I used Hardieplank siding, but we ended up using another product, LP Smartside trim for the soffits and facia, because it was much easier to get locally, and cheaper. However, I would say the Hardie materials would be the best choice for appearance and durability. I've seen the Hardie facia boards at Home Depot, and they look like great quality. I would not hesitate to use them, especially over vinyl or aluminum. From what I've read from other posters, if you use a high quality paint, you could easily go 10 years or more between paintings. Considering its only soffits, etc, its not that much to paint anyway.

I installed mine over 20 years ago and it still looks nice. Everything that junolane and the rest said is true, all of those things can happen if the siding isn't installed properly, the sun bleaching will happen no matter how it is installed. At one time in my past life (almost 40 years ago) I installed siding of all material,except concrete, and choose vinyl. I like the fact that if anything happens to a piece you can replace it if you kept extra, if a piece comes lose you can repair it and you can install it your self with out any special tools. I agree with the comment about covering the soffits with the perforated soffit material and the facia with aluminum, but I would not do the windows and doors. I don't care for aluminum, it dents and scratches too easy. I didn't go with steel because it requires a special tool to cut it and the considerably extra work to install it right. Another issue that I had with steel is its potential for rust if the paint gets scratched or the installer didn't make sure that every cut was a clean cut that actually bent the paint over the end of the piece. The rust will run down and stain all of the pieces below the scratch. I have looked at some of the new styles and technology and am really impressed with where vinyl siding is at now. Hope this helped.

Tacky. I would have trimmed the J molding.

You can use either vinyl or aluminum or a combination of the two but the first thing you need to decide is whether the existing fascia is going to stay or be replaced. If it is not sound wood, you'll have to remove it and replace it with 2x6 lumber. Remove the soffit as well and nail up a channel (positioned such that the soffit material will be level) on the wall to support the vented soffit material. Cut the soffit material to the correct lengths and insert one side in the channel and nail the other side to the bottom of the 2x6. The fascia pieces then get tucked under drip edge coming off the roof and can be nailed from the bottom and the face (if necessary). It is important to have the sound fascia material so you can firmly attach your gutters. On my last project, I used vinyl soffit because it is easier to cut without getting it all bent out of shape. However I used aluminum fascia (pre-painted white) because it is light and easy to work with and not that difficult to cut. You can't really tell by looking at it that I used different materials. You might also want to replace the gutters while you're at it to give a nice clean/new look.