[vasoo]

Originally Posted by akaushik

Congrats GTO , I am currently working in Honda Motors and the best part of Honda Cars is quality... The only reason I picked city over civic because I use to travel a lot on hilly terrain and civic is not a car to be driven on Himalayas... because of low height. Once again
congrats... and PM me if you need any help at dealership ;-)

Well, in my experience and test drives I found City to be hitting more humps in Bangalore than the new Civic. In fact City is strung lower at 165mm than Civic which is at 170mm. The main thing that may cause issues for Civic is its long wheel base. Of course in Himalayas, an SUV or at least an SX4 would fare much better.

[sgiitk]

@vasoo: I am afraid the stated ground clearance may have very little to do with the bottoming. The figure is just the lowest point of the car -which is (almost) invariably the steering linkage on either side inside the front wheels. Now when you go over a bump this rides with the car. Hence, it does not come into the picture. The springing of the car will come into play as will other factors.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by mkc15

While I was in market for a used Civic during Oct-2009, I could find only 2 decent deals (direct ads, no dealer).

(1) 8 month old, 5600km, S-MT, Black - 10lakh dead

Considering that a new Civic S-MT in Bangalore is 15 lakhs (Price check?), 5 off on an 8 month old car is not bad at all.

Originally Posted by smartcat

Honda equips their Civic & Accord to stereo controls at the back while Toyota equips their Corolla & Camry with stereo controls on the steering wheel.

Ha! Good catch. How I wish this car had audio controls on the steering wheel, and not on the backseat armrest.

Originally Posted by recshenoy

Is this the one whos name starts with F & ends with R

Nope

Civic pics are not uploaded in your garage

Will be once the wheels arrive.

Originally Posted by vasoo

I would have liked to go for a white one, but my daughter was against it. Hence had to "compromise" with a Habanero red car.

Who can argue with women, right?

Now a new VAT costs 17 lacs in Bangalore .

Seriously? Man, Bangalore is way too expensive. I presume you are talking about individual registration?

Originally Posted by akaushik

and PM me if you need any help at dealership ;-)

Thank you.

Originally Posted by s3va

I am still curious to know the reason why the owner was selling this car ? This is the question that crops up first in my(most of the others too) mind while buying an used car.

At the time that I bought my OHC Vtec, it was less than a year old. This Civic is a li'l over two years old. I don't ask the reasons. Why? If it was something irrelevant to the car, I am not interested in knowing. And if it was relevant to the car, do I think the owner would give me an honest reply? No. What's the point then.

Either ways, the OHC Vtec & Civic were bought through Honda authorised dealers (their used car division) and hence, I've had no proper interaction with the respective owners.

And what do you intend to do for the low GC issue ? Will your intention to upgrade to an after market suspensions solve this ?

Actually, the GC of 170 mm is not bad, and is pretty much on par with other cars. The real issue is the ultra-soft rear suspension. Even two adults on the back seat makes the car sag. That's exactly when the underbelly scrapes. A performance suspension kit will not only improve handling, but even make for a stiffer rear (that won't sag with 4 onboard).

I drove my friends Civic few weeks back during a long drive and I was absolutely amazed with its mid and high range torque along with rock solid stability.

True.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

The interiors look fantastic, liked the DTE indicator in blue.

No DTE on mine. Stingy Honda only released it on the face-lift (or was it real time fuel efficiency?)

Did you incur any cost on the major service done or was it done free by Solitare Honda.

Obviously not free. I got everything changed and paid approx. 9,000 rupees for that. Again, most things were not even required. For instance, the fuel filter (cost Rs. 3,000) is recommended for a change at 60,000 kms. The radiator flush, brake line bleed etc. weren't required, yet I like giving a used car an entirely fresh set of lubes / filters before taking her home. Been a habit since long.

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

this has caused the Civic (SeeWeak) effect - on seeing the civic, going weak at my knees.

Originally Posted by vasoo

Well, in my experience and test drives I found City to be hitting more humps in Bangalore than the new Civic.

True. The facelifted Civic comes with a firmer rear end.

The main thing that may cause issues for Civic is its long wheel base.

Valid point. The Civic's wheelbase of 2,700 mm is substantially longer than the Laura (2,578 mm) and even the Altis (2,600 mm). The Laura's ground clearance is actually lower at 164 mm, but the firm Euro suspension and shorter wheelbase don't lead to scraping issues. The Altis has 176 mm of GC and the rear is perfectly set up (read = not soft).

IIRC, my C220 has a GC of only 160 mm. However, the ride height remains nearly the same even if there are 4 people in the car. Would you believe it, in all the highway running so far, I don't remember scraping her underbelly anywhere?!

[SmartCat]

GTO, I'm not sure if you've already mentioned this before.

Do you always buy used cars with less than 10,000 kms on the clock and take home a 40% discount? Financially speaking, doesn't it make sense to get a further 30% discount and buy a used car which has been run for 60,000 km - especially since modern engines run for a couple of lakh kms without big issues?

[Bumble Beast]

Congrats, Fantastic deal you got there.
Could we have some sneak peak on the mods planned?

[JVH]

Congratulations on a superb buy! You sure are setting a trend here with an excellent thread on used cars and now setting an example by buying one.

Originally Posted by GTO

Actually, the GC of 170 mm is not bad, and is pretty much on par with other cars. The real issue is the ultra-soft rear suspension. Even two adults on the back seat makes the car sag. That's exactly when the underbelly scrapes. A performance suspension kit will not only improve handling, but even make for a stiffer rear (that won't sag with 4 onboard).

Have you zeroed in on the products/kit? I'm sure you would have concluded the research by now.

[rr_zen]

@GTO