Re: Honda Civic : Maintenance, Service Costs and Must dos Hello fellow Civic lovers. I need your advice, to balance the head versus heart conundrum I am facing - this is perhaps one of the few forums on the planet where it will be understood.
Like a lot of us, I too grew up drooling over the sweeping lines and spaceship like dash of the 8th gen civic. Also, like a lot of us, now that I am grown, I observe that the drooling has not stopped and the object of desire is the same. Now while I recognize that a lot of this is rooted in nostalgia (The Heart), I also know that having owned 2 Honda cars from the era (a 2006 city and an early 10s Jazz), my respect for Hondas from the time has some basis in reality.
Talking about our '06 Honda City - while it has served us quite well over the past many years and lac and a half off Kilometers, and continues to serve us well even now - that engine is a thing of beauty - it is now time to replace it. We (my mother, who drives the City, and I, who drives the Jazz) have done the rounds of auto showrooms and had a look at the cars on offer today, and while they're all good solid options, nothing really has tickled our fancy in the way that we would have liked a new car to. The most logical option has been to walk back into a Honda showroom and drive back out in a new Honda City ZX. (The Head) But where's the fun in that!
The less logical but more fun option seems to be to walk into the Honda used car classifieds and emerge out of them with a well maintained Civic that has been making my heart flutter for over a decade and a half now. Following this process has lead me to an example that I could consider, the specifications of which are as follow:
A Feb 2011 Honda Civic 64000kms VAT with sunroof.
The car is technically a second owner vehicle, but that is because the 2nd owner had it transferred to his name from his company. The mileage is genuine, confirmed with the service history. The car is being sold because the owner has moved abroad and his family is no longer using the car. The car is registered in Karnataka and I will be needing to register it in Chandigarh, where it will be driven primarily by my mom. I visit Chandigarh often from Gurgaon which is where I stay, so would enjoy it there on the weekends.
The idea is that I buy this now, enjoy it for a few years - a cure for the proverbial itch, and then buy the proper new car replacement.
My (need for validation masquerading as) questions are as follow:
1. The car is 12 years old now. Does it make sense to be buying a car that old? The City has been rather trouble-free, can I expect the same from the Civic? This is important because I don't need mom to be inconvenienced.
2. What is a fair price I should expect to pay for the 12 year old car? The initial ask is 3.5L. Seems steep to me. How much should I negotiate?
3. Will the Civic be as fun to drive in the long run as it is in my head? Only makes sense to buy this old a car if the pay-off is strong enough.
4. I've heard horror stories about the fuel consumption - is it really that bad? Will the joy of owning a Civic be enough to overlook this factor?
5. Is it technically becoming a 3rd owner car when it comes to me much of a factor?
6. Will the joy of owning a childhood dream be enough to overlook the lack of modern amenities, or will I regret this decision?
Now, I know that a lot of these questions are heart questions and there's no answer to them, but I guess that's what makes BHPians the right people to answer this. You all are the most likely to get the head versus heart debate I have going on in my mind, and help me sort out my thoughts.
TIA to any one who can navigate this labyrinth of jumbled thoughts and help me out! |