You have to remember the small CUV’s were built based on the small sedans. So the CRV is a bloated Civic and the RAV4 is a Bloated Corolla. I would not hope to tow anything with them. I used to have a CRV and going uphill with 4 passengers was a challenge.
Ed - are you sure you’ll be using this ‘every weekend or every other weekend’? If you will, then I’d definitely buy what you need (I’d get an older used pickup). But that often?
Rental does let you step into it, if you do find you’re going often, then buy, not much harm done.
Ed, Boating In Basically The Same Place Most Of The Time?
You Could Consider Making That Money Hole In The Water A Little Deeper. Rent A Boat Slip For The Season Or Buy One. Then Just Haul Yourself There! Voila!
I have one in my backyard. 
CSA
I’ve never driven one, but I like the appearance of those Fits. I think that’s a good choice. Honda has been having some trouble with the automatic transmissions I think, maybe that’s only in their Acura line, not sure. If I wanted a Fit, I’d avoid the whole automatic transmission issue w/Honda and just buy a Fit with a manual transmission. Why take the risk.
You can shop for a car on line through cars.com, or truecar.com, or autobytel.com. They will send you quotes through the internet, and you can do the deal that way. Sure, there’s still BS involved, but you can decide when and you can walk away any time.
Well, I’d like to think I’d be using a boat every weekend or every other weekend. Otherwise, why bother? Of course, based on the number of boats I see sitting on trailers all over the place, I suppose there’s a good chance of it becoming a lawn ornament; hence, my waffling, prevarication, and procrastination. My frugal nature doesn’t want me to waste a huge pile of money.
The automatic transmission on the new Fit is a CVT. I have also read that Honda transmissions are not very “robust” as it were. Another reason to stick with a manual. I was SO disappointed to learn that automatics get better gas mileage than manuals these days. But manuals seem more durable. Also, less likely to get stolen (thieves can’t drive manual either) and your friends won’t be asking to borrow it.
This discussion has been very helpful to me in helping to sort out my options. I want to thank everyone again for your comments.
I have read that the best time to buy a new car is this window between Thanksgiving and Christmas that we are in now. Most people are doing Christmas shopping; and the car salespeople need money to buy gifts for their families too. But I don’t think I am there, mentally, yet.
Based on this discussion and others I have had with peers / friends, I am leaning towards getting that daily driver, probably come spring? and hold off on the whole boat / tow vehicle thing. Perhaps I could use my Jeep for a tow vehicle, at least in the beginning (1st season or so).
It sure would be nice to again have a car where I can go for an oil change and not get back a list of $1,100 or so worth of “recommended repairs”.
If I buy a new car and maintain it properly I should be set for at least 15 years. I want to say 20 years, but that may be pushing it too far. I got 20 years out of a 93 Festiva I bought used, but in hindsight I should have let it go about 4 years ago. If you’re going to be making regular payments to a mechanic to keep an old jalopy on the road, you might as well be making payments on a new car that should be hassle free.
When a business buys a delivery truck or big piece of equipment, they know when they buy it how long they expect it to last, and depreciate it accordingly. When that amount of time has passed, they often dispose of the truck even if it still runs well, because they have calculated that its useful life is almost used up. I’m thinking of buying my next car this way. Like, 15 (or 20) years in, time to trade it in, because each year thereafter is going to be increasingly troubleprone.
@EdFrugal You are living up to your name. We do this as well. Our 1994 Nissan Sentra was disposed of in 2012 as the body was starting to go. The car ran well, was reliable, and repairs had been modest up till then.
Since a normal owner cannot charge depreciation and take tax deductions, we have to do this strictly on out of pocket costs. We have found that we get 18-20 years of good economical and reliable service out of a car here, primarily since we get less snow than around the Great Lakes Rust belt.
But at 20 years a whole lot of things loom that make the ownership tedious, such as oil leaks, transmission leaks, suspension going etc.
Some ages of disposal:
- !965 Dodge Dart 13 years
- 1976 Ford Granada 19 years
- 1984 Impala 20 years
- 1988 Caprice 19 years
- 1994 Sentra 18 years
- 1977 Dodge Colt 19 years
In all cases, keeping these vehicles on the road longer in a safe and reliable fashion would have meant going UP the cost curve!
I grew up in a family where we bought new (when possible) and kept them long term (21yrs for a Datsun 510,19yrs for the '90 Mazda Protoge,20yrs for the '88 Grand Voyager) so you can keep a car going with minimal problems for quite some time with the help of a trustworthy mechanic.
