I have a 2009 Honda Fit that I’ve put about 60,000 highway miles on in the past three years. It is at 80k+ miles right now, and I’m wondering if I should trade it in before it reaches 100,000. Since owning it at 20k miles, I’ve done regular oil changes, gotten new all-weather tires, and recently purchased a new battery. I will be needing to do a major tuneup and a transmission flush soon as well. I’m worried about maintenance costs as the car gets older, but I’d also like a slightly larger car with some towing capacity. I’m leaning towards the Honda Element; how are those for maintenance costs after 100,000 miles? Any suggestions? Would the maintenance costs be cheaper if I kept or traded the Fit?
Maintenance costs will very likely be much cheaper than getting a new car at this point. I wouldn’t get rid of the car for that reason alone.
I’m surprised that transmission fluid replacement hasn’t been required before now. Are you sure you’ve read the maintenance schedule correctly? Honda transmissions aren’t particularly bulletproof, so you want to service it correctly.
My son owned an Honda Element for years and then traded the Element for a Fit. They are both great vehicles. The Element does not get good gas mpg at all when compared to the Fit. If you move in the direction of the Element be prepared to spend a lot more for gas. Both hold up pretty well, but I think the Element may require a bit more $$$ for maintenance especially if it has 4WD or AWD.
Your Fit should be good for many more miles, but if you want something larger then the Element is a good vehicle. You’ll be buying the Element used since Honda has stopped selling them in the US.
That’s a good point; and no, I’m not sure that I’ve read the maintenance schedule correctly. Are you suggesting that I should’ve had to change the trans fluid earlier or not yet?
Also, I’m worried about depreciation. I’m at 80k right now, and according to KBB I could get around 8,000 for it on trade-in. If I wait until I hit 100,000, the value goes down another $1,000. Should I trade it in on that basis alone?
Honda Fits are good cars with a long life expectancy!. I would bring the maintenance up to date and just keep driving. You are not at the halfway point yet with this car.
P.S. If you are worried about depreciation, new cars depreciate much faster than old ones! So keep driving; depreciation is a meaningless concept if you wear the car out. It is only of concern to those who HAVE to trade regularly, such as sales personnel.
Good Luck!
You are $$$ ahead keeping it for years to come. New car depreciation will far exceed what you’ll see with your Fit.
No,no economic sense in getting rid of the Fit,but if you want the Element get it before they become hard to obtain-Kevin
I would keep the Fit and drive it for another 3 to 5 years before re-evaluating a sale.
Contrary to popular belief, the vehicle isn’t going to suddenly come apart at the seams when it hits 100,001 miles. If your Fit meets your needs, and is comfortable enough for you, keep it while saving for your next vehicle.
Since Honda ceased assembling Elements for sale in the US midway through 2011, any Elements that you find will have been used for at least 1 1/2 years. To my way of thinking, exchanging a known quantity (your own vehicle), for an unknown quantity that is only slightly newer just doesn’t make much sense.
You know how your present car was maintained, and how it was driven, and you would have no idea of how a used Element was driven by its previous owner. If you were able to locate one that comes with full maintenance records, that would help, but most people (to their usual detriment) never seem to limit their used vehicle searches to those that come with full maintenance records.
If you can locate a low-mileage Element that comes with hard copies of the maintenance records verifying that it has been maintained at least as well as the mfr specifies, and if your mechanic gives it his blessing, I suppose that this plan might make sense to you, but I would not do it.
Dump it. Get the new Accord which is just as economical as the Fit…and bigger. You can’t tow much more, but you can make many more trips in comfort.
It sounds like you’ve been taking care of your Fit. Any previous owner bugs should have surfaced by now. Without abuse, the Fit should last a long time. Our 2007 Fit Sport with 50K miles has been trouble-free: just scheduled maintenance. All automotive reports rate the Fit a winner, on owner satisfaction, reliability, and low overall cost of ownership. But, if you do decide to change, the Fit’s trade-in value is outstanding. It’s a desirable vehicle.
If he Fit is worth $8k now, the most you can lose in depreciation is $8k. A replacement will be north of $18k and will lose about half that in a couple of years. The maintenance costs on the Fit won’t become that significant until 200k miles, There will be brakes, tires, batteries, etc but same for a new car. The best economic choice is to keep it. But then, if you don’t like it, thats a different matter altogether.