It has finally happened. As long as there has been Curbside Classic, there has been one constant in the JPC driveway – the little white 2007 Honda Fit. It has been the subject of quite a few entries here, and has photobombed many more. However, all good things must come to an end, and just a few weeks shy of 18 years from the day we put in our special order and about 17.5 years from the day we took delivery, the Fit is not longer Go, but is instead gone.
If you had told me around 1980 or so that I would own a daily-driver car for almost 18 years, I would have shaken my head in disbelief. But for those who read my COAL series, you saw a slow change in car-ownership attitude here. I went from constantly seeking new experiences to forging longer and longer relationships with my cars, often keeping them longer than was prudent. It was either an act of strength or an act of weakness (I am still working on this), but I decided to release my hold on the Fit keys while the little car still has some life left in it.
It was about 18 months ago that I told the Fit’s story in Chapter 24 of my COAL series. During that interval I put another 10k miles on it (165k at the end). I kept telling myself that the car should probably be replaced, but in truth, it had become the absolutely perfect 4 wheeled companion in my new life as a professional driver of big trucks. I have a commute of about 25 miles per day to and from my company’s terminal and no longer have a care in the world about what my commuter special looks like. I had been thinking that with two cars that were over a decade old and at or well over 100k miles, it would be wise to buy something new so that I could have it paid off by the time I decide to retire from my second career. But lately I had been wondering if I shouldn’t just keep this Fit party going as long as the car was willing to start and get me to and from work.
I will admit that the car suffered a couple of additional problems. The most irritating one was the failed power lock on the driver’s door. There was a workaround – as in Hondas of yore, all I needed to do was use the key in the door, which locked or unlocked everything. But, for some reason, using the key in the door to lock the car disabled the remote locks, so that a stop at the driver’s door was necessary, even if my destination was the hatch or a passenger door.
The more serious one was an airbag light that came on and stayed on. I suspect that one of the neighborhood squirrels got into the wrong wire (they have also munched on a couple of windshield washer tubes). My mechanic wouldn’t touch it and the Honda dealer was going to charge me about $600 for a new airbag wiring harness. Many people would pay for it, but I am of an age where I remember feeling perfectly safe in cars like my 1983 Colt, which was far safer than the 1960’s cars I had driven for many years. You can’t live forever, right?
A more immediate problem was the morning I went to drive home from work and the car would not start. Which was odd, given how perfectly it ran on the drive in. A tow truck and a trip to my mechanic resulted. The problem turned out to be – a failed security chip in my key. I decided to go cheap and had my Honda dealer order and cut a plain key without the attached locking buttons. And it worked great – until the first time I tried to unlock my door with it. I should have driven back to have them re-cut the key, but I was busy and just lived with it, using my old key to open the door and my new key to start the car. I know, first world problems and all that.
But one day things started happening. One thing led to another and I suddenly found myself with a new set of wheels – more to come on this. The dealer was not interested in the Fit as a trade, and an online offer from CarMax was not for much money. We offered the car to one of our offspring (with full disclosure of its issues) and the car will keep the same last name on its new title and will live just a few miles away. The price (free) will allow the new owners to fix the airbags and anything else that they feel necessary for a car that I believe still has a lot of life left in it. Maybe I will get occasional visitation rights, and will no longer feel the urge to do something with the dulling white paint.
In all my years with it, I never stopped enjoying the way it drove. The steering was fast, the powertrain was as pleasant as any four cylinder/automatic car I have ever driven, and it was always fun. As I took a few photos on its last evening in my driveway I got a little wistful. It had well and truly become a beloved part of the family. I am not a dog owner, but will confess to an urge to pet it and tell it that it was a good boy. How can you not love that face.
In letting go of the Fit, I relinquish my quest for the crown for longest ownership among the cadre of CC contributors – I am thinking of a particular white Scion Xb that may be in the lead (never mind a certain yellow F-100), but I am sure there are others. Instead of Oregon’s healing rains, we get salt baths here, so I always knew that my car would have a hard end date someday. Which will hopefully be avoided for a few more years yet.
A few of you reading have received a sneak peak at JPC Car #31. Stay tuned, the second part of this update is coming soon.
Reading this does prompt a small degree of melancholy. Honda Fits and JPC do seem rather synonymous after all these years.
However, you certainly got your money’s worth out of it. This was no doubt helped by the extra effort you’ve exerted to keep its appearance in good order – I’ve been around Indianapolis enough to know your climate is indeed salt drenched.