The Grand Voyager stayed in service for a couple years after dad finally bought his new 2007 CRV (after going back and forth for at least 4yrs on what the new car should be) to be the tow vehicle for the 16ft boat we owned so that the daily driver could be a more reasonable size. Now that they have a 28ft boat they happily pay for a slip at the marina 10min away where they can decide to take the boat out on a whim even in the winter if they choose. The trailer for this boat would have been around $7k plus the cost of a later model 3/4 ton truck for towing
The Jeep might work for towing in at least the short term depending on how heavy a boat you’re thinking of.
I grew up in a family where we bought new (when possible) and kept them long term (21yrs for a Datsun 510,19yrs for the '90 Mazda Protoge,20yrs for the '88 Grand Voyager) so you can keep a car going with minimal problems for quite some time with the help of a trustworthy mechanic.
You must live in the south…because one of my wife’s first cars was a Datsun 510…that thing was GREAT mechanically…but by year 3 already had rust through holes. By year 5 it wouldn’t past inspection because of all the rust.
@MikeInNH Actually the Pacific Northwest, we did own a 60’s dodge pickup with rust holes in the floor but what do you expect on a $300 truck? Dad’s mazda RX2 (a 73 I think?) was so rusty by 1977 that a Vespa was dad’s work transportation for awhile.
Mom bought the 510 Wagon brand new in late 1969 and it stayed in the fleet until 1991
A Vespa? In the northwest? I hope it had windshield wipers. Just funnin’ ya. This is not Italy though.
@Docnick : interesting list. If you got 18, 19, & 20 years service from your assortment of cars purchased in the 70’s thru early 90’s, then it should be reasonable for me to expect 20 years from a new Honda Fit assuming about 10,000 miles a year. I fully expect a 2016 car, (especially a Honda or Toyota, though some here will say their reputations are overrated) to be better constructed than an early 90’s “Ford” (Kia body w/ Mazda engine) which was a design from the 1980’s. (Gosh, is my car really that old? The years go by fast as you age. When I was in grade school one year was like, forever.)
Of course my work commute / travel plans are subject to change. Perhaps I should qualify my statement by saying 20 years OR 200,000 miles, whichever comes first?
@wolyrobb " (after going back and forth for at least 4yrs on what the new car should be)" Glad to know I’m not the only one with this problem of indecision.
". . . they happily pay for a slip at the marina 10min away where they can decide to take the boat out on a whim even in the winter if they choose. " Oh boy, that sounds like good livin’ there!
Although I suppose the auto show comes to different parts of the country at different times of the year, around here we get what I call the trifecta during the winter. The RV show, the AUTO show, then the boat show. I think the auto show is in January, the boat show in February, some years that’s reversed. Funny how they get you revved up for “summer stuff” at the dreariest time of the winter. The flower and garden show comes, I think, in February.
I think there’s a big motorcycle show that comes around the same time as well, but I never really got into motorcycles. At one time I thought I might want to get a motorcycle, but one summer like 5 or 6 people I know all got banged up really bad on motorcycles, and that put the ki-bosh on that idea for me. People that like motorcycles though really like them. All of those people still ride them to this day. I’d think that after a month in the hospital, I’d find a different hobby, but that’s just me.
To answer some comments from earlier in this thread, i have rented boats on several previous occasions. Mostly on lakes in PA. although I rented a waverunner once several years ago, don’t want to think about it too much because I might cry thinking about all the summers I"ve wasted since then without owning a waverunner. 
I’ve looked into like, renting a real family sized boat you’d take out on the Chesapeake Bay, for example. For a whole day, you quickly exceed $500 plus the cost of fuel and whatever surcharges (cleaning surcharge, hi-demand surcharge) they can think of, PLUS 6% tax on the whole amount. It quickly becomes a losing proposition. Plus, you pretty much need to make a reservation, then if its raining, thunderstorms, hurricane on that day, they don’t want to give you your money back. (How come we don’t have a frowny-face emoticon?)
Pymatuning reservoir on the PA OH border is a really big lake, but there’s a 20 hp limit. Lake Raystown in central PA is a big squiggly lake shaped like a sea serpent with no hp limit. I’d like to get a waverunner and take it up there. I like to take boat rides too. This summer I discovered the Cape May - Lewes ferry. Its about an 85 minute trip each way. Quite expensive if you take your car, but you can take a round trip as a foot passenger quite reasonably. The boat has 2 air conditioned decks and a nice snack bar. Its a nice day trip if you like boat rides. I only mention it because I know a few of the regulars live in the area.
