Considering Buying a Honda Jazz with a petrol engine and a manual geabox

[Andrewmvp]

Hello everyone,

I hope you're all doing well.

I've decided to buy a Honda Jazz with either a 1.2 or 1.4 petrol engine, but I'm not sure which one would be better, paired with a manual gearbox, and I'm looking to spend a maximum of £4000.

I have a couple of questions:

I'm unsure if the catalytic converter is located near the engine in an easily accessible place for thieves to cut it easily. Perhaps someone here knows exactly where the CAT is located.

How is the clutch? And for those who have had to change it, at approximately how many miles did you need to do so?

Are the engines reliable? I've heard that Toyota Yaris petrol engines can suffer from the "soft piston rings syndrome," leading to frequent oil top-ups. I hope this isn't the case with Honda petrol engines.

The car will have a timing chain, and if I perform 8,000-mile oil changes and use good-quality oils, I expect the engine to last a long time.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Have a lovely day.

Kind regards,

Andrew

[Westy36]

Welcome to the forum Andrew. 

To answer your questions:

The 1.4 has more go than the 1.2. Also easier to find on the market, so I would choose that.

The auto gearbox provided serviced correctly is reliable. However, the manual I would suggest would be the more trouble free of the two.

The cat is up in the engine bay, and thefts have not been reported on the forum. Sadly, it is the MK1 that has the cat in a prone position, and thefts do occur.

Clutch? Well, buying a used car the life of the clutch will depend on its previous use. However, my car has 135k on the clock and is on the original clutch and exhaust.

You're on the money with regular oil changes and the timing chain. My Jazz has always had regular servicing, Honda for the first 8 stamps. In my ownership, it averages out at around every 7 or 8k miles mostly diy servicing. Cheap and easy to change too. At the moment I'm using Castrol 5w30 A5/B5 magnatec oil, in a Ford branded bottle. But little Jazz has had Comma oil and others in the past. The grade is more important that the brand imho. The timing chain makes no noise and is not an issue that comes up on the forum.

I've done >50k in under 4yrs in my car, and it hasn't missed a beat. It's only needed servicing per schedule, together with tyres and brakes as any car would.

It's a fine choice. Only drawback in my opinion is interior noise above 60mph on long journeys.

If you want to read up, manual is here: https://hondafitjazz.com/manual3/index.html

HTH
 

[Andrewmvp]

Thank you so much for your reply.

I have been working for the Honda F1 Team in MK until they decided to pull out of F1.

I am a fan of Japanese cars in general.

I am not a big fan of CVT gearboxes because if the maintenance is not done properly, as a second-hand buyer, you risk a failure. Also, reconditioning a CVT gearbox is really expensive.

I am aware that the Jazz's fuel consumption is not good compared to a Toyota Yaris. However, I prefer having more space in a car because I am a tall guy with big feet. I tried to test drive a Toyota Yaris, and I can say that the small car was not designed for tall people with big feet.

All in all, I will definitely buy a Honda Jazz with a manual gearbox, with a full service history, and I will make frequent oil changes at home every 6k with good quality oil like Shell Helix Ultra A5/B5 0W-30 or 5W-30.

Have a lovely day.

Kind regards,

Andrew

[Marco1979]

The Mk2 is a great choice. It is much larger inside than a Yaris and is more engaging to drive.

I owned a 1.2 for four years and drove it from 0 to 100k kilometers with an average consumption of 59 mpg (4.8 l/100km). The 1.2 versions are more basic than most 1.4 versions, but I did not mind. I actually liked the manual aircon; easy to switch on and off and the latter saves quite a bit of fuel.

Only time I missed the 1.4 was while driving on the German Autobahn with 4 people and luggage. Then it was underpowered. It felt quit nippy when driving alone.

Enjoy!

[olduser1]

Why not drive a couple over familiar roads, there are 100s out there. Always use vehicle score or similar as 7 out of 10 cars have a story. Avoid cat S or N insurance vehicle.
It's all about condition of the car do you recognise the tyre make has the car got damp boot or carpets etc.
Good luck

[madasafish]

Watch for rust around the rear petrol filler cap...Mud builds up above the pipe and....

[GBH]

Watch for rust around the rear petrol filler cap...Mud builds up above the pipe and....

Is there an easy way to check and see if there is mud build-up (and clean it out) before it becomes a problem?

[dayjavoo]

I sought out a manual shift when choosing my pre-owned 1.3 Mk 3, although I had read that the CVT transmission has a slightly better fuel consumption.  On first acquaintance, I felt as though I was paddling the car along with the gear shift in order to make progress.  However, that said, the 6-speed gearbox is smooth and a joy to use and I am well pleased with a petrol consumption approaching 60 mpg when cruising on the motorway.

[madasafish]

Watch for rust around the rear petrol filler cap...Mud builds up above the pipe and....

Is there an easy way to check and see if there is mud build-up (and clean it out) before it becomes a problem?

Easiest way is to jack up car at rear (no need to remove wheel ), take gloved hand and feel for mud on top of the box section holding the filler pipe/filler assembly. This is is a grovel job on your knees so a kneeling pad and a light help. A jetwash will help but if the corrosion is bad, you may end up making holes....

I use a jetwash, then an ordinary hose, let it dry and smothered it all in wax oslution to keep it dry.

[Lord Voltermore]

Easiest way is to jack up car at rear (no need to remove wheel ), take gloved hand and feel for mud on top of the box section holding the filler pipe/filler assembly. This is is a grovel job on your knees so a kneeling pad and a light help. A jetwash will help but if the corrosion is bad, you may end up making holes....

I use a jetwash, then an ordinary hose, let it dry and smothered it all in wax oslution to keep it dry.

If anyone doubts their physical ability to do the initial checks  , you could try poking a smartphone in and taking some random flash photos, or even a video.  I cant guarantee success but you might  get lucky with a revealing shot in good focus  . This evidence might also help you find a willing  child to send up the chimney