Reading this also reminded me I briefly drove your Honda that day we met in South Bend long ago.
Your description of cars a decade or older in age, with at or above 100k, sounds familiar.
It is hard to get money’s worth out of a brand new car, but I gave it a good try.
I recall feeling “wistful” when your Galaxie rode off into the sunset, Jason.
It’ll probably be the same way if Paul ever lets his F-100 go.
Certain vehicles sorta became “The Official Autos of CC” after a while.
JPC’s Fit was one of those cars.
Looking forward to COAL #31 JPC!
It’ll probably be the same way if Paul ever lets his F-100 go.
Over my dead body.
I just cleaned it up and put new tires on it yesterday, it’s first set of new tires ever since I bought it in 1987. I always found some decent used tires in the past. I’m becoming extravagant in my old age.
I’m planning to take it on a bit of a camping road trip; old school style with the camping gear in the bed. I’m thinking of driving out to the Alvord Desert in Eastern Oregon and see how fast it will go on the dry lake bed. We’ll have contest to guess what its top speed will be.
Was the spouse the impetus for a new car?
She was certainly becoming reluctant to invest further in it, but because it was my daily driver, she wasn’t the one having to live with its growing list of idiosyncrasies.
I feel honored to be reading about the first CC COAL subject car that I’ve actually ridden in. It seemed like it had plenty of life left in it (although obviously I didn’t have to live with its pesky old age foibles), so it’s good that it motors on.
I will also say that handing it over to relatives (for free) is a far sight better than simply having to release it into the great automotive unknown. Our Fit – a 2015 – is currently on it’s third hand-me-down-to-a-relative status. I still get to visit it, periodically give its original owner a ride in it, and in general keep tabs on it. And someday it could well wind up back here in the driveway.
Now…I eagerly await the rest of the story about the origin of #31.
I will admit that a part of me thought about keeping it just to see how long it would run before something major happened to it, but not enough to pay for a 3rd car on my insurance.
Hopefully, the Fit will provide it’s new owner with loyal service for years to come. I parted with my 98 Civic, after 15 years. Never deleted it from my Carfax maintenance log, so I know it is still running, in Ohio. Carfax isn’t reporting the mileage at service events. It had 110,000 when I sold it ten years ago
The unknown is, is that Civic still box stock, as it was when I sold it? Or has it gotten the treatment: stanced, suspension, Acura Integra engine retrofit, fart can exhaust?
There is always a risk in passing an old car off to someone who isn’t decent at diagnostics when something starts to go bad, but I’m convinced that this one will last awhile.
Well done good and faithful servant. Hopefully to have a 2nd act for a few years yet.
I think your new vehicle is a significant upgrade. I wonder if I’ll ever get to that point, currently running a fleet of 8-10 year old vehicles to keep kids and other family members moving, will I rid myself of 3 or 4 beaters and get one good vehicle?
When I was younger, it seemed silly to pay for a new car when,for similar money, you could have multiple old ones. But I have reached the age where twisting wrenches has less appeal than it once did. I suspect that you will get there too, eventually.
Our white 2001 Beetle stayed with us for 17 years, and like your Fit is still with one of our offspring, though in another state. But still our family name on the title after more than two decades. But these are all just teenagers compared to some of the cars CC’ers own. As for using one key to get in, and another in the ignition – sounds like the old days. We managed just fine. Now when I drive one of our cars that still has a key, I have to remember to take it out of my pocket before I sit down and buckle up. Can’t just push a button 😀. Looking forward to read about the new addition to your fleet. Oh, I just looked at the calendar. Interesting ..
I wouldn’t have minded the two-key thing except that modern keys are so bulky on a key ring. And actually, one reason I always preferred Fords and Mopars to GM cars in the old days was that the same key worked in both doors and ignition.
The longest run I’ve had with any (running, e.g. DD) car was with my ’00 New Beetle TDI, about 12-1/2 years and well over 200K miles. The high school kid who bought it drove it another 8-9 years before it “passed” (works at same company my son works, but I have yet to get him to find out the cause of death).
My ’68 F-100 was in the family about 42 years, but I only owned it the last ten.
JPC – you’ll of course remember my third-gen Fit, which I had intended to keep for the long term, at least until that fateful day I saw a yootoob video on the Chev SS sport sedan. The Fit/Jazz reminded me a lot of our former ’90 Civic three-door hatch.
