Thx, havent entirely ruled out the larger vehicles but having lived happily with 3 consecutive Honda civic hatchbacks in the past I think the Fit would be a good.... um... fit for me. No kids, just me + sometimes 1 other.

Camping would be one major use - incl off the beaten track locations. Would Chevy Sonic be any better re: getting serviced in those locations?

One different thing Im seeing now vs. 20 yrs ago is so many cars with 150K and more! Didnt used to see those so much and if I did they were REALLY cheap. Now "high miles" seems to mean over 200K, not over 100K. Are they made better, or people just willing to pay more?

Maybe its just the HOndas that command high prices - seems llike you can get a considerably newer Sonic for same price as older Fit.

c r, sounds like you've put some thought into your new purchase, good for you. your right about mileage, years ago the average mileage was around 12,000, not the case anymore. plenty of good info the cars you mention.

I have a similar problem with access to local service. Where I live, there are dealers for the Big 3 in my town, but no foreign car dealers. One hour away are at least one dealer for Toyota, Subaru, and Volvo (I haven't checked on Nissan, Hyundai nor Kea). I'm talking about new and my friends say to get either Toyota or Subaru; they have such good reliability that I could probably get 150,000 miles without any problems? I'm thinking that Ford, Chevy, or Chrysler would be the best bet but none of their cars particularly appeal to me.

i don't think that should be a problem (service). unless the car is still under warranty, factory service isn't necessary. c r, do you have a regular mechanic that kept your civic's going? they could give you some insight on what can be expected at certain times in a cars life. if the cars current owner kept a documented history of repairs, that in it's self is a good sign.

Well I have an appt. to look at a 2007 Toyota Matrix with 80,000 miles on it - looks a little bigger/dorkier and not as gas efficient as a Fit.... but I think it would serve my purposes pretty well and in fact we could put a mattress in back and camp in style -woohoo! They had an inspection done andI will have that to look at..... are there any questions I should be asking that would rule it out?

Im surprised that Toyota would be more difficult to service than the "big 3" - aren't they like the most popular car and truck ever?

Oh - one more question, how does manual vs. automatic affect value of a car, if at all? I used to drive manual but one drawback to this car would be not everyone could drive it or share the driving if we had to do that..... Hmmmmm.....

c r, not to familiar with the matrix. quick info search, it has a timing chain, as opposed to a belt. you might have had to deal with that with 1 of the honda's. there are used 1's in my area with 200.000+ mi. so they last? your trans question made me laugh, awhile back a guy was sitting in a wendy's having a bite and somebody tried to steal his car, the perp couldn't drive a stick and got caught bucking around trying to get going. some people complain the 1's with auto trans. are a little gutless and it hurts mpg. from what i seen/read, the pontiac vibe is the same car? nice looking car.

A Honda HRV is a possibility. Its larger than a Fit and smaller than a CRV and may have a bit more ground clearance than a Fit: However, it is a new model and used ones may be scarce and in the upper price range.

The Matrix is now mine - love it! It will be so perfect for car camping- the back goes totally flat with seats folded down AND the front passenger seat folds down into a little table - how cool is that? Has racks on top A bit bigger and more spacious than Fit & certainly Yaris, but without getting into SUV territory. Will keep the HRV in mind for NEXT time!

There are some tiny little rust spots here and there which don't look like they've rusted through.... yet.... Very tiny - have to get close to see any of them - but I know how tiny turns into big - this being WI where they overuse WAYYYY too much salt on the streets.... its pretty much a given that there will be some rust.

Is it worth getting repaired or is it pretty much a lost cause? One of my old civics I lost to rust - it started to bend out of shape and could hardly get the doors open

c r, how fun! i haven't gotten a new toy in a long time. did it come with a auto or stick? being in an area like yours i would suspect there are many shop's that can address the rust, it would be a good idea to at least investigate options. like i said in 1 of the earlier post's they (toyota matrix) look like a car that could be around for awhile. remember routine maintenance!! good luck.