My first thought was that a constant velocity joint on the axle left exploded again: New long-term tester of CAPD. However, Mike the mechanic (not to be confused with Mike and the Mechanics) told me that there was "a hole in the transmission" in the '02 Saturn that was my daily driver in recent years. I spent several days wondering if it made sense to put $ 1,000 in an old car 15 years who went on largely unchanged since it was first designed in the 0 My second thought What is the next thing that will break
I started looking around for a small, inexpensive, new car, with a focus on subcompacts. I also asked my colleagues who look a lot more cars than I do for their recommendations and settled on the two finalists, the Ford Fiesta and Honda Fit.
How did I come to this conclusion? Several cars were rejected for different reasons. I do not like the dashboard of the bike inspired by the Chevrolet Sonic. Although I am far more concerned about the transportation of the image, I can not see me in a Kia Soul. Speaking of Korean brands, I am not convinced that the Korean manufacturers lavish as much attention on their less expensive cars as they do on the Optima and Sonata. And long warranties aside, the long-term sustainability of even the newest and best Korean cars has not been proven. I like the Mazda3, but it's a class from the segment and Mazda Mazda2 does not sell in America (and I forgot Toyota Scion sale Mazda2 as iA). The Fiat 500 Abarth is great fun, but I told him it was based on a cheap car that was designed back nearly a decade when I examined. The base Fiat 500 I rented was much less fun. The Nissan Versa seemed cheap to me, and the Toyota Yaris, well, I found a '0s Tercel more exciting era.
Moreover, the rented Ford Fiesta I when I had some mods suspension makes the Saturn few years impressed me. The Fiesta was fun to drive, he treated nicely and I even thought that the version of Ford's dual-clutch transmission worked better than the VW unit in the Audi A3 I had to review. Despite the fact that I could live with the Ford DCT automatic Fit is a CVT and you had guys take my car card if I bought it. Also, go with a manual transmission would probably save money on the sticker price. I did not know how much it would save.
The Fit was new for 2015. A large number of the car sounded comments for electrically assisted steering numb, saying he did not quite what [automotive cliche alert] go-kart feeling of the first two generations of the Fit. There were also complaints that the six-speed manual transmission is oriented relatively low, causing high revs and hum at highway speeds. Some complained that the clutch was too soft. Comments agreed that the stick was much more fun than the CVT and flexible seats Fit (Honda called Magic Seat) make a handy cart.
A colleague, a Honda owner who is quite familiar with the company, said Honda was better than Ford, but Ford could last longer. Another, who has contacts at the Ford plant in Mexico, where the Fiestas are built, suggested otherwise. Ford apparently still has quality problems south of the border, or at least that's what the sources of my friend involved.
I started to configure, price and shop. The level of base LX finish in the Fit comes very well equipped with power windows, air conditioning and even a standard backup camera. I could live with this list of features, certainly compared to the 20-year-old tech in Saturn. When I went to set up something similar in the Fiesta, it appeared the Honda was just a little better equipped nearly the same MSRP. Above all, it came down to six speeds of the Fit compared to the five-speed manual fitted throughout, non-ST Fiestas.
I wanted to please, but I could not justify the extra $ 3000-4000 ST would run. This car will be driven into the ground and I did not know that the three-cylinder EcoBoost engine of 1 liter option in the Fiesta was for the long term. Direct injection, naturally aspirated 1.5-liter engine Honda has more power to both the triple EcoBoost and 1.6-liter four, which is the standard engine in the Fiesta. For model year 2016, the assembly of the Fit has been moved to the new Mexican plant of Honda in Japan to allow the Mexican plant to start producing the HR-V crossover, which shares a platform with the Fit .
