It seems really odd that my $17,358 (before tax, docs, and extended warranty) Honda Fit came without floor mats, but I guess that's the price you pay for getting absolute rock bottom pricing.
Not being the type to pay for dealer pricing, I kept the car garaged and bought the 2009/2010 Honda Fit All Weather Mats online at Amazon.com. When the package arrived, I was surprised to find that every mat was different. I guess that's so that you think you got a good deal, custom fit and all.
What came as an unpleasant surprise, however, was the installation procedure. The non-driver's mats were easy --- just open the door and slip them in. The driver's mat, however, came with two anchors so the mat wouldn't slip onto the brake, accelerator, or clutch pedals. Now, you might expect that the mat anchors would just clip in onto existing purpose fit mount points onto the floor beneath the driver's seat, and you would be wrong.
Instead, the included instructions tell you to get out your exacto-knife, and cut into the carpet of your brand new car! What the heck was Honda thinking? OK, so I got out my leatherman and began the work of installation. As I worked on it, I kept hitting my head onto the driver's seat, despite having already pushed the driver's seat all the way back. The position was very awkward, and there wasn't a lot of room. It occurred to me that this would have been a heck of a lot easier if Honda had simply installed the anchors before installing the seats in the car, and charged me an extra $20 to do it, since it would be much easier to do at the factory.
After cutting out the two holes in the carpet, and another flap, I slipped the anchors in, and then backed up the anchor with the screw-driver portion of the leatherman, and snapped the bolts in place. Having done that, the driver's mat simply fit in, and I could then snap the anchors into place and the mats would be safely bolted to the floor.
It was a bit involved, but the whole process took only about 20 minutes, and given that the MSRP for these were $130, and I paid $120 (after shipping) by buying on-line, I guess I saved about $10 + labor (probably something outrageous at the dealer) for 20 minutes of work, which wasn't too bad. Nevertheless, it's annoying that something like this would be considered an after-market accessory, not something built into the price of the car.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
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11 comments:
I bought my 2010 Honda Fit Sport yesterday and the dealer wanted to charge me $150 installed. I said no and bought them on Ebay for $70.
I hope I don't mess up the floor with the exacto knive.
I totally agree that Honda should have installed those hooks at the factory. It just doesn't make sense. I also notice went I got home that the car comes without a cargo cover (My 1987 Civic SI hat it standard) It's sold at Amazon for $138. I would think the base model would not have those "accesories" but the Sport AT shculd definetly have them standard.
The cheapest place to get the Cargo cover is at Bernardi Parts. Their clearance section also includes the Floor Mats and Cargo Tray for less than I paid. Too late for me --- it's just too much hassle to deal with returns for things like this.
I think the reason the cargo cover is not standard is that if you install it, you can't put the back seats down. Since that's the way I'm likely to use my Fit, I won't be paying for one.
You are right. The cargo cover has to be screwed to the back seats hence getting in the way of loading stuff after they are folded. In my '87 Civic SI the cargo cover wasn't attached to the seats therefore you could remove it. I am waiting for the arrival of my mats and hoping it doesn't rain here and get the inside all dirty. Another dissapointing aspect is the fact that it has a one disc CD player. Our '06 Toyota Corolla came with a factory installed 6CD player. It isn't even an option on the Fit. Overall I love this car. ON my first 45 milles I am getting 30mpg in the city.
I had a 6-disc cartridge-type CD changer on my previous car. It was a major hassle, and the cartridges scratched many of my CDs. I'm glad to have a one disc CD change, but to be honest, I'll probably end up using a flash drive plugged into the USB port.
I'll write an extended review of the Fit in a bit, but overall, I like it.
My wife's 2007 Honda Fit Sport came with floor mats standard, but she had to pay about $90 for a cargo cover (the removable sliding one).
It's a great car, especially for cyclists. And it handles like a sports car.
OK, what's the purpose of the cargo cover?
Only to cover any stuff in the rear cargo area, bewteen the back of the rear seats and the lid. It is retractable. You didn't get one?
I did not get one. It'll have to be retracted way too often, so not having one is a better idea. :-)
so I bought the floor mats and they came in a box.. with instructions in French... I don't speak French so here I am googling to try to figure out what the heck the instructions are telling me..
Instructions for installing the Honda Fit 2009 Floor Mats
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