Why I'm a Sucker: My 2015 Honda Fit

"Jim Zeigler" (jimzeigler)
04/08/2015 at 08:00 • Filed to: honda, fit, new cars, used cars, #oppositelock

I am a hypocrite. I have spent the better part of my adult life proselytizing that only suckers buy new cars, to the point where my friends would avoid mentioning a new car purchase. And on Valentine’s Day of this year, I drove away from a Houston-area Honda dealership with a brand new Fit LX.

It was the base package and had steel wheels. The clutch hung onto its revs during shifts like a toddler clenching to a security blanket being torn away by a cruel daycare overseer. But for the first time in the three months I spent researching and viewing vehicles, I felt both relieved and satisfied.

But wait, let’s back up. This is like reading the end of “Flowers for Algernon” before getting to the meat of the story. Starting in September of 2013, I daily-drove a $2600 1994 Mazda Miata for over a year (minus air conditioning for half the time) in the subtropical Houston heat. I loved it, though it was beat to shit and held an electrical grudge from my attempts to use a Yuasa motorcycle battery instead of the proper AGM battery (in my defense, that was during an era of incredible broke-ness).

No power steering and crank windows led me to the realization that I need something different, something practical , something respectable . After two years working at a startup I cofounded out of college, I was left with a negative net worth. My friends were driving new 335i’s. I was driving a 22 year old roadster with a dearth of interior room that occasionally left me in situations like this:

So I decided I’d grow up. My goals: under 10k, stickshift, newer than the year 2000, under 100,000 miles, in the Houston-Dallas-Austin triangle. The choices came down to the NC Miata (equal practicality to the NA, more usability), the first-gen Mazda 3 (dynamically excellent, infinitely more respectable), and incredibly dumb shit like 540i 6MT’s and Z3 coupes and C4 Corvettes (which checked none of the boxes, but how bitchin’ would it be to have a C4?!) .

The hunt began. After rooting through the vast majority of Craigslist and Autotrader posts, I quickly realized that I was snipe-hunting a unicorn. The majority of my resistance came from my insistence on a manual transmission. The most common statements paired with a MT-equipped vehicle’s classified ad:

“Car is immaculate. Has salvage title from minor fender bender” Carfax response: “ Severe subframe damage.”

“One-owner car.” Carfax response: “ Car has had six owners in the past year.”

“Body panels straight, new tires.” Real life: Car smells like a D2 sorority bathroom and every panel looks like it was touched by a Captain Hook/Hellen Keller hybrid.

I spent two months looking for cars. My employer became increasingly dissatisfied by my willingness to take a day off to go up to Dallas or Austin and look at a clapped-out Mazda Protégé. The better parts of several weekends were spent riding Greyhound buses to neighboring municipalities, discovering that the car in question was garbage, getting drunk as hell while browsing Autotrader at the nearest bar to the bus station, and sleeping off the hangover on the Night Dog.

To compound this, the Miata decided it was done living and relinquished its grip of both the clutch and the hydraulics in one fell swoop. My garage situation consists of the warehouse at my workplace and whatever time I can scrounge on my lunch break. Between waiting on parts, realizing more shit was broken and ordering additional parts, and the actual labor, it was down for the better part of a month. On the plus side, I had quit the startup and frighteningly mature things like being gainfully employed and receiving regular paychecks crept into my life. Huzzah!

So I readjusted my aim. The Fit, which was Honda’s last bastion of the once-proud triumvirate of cheap, fun, and practical, would fit (ha) the bill nicely. Excellent dynamics, a manual gearbox, and a spirit-is-willing-but-flesh-is-weak engine would sate my Miata-esque need for a vehicle that would be sporty and fun, while simultaneously not getting me laid. It’s also typically owned by lame-ass people, which I thought I wanted to be.

I inspected a couple local vehicles. One was teetering slightly past the 100k mark. It had been well-kept, but was on the original clutch, struts, brake pads & rotors(?), and the tire situation was dire. That adds up to a good $2000 in parts alone, so I had to pass. The next one was at the dealership at which my mother bought her ‘01 Prelude new. By the smell, this car had apparently been used as a mobile dog-breeding mill, and possessed NVH problems that led me to ask the salesman if it had a broken motor mount (which after a brief trip to the dealership garage, had him explaining that it had a broken motor mount, which mounts the motor, and for which the part was unavailable until mid-next week).

So like a fool, I asked to drive a new one. It was the ugliest car I had ever laid eyes upon. While previous Fits conveyed a visage of a second-trimester pregnant woman in running apparel, the new one looked like a fat alien breedsac attached to the side of a starship. The thin plastic wheelcovers stood as a rolling testament to the thin veneer of dignity that the purchase of a new car belies upon its owner. A lack of forward, aft, and rear visibility reminded me of the Regular Car Reviews guy explaining the reasons behind thick pillars in modern cars.

And I loved it. And I bargained it down to 16k including tax, title, and license. And I bought it.

The wheels were swapped for Rota RB’s, which the internet tells me will explode into torso-seeking shrapnel when faced with a large bump. The dealership sticker was removed, as to not convey to the general public what a sucker I am. And the USB port was plugged with a tiny Sandisk drive with the cruelest, most vulgar rap music I could find. For the last two months, I’ve driven to work with the knowledge that if this car was going to be fucked up, it would be me doing the fucking.

So here I am: a desperate hypocrite. I didn’t just throw in the towel - I gingerly folded it into a cushion, placed it at the feet of the American God of Cheap Credit, and committed myself to a kneeling position for the next 48 months at 1.9% interest. I’ll drive the shit out this car for five years and sell it for $10,000. And while it may not get me laid, getting to be inside a virgin (car) is absolutely worth it.