Speaking of Mexico, I want to buy American when I can, but the Fiesta is Hecho en Mexico. Although I ended up choosing the Ford, my choice was not going to be made in the United States was going to say something about the benefits from Tokyo over Dearborn, but I am not convinced either automaker made significant money on these entry-level cars.
regarding the profits of dealers, as highlighted Bark M, dealers can still make lots of money on new cars they sell at or below the invoice price, but apparently no Fits enough money with baton changes for dealers want to keep them in stock, especially a basic car. The more I thought Fits from a local dealership was eight, all with the CVT. There was no basis in 2016 Suitable with a manual transmission to be found anywhere in Michigan.
Car enthusiasts bemoan the lack of cars that offer staff changes, but part of the problem with trying to "save the manual" is to find dealers that store. An automatic adds at least a thousand dollars (more like two) for the purchase price and dealers such as higher transaction prices.
a call to a dealer in Toledo, about an hour south of here, revealed there were just three in the area around the three states I suppose includes Indiana. a salesman said he could organize an exchange between dealers and sell me the car for a shade over $ 18,000 to the door (Michigan a 6% sales tax).
Using online tools like TrueCar, I found a Fit LX with a stick, in a harmless money, a dealership in Dayton, about 0 miles from Detroit. The seller me he quoted a better price: $ 17,421 out-the-door. The next day, while I deliberated a trip to Ohio and to find the logistics, I missed a call from a Honda dealer, Honda Bloomfield page. When I called, I told the salesman, Brian, I was looking for a Fit LX with a stick and told him the price that I had obtained from the Dayton dealer. He asked if I consider a 2015 model, new, not a demo and also in silver, with a stick.
An orphan manual and I could save. I told him to check the mileage and Price of his manager.
When he called back he said he had less than 100 miles on the odometer, mileage accumulated new car test in time, he was sitting on their lot. Once I bought a brand new, all-wheel drive Chrysler minivan through a dealer trade that put more miles on the car. The price he quoted, however, $ 17,720, surprised me. '15 I expected to cost less than 2016 Dayton said. Brian, the seller, said, "Oh, that's because it is an EX, LX not a"
Although the features of the EX are. things that I could easily live without, it is nice to have a chip carrier with keyless entry and push-button start, a better stereo and a touch screen with a nifty blindspot camera that activates when using the signal turn for the low price of $ 240. with Michigan potholes, I'm not sure about the 16-inch wheels in aluminum (LX steelies 15-inch wheels with covers), and I do not know how I will use the time moonroof, but the package seemed like a good deal at about $ 2,000 less than if I had bought a 2016 Honda Accord EX comparable. I do not care about the depreciation, but two great probably makes for her.
the case was not only good, the insistence of Bark M side, the dealer must have lost real money on it. According to online resources, the purchase price of the car was about $ 700 less than the cost of the concessionaire, including restraint. It was a cash deal, so there was no money to be made at the rear end on funding and there was no dealer add-ons. Added to the loss :. The interest of the dealer paid for the car FloorPlan for almost a year
They tried to move the small Honda for a while. After delivery, I found a tag of "summer game sale" of 2015 in the passenger seat. The fact that it was also the end of the month may have encouraged them to come with their best price. I'm sure they will not pay one month's interest.
According sticker door jam, the Fit was made in February 2015 and it wasn 't sit on a boat from Japan for weeks as was done in Mexico. No, he was sitting on their lot, costing them not only interest, but also the opportunity cost of profit they could have on the number of CR-Vs they could have cycled through this spot their fate at the same time. The dealership also had to eat the cost of hand-painted stripes (signed by "Miller") that have been added at some point. The artist used beautiful shades of gray and blue, and they look nice against the car money, although the painter took them end with a curly-cue on the front wing that I think the look pretty feminine. Well, maybe I'll give you the name Fit is a girl.
How do I love him? Well this is the first long-term portion of last test TTAC once the engine is broken and I got the chance to drive a bit. I'll also let you know if and when VTEC kicks in, yo!
Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth , a realistic perspective on cars and car culture and the original 3D car website. If you found this article interesting, you can get a parallax Cars In Depth view. Thanks for the reading -. RJS
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