Good Deal with you ’00 Beetle; I’m still in possession of an ’00 Golf I bought new. It’s got some issues; the power locks failed inside 2 doors and because of the problem window regulators (plus some laziness) I haven’t done anything to them. The original radio “works” but for some reason I can’t get the bass adjusted off maximum (I can move the treble). And it has that slow coolant leak off the side manifold on the engine (really should fix that). It’s had the shifter cables go bad but that didn’t strand me; I put the selector shaft on top of the transaxle into 2nd and slipped the clutch to get it home. It’s also my only car…I’ve only owned 5 cars since starting to drive in 1974. Probably makes people wonder why I consider myself a car enthusiast but I don’t have to own a car to appreciate it. My surviving youngest sister actually has an older car (’97 Nissan 240SX) she bought new.
One dealer TV commercial here trumpets the well used slogan “We don’t want to just sell you one car, we want to sell you cars for life. Well guess I could live into my 90s like my Mother, but if I keep to the same pattern I’ll be in my 90’s by the time I buy another car, so one car is likely to be my limit.. My Golf has hard to find features in today’s cars….cloth seats, manual transmission, and it’s a hatchback, so (other than automatic which I probably should get since no one in my family can drive my car) I have a hard time finding a replacement.
Congratulations on your Fit, despite your preference for large vehicles it seems like it fit your needs for quite a while.
As you have owned your Golf since new, I think it deserves to be profiled here as a My Curbside Classic.
I have 14 years on the Fit and only one minor repair so far, washer pump. We shall see how the next four years go. I do fear that (sort of) modern cars will eventually die to to electronic gremlins rather than mechanical failure. I use key in door locks occasionally and the remote button still works, with a battery replacement needed about a year ago.
I share your fear of modern electronics as they age. Maybe some day I will regret replacing a simple car like this one.
I have a car that is fully electronic, everey single function has a computer chip between the switch and the function, scary? nar, I has as previous model for 5 years and it was simple to keep on the road none of that stuff every went really wrong, A new MAF took ten days to arrive but the car drove in limp mode ok boost was limited but that was about all, I cant read French or Japanese, but at least French uses familiar symbols.
Even the Fit is an electronic marvel, from i-VTEC to throttle by wire plus electric power steering.
Yesterday, I spent $2100 on my 03 Crown Vic Sport. All the electrical harnesses and shorts had been worked out. The material wasn’t the biggest expense, it was finding all the shorts that the cruiser had worked around for the past few years. It was remarkable that it ran until the fuse to the transmission forced me into taking it to my garage mechanic.
Now that those items have been sorted out, it runs like I don’t remember it ever running before! Next on the list are new ball joints and I’d like to get rid of those death-knell vinyl manifolds Ford used and replace them with ones that won’t warp without notice.
Finally, the body is very clean, but we need to pull out the door pings, fix the wheel wells that are showing signs of bubbling under the Matador Red paint – then repaint it, sand it down, repaint it again, and give it clear coating – or somthing like that.
Why and I doing all this? I’m Baltic-German. I hate waste. It makes me ill to see awesome rides in junk yards. I understand that some vehicles are “disposable”, and weren’t meant to keep, however, waste like that seems evil sometimes. If anything, CC has caused me to hold nearer and dearer to the vehicles I personally own and it helps me appreciate their uniqueness. The CV Sport has become my vehicular representative and while it was at the shop last week, just about everyone I knew wanted to know where it was and asked when it will return.
Additionally it gets me into conversations. “Can I buy it?” “Want to sell it?” “WOW – I drove a squad car like that in Boston and just loved it.” After being a staple in fleets across the country, the once-common Ford CV Sport is becoming iconic. Yes, I will probably always want a 1941 Packard Clipper, but what I already own has become a caretaker’s responsibility as well. But I drive it daily.
My immediate family is no longer asking me when I will get rid of “that old car”. They have just resigned themselves to the fact that it is as much a part of the family as our home and cat. My teens prefer the other cars and are intimidated by how it works. A V8 engine, rear drive, and body-on-frame has become exotic in this century.
So I totally get it, JP. It isn’t too often that there is a car that fits you to the point that those around you immediately think of you when they see one on the road. When that happens, it is a good thing, so when you have to part ways, it is a milestone.
I don’t think I ever identified with the Fit in the way you do with your Vic, so the decision to move on was easier. And you sort of have what I consider the ultimate Crown Vic, so there’s plenty of reason to keep it. I am mostly over Panthers, but I still like yours a lot.
