My daughter and I went looking for a car yesterday

[Horse with no Name]

and found two that were of interest.
One was a 2002 Prius with 52k miles for $13k. Everything looked to be in really good condition--but since it was Sunday, the dealerships were closed.
The second one was a 2007 Honda Fit. I have never seen this car but it really looks like a nice little car. 31/38 mpg. Cute little thing.
It was around $14k.
Is anyone familiar with this car? I've never heard of it.

[RedEarth]

1. Never heard of the Honda Fit... here's a gogle search on the Fit

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22honda+fit%22+review

[cantstandbush]

23. My daughter just bought a Toyota Yaris. 40 mi/gal. 13,500.

It runs a good a a Lexus in my opinion. It's just small.

[ComerPerro]

2. Ive heard of the fit, was curious about it

[bunkerbuster1]

3. What's your daughter hoping to do with this car?

Commute to work? School? How long? what kind of weekend/recreational use?

just curious.

[Horse with no Name]

6. She is going to the University of Texas in the Fall

So she will be using it to commute around town as well as to come back and forth home.

[maxsolomon]

34. freshman at many universities are not permitted to have cars

on campus. an 18 year old in austin has no need for a car. 'commuting' around town makes no sense when you live in a dorm.

if she can't handle the stress of pedaling a bicycle, buy her a scooter or an electric bike.

[Horse with no Name]

36. Well that is my thought

However, her argument is that she wants to get a job off-campus, etc etc.

[maxsolomon]

38. buses go to workplaces, too.

does U of T allow freshman to have cars or not?

you could save yourself a pile of money.

[Horse with no Name]

39. I haven't heard that they don't

It is something I better check into. I had no idea this was at all an issue.

[tammywammy]

46. I've know people as freshmen at UT

and you're allowed to have a car, even if you live in the dorm.

[maxsolomon]

47. ok, well that's way different than U of Washington

freshman arent' even allowed to think about keeping a car near campus. its a thoughtcrime.

never mind.

she's going to pay for her own gas & insurance, right?

[radwriter0555]

4. Edmunds likes it. It looks like the Renault.

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2007/honda/fit/index.html

[Atman]

5. The FIT is brand new, so it's as yet untested

But it IS a Honda, so it'll probably be pretty good.

If you have any interest in "buying American", there are options, too, despite what everyone says (although the Aveo is really just a Suzuki). The Aveo looks very similar to the FIT, and starts under $10k

http://www.chevrolet.com/aveo/

Then there's the Cobalt...

http://www.chevrolet.com/cobalt/

[Horse with no Name]

8. The only problem I have

is that I have never owned a good Chevrolet product. Since she will be so far away, she has to have a car she can depend on. I don't have that faith in Chevrolets.:(

[Atman]

14. Can I ask what the last one you owned was?

My son bought a 4cyl Malibu last year, and I am very surprised at this car. Great gas mileage, very good performance and ride, excellent sound system. I wouldn't even have looked at one had he not brought it home, but he's had absolutely no problems with it, and I've driven it a few times and was really surprised at how nice it is. But since the Aveo is a Suzuki, I really don't know what that means for the quality stuff. The Cobalt I know nothing about, but if it is anything like the Malibu, I'd have no problem sending my kid off in one. Besides, any new car will have a pretty comprehensive warranty for at least a few years.

[Horse with no Name]

19. The last one I owned was a 1999 Cavalier

It was a colossal piece of shit.

[Atman]

22. Well, that explains a LOT!

No wonder you're gun-shy. It might be worth giving these cars another look, though. There is a reason the Cavalier is no longer on the market! You can get that Aveo decked out with every option for the same money as the basic FIT (including MP3 player).

[lectrobyte]

45. You may want to consider resale tho... Nothing like buying a new Honda

for $9K, drving the bejesus out of it for 10 years, and then selling it for $4K ('91 CRX). Never been able to do that on any domestic I've owned.

[Hobarticus]

37. Cavaliers are what dealers call "popcorn cars"...

Cheaply made, inexpensive, not meant to run very long. Notoriously crappy.

[NickB79]

32. The Aveo is a renamed Daewoo, made in South Korea

Not really "buying American" except in name only.

[B3Nut]

42. US's new Fit is actually an older model

it's just new to the US. The current Fit (Jazz in Europe) is a few years old.

Todd in Beerbratistan

[BrownOak]

7. There's some great deals out there right now

Of course, most of them are on Escalades, Yukons, and Suburbans.

[Horse with no Name]

9. You aren't lying there

The trucks and SUV's had HUGE discounts.

[BrownOak]

31. The discounts are almost enough

To get you enough gas to make it back from the dealer.

[rucky]

10. I wouldn't get a pre-2004 Prius

especially at that price.

they made HUGE improvements to the hybrid in the 2004 models.

[Horse with no Name]

12. Thank you.

That was what I was wanting to hear.

[Atman]

13. There were a couple major recalls to the Prius, too

They has serious on-board computer problems. The car would just shut down while driving. Not a good thing!

[earthmama]

11. the Fit is cute

I have never seen it before until now ( googled it).

I don't know much about cars but am leaning toward the Prius because of the gas mileage.

I guess it depends on what you are using it for. Our family loves to take road trips and we visit out of state family alot. So I think the Prius is the best option for us.

Our lease on our CRV is up in 2 years and I can not wait to trade it it.

[Ready4Change]

15. Oddly low milage.

My '90 CRX got 4mpg better highway milage, and the same eras regular civics weren't far off of that. With 15 years of development between then and now I'd expect better, or at least the same.

