Possibly doing the unthinkable. Would like your input
 

Long story short, I'm running out of time to tinker with my car. Sure, I've done all of the hard stuff, and selling it now would be a bit of ridiculous timing, but the other week when the car just died was really just too much for me.

As I mentioned in another message, and as I've told a few of you in private, I will be needing a dependable "family" car sometime soon. Not only that, but I might be driving a LOT more for work in the next few weeks. The days of basement working might be over.

So I'm debating a few things.

I could sell my civic and use the money as a down payment for a Honda Fit. They're pretty cute :)

I could keep working on my civic and eventually have a nervous breakdown when it keeps having issues.

I could keep the civic and cross my fingers.

Would love input from clear minded people. Right now the money invested in the civic is no an issue, as I can not get the money back (not all of it, anyway).

civic/fit
 

I remember you saying that you were scared to even drive your civic out of town. To me this does not make any sense to try and go on a long haul like you plan on doing. So maybe you should look into buying a newer car. When I went to the dealership to buy a Fit Sport, they marked up the price to 19,500...To me that is a little much when you consider the starting price of around 14000 for a plain Fit. How long do you want to be paying off the Fit if you buy it?

I could probably get between 2000 and 3000 for the civic. I'm certain that the right person could drive it across the country without a problem, but I'm just a bit too paranoid right now. I would put that money down, and finance for 5 years. I could most likely get it paid off within 1-2 years.

I test drove the fit
 

I took the Fit for a test, and honestly, I can't say anything bad about the vehicle. It is the master of purpose. You can't find a car that gets better gas mileage than that and store something that is almost 8 feet long. (7'10'') The car is ingenious and I wish it would have came over here sooner so we wouldn't have to buy it new.

The throttle response is instant, it gets up to speed smoothly, and it turns like a champ. I will say the gearing is a bit short though.

peace of mind
 

Ba new car will give you the chance to settle down. I mean, do you really need two cars to work on at the same time? When you get rid of the civic, you can spend more time on the N600 if you choose. Since you aren't afraid of the price of the Fit, then I would say...THE FIT IS GO! :p

I agree. Reliability and peace of mind are worth a lot. My wifes ride left her stranded the other day and I was 1500 miles a way. It was quite the hassle to get it fix and if you can't get to work that's a problem. We kinda went through what you are now. That's why we decided to get the new car. Interest rates won't be going down any time soon and if you get a reliable car you'll be set for quite awhile. Did you give up self employment or is this an added gig?

I'll never buy a new car. To me, the double hit of depreciation + cost of financing doesn't make sense. I know that rules out the Fit (no used ones), but here's another to consider:

Matrix/Vibe. A little bit bigger (though probably not inside from what I've read of the Fit), and get decent fuel economy, and they've been on the market long enough that used ones are aplenty.

Fit: 33 38
M/V: 30 36

My mom is really interested in the Matrix. They're very similar cars in a lot of ways. Perhaps I'm having a bit of a Honda bias right now.

I DID see a used Fit on ebay, but it was selling for the same price as a new one.

There's a place for bias.

The M/V seems like a similar car in style, is all. You know it'll be dead reliable, since it's essentially a Corolla station wagon.

I drove one this summer - only criticisms: the cheapest feeling shift quality in recent memory, and the brake/gas pedal is close together. Several times I blipped the gas by mistake when braking. Ended up taking my shoes off.

EDIT: by shift quality, I mean the shifter action itself.

$0.02, worth: Very likely on the Civic you are pretty close to fixing the issue or issue's which remain. However, finding those may be tricky, particularly if your already having a hard time dealing with it.