Having learned your taste in music from reading your blog, Jim, I’m surprised you didn’t retrofit the Fit with JDM Jazz badging. Maybe that would have made it a keeper.
It’s always good to know when to let go of a good thing, and you may well have timed this one perfectly. However, I can’t help but feel a tinge of sadness here.
First, I associate you, and your automotive stories, with this car. So now I’ll have to adjust.
Second, my Daily Driver is a similar era Honda with similar mileage. In my case it’s a 2010 Odyssey with 165,000 miles. It’s getting a bit rough around the edges, but still works well. And given the cost-of-living increases that we’ve all been pounded with over the past few years, I’m not inclined to give it up soon. However, I know that at some point “things will start happening.” They always do.
I’m a fan of these 2000s Hondas; I wonder if their newer equivalents will last quite so efficiently.
And I understand your urge to pet it and tell it that it was a good boy. When I sold my Contour SVT (a car I loved, and took my through a few life stages), I have it a pat on the trunk and said “Thanks.” It, too, was a good car.
Well, I can’t wait to see what comes next in your fleet!
There is a lot to love about old Hondas. I am hoping that there will be a lot to love about its replacement. 🙂
Interesting timing, as I’ve decided to keep my ’05 xB indefinitely. I just gave it a deep cleaning, and I’m trying to find a reputable shop that can install a KAAZ limited slip differential and also replace the clutch (and rear engine seal that is fouling the clutch). I love it, and just can’t imagine driving something else, and plan on taking it on more offroad trips, including one later this summer/fall.
It’s now 20 years old; can I keep it running another 20 years (If I last that long?) There’s several 40 year old Corollas still running around here, so maybe. It only has 127k miles on it now; I don’t drive it very much. The Promaster now gets the bulk of the miles driven these days.
But then maybe something will come along to entice me out of it.
I will confess to having thoughts in the past few years of finding a nice gen1 Fit from a western or Southern state and swapping my car’s best parts onto it, but I decided that I don’t really need that kind of project.
And only 127k? I think your plan is sound!
I know of one for sale right now fresh tranny goo and youd be away, its a Jazz but hey same car, postage might make it unattractive but you have the good transmission the JDM cars didnt, and RHD, you could be unique in your town JPC.
Plus, if he decides that the NEXT career is to become a mailman (or “Postal Carrier”…i.e. someone who delivers the mail to the end user versus from postal distribution center to postal distribution center), he’s all set.
I thought about the xB when I was reading about the Fit. On the one hand, I can see sense in parting with a car while one still has happy memories of it.
However, I can also appreciate the logic in spending a reasonable amount getting problems fixed and keeping it – all cars cost money, it’s just a question of whether it’s depreciation or maintenance.
One thing I hadn’t appreciated until I’d keep a car for a while was the convenience of ‘muscle memory’ – everything automatically falling to hand and knowing how much effort is required to operate the controls.
I recall moving to a new house and finding it surprisingly tiring having to think how everything worked, for a while.
Good CC!
JPC referenced a yellow F-100, presumably yours.
Well, on bringatrailer.com, there is a faded yellow 1965 F-100 six-cylinder engine, 3-on-the-tree, if you, or anyone is interested. You have a about 13 minutes.
I just saw and wanted to let you all know.
I checked that out; nice truck!
I bought two new vehicles in 2007, a V6 Mustang and a V6 F150. The Mustang has been handed down to my daughter who doesn’t put many miles on it. The biggest expense was a transmission rebuild a couple of years ago, 3,500.00. Probably more than half of what the car was worth, But my daughter said that she wanted to keep it, so I had it done. My F150 has been pretty good except for the a/c compressor that failed after it was out of warranty. It’s got 178,000 miles and I know that a transmission rebuild is in it’s future. But I will do it because I plan to keep the truck indefinitely.
Expensive repairs are fine, PROVIDED that you keep the vehicle long enough to amortize the cost. The time to decide whether to keep it or get rid of it has to be made before the investment is made. I’ve known lots of people who pay for expensive repairs and then sell the vehicle a few months later. I’ll bet your Fit would continue to serve you for a few more years, but it sounds like you made the right choice.
I am usually ready to make periodic investments in a longtime vehicle, but sometimes you hit a point where “that one big repair” only holds you until the next one a couple of months later. I didn’t think this car was at that point, but circumstances moved quickly and, well, the poor Honda found itself without a place in the driveway when the music stopped.
