Honda Jazz - Find My Daughter a Car - final Entry

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Sat 14 Mar 2020 18:18
Honda Jazz - Find My Daughter a Car - final Entry - VengaPete

Final entry for my Find My Daughter a car threads over the past year

We have finally settled on and purchased a Honda Jazz '57 plate SE CVT DSi(ie: a late generation 1)
This was £3k with 63000 miles and a full history.
We whittled it down from a Fiesta and a Corsa to the Jazz as the cabin is more airy and the space is more flexible.
For various reasons we ended up at £3k (original budget was £5k)

Having driven it a few miles now I have to say its not a bad little runabout for the money.

Its got a new MOT and the garage have done the advisories and a minor service (oil / filters)

Everything works even though it is 12 years old, and its been looked after as far as we can tell by previous owners.

On researching the Jazz in detail however there is a huge design flaw with them that leads to water in the boot. The seam weld at the top of the rear hatch on both sides is not always joined / sealed correctly and eventually leaks water down the inner panels which lands in the boot wheel well. Reading the Clubjazz forum it is VERY common. We will be watching out for this and if it ever stops raining we will do some pre-emptive use of body mastic sealer.

We only became aware of this as one Jazz we looked at had a wheel well full of water. Clearly the dealer had just had it from auction / trade in and not checked it or knew but hoped we wouldn't look. When I said its a bit damp (all the windows were misted up) he said "its just had a valet so might still be a bit damp..." yeah, right!

Something to watch out for if you are in the market for a Gen 1 Jazz

We also looked at one at a popular car supermarket. This had apparently just had a new MOT but I found at least 3 things that should not have passed and it had been "prepared" for sale but again I found issues that had they bothered looking, were obvious. I said was there any movement on price but they said no so we walked away from that one.
It needed around £300 spending to get it right.

It's currently still for sale as is the one with a paddling pool in the wheel well.

So a big thanks to all who commented on my threads about this. Your inputs were taken on board and hopefully we've got a car that will last daughter a couple of years at least by which time she will no doubt be getting bored and aspire to something different.

All we have to hope now is that some thieving urchin doesn't take a fancy to the Catalytic Converter.........

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Sat 14 Mar 2020 18:30
Honda Jazz - Find My Daughter a Car - final Entry - badbusdriver

Glad to hear you've got a car you/your daughter are happy with. Bearing in mind SLO's comments re the 1st gen Jazz, might be an idea to have the CVT fuid changed? (unless there is proof of it having been done recently).

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Sat 14 Mar 2020 20:00
Honda Jazz - Find My Daughter a Car - final Entry - SLO76
Yup. Generally excellent little cars. Well made, practical, cheap to run and bombproof engines but the gearboxes are the weak point especially the early CVT’s. These need frequent fluid changes to stay healthy and those serviced outside of the dealer network rarely have this done. I’d check and have it carried out as soon as possible at the main dealer to be sure it’s being done correctly using the right oil.
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Sat 14 Mar 2020 20:03
Honda Jazz - Find My Daughter a Car - final Entry - Big John

Keep an eye on the rear wheel arches and rear inner wings etc. Very little protection from the elements and if not looked after rust can be an issue. I know someone who bought what looked like a very tidy mkI that spectacularly failed the next MOT re corrosion.

My sister bought a 2011 Jazz a few years ago following recommendations from this site when I asked about a small car that would also be able to carry a double bass. Everything in the wheel arches was solid with mud but at the time the car was young enough for it not to be a problem – every year or so we now thoroughly clear out and jet wash inner wheel arches and inner wings and re rust proof. Other than that the car has been amazingly reliable and well sorted. Those magic seats are – er – magic!

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Sat 14 Mar 2020 20:38
Honda Jazz - Find My Daughter a Car - final Entry - SLO76
As is the norm with Honda, the evolution to the Mk II included sorting the weaknesses in the gearboxes. I-shift excluded. The Mk II Jazz, although no great shakes to drive is probably one of the best used buys on the market. It’s small and cheap to run yet practical enough to serve as a family car.
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Sun 15 Mar 2020 06:45
Honda Jazz - Find My Daughter a Car - final Entry - madf

I havew a Mark 2 Jazz (2012) auto CVT,

Very relaible. Not fun to drive but takes huge loads in boot with flat floors.

Rust? ALWAYS wash out round teh petrol filler cap under the rear wheel arch. Filler pipes corrode in older cars and it is dangerous due to fumes and expensive..

Watch for lowlives stealing catalysts..They are VERY vulnerable. It's a two minute job.. with cutters.. Easily resolved with some protection which can be bought or DIYed

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Sun 15 Mar 2020 07:30
Honda Jazz - Find My Daughter a Car - final Entry - Will deBeast

Owners forums can be great, especially for those of us who keep our cars long term.

There is a £3 fix for a flaw that otherwise lets water through to the glovebox area on the mk3 mx-5. There's electrics in the area, so unless they do the preventative fix, the first indication of the problem is often electrics issues.

I hope she has fun with the car. My wife loved the 'magic' seats on her Jazz. So much so, that it was one of the reasons we bought a civic tourer a year ago.

If the car doesn't have an Aux-in for the radio, it's very easy to add - took me about 30 minutes, as I recall.

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Sun 15 Mar 2020 13:36
Honda Jazz - Find My Daughter a Car - final Entry - madf

Owners forums can be great, especially for those of us who keep our cars long term.

Agree 100%

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