For those who didn't read about it in our
cheap 35 MPG highway beater megathread, I bought this 2008 Honda Fit 5-speed a week or so ago:
This will be my Winter Beater 2021/22.
I'm going to pick it up this weekend... and that will be the first time I've laid eyes on it, never mind driven it!
I've never bought a car in a different city via email and e-transfer of funds before.
It's only mildly alarming though -- I'm getting it from friends who have a used car dealership, and they've been using it as their personal car for a month or so. They tell me it's a fine little beater that was traded in at the local Honda dealer [they get many of their used cars from the new car dealers].
Normally they would invest some time & money to recondition and put it up for sale on their own car lot, but this one's got a number of strikes against it, not least of which is...
HondaRust [TM] !
That's strike one.
Strikes 2 through 4 are:
- AC doesn't work [don't care]
- 255k kms = 158k miles is getting up there
- Manual transmission [nobody wants those these days]
Annnnnnnd... yer out!
On the plus side, the Carproof shows no accidents, and the last owner seems to have been on a 5000 km oil change schedule right up to 250k kms. It also comes with 2 sets of wheels & tires, winter & summer flavour. The winters are supposedly in OK condition. Not sure about the summers. Oh, and a full set of Weathertech style winter floor mats. So maybe the carpet isn't ruined.
Anyway, I will find out much more on Saturday morning. It's not far - about a 400 km round trip. Wish me luck!