[vinod_namakkal]

Next to a duster

[omar]

Is the car still worth buying at this stage, considering the latest year I could get is 2012?

This generation Jazz has been my favourite and I prefer it over the current generation.

Are there any major issues or faults that I should know of while looking at the car?

[onEdge]

+1
I am seriously considering getting hands on a pre-worshipped Jazz - the facelifted version launched towards the end of 2011.

The quality, versatility, reliability of this car is highly regarded everywhere.

Can the fortunate owners (or pre-owners) of this wonderful piece of engineering share their views on buying one after these many years and keeping it for more? Anything to keep in mind?

[omar]

Originally Posted by onEdge

+1
I am seriously considering getting hands on a pre-worshipped Jazz - the facelifted version launched towards the end of 2011.

The quality, versatility, reliability of this car is highly regarded everywhere.

Can the fortunate owners (or pre-owners) of this wonderful piece of engineering share their views on buying one after these many years and keeping it for more? Anything to keep in mind?

I did end up getting the car. I would advise you to get one if you can find a good example.

Pros:
- Looks better than the current generation, in my opinion. Especially the 2011-12 models.
- Unmatched space in the segment. Car feels very airy, as opposed to other hatchbacks which feel a bit cramped.
- Though not a really fast car, still fun to drive. Service centre mechanics have also mentioned this generation has better acceleration when compared to the current generation.
- Build quality and ergonomics are good
- Has magic seats!

Cons:
- Current generation has much better interiors and features like an LCD display with a reverse camera.
- Suspension is a bit firm


I checked quite a few cars in person before deciding on the one. I'd advise you to be patient with your search, till you get a car which has been cared for, considering its age.

[onEdge]

Originally Posted by omar

I did end up getting the car. I would advise you to get one if you can find a good example.

Pros:
- Looks better than the current generation, in my opinion. Especially the 2011-12 models.
- Unmatched space in the segment. Car feels very airy, as opposed to other hatchbacks which feel a bit cramped.
- Though not a really fast car, still fun to drive. Service centre mechanics have also mentioned this generation has better acceleration when compared to the current generation.
- Build quality and ergonomics are good
- Has magic seats!

Cons:
- Current generation has much better interiors and features like an LCD display with a reverse camera.
- Suspension is a bit firm


I checked quite a few cars in person before deciding on the one. I'd advise you to be patient with your search, till you get a car which has been cared for, considering its age.

I agree. Although the new generation has many improvements like suspension, interiors and features; the previous generation has a unique charm to it (backed by solid quality).

It would be absolutely great if you could share your experience about looking for and finalizing your Jazz!
Could you also shed some light on recognizing a good example and identifying any issues?

Yes, patience is a definite pre-requisite here. Hoping it yields fruit quickly.

[omar]

Originally Posted by onEdge

I agree. Although the new generation has many improvements like suspension, interiors and features; the previous generation has a unique charm to it (backed by solid quality).

It would be absolutely great if you could share your experience about looking for and finalizing your Jazz!
Could you also shed some light on recognizing a good example and identifying any issues?

Yes, patience is a definite pre-requisite here. Hoping it yields fruit quickly.

All the general rules apply for the car as well. Check for accidents, glass changes, re-paints on the car.

Ask the seller first, about the condition of the car and then deduce yourself on what is the actual condition, when you see it. This will tell you how honest the seller is. I've seen sellers say nothing was repaired or changed on a car, but I've found out it wasn't the case when inspected.

Test driving is it also important of course. The car should feel right. You should buy the car because it drives well, and is in good condition, and not because it is the car you always wanted. You will know the difference between good and bad cars when you test drive a few of them.

Test the car on rough roads, and not just the highway. You'll be able to identify suspension issues, if any.

Check for service, history, insurance claims and the reasons for those.

Basically gauge the seller and not just the car. A good seller will be forthcoming with information about the car. In case of a dealer, try to get in touch with the previous owner of the vehicle, to get an idea of the condition, repairs when the owner had it, and eventually the reason for sale.

