It’s wild how the traditional subcompact car is officially dead in America. Sure, there’s the Mini hatchback and the charming electric dinghy known as the Fiat 500e, but when it comes to honest bargain-basement transportation, there are no subcompact cars left. No more Nissan Versa, no more Mitsubishi Mirage, and it’s been ages since we last saw a new Toyota Yaris or Ford Fiesta. Maybe that’s why examples of the final-generation Honda Fit have enjoyed astonishingly slow depreciation, such as this ridiculously nice example that just sold on Bring A Trailer.
It really is a shame that America will probably never see another generation of Honda Fit because it kind of was just the perfect small car. Over three iterations, this sub-Civic-sized hatchback had a strong reputation for offering the space of a small van in the footprint of a midsize refrigerator with the fuel consumption of a large scooter. Honda’s patented Magic Seat flipped and folded up and down like a circus performance so you could cram pretty much anything in the Fit. A huge yucca plant? A full kegerator setup, complete with the keg? A mid-length surfboard? Check, check, and check. The HR-V small crossover that effectively replaced the Fit wishes it were this genius, so it’s not a huge surprise that the Fit has a serious cult following today.
Admittedly, part of this is due to motorsports. From SCCA B-Spec to Gridlife’s Sundae Cup, there have been people competing wheel-to-wheel in these little hatchbacks for more than a decade. However, a big part of the Fit’s appeal is that for everyday use, there really isn’t anything that quite replaces it. It’s just so versatile for its footprint and resource needs, so it shouldn’t be surprising that nice ones still fetch respectable money.
Take this 2015 model, for example. It’s a mid-range EX trim in the fantastic shade of Mystic Yellow Pearl, which means it comes with toys like push-to-start, a seven-inch touchscreen, a sunroof, and a 180-watt six-speaker audio system. It’s a good spec, although whoever optioned it new went with the continuously variable transmission rather than the standard six-speed manual. Good for fuel economy, with a combined rating of 35 MPG, but not the best choice for engagement or acceleration.
This particular Honda Fit looks nearly new because it basically is. With a mere 1,558 miles on the clock, it’s averaged just 141.6 miles per year since it was first registered in 2015. That’s shockingly little mileage, and it really makes you wonder what sort of life it led. Was it only driven to church on Sundays? Was it a runabout for a scarcely-visited vacation home? Tell me your secrets, low-mileage Honda of the Sunshine State.
However, despite rolling on tires with 2015 date codes and only having two service entries logged in its Carfax report, this 2015 Honda Fit hammered for $18,000 on Bring A Trailer. That’s only $1,180 down from the original sticker price, provided you aren’t factoring in inflation. That’s what, $107 in depreciation per year or so? Porsche 911, eat your heart out. That being said, pulling inflation into the mix gives this thing an MSRP of $26,320 in today’s money, so sticking $19,180 into the S&P 500 and taking taxis everywhere using earned interest would’ve been a better use of the original owner’s money. Then again, you can go out right now and buy a leftover brand-new 2025 Nissan Versa for around $21,000 with a warranty, so a roughly $3,000 delta between an 11-year-old Honda subcompact and its closest modern equivalent seems rather slim.
Strangely, even with some of the work that may be needed to get this Honda subcompact in tip-top shape, like tires that don’t date back to when “Uptown Funk” sat atop the Billboard Hot 100, $18,000 is actually about fair market value. One of the closest comparable examples in the regular used car classifieds is a grey 2015 Fit EX with 19,431 miles on the clock listed for $18,995. Want an actual color? This blue 2015 Fit EX with 57,019 miles is up for sale at Carvana for $16,990. In that context, a pretty-much showroom-fresh Fit for $18,000 plus buyer’s fees doesn’t seem completely outlandish.
Happily, it sounds like the new owner of this Fit won’t be keeping it in a hermetically-sealed chamber. As the winning bidder commented, “This will be my daughter’s first car and I just got the biggest hug ever! Worth every penny all around!!!” Now that’s one heck of a first car. Something that, provided it doesn’t get binned, could still be in faithful service a decade from now.
It’s wishful thinking, but maybe elevated values of late-model subcompact cars combined with the recent decimation of U.S. emissions teeth could result in some automakers giving subcompacts another try. Probably not, but there does seem to be a market for truly affordable new cars. Why else would people be willing to pay so much for decade-old entry-level Hondas?
Top graphic image: Bring A Trailer
A click bait headline. It’s not. Standard mileage example of the breed
I love Honda Fits. Here in Canada, the used ones are crazy popular. I’ve seen final year models selling on the used market for more than $20K.
I briefly considered a Fit when I was shopping for a used subcompact hatchback last year. I ultimately went with a Prius C because it got better fuel economy and I had more experience with Toyotas than Hondas, including any problems that might creep up. It’s a choice I’m glad I made, although I’m sure a Fit would have worked just fine too. But getting an average of 50 mpg is just the icing on the cake
Hot take: the Fit is/was the best subcompact car available in America. That doesn’t mean these prices are not some kind of CP.
Those dealers sell a bunch of overpriced stuff, not just the Fits listed here. Private party is where it’s at and these don’t command a premium if you look over there.