I’d better quit before I hijack my own thread and turn it into a travel log. At least its still an auto related off topic post (Ferry boats carry cars). 
@wolyrobb - Pacific Northwest isn’t the Rust belt. Nothing compared to snow country where road salt is a huge factor in causing cars to rust out.
@EdFrugal Agreed! My Toyota will be 9 years old next February, and the only repair so far has been a $42 drive belt. The body has no rust whatsoever, the engine is perfect, and I expect this car to last well beyond 20 years. Similarly, our Mazda should go that far as well.
Although the bodies and engines are much better now, those new transmissions are relatively frail compared with the old 3 speed units. I’ve seen many cars with good engines and bodies scrapped before 10 years because the transmission gave up the ghost.
The electronics on some new cars are poor as well. A Ford with the twin clutch transmission and all a the latest electronic gizmos will not likely make it to 20 years.
The Vespa was his commuter for about a year, then he drove the Datsun when mom’s new VW Rabbit arrived in 1978
.@Docnick , “. . . those new transmissions are relatively frail compared with the old 3 speed units.” Do you think I can get around this problem by sticking with the manual transmissions? I used to always hear that manual transmissions were more robust because they are simpler machinery, fewer moving parts. On the other hand, I don’t suppose they put a lot of time or money into development of manual transmissions since very few folks want them.
" My Toyota will be 9 years old next February, and the only repair so far has been a $42 drive belt. . . " Oh boy oh boy oh boy !!! That is what I want my next 9 years to look like. I am so so fed up sick and tired of one repair after the other, I get the car fixed and the Jeep breaks down, I get the Jeep fixed and the car breaks down. Its a constant aggravation.
Except that manual transmissions need a new clutch every 80k or so. Really good drivers state they can get much more out of a clutch, but not me.
Yes, I don’t think they put any development money on manual clutches. After all, the clutches (many of them) seem to last much longer in auto transmissions (or am I comparing apples to oranges?)
Generally speaking manuals last a lot longer. I have never heard of anyone burning out a manual transmission. Expect a clutch to last about 100,000 miles, unless you live in San Francisco. A clutch should cost about $1100-$1500.
Manuals are inherently more rugged.
The most bullet-proof cars are basic compacts with manuals and few options. A Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla with only basic equipment are your best bets. I would add a Mazda3 with the base engine as well.
(Dear God, please don’t let me jinx myself by posting this, I was hoping to wait until my car was safely in the junkyard before I mentioned this, but. . . ) I’ve got 202,000 miles on my 93 Festiva on the original clutch. By all rights, I should have burned out a clutch just during the big blizzards of 2003? I think it was? (the years begin to run together as I age) when I kept getting stuck in snow higher than my bumper. A few months ago, I thought my clutch had broken, but it turned out to just be the cable. However, the shifter has a “crunchy” feel to it now. I’m afraid to investigate further 'cause its so old, I figure, its working, don’t mess with it. . .
Yes, its dangerous to get one’s mind set on a specific car, like I have kind of done with the Fit. Perhaps a Corolla is a better choice. It seems to be a more substantial car for only a couple grand more, and the rated mpg is 32 vs. the Fit at 33. 1 mpg isn’t exactly going to break the bank. A good friend mentioned you want a more substantial car as you age and your back, etc wears out (I’m starting to have back problems). And they sell Corollas by the millions, so parts should be available basically forever.
When the auto show comes to town, I’m going to check out that Mazda3 as well. I always seem to overlook Mazda, but according to CR, they do make some good reliable efficient cars. I should give them a chance.
I am thinking a really good way of getting rid of my Festiva would be to take it to that enthusiasts gathering next year (assuming I can keep it functional that long) and offer to sign over the title to someone who would pay for the cost of a rental car for me to drive home in. Certain people in that group have been very nice to me, I think it would be a generous offer. A complete Festiva with quite a few (more than I’ll admit to) new parts on it in exchange for the cost of a 1 week car rental. And the car would go to someone who would really appreciate it as opposed to going to the local junkyard. However, I don’t think that plan will work. They want to see ME driving it. I really like my car, I squeezed a good 20 years out of it, but I don’t want to drive the same car for the rest of my life. I’m ready for a car with airbags, air conditioning, cruise control, and antilock brakes (and a bunch of other stuff I don’t want too). I’m afraid they’d see it as a betrayal, since by giving up my car, by definition I’d be leaving the group. Why is life full of these social pitfalls?