[mach2]

Here is a pic of how I carried 2 cycles comfortably to a destination 250 kms away. Only Jazz with magic seats could do that. Sadly Honda India has discontinued the Magic Seats.

I own a Honda City too but always prefer the Jazz for long rides. (Jazz X 2012 model).

I have always admired the sheer practicality and reliability Jazz offers. Just wondering if only Honda could bring the global Jazz to India with a Turbo Petrol. That would be something. Isn't it?

[allwynkingsley]

Fellow Jazz Owners, have you ever experienced the V-TEC effect in Jazz? I've tried across the rev range, but somehow feel either the V-TEC impact is mellowed down in the L12B engine or I'm not sensitive enough to it. Makes me wonder if at all there is a specific V-TEC kick-in spot in i-VTEC engines at all.

[CowlFlap]

Originally Posted by allwynkingsley

Fellow Jazz Owners, have you ever experienced the V-TEC effect in Jazz? I've tried across the rev range, but somehow feel either the V-TEC impact is mellowed down in the L12B engine or I'm not sensitive enough to it. Makes me wonder if at all there is a specific V-TEC kick-in spot in i-VTEC engines at all.

Are you referring to the slight increase in power/speed at a specific RPM? If so, yes it does happen at a little above 2000 RPM. It's subtle, but it's there, and more noticeable perhaps at 2nd gear.

[123.rishabh]

Hello Everyone !
We bought our Safari Dicor LX 2.2 in the year 2008. The car was a great value for money purchase & was really close to my heart (like every hardcore safari fanboy).The car was really durable, reliable & extremely comfortable companion be it city drives, highways or some dirt autocross events.




It was replaced by the Ford Endeavour 3.2 Titanium in the year 2016.

Post this the Safari was being used by me for going to college, doing household chores as an extra car in the house.
Fast forward to the year 2018, the car had covered 95K Kms (With All Original Paint), but thanks to NGT it was no longer fit to be driven in Delhi due to which I had to sell it with a heavy heart.
There was a need of a car to do basic household work and getting around crowded places, so i thought of going in for a Used hatchback.

Wants:
1.Reliability
2.Good boot space
3.Practicality
4.Good ergonomics & comfort

Instantly the Old generation Honda Jazz (GE) & Ritz came to my mind & the search began.
Plenty of Ritz were available, but didn't like the overall quality of the cars.
Then the search began for the Jazz GE.
I always liked this car due to the lovely Magic Seats, man maximum machine minimum design, the amazing reliability, efficiency of the L12B I Vtec powerplant & the quirky interior theme.
There were many cars available on olx, but almost all of them were with the dealers and every car had done 60-65k on the ODO (All tampered).
After a search for a month, a known neighbourhood mechanic told me about a 2009 Jazz that had done 1,12,000 Kms but was a single owner car. Initially i had an apprehension on the high mileage as none of my new cars had crossed the 1 lakh Km mark, still i thought of having a look as this was the first example which was being sold directly by the owner.
I talked to the owner, fixed an appointment & saw the car. It belonged to a retired Major General & had all the service records from HONDA. The car looked in a much better condition than the ones which i saw at the dealers with fake 65k ODO. Requested the Owner to allow me to get an Inspection from Honda ASS. The ASS gave a go ahead & i picked up the car.



What I like about the car
1. Superb front seats & Ergonomics (Everything is just placed perfectly)
2. Silent and refined 1.2L engine
3. Slick gearbox with amazing drivability in the city
4. Easy to use steering controls
5. Magic seats are a boon (Can load almost anything)
6. FE (Never drops below 12Kmpl, Have achieved a max of 17 Kmpl)
7. Fit and finish of materials used is top notch

What i don't like
1. Steering size is a bit large
2. Weak headlamps
3. GC is on the lower side (Im used to low cars, so does not bother much)
4. Misses on the relax mode which was available in the next gen car
5. Engine lacks punch (A 1.5 swap will make it perfect)