Flawed logic. Subaru Baja syndrome at work. It’s worth a lot because they’re is a small loyalist base that doesn’t scale with increased production.
I’m sure someone has already this but it’s not the buying public that killed small hatchbacks in the US. These are cars already designed and being built for other markets so you’d think that selling even a few thousand more in the US market would be great. But they don’t have the “profit margins” nor the EPA boosting 45+mpg that the manufacturer’s want out of their small cars.
It’s a broken system that’s being gamed.
Mazda5 was the pinnacle of automotive engineering and the decline of western civilization began with the discontinuance of that beautiful Japanese people mover.
I wish it could have gotten a few more years and added the Skyactiv engine.
According to Wikipedia, it was available with the Skyactive G (in other markets).
The Honda Freed and Toyota Sienta carry the torch of the small van, but alas have not come to our shores.
I’ve sworn off getting another gas car, but I’d make an exception for a Sienta hybrid. 60 mpg in a van seems pretty rad, plus I bet it’s a breeze to park.
Its the same BS thinking that claims that Americans don’t want hatchbacks and yet every crossover and SUV is a hatchback.
Conventional wisdom in the auto industry is downright broken.
Car makers say they can’t make X segment of car because it won’t sell, but their expectations are downright unrealistic. They almost always have at least one fatal flaw when they release a product in these segments that won’t sell, and then blame consumer demand rather than their flawed planning.
For instance, no, I will not settle for a Ford Focus hatch without the manual just so I can get the bigger engine. Put in the right powertrain to attract consumers FFS.
Has it really been eleven years???
I remember seeing that yellow for the first time in traffic and thinking it looked spectacular. It still holds up, as does the styling in general.
My mom leased this exact Fit in white, with a manual transmission. She bought it out during Covid when it was determined Honda wouldn’t be producing any more. Total no brainer, the buy out was like $13,000 and the car was still worth $18,000 on the open market.
I’d always wanted a Fit, but at 6’3” with long legs, I could just never find a comfortable seating position for long drives. They are great cars but they didn’t work for everyone.
I think you answered your own question. Americans had the option to buy a new Honda Fit and in droves decided to spend more on a CRV. The public spoke. Honda cancelled the Fit first and Mitsubishi and Nissan followed and so forth. And now you cant (barely) buy a new one, driving up the prices of used ones. Theres no mystery here. Thats the market speaking.
Also, why would you think that the decimation of emissions regs would push automakers towards subcompact? I would think it would have exactly the opposite affect, making heavier thirstier vehicles easier to push out the door.
BTW, my daughter owns a 2016 Hond Fit that I guided her to and its proven to be a fantastic little car. RIP Fit.
I feel that in this one sole instance,
Americans have contradicted themselves.
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I’ve owned 4 Fits: a 2009 5-speed, two 2015 CVTs, and a 2017 CVT. The 2017 was a CPO purchased when it was 2 years old. Four years and 40,000+ miles later, it was totaled when a large truck sideswiped it on a freeway and pushed it into a sound wall. Insurance valued it $2000 higher than I’d paid originally, so -$2K depreciation in 4 years.
That’s amazing, aside from the crazy sounding accident. You did well there for sure!
I’m pretty sure anything that color won’t depreciate, as long as it doesn’t get damaged.
In 2009 I bought a second‑generation Fit Sport with a manual transmission. Manual Fit Sports were hard to find at the time—I had to wait a month for one to come in. I tried negotiating, but the dealer wouldn’t move on the price, and the difference between invoice and MSRP was only about $300 anyway. I ended up paying the sticker price of $17,500.
The car was fun to drive, surprisingly roomy, and got great gas mileage. I put 67,000 miles on it over three and a half years before it was totaled in an accident. The insurance company gave me $15,100 for it, which amazed me—the Fit held its value incredibly well.
It was my first Honda, and I was surprised by how low the build quality felt. Friends who owned Hondas also commented that it didn’t seem up to the brand’s usual standards. The paint was thin, the shift knob disintegrated within the first few months, and at highway speeds the doors felt like they might get pulled off—especially on windy days. I understood some of that since it was a cheap car, but what really puzzled me was the air conditioning failing at just 37,000 miles. After about half an hour of driving it would stop working, and the dealer told me it was an engineering defect that Honda didn’t yet know how to fix.
Got a friend who adores her ’15 Fit. Zips around any obstacle, can be shoved into any space, it’s a great little car.
I do my best to keep it as up-to-date on maintenance as I can from afar but the miles are piling on.
The death of Honda’s Magic Seats is a disappointment and I’d suspect she’d eye a 2020 Fit or bite the bullet and get a last-generation HR-V instead.
My son is a new driver, rocking a 2015 Honda Fit. I’m really impressed with this car. I could totally see myself dailying one (although I would need to find a manual version).
I have a friend with a 2011 Fit that’s unfortunately beginning to rust away. He’s not interested in anything sold today. He’s currently looking for another Fit, preferably a southern example. This is one of those cases where they truly just don’t make them like they used to.
