Hello from the States

[guest3297]

Hello Jazz owners,

Just checking in. I currently own a 2007 US spec Honda Fit CVT. My wife and I have loved the car since the day we bought it.

We are moving to the UK in January 2013 and are selling our vehicles prior to coming over.

We are bothing thinking about buying new or slightly used Jazz UK spec.

Any suggestions from members where to purchase a Jazz in the Suffolk area?

I do most of the maintenance on the Fit, not that it needs much done. Are there any things I should watch out for when buying a  new or slightly used Jazz?

Thanks,
Clayton

[guest3161]

Welcome along buddy!

I would say avoid buying one from a dealer, the best bet is to buy one privately....you'll get a far better deal.
Pretty much all of the jazz's are well looked after as they are very popular with the oldies

The best place's to look would be autotrader, gumtree, friday ad and of course ebay.

[Rory]

You'll need to get a fairly new one to get a CVT - in Europe Honda fitted an automated manual box to the current Jazz for the first couple of years of its life, and it wasn't well liked so they switched back to CVT.

I think the US has a 1.5 engine, we only have a '1.4' (which is actually only 1339 cc's).  You may be surprised by how high the prices are here, but they do include sales tax.

I note the earlier posters comments, but buying privately in the UK isn't for the feint hearted.  I don't imagine there's too many nearly-new Jazz for sale either.

[guest3297]

Thanks for the responses!

Yeah, we have the 1.5Liter here in the states. I usually can only get 30-35mpg now matter how "hard" or "nicely" I drive it.

I've been looking at Jazzes on line and the high prices don't surprise me that much, it is the UK after all. From what I understand, most everything is more expensive.

As far as the CVT is concerned, I prefer a manual (which, I understand is the standard in the UK) over the automatic. A manual Fit here it the states is difficult to find, especially in the Sport trim.

Where to buy is a difficult decision for me. Just like here in the states, the dealership can ask very high prices, but it usually give the buyer "piece-of-mind" because they'll stand behind the car most of the time. On the other hand, buying from an individual can be risky business. Here in the states, individuals can rip off a potential buyer pretty easy. We call those kind of cars "lemons".

Keep the info coming, thanks!

[Garyman]

Hello and welcome.

There are some pretty good deals at dealerships if you look carefully or know where to look.

Agreed on your comment that buying from dealer although slightly more expensive, it does give you that peace of mind should anything happen to it within x months.

I'm surprised about your comment on only getting 30-35mpg- I thought I was the only one doing that 

[guest3161]

Im surprised with the MPG too, im getting 47-48 with my GD no matter how i drive it.

[culzean]

The US Gallon is only 3.8 litres compared with our 4.56 litres - so straight away the 47 mpg in UK comes down to about 38 mpg in USA just because of that difference.

[guest2765]

for buying one, depends if you want the horrors that come with private sales or the prices with dealerships, but if buying from a dealership try to avoid honda and other manufacturer dealerships and go with ones that deal only with second hand cars (9 times out of 10 they are a lot more reasonably priced). things to watch out for on a newish one? id recon same as to watch out for with a Fit. mines had a problem with the brake fluid pipes and exhaust, but i recon that was poor workmanship from the dealership mines was bought from. Maybe get under the car make sure none of the CV boots are leaking, that does cause an MOT failure after all.

[guest3297]

Bringing this back from the dead.

We got in the UK one week ago and I've started searching for new cars. I've found a 2007 Jazz Sport manual (yeah) 1.4 I-DSI with 59,000 miles for 4795GBP

and

a 2010 Honda Jazz 1.4 I-VTEC ES 5DR I-SHIFT with 43,000 miles for 6495GBP. It was a lease.

Both cars come with MOT for almost a year and HPI check is clear.

Road tax on these seems pretty low.

Two questions.

1. Do these seem like fair prices?

2. Does the price include VAT or is that added on afterwards (the whole VAT thing is very confusing)?

Thanks for the advice/help in advance.

BTW - your country seems pretty damn cool!

Clayton

[monkeydave]

top one is over priced and i would stick to manual

[Downsizer]

As you've probably found out by now, the dominant dealer in Suffolk is the John Banks group, with 3 branches.  I bought my GE 1.4ES manual new from them in 2008 and have had good service.  They sell a lot of Jazz's and Civics in this area and most people seem satisfied with them as dealers.  Incidentally, Honda sent me a valentine card, which I could redeem fro £15 M&S vouchers by going to the dealership;  I have just done so and was surprised to find there was no catch - I fully expected to have to put up with a salesman wanting to value my car and give me a quote for a new one, but I was in and out inside two minutes!  Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch (mind you, I paid the full new price for the car in October 2008, when it was one of the first GE's sold)?

[olduser1]

Avoid the i-shift , just look at the comments on this forum.
I would set your budget then try for the youngest Jazz with CVT box must have service history rather than buying on mileage. If buying from a dealer you are protected by law, so you can squeeze the £ right up and till you sign the invoice.
Its a buyers market in the UK, plenty of clean cars around when the new Reg comes out in March, lets know how you get on.

[guest2662]

nothing wrong with the i shift, the people who criticize them just don't know how to drive them i have had 2 by choice great gearbox, but then i know how to drive them. 

[guest516]

I agree -nothing wrong with the i-shift
Just learn how to drive to get the best out of it
Fast gear changes using paddles
Constant true mpg 46 winter 28 summer
Motorway running 50 plus
What more could you ask for??
oui-oui