Safety & Built Quality
The car has decent safety equipment like ABS & Dual airbags as standard. It is much better built compared to the cars today and pretty decent for being used in the city. (Both the Airbags have been replaced under the Takata recall)

Usage Pattern
The car is driven in alternation with my A4 for a 65Km trip to office & back. On weekends its driven for 10 kms for grocery shopping

Interior & Ergonomics
The interior fit & finish is great and good quality materials are used. All buttons and switches are decent. The headlamp controls are very premium but the audio switches are a shade lower. The front seats have great support & side bolstering. The only thing missing is a Dead pedal which is replaced by a rubber strip.
There are plenty of cup & bottle holders (ones on the dashboard act as bottle coolers as well). The dual glovebox is useful too.
Magic seats are a boon in both Tall & flat fold mode & creates a huge room inside to carry anything.

Visibility
All round visibility is excellent. The seat is non height adjustable but for an average adult provides great visibility. The huge front windshield provides an airy feel, the Made in Japan Mitsuba flat blade wipers are amazing in combination with the mist type washer jets. The presence of a third sun visor in the centre is missed (Like the one in the MK1 Octavia). Both side mirrors are of a decent size with electric adjustment and have convex setup for providing a sufficient view of the cars behind. The IRVM is a manual dimming type.

Engine
The 1.2L I VTEC engine is super refined and bulletproof ! Even with 1.34L kms on the clock the starting sound and crank time is same as a brand new one. Noticed a few changes in the old vs new Jazz engine bays like, The old one came with aluminium intake manifold (Now Plastic) & 2 radiator fans (Now one). Drivability is good and can crawl in traffic with minimum gear changes.


Talking about performance, the low end torque is a bit of a letdown hence needs to be floored hard and the engine happily reaches the powenband and works up nicely post 4500 rpm (VTEC Kicked in YO !!!!!!)

ICE
Im no expert in this department & found the built in 2 din audio decent and easy to use. As far as i know, this generation of honda cars came with Alpine speakers from the factory and 4 of the speakers do a good job.
The central volume control jog dial does malfunction sometimes and suddenly increases or decreases the volume, but i have a habit of adjusting it via the steering controls.
USB is missing (was added later in the facelift model) so one has to manage with the AUX port.

Work Done after purchasing
Although the car needed no work post purchase, but as a part of preventive maintenance and being used to VAG group cars didn't want to take any chance.
Took the car to the Honda ASS and got the following work done
1. All Fluids changed (Engine,Gearbox,Brake Oils, Coolant)
2. Replaced the Iridium plugs
3. Brake Pads were Replaced & calliper pins were greased
4. Regular service
5. Steering link rods (Rubber was worn out)
6. Hand brake cable (Was a bit tight)
7. Rear brake cylinders
Also ordered a Jazz SI Spoiler and got it fixed, the car is running a set of Yokohama Earth one Tires


During my daily drives i realised about the great sense of balance this car gives, hence planned to take it to a FMSCI Dirt Autocross event in Manesar. The car performed really well and also got a podium finish in the below 1600cc Amateur Category


Next pics are from a FMSCI Tarmac Autocross event held at BIC



It has been an exciting ownership experience with this car. I have driven 22000 kms in the past 1.5 years and the current ODO reading stands at 1.34 Lakh Kms.

Have sold the car now and replaced it with an E Verito, but i would highly recommend this car to anyone looking for a used hatchback - Nothing comes close

[Tony2298]

The 2nd gen Honda Jazz/Fit (1st gen for India) was actually a very good machine and embodied all the legendary attributes of quality, durability and reliability for which Honda was known globally in a cute city-friendly package, a simple thing like high-quality Made in Japan Frameless Wiper blades are proof of the same but Honda grossly overpriced the same which is why it turned out to be a market dud and made the overpriced 1st gen Hyundai i20(equally good) seem value for money proposition!