Never drove the final gen Fit. I did drive the 2nd gen Fit in sport trim (and/or with a manual IIRC) and it was great. I routinely watch vids about the 4th gen Fit that we don’t get in the states. All hybrid/CVT but still a very appealing if bit pricey car.
I keep eyeballing the EX-L trim of the 2020 year. I want those heated seats. I went from a 2008 Fit, to a 2014 CT200h, to a 2011 TSX Wagon, and now a Kona N. I just want all the hatchbacks.
After the EPA mandated CAFE adjustments based on the projected area of wheelbase X track, subcompacts could not compete. That and small cars cost almost as much to produce as large cars, but have to be priced way lower.
We had two Fits and they were great fun to drive.
Yup the CAFE footprint rule killed the sub compact segment.
Subcompact crossovers killed the subcompact segment. The Fit never sold well but once Honda started selling the HR-V the Fit sales dropped. In 2019 Honda sold 32,488 Fits and 99,104 HR-Vs. The Fit was discontinued and HR-V sales continued to climb. In 2025 Honda sold 148,771 HR-Vs.
In 2019 Honda had a choice: Spend millions to adapt the 4th generation Jazz to US regulations or drop it. They made the completely logical decision to drop it.
The EU has stricter fuel economy requirements than the USA and the Fit is still sold there. IF the USA used EU emission and crash regulations we would likely still have the Fit and other small cars. But we don’t and it makes no sense for automakers to spend the money to adapt a car for our market to sell low volumes and almost no profit.
I would love the regs to get harmonized so we could import small cars if we wanted them.
I really want a B-Max or Renault 5.
My wife absolutely adores her 2013 Fit Sport and was very happy I pushed her to buy it when she did as she hated the look of the 2015 version. She hopes to never have to buy another car, and 13 years later, that seems possible.
In the same boat with my partner, bought a lightly used ’07 Corolla in ’09. She looked at a Fit, but it felt ‘weird’ and tiny. She’s still driving it with no real plan to upgrade (maybe honestly downgrade). I have installed a rear view camera and an AUX audio port to help keep it modern.
Toyota quality likely peaked around this time period. The car is near 20 years old, 167k, the interior still looks near new, paint is still holding up. Little more than basic upkeep, and it is un-garaged.
Hot take: except for people that live in a city built in the Middle Ages, and for sports cars, there is no practical reason for small cars to still exist anymore.
This is coming from someone who owns a BMW i3 and until recently had an MR2 Spyder.
Basically, small non-sports cars give up comfort and cargo capacity for almost nothing in return. They aren’t necessarily any more efficient in real-world driving, since frontal area and Cd matter but length and weight don’t. And they aren’t appreciably cheaper to make or maintain, as they still have almost the same number and size of components.
Impractically, small cars are more fun. And in this case, the Fit’s cargo capacity is astounding.
I had an ’07 and brought home a framed door completely inside the car with the hatch closed.
My record is two wingback chairs.
I think my calculus for space has changed significantly since having kids. With even one car seat in the back, utilizing the fold-down seats is significantly less convenient, so having a larger native hatch space is more critical than overall capacity/flexibility. I do wish more cars allowed the front seat to fold forward though!
We never had kids so yeah that seems right.
As someone who used to have a Fiesta ST, I agree for most cases
Sometimes I have to go to a city that was largely built after an earthquake in 1906. Driving around isn’t an issue, but parking is certainly an issue. Subcompact hatches are a lot easier to find parking for, while being maximally practical for their size
Tires and brakes are a lot cheaper too
Best friend has a first gen Fit that’s got over 300,000 miles on it. He’s going for 400,000. Is it kinda beat up? Yes. Does it still do everything he wants, with great mileage? Yes. He’s thinking about getting another just in case. Not replacing his first gen, in addition.
Counterpoint: If Americans Don’t Want Land Yachts, Why Did This 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood Sell at auction for $93,000 over the phone?
As my real estate agent once said, you just need two enthusiastic buyers out of 7 billion people to start a bidding war.
Two words: gas mileage
the MPG, utility volume, and steering + shifter feel combo is unmatched
Pretty much this. If you have to have a second hand car as the daily drive, you probably don’t want a big gas guzzler either.
The Fit doesn’t get that good of gas mileage – especially for the size. 29 City / 36 Highway isn’t anything special.
The 2025 Honda Civic, CR-V and Honda Accord get better mileage.
They’re also all in the $25K-35K range (which is pretty dang reasonable!). And for that price, you’d be cross-shopping Toyotas, possibly comparing the hybrid models, which would blow standard MPG out of the water.
Anecdotal survey of one: I’m averaging 35 mpg in a mix of urban and highway driving in my 3rd generation Fit. Mileage improved from the 2nd generation.
Which is great for you doesn’t add much to an apples to apples comparison. If you can beat the EPA certification by 20% in a Fit no doubt you can do the same in something else.
35mpg is believable to me, particularly if the highway speeds are low. It’s good, but it’s no longer impressive for a vehicle that size. The hybrid Sienna is getting 32mpg on Fuelly from many owners and that’s enormous.
A hybridized Fit would get closer to 50mpg if the Prius C is any indication. That would be a great little car.
That’s what I get in my 15 Impreza, basically.