Congrats on knowing when to “cut bait”.
I am currently teetering on the same car path. My 2015 Fusion, purchased used just before the ’17 Detroit CC Meetup, is about to turn over 190,000 miles. It has been amazingly reliable, and you would never guess the mileage to look at it or drive it. Part of me wants to drive it until the wheels fall off, but for practical reasons I’m not going to do that. So…I’m shopping.
Excited to see what your replacement is.
As I have gotten older I have become less and less interested in dealing with breakdowns and unexpected expenses. And I suspect that trend will continue, so cutting bait becomes necessary at some point.
We had a 1985 Honda Civic Wagon for 15 years. It was the spiritual predecessor of the Fit. About the same size and very practical, if a bit more square. It was a wonderful car and had few major expenses. The tailgate did rust to the extent that the wiper almost fell out, but a replacement was inexpensive. The body shop guy said that the price was an unofficial warranty. The only other significant rust was at the bottom of the spare tire well at the back. Easy to fix with no concern about the cosmetics. We also passed this on as a gift, to a nephew who was in need of transportation. It lasted him a couple of years. There is a benefit to not having any electronics or power anything.
I missed a chance to buy a couple of those square Civic wagons. I agree that the Fit was an updated version of that car.
When I started dating the women who became my wife, she was driving a used ’79 Honda Prelude. Very sharp car and fun to drive. After we were married we bought a new Civic EX in ’94 to replace the Prelude, then later a new ’98 Accord. We eventually traded the Civic in for a new CRV in 2002 and we eventually gave the Accord to our son when he went off to college and bought ourselves a used 2012 CrossTour. Our favorite, by far, was the CRV. It had 235,000 miles on it when the cost for a repair was way more than it was worth. We sold it to someone who helped us move to a new house. He and his dad were going to do the wrenching themselves. My wife cried when it left our driveway, We have many fond Honda memories.
For a long time, Hondas had a way of worming their ways into owners’ hearts. It is unfortunate that I no longer feel that way about them, but there is really nothing in their current lineup that appealed to me.
Trudat – though mine are all criminally under-used, I’d be loathe to part with them.
I rather like the new Civic (with its clever “electric gearbox” and old-skool driving charm) but the electrickery is terrifying for a long-term perspective. And I’d miss the SH-AWD.
But everything prior to that has left me cold.
I test drove a first-generation Fit and also recall the terrific steering, slick shifter, and amazing space utilization. The car still seemed a bit too dinky for me. I eventually wound up buying a new 2007 VW Rabbit, the best car I ever owned. It replaced a 1989 Mercury Tracer (a.k.a. Mazda 323) I also owned for 18 years because it just kept on working with nothing but routine maintenance (and a few new CV joints which it liked to eat). Body and interior looked like new when I got rid of it. In retrospect, I wish I replaced it sooner, or kept on buying used cars every few years just to experience all the cool cars of the late ’70s through early ’90s I missed out on.
The Fit was only dinky on the outside. I found it amazingly roomy inside, and its ability to swallow cargo was amazing. I will confess that front legroom was probably the biggest interior shortcoming.
No argument there – the Fit seems magically bigger on the inside than out, something even more true of its later generations. I don’t know why looking tiny on the outside bothered me at the time.
My VW luving mate has one of these Jazz/Fit Hondas it belongs to a daughter who went overseas and left her car, every 6 months it requires a bottle of trans rebuild to keep it driving, my mate hates it but with two dead air cooled VVWs he is stuck with driving it, These cars are very cheap to buy here especially with the trans design fault on the JDM Jazz versions,But the goo fixes it, available at the dealer.
That is interesting about the transmission – does his version still use the Honda automatic 5 speed? That one had a good rep here. Newer ones switched to a CVT, a design to which I have never warmed.
First and second generation, at least in North America, had conventional automatic with paddle shifters. CVT came on third gen. Honda’s early CVT on Civic had issues. My brother had two replacements under warranty and sold it before warranty ran out.
Probably CVT. In Australia, the only auto was always that. I drove one years ago – no warmth for me either.
“I went from constantly seeking new experiences to forging longer and longer relationships with my cars, often keeping them longer than was prudent.”