It's so sad that Honda watered down its quality levels (even their spare parts quality has gone down the drain) and became another Suzuki, lost its plot and now is having a very difficult time thriving in India. I would be really heartbroken if Honda stops its Indian innings after all it was the company which gave us sleepless nights by giving us the gorgeous, drop-dead sexy, fun-to-drive extremely high quality and futuristic 8th gen Civic (it was my high-school crush back then and whenever I saw one(even now) on the roads I salivated like anything). How much I wish Honda tightens up its shoe-laces, come all guns blazing with futuristic gorgeous looking cars finished with exquisite quality like yesteryear Hondas. Sorry for going off-topic a bit but it comes out from the bottom of the heart of a diehard Honda fanboy

Anyways, congratulations for acquiring this excellent piece of engineering and I hope you have a great time with the same. Stay safe and Happy motoring

[GeeTee TSI]

A lovely pick! I envy owners of the first generation Jazz and admire the timeless design every time I spot one

The Jazz is one of those sad examples where subsequent generations felt dated and watered down, with the original still looking contemporary. From having those amazing magic seats, Honda had the gall to offer seats without even rear headrests!

[amavin]

I own both 2009 and 2017 models and can attest to the sheer quality of the 2009 car. In addition to the magic seats, it also has some nice stuff the newer models miss out on - the passenger side storage box on top of the dash, for example. The IVRM controls, stalk and switches in general are much higher quality than the newer car.
With the Bangalore traffic what it is and the metro, my usage of the old car is frugal compared to the earlier years (~94k on the odo at the moment), but it never siezes to put a smile on the face. Excellent road manners (for city use) and FE. Other than the usual clutch plate, brake pads and tyre replacements, it has been a trouble free ownership experience.
Two things to nitpick - the car came with aweful Goodyear GT3s and the steering hold started peeling off in high touch areas.
I am conflicted about parting with the old car, but may not have a choice for much longer. The newer one is a CVT and wifey drives only automatics. And its also time to enjoy the finer niceties like a multilink or dual wishbone ride.

[jithurao]

Probably one of the last 2013 (Jan 2013) manufactured facelift models. Couldn't help but post this as this car is close to my heart. 40k on the odo. Still makes me stand back and admire it!

[aaren]

In 2011, I bought Honda Jazz X edition and after a lot of thought process and learnings from this very forum. And soon after I published it, gave my initial ownership report followed after a few years.

Now recently the car completed 12 years. What a vehicle it has proved to be!! It has been my family's faithful companion to lots of travels. However, some of the long term travel did not happen, as I thought it would.

What has worked well:

a. The Engine is a top notch one - as smooth and as silent as it was when I bought.
b. The A/C as good as it was.
c. So far didn't have to touch or change anything in the car other than:

1. A / C filter
2. Engine Oil change - as recommended. And except once, Honda recommended oil.
3. Wiper rubbers
4. Tyres

d. What broke:

1. The driver side outer rear view mirror
2. Someone vandalized the rear wiper

e. The vehicle has run about 78000 kms. (covid and thereafter not much of running, as working from home)
f. The sound system is working as good.
g. The vehicle has acquired some scratches here and there, got some dents. Nothing major.

Importantly, in my view, the Vehicle has not "aged". I think this edition of Honda Jazz alongwith the first edition of Fiat Punto are two vehicles that have remained as attractive as ever.

Recently, some foul smell was coming when we started the fan / A/C of the car and gave it for internal cleaning, A/C duct cleaning and detailing at Honda Showroom.

I must say that this Honda Showroom at Indore has been a very helpful one right from day one and have taken care of the vehicle very well. According to their Senior Technical person, this car is good to go for another 5 years with, of course by extending the registration.







Yes, am thinking in terms of moving to a newer vehicle. This could possibly boil down between Honda Elevate Vs. Kia Seltos Vs. Toyota Hyryder. But the change could come sometime in 2024 as there are other priorities. Keeping my fingers crossed!


Hope this thread is useful.