However, it does look like the fit is what the Civic used to be. Small, light, affordable, economical. It's been made for a while in Asia, so it might be somewhat free of the "newly designed car" curse.

Worth a look.

[bullimiami]

16. the only problem i would have with a used hybrid is

if you have no warranty left.
Anything that breaks could be prohibitively expensive to fix and have to be done at a specialized shop or the dealer.
Unless you can get an extended warranty for reasonable money.

A Honda is a pretty good bet, any honda or toyota is pretty well made and supported.

Personally from these 2 choices I would lean towards the new Honda.

[Horse with no Name]

20. This particular car

came with the remainer of a 10 yr/100k warranty.

[henslee]

17. If the Prius body made of a lightweight alloy, I'd investigate what

typical bodywork costs can be. I suspect simple bodywork repairs to be three or four times what it would cost regularly. Never heard of a Honda Fit.

[lectrobyte]

44. Honda Insight is the aluminum hybrid. Prius, Escape, Civic, etc. are made

of steel, at least as much as any other car these days (plastic bumper covers, grilles etc.).

[lutefisk]

18. Consider safety, too. Hondas are usually a "safe" bet

http://www.safercar.gov/

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/

I'm all for small cars, but some small cars do much better at protecting the driver and passenger in the event of an accident. A small car doesn't have mass on its side. Do they still drive full size pickups in Texas?

The new Honda Civic is cute and gets excellent mpg, too.

[Horse with no Name]

21. Lots of trucks and SUV's

that definitely is one worry.
The Honda Civics we looked at were a little pricier than we wanted to pay.

[LeftyMom]

24. With a small car, side impact airbags become very important

They're frequently an option rather than standard, but I wouldn't get a small car without them. Especially since in Texas any accident she gets into is likely to be vs a much larger car or truck.

[Horse with no Name]

25. That is true. Thank you.

I really just wanted her to go to school, live on campus, and use public transportation. Her best friend is going with her and she has a car.
My daughter has HORRIBLE peripheral vision--ergot all of my cars are bumped on the right corner.
She is far-sighted in one eye and near-sighted in the other, and so far has proven to be very hard to correct.
She just turned 18 and we had discussed her having LASIK done before she started driving in a big city and she agreed.
HOWEVER, this week she decided she wants to get a new car...:scared:

[LeftyMom]

30. Three words for you: Dent Resistant Panels

Get thee to your Saturn dealer, because with your daughter's tendency to ding up cars getting one where those dings won't show so much (my '97 Saturn still looks almost brand new and certainly not because I baby it) makes a whole lot of sense.

The Ion is a pretty cute little car, too.

[tigereye]

35. I love my Ion

I've had Saturns for several years, and the Ion is my favorite so far. And it was very reasonable pricewise.

[Atman]

43. The Chevy Cobalt is basically a Saturn Ion

FYI

[in_cog_ni_to]

26. The Honda Fit just came out 2 weeks ago! It's so CUTE and gets great gas

mileage. I've been looking for a new car too and am torn between the Fit, the Prius and the new Nissan Versa to be released very soon. The Versa is another small/high gas mileage car...38 MPG and starts at $12,000! Honda makes GREAT cars, but so does Toyota. I've had 2 previous Toyotas, the Celica I drove for 10 years and NEVER had a repair done on the car. I had a 4-Runner that sucked gas and got rid of it because of that, but NEVER had a problem with that car either. My sister and BIL have always owned Hondas and swear by them. If the Prius has 52,000 miles on it and the batteries are warranted for 100,000 miles, that leaves her only 48,000 miles for battery coverage and they're EXPENSIVE to replace. I would opt fot the Fit for that reason alone, but that's JMCPO.:) Here's a link to the Honda Fit. Enjoy!




http://automobiles.honda.com/tools/buildandprice/frame.asp?step=trims&VIEW=34FRONT&SERIES=1000007&YEAR=2007&SERIESNAME=Fit&RURL=

[madrchsod]

29. fit is the best selling small car in japan now.

if i get really lucky in the next few months it`s a new civic si in my garage or i might have to settle for a rebuilt tuner second generation crx. after my interpid dies(240,000 miles) it will be all honda`s in my garage

[JohnnyRingo]

27. When buying a used hybrid

always find out how long the batteries are expected to last and how much they cost to replace.
Often the price of replacement equals or surpasses the value of the car, leaving you with the equivalent of a used up Bic lighter on wheels unfortunately.
I'm sure this will change as oil dries up and tech improves, but for now, it's a consideration.

I'm assuming the Prius is a battery/gasoline hybrid.

[madrchsod]

28. the fit

if your daughter doesn`t drive across country or travel expressways 24/7 this is the car for her. great gas mileage ,interior room,and it`s kinda funky for that 18-30 year old crowd. you can`t go wrong in buying this car for her and if she is into "tricking her ride" there will be alot of after market stuff to buy. the fit is has the largest small/micro car market share in japan. been around for several years in asia. it`s a great little car.take a test drive today.
my family have or own now over 15 honda`s in the last 20 years.my daughter drives a 93 accord with 250000 miles..it jusy keeps on ticking.

[Roland99]

33. I'd look for a used Mazda 3i

Could get one rather cheap and they get pretty decent gas mileage and look great inside and out.

[proud2BlibKansan]

40. I love my Scion

30/38 mpg

[Book Lover]

41. Have you or she thought about two-wheeled vehicles?

Scooters and low-cc (200-350) motorcycles are very easy on the gasoline, and guys dig chicks on bikes :-)

Side note - um, the dealerships were closed on a Sunday? How do they ever sell a car if they're closed on the busiest day of the week?!