No truer words could be said. I grow insanely attached to my cars…maybe it’s the many miles and adventures and comfort of the familiar. Just this March I took pictures of the Outback at its last bike outing, last day at my work, etc, before it transitioned to its new role as our vacation car back home. There it replaced my beloved Trooper, which served in the vacation role for 11 years. I had big plans for the Trooper (which mechanically and cosmetically was in pretty good shape) – wanted to rebuild it and electrify it as a hobby car. But alas a roof leak condemned it to too far gone (things growing inside, ghost electrical issues). I donated it to the local HS mechanic program as a training vehicle. Perhaps they tore it down, repaired its ailments, and got it back on the road. Or maybe they parted it out. Not sure I want to know.
Yes, the fate of a beloved old car once it is tossed into the cold, cold world is something that is probably best not to know.
I had a 2006 Pilot from new for ten years, ultimately putting 170k miles on it before reluctantly selling it to Carmax when we no longer needed a fourth car after my daughter graduated college and moved to NYC. So I too am a big believer in the essential goodness of Hondas of the mid-2000s.
Though I’ve never owned a Fit, I’ve always been a huge fan of its space efficiency and razor-sharp handling. I remember the clerk at the National lot at the Orlando airport apologizing profusely when handing me the keys to a Fit, explaining that nothing else was left on the lot. I had a ball driving it all over Central Florida and other than a loud drone above 65 mph on I-4, had no complaints.
I too associate this car with you, JPC, and will sorely miss reading about your ownership adventures with it. I can’t wait to see what you’ve replaced it with!
It is hard to describe how fun the early Fit can be to drive unless you have experienced it. And I agree that the interstate highway was not really its best element. It really needed one more gear once you got over 60 mph.
Our daughter with our 23 year old Beetle, who I mentioned in a comment above, has been looking for a certain more practical car, Japanese, later versions of which have become perhaps the world’s best selling car. But she wants an older, AWD version with manual transmission. Quite a unicorn. But this morning I found one on CL, 700 miles from our house but only about a mile from her. So I sent her the link, and she replied that it’s tempting, but she’s decided to “drive the Bug to its grave”. That may be a while.
For those of us that live in harsh climates, the reality is that long term daily drivers can be a tough go. You did really well on that little Honda. These small cars were never my thing, but at the same time, I do actually enjoy driving them. The Fit is a great drivers car, and a perfect commuter car. I am curious as to what you replaced it with, as it will have big shoes to fill despite it’s small size!
Keeping your ’07 until ’24 was pretty good. I moved on from my ’08 Tundra almost a year ago. Like you, I really loved my truck, and still enjoyed it as much as the day I bought it. But I knew based on the age, mileage and the eventual losing battle to rust, it was time to move on. I really don’t like the overly complex new cars, but it is tough to keep an old vehicle as a year round driver in any area that has harsh climates and uses lots of road salt. I always said if I lived in California, I’d be driving a 40 year old truck as a daily driver, but here I’d be lucky to get 5 winters out of a truck that old. At least I can use my old cars as semi drivers in the summer.
Yes, the rust will eventually kill most everything where roads get salted, and it is much worse where you are.
After thinking about it, I never really made peace with driving a beater. The visible rust on a white car was irritating to me, and it was getting close to peeking out of the bottoms of the rear doors. And then I knew the day would come when the mechanic would refuse to lift it on his rack.
If I recall, this car was your first modern foray into economy as the prime directive after having kids.
As with all of us, an 18 year window since your purchase means needs and goals for your new ride have likely changed. Something fancy with an eye to this being your retirement car? All out economy again to facilitate a retirement budget? Something that may become a single do it all vehicle if you and your wife consolidate to one car somewhere down the road?
In the last 5 or so years of my father’s life, he and his wife consolidated to one car. I got a taste of that today. While my name remains on the title of 4 cars (down from 6), most spend minimal time at my house, and with one in the shop, my wife drove my truck to work. I work from home, and my truck rarely leaves the garage on weekdays, proof that one vehicle can be viable, and will become more so over time.
Personally, I’m kinda hoping for a fuselage Chrysler to appear in your driveway. Inquiring minds want to know!
“Personally, I’m kinda hoping for a fuselage Chrysler to appear in your driveway. Inquiring minds want to know!”
I am not sure how to respond to this. When the follow-up installment comes shortly, you will understand why. 🙂
Hmmm.
My comment was arbitrary, but I know you’ve never had a fuselage, and now I realize this post is above a fuselage Newport post.
