm surprised that there was acutally some space for cargo with the rear seats up.   A cool little commuter car.  I too look forward to having Fits running around.  They will make the automotive scenery more interesting. 

[AVToller]

I have no problem with the mileage. It's the emissions I don't like. The Civic and the Yaris are both ULEV-2. Why not the Fit?

That was a very important consideration for me when I bought the Yaris. I MIGHT have gone with the Matrix if the Yaris had been only LEV like the Echo hatch and the Fit.

[mwqa]

I hope to keep the car... forever. So I think the lowest possible emissions is important. At this point, I think I'll be buying my second choice... a Matrix XR (which includes cruise!) from a relative for trade in value. When a better engine is offered on the Fit in a year or two, I plan to trade it in.

That is, unless I really like the Matrix.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Don't think this has been posted before, but you can sign up for the Fit Launch Event in your area here http://www.honda.ca/HondaCA2006/FitVIPRegistration?L=E

[Snowman]

I’m waiting for Dorin to pipe up and tell us that driving lights are heavy and require more energy to operate.

[boytoys]

The engine is fine for me. i just love the versatility of the interior !!

[dorin]

I’m waiting for Dorin to pipe up and tell us that driving lights are heavy and require more energy to operate.

 

[a4_tom]

Those launch events are probably becoming "new owner taking delivery of Fit event".

[zoom6]

Interesting, I priced out the Mazda3 GS w/air and the Fit LX from their repective website yesterday. With 4k down and 60 months finance, the 3 comes out about 355/month and the Fit is 340/month. The Fit's interest rate is putting it up against the other compacts for sure.

Which one do you guys think it's more fun to drive? Mazda3 or Fit?

Mazda 3

[sleepyzippy]

Mazda 3

Yeah, that's what I am thinking too.  I had a Protege5 before, and I really love the car, especially on the handling department. For the same money as the Fit, the fun factor really favours the 3 for me.