I want a new car that gets better gas mileage ! (2009, auto)

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

I currently drive an Expedition, its my Green Machine, I love that truck. She has been through alot with me but she is 8 years old now, she only as 81,000 miles on her BUT the gas mileage is KILLING me.

I am thinking of the Honda Fit, I like the fact it has 4 doors AND the hatchback. Easy loading of things like groceries. I am the kind that prefer to go only once or twice in a month and buy ALOT of stuff all at once. The four doors will be easier for carrying around my daughter and her friends.

I also looked at the Toyota Yaris but it only has two doors. I prefer the four door option. Are there other cars out there that are something similar to the Honda Fit that gets the same kind of gas mileage that you guys are familiar with?

I was also checking on the website, what is up with the prices there. Can you expect to pay anything close to that or can you expect to pay MORE or less.

What kind of impact on resale does the color have? I really like the oddest color, the orange one but I should imagine that might not be so popular, I should probably get something less out of the ordinary.

[trlhiker]

Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, Mazda 3, Toyota Matrix, Volkswagon Rabbit, Scion xD, all are similar but different. Check out Consumer reports for road tests. By the way, never pay retail, you can always get some money off. If not walk away. I would omagine that the color does have an effect on resale. I would never buy an odd flashy color. But thats me.

[Deez Nuttz]

Red cars sell better, and you might want to hurry if you're going to sell your SUV, they're getting to be not in high demand with gas being out of control

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

OH I know, I probably won't get much for my truck.

I had thought the red choice would be better and I will def. check out Consumer Reports on what they say.

AND as for the price, I have a friend whose husband used to be a colonel in the military, I figure if I pay him for his time, I will send him in to do the negotiating FOR me. I HATE car salesmens approach. They just annoy me NO end and I don't have the patience for them.

I had been thinking I would be more likely to get a better price for trading in my truck but what do you guys think? Given its size, I can't imagine many people wanting it.

Do you think I would be better off trying to sell it on my own or trading it in. I have my financing in place so I don't have to worry about getting them to finance anything for me.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

My wife has driven Toyota Corolla for the last 27 years (4 of them). She consistently gets 42 MPG at 60 MPH and about 33 MPG around town (drives a 5-speed, but the auto gets about 2 MPG less). You get 4 doors, good acceleration and a fairly quiet ride for a small car.

[Bostonredsock5]

I think what you should think about is how much your monthly car payment is going to be vs how much you pay to fill up every month.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

Originally Posted by Bostonredsock5

I think what you should think about is how much your monthly car payment is going to be vs how much you pay to fill up every month.

I won't have a car payment, I am going to purchase it with cash AND I don't have a car payment on the car I have now either.

I have been doing some reading about the Nissan Versa and I like what I see and the price is inline with the Honda Fit. I guess the next thing I need to do is to go around and collect the brochures on them and do a test drive. Ultimately the deciding factor might be who is willing to negotiate on the price the most AND give me the best deal on my gas guzzler truck.

AND as a point of reference, it costs approximately $90 to fill up my truck and that gets me approximately 350-400 miles depending on how much is highway and how much is around town. Once I am driving back and forth to school, thats going to add up HUGE.

[nico7]

Are you sure you want something as small as a Fit? Corolla or Civic will give you more room and almost as good gas mileage. Have you test driven something as small as the Fit? It will be a drastic change from your Expedition.

The best way to negotiate a car sale for a NEW car is to make the salesperson show you their invoice price. Then ask if there are any factory incentives, and subtract those from the dealer invoice. For a car in the $15-20k range you can start negotiations by adding $250 to that price (invoice with incentives applied). They may talk you up, but if you're paying $400 above, you still get a pretty good deal and it's fair to the salesperson. All of that info applies to a Ford dealership, anyhow.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

Best Cars 2007 - Consumer Reports - Honda Fit (1) - CNNMoney.com

This is from 2007. They did a similar report with this class of car in 2006 and found the Honda Fit was the better of the cars. At the time it came standard with ABS while some of the others had it as an option. Having been in an accident years ago where ABS might have saved me alot of pain and suffering, I feel I really need that. It was back before even air bags, my sternum got broken from me striking the steering wheel. YES I was wearing a seatbelt but on the second roll over the seat belt had released enough that I hit it anyway.

The Versa came in second with very little differences and only a few miles less per gallon, The Versa is a 6 speed which is unusual in this class of car to say the least.

Economy Car Testing - ROAD & TRAVEL Magazine

Another article I found about the 2007 testing done.

Apparently the Honda Fit isn't as big inside as the Versa from what I am reading but since the Versa doesn't come standard with the ABS and some articles are saying its hard to find, that will be a factor.

Thanks for the help guys. Does anyone out there actually drive one of these cars??

[f_m]

The 2009 Fit is a new model:
First Drive: 2009 Honda Fit

That will mean closeouts for any existing of the current version. Of course you may not be able to wait, or you might find yourself wanting this new one instead.