There should be a guess JPC’s new car poll. I’ll put in Adam Wade’s (Youtube’s Rare Classic Cars) 1972 Chrysler New Yorker.
Dave is correct, this could be a good QOTD…WDJPC buy?
Great story, and very sorry to see a highly faithful friend for you, say its final goodbye. So reaffirming, when something in our lives, proves to be so reliable, and trustworthy.
I had a similar very positive experience with a four door electric blue 1991 Dodge Shadow, bought new on December 24th, 1990. I maintained it well, and it lasted me for over two decades. As other cars came and went. Late stage K-car derivatives were sound automotive purchases. Like buying a modern Valiant or Dart. Many years later, I still remember that new car smell, that lasted for several years. I’ve always said, with commitment from a dedicated owner, most any car can last decades. If you know how to take good care of it. And certainly, don’t abuse, or neglect it.
Thank you for being to Paul’s CC blog, what the Fit was to you. And unwavering source of support and trust. You helped make Paul’s site very special, with all of your consistent faithful support, and contributions.
Awww, thank you!
In retrospect, I should have gotten some kind of periodic rustproofing treatment (that might have held off the ugly brown stuff) and done a better job of staying ahead of the non-clearcoat white paint (which I did not understand was on my car until I had let it go too long). But aside from that, I have few regrets about this car.
Had my ’66 C2 Corvette for 27 years – does that count? The ’63 is still wwith me after 22 years, with no plans to get rid of it (though my wife may decide she needs a new kitchen). But then I’ve had one of my bkes since 1991 and another since ’98, so I guess I’m just loyal (and poor). I can see me keeping the Ghia for the forseeable too – hope my son will want to look after it when I’m gone…
Incidentally, my mother had a Fit (Jazz in the UK) as her last car – great package, although I didn’t find it as much fun to drive as my 6 speed Diesel Toyota IQ.
The mark of a well designed product is that it keeps on being useful and giving pleasure long after the initial excitement wears off.
I think a Corvette would be easier to keep over the long haul than most other cars. 🙂
Only three more years and you could have hit 20. I hit 20 in my Focus over President’s weekend 2024. I guess it wasn’t in the cards for you personally but it does seem as though the car, itself, will live on, as the heart sounds good.
I actually thought about keeping the Fit and getting rid of the Sedona, but the Sedona is in far better condition, has fewer miles and brand new tires. If not for some external circumstances, I could have waited.
I’m looking forward to hearing more about your new-to-you ’72 Fury III, Oh, oops, did I accidentally spill the beans? The edit function stopped working again!
The Fit had a very good run with you, they do tend to last but i figure that over 17 years they generally do not stay with their original owner so that likely helped it although signs of age to tend to sprout, you and I may both have one or two gray hairs that weren’t there 17 years ago too…
It had a very good run with you, now it can go and impress someone else!
In an example of an ironclad rule of life, right after I bought the Fit’s replacement, a mutual friend sent me a link to an attractive 68 Newport Custom at a price hard to ignore. It’s probably for the best. Like us, it’s not as young as it used to be. At least I chose a reasonable substitute. 🙂
I can add myself as another member of situations like this. My ’05 Chevrolet Astro quit on me back in March when an electrical short took out the ECM and who knows what else under the hood that prevented being able to restart it. With it having 286,241 miles (verified by the odometer during an attempted jump-start), a leaking & potentially failing power steering pump, and an already long list of bills from previous repairs, I felt like I had put enough money into it to keep it running for as long as it did. For its age & condition when I bought it 5 years ago (it would be 6 this December), it did very well: it towed a car trailer with my 2011 Ranger on it (it had a brake controller already installed so that helped a lot) and managed to get me to Edisto Beach & back home 5 times in a row! And the body was still in good shape when I let it go just last month, but I think the van was in a sense telling me it was finally time to move on to a more modern ride. Oddly enough, there are STILL other Astros & Safaris on the road; just a few days ago I even saw one the same color as mine but in noticeably much better shape!
In a similar fashion to what Paul Niedermeyer did with his ’77 Chinook camper and its replacement (the 2017 ProMaster), I took a picture of the Astro with my new van (a 2016 Ford Transit Connect) before the wrecker hauled it away a few weeks later. As with my previous van (the ’96 Aerostar) I saved everything I could from it that I could still use & now have most of the stuff installed on the new van. I’m also selling the car trailer because it was time-consuming to set up for the Astro to tow properly (weight distribution) and I never got to use it all that often anyway; somebody else with an F-350 or something could get better use out of it now. For the time being I have no interest in any more project vehicles or gas guzzlers, although the Astro managed to eke out 21 mpg on Edisto trips. The Ranger is still my daily driver and has been dead-reliable (and good on gas) since I bought it in February 2018; it now has over 190k miles and my dad’s ’08 has even MORE than that!