DISCUSSION (98)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 00:03

Totally NP

I don't own a new car, but my employer got me a new car for work use only (wink wink), and after 5 minutes of driving it for the first time, I was like, "... So THIS is why people buy new cars!"

DasWauto > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 07:18

Looks like you put this on Oppo at its original post time, which would have been a few hours behind current and as such would have gone up a couple of pages back. I've rescheduled the post so that more people will get a chance to see it.

Great post by the way, eloquently written and I can sympathize. I'm also a sucker for having bought a new car a couple of months ago (base model Golf, also sporting new wheels) and am very much enjoying it while I set to work on my e30.

Jim Zeigler > DasWauto
04/08/2015 at 07:27

Thanks a ton! Never published anything on Kinja, so this has been a learning experience.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 08:02

Zeigler... Why does that name sound familiar?

jkm7680 > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 08:06

Nice work!

Bozi Tatarevic > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 08:10

Great post!

pip bip - choose Corrour > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 08:14

Kinja'd!!!

practical AND roomy.

Party-vi > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 08:17

"Captain Hook/Hellen Keller hybrid"

Followed.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 08:25

You made a good choice. My fiance bought one new when they first came to the US, and she drove the wheels off of it for work. She had slightly over 190k before she gave it to her parents, and they have only had one round of major repairs (minus tune-ups, brakes, etc.). You will be thoroughly surprised by how much stuff you can fit in there, especially with the back seats down.

Funktheduck > Where have all the lightweights gone?
04/08/2015 at 08:37

You missed an opportunity. You should've said "especially with the seats down..... ;)"

jjhats > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 08:37

how did you get authorship priveleges? I kind of hate this website but keep coming back even tho it is infuriating to use.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 08:40

Kinja'd!!!

Those wheels are pretty crazy on the Miata lol. You still keep the Miata? Now it can live to its fullest potential as a full time track car!

yamahog > Party-vi
04/08/2015 at 08:54

I also lol'd at the "D2 sorority bathroom," mine was at a fancy D1 Big Ten school and we had maids and chefs but without them the mansion would've been a wreck.

Makoyouidiot > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 09:20

1.9%, not bad.

mazda616 > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 09:20

Awesome read. "Hellen Keller/Captain Hook hybrid" has me laughing out loud.

Sometimes, buying a new car is a good deal. A 1.9% interest rate isn't too bad at all. That's what we got on my wife's 2013 CX-5 when we bought it new in 2012. We have since paid it off early, but even if we hadn't, the payment really wasn't bad. If you keep the car a long time and/or buy one that depreciates well (i.e. a Honda), you will be fine. :-)

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 09:50

It's also much easier to get a good rate on a new car than a used one. Most banks won't even finance a car that's more than 5 years old, and the ones that do, charge higher interest rates for the privilege. The thinking is that they can always repossess a new car and auction it before it becomes worthless.

Buying used sounds really good in theory (and practiced properly, IS really good), but you either need excess cash saved up, or a good local credit union/community bank who is willing to help you finance those.

This is why Kia and Daewoo did great business with the subprime auto crowd, because their captive finance group was willing to write those loans, and it was still a step up the credit ladder from the Buy-Here-Pay-Here lots.

E92M3 > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 09:50

I've had a lot of cars but never a NEW car. I try to justify a new car by telling myself I'll keep it for 10 years , but I know that's not really realistic. It's a sick twisted game I enjoy. Finding the mint unicorn used car, but uncovering it's history and being dissapointed 99.9% of the time. The older I get the less faults I'll accept with each candidate. Finding a car with few blemishes, and no paint work is becoming increasingly harder and harder.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 10:21

well written....

You could have waited a couple of months for the HR-V. It's even gonna have a manual

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > pip bip - choose Corrour
04/08/2015 at 10:23

Infinity headroom

Meatcoma > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 11:09

Kinja'd!!!

Congratulations! You've won a mediocre car at best and a lifetime supply of shop towels! You can even wipe your own ass with them (not advised).

That is a lot of shop towels...

Andrew T. Maness > Jim Zeigler
04/08/2015 at 15:39

Great first post man.

Hope you'll continue to chronicle your adventures in this thing.

greasemonkey235097 > Jim Zeigler
04/11/2015 at 12:48

I fear I will be following your steps soon, prices for used just keep climbing, you want something with less than 75k miles the price difference with new just doesn't make sense.

Just bought an 06 mazda3 with 78k, and had to swap the engine a month into it. Yes new now makes sense.

JDMatt > Jim Zeigler
04/19/2015 at 18:56

Those Wheels really make the fit look really good.

And 1.9% APR for 48 months on a $16,000 new car is not bad at all. You could have Financed something through Carmax! I couldn't see myself financing a used car even if it came with a 6 year warranty.

Katsumoto > Jim Zeigler
04/19/2015 at 20:04

Ive owned an 08 Fit since new and it’s been a good little car. It does have a minivan esque look to it. I often find myself looking at the Mazda and Honda minivan’s and then looking at my car, like your almost there.

It’s been a good little car to me. 171k later, a new battery, tires and many oil changes. It’s still going. I’ve been plotting trading it in. The CPO Focus’s aren’t looking to bad. Plus it’s a decent car for a DD.

ReforMatt > Jim Zeigler
04/20/2015 at 12:48

Depends on the car. I bought a 2015 WRX for just under 30k. i will drive this car for about 3 years and sell it for around 25k. depreciation can be largely avoided, you just have to know where to look. and before anyone asks, my proof of this is current and historical used prices of wrx and evo models.