Hi, looking forward to becoming a Fit owner; I’ve heard great things, and loved the test drives. Reliability is my #1 goal. Coming off of a series of Subaru mishaps, never going back!
Car 1: 135,000 miles for $7300 (there is room to haggle); 1 owner; carfax shows regular oil change and maintenance (every 6-12 months). A few exterior dings and interior degradation. Car 1 Carfax
Car 2: 59,000 miles for $8600 (no room to haggle); 2 owners; carfax shows almost total lack of maintenance! (4-year gap between oil changes). Exterior and interior are spotless.
Car 2 Carfax
Car 2 would be delivered, and comes with a 30-day warranty (and 5-day option to return, no questions asked); Car 1 I would have to schedule a mechanic check-up.
Given the miles, I would have snapped up Car 2 in a heartbeat; the lower miles and better condition suggestion it would have much better resale value. But once I looked at the carfax and saw the great regular maintenance on Car 1, I second-guessed, in terms of reliability. How valuable are those regular oil changes and maintenance?
Thanks for the thoughts, y’all!
Do not rely on Carfax too much, it is useful but very unreliable source.
I had a history of helping a friend of mine purchase a car which was 100% OK on Carfax and yet inspection clearly showed a major accident.
Maintenance reporting is very spotty at best.
Given mechanic would approve, #2 looks preferable.
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You should test drive both and inspect both closely for any issues. Take the one you like best to a mechanic you trust for a prepurchase inspection. Make sure you tell the mechanic that reliability is #1. If you still want it after the inspection, buy it. I wouldn’t worry about no maintenance in CarFax. It shows only whatever is reported. I would worry about any “delivered” Fit. You have to be able to return it for any reason with a full refund within a few days, or don’t spend any more time on it. During those few days, have your mechanic look it over and decide if it is still the car for you. That also means you should car 1 inspected first, then decide if you want delivery of car 2.
Thanks, I have test-driven and looked over car 2; the dealer is just willing to bring it to my house to sell it, and then Uber back (it’s through shift.com).
You do realize that counting on a 9 year old used vehicle to be reliable might not happen . Plus other expenses that you have not considered such as maintenance that it should have or was not done.
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Yep … which is why I’m here, asking your opinion : ). I’ll add “Reliability within my price range and given those two options.”
I don’t know where you are but here in the Midwest you can purchase a new Honda Fit with warranty for less then 20000.00 . Take in to account lower loan rates , full warranty and almost zero miles you should at least look into that option .
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