I know all about the problems with modern car keys now, too. Initially I was given just ONE key to the Transit Connect, the one where the fob & key are a single unit. I went to ACE Hardware to get just a plain copy made–it could lock & unlock the van but NOT start it! Thankfully, the dealer I bought the van from (with my help by looking back at one of the listing pictures showing TWO keys) was able to locate the other “real” key & send it to me in the mail; that saved me $200 on a proper replacement. Besides this & a leak in the washer fluid tank, the van hasn’t had any other apparent issues so far and I’m quite satisfied with it. I can’t wait to take it out for my next Edisto trip!
The Astro’s odometer when I tried to boost it off–notice there’s no longer a red “indicator” to show which gear the transmission is in (there should have been a square around the “P”). And it really DID go that many miles! The ECM got replaced but was likely only the tip of the iceberg with what got messed up from the electrical short–I didn’t want to take any more chances with it.
The Transit Connect still has under 90k miles & isn’t my regular work vehicle so I feel it can be trusted for at least another decade. 🙂
Looking forward to see what replaced your Honda Fit. I looked at your blog, but find no info there yet. A big advantage of giving the car to one of your children is that you’ll still see it around and will be able to advise on maintenance and repair. We did the same with our 2004 Camry, selling it to our younger son in 2015; he kept it until 2021, by which time it had accumulated almost 214,000 miles. Then I sold it on eBay to a woman in Georgia and presumably is still giving her great service.
Now with several hints having been dropped, I’m wondering if the replacement is a new or nearly so Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, or even a Challenger as Aaron65 recently purchased.
The answer will be along soon!
And so, misty-eyed, the purposeful Fit fades into the Midwest sunset – albeit to an intimate horizon just a mile away – no longer fit for purpose (despite being fit), suitably re-purposed to fit the purposes of those who fit in it now. Sic transit gloria.
I too like the passing glory of 2000’s Hondas, in my case, the (skinny, 4-cyl, not-in-NA) 2004 Odyssey, which we took from 110k mi to 210K mi before it passed along with the kangaroo who didn’t. It had more failures along that way than yours, but it’s an inherently harder-worked outfit as a people shifter, and hadn’t been much loved before us either, yet as a dynamically excellent and super-useful design, I really quite loved it.
I drove some new Fits in about ’07, a 1.3 manual and a 1.5 CVT, both excellent (though I couldn’t stand the elasto-matic, but I suspect that CVT-hate is probably mostly confined to car nuts, for normies, it’s just an auto and whaddya complaining about). I liked the idea of someone bothering to make something new in small car thinking. I didn’t think it handled quite as well as yourself or others here – not compared to, say, the larger Focus or Astra – but it was still very good. I suspect if I had bought it, I’d still be driving it, for its sheer utility if nothing else.
I look forward to your next announcement, which, frankly, could be anything from an F-250 dually to a unicycle, given your history of cars and career left-turns.
I don’t think the CVT was offered in the US until the 2nd (or maybe 3rd?) generation. I really liked the 5 speed automatic (for an automatic).
Congrats, Jim on the new (or new to you) car! I’m waiting somewhat anxiously to see what it could be. 17+ years with anything (or anyone) is nothing to sneeze at.
Coincidentally, I’m celebrating (in a way) 15 years of the Pontiac G6 this week. This is the longest I’ve ever owned a car bought from new. I should probably write that up one of these days. Now, our once mighty steed is living out it’s final years with us as a beater of sorts, mostly just the third car.
As for the Fit, give that good boy a pat on the head the next time you see him.
I did indeed give it a pat on the roof a couple of days ago! 🙂
I saw my first G6 in ages recently. Congrats on the long service you have gotten out of your Poncho.
I’ll conceded the car ownership crown, the longest we’ve managed is is 15 years, twice. On the other hand I have had a motorcycle since 1990 so I’ve owned a vehicle for 24 years.
I’ve always liked the Honda Fit and may have to shop for one sice it’s literally a better fit for my 5’1″ wife who complains about visibility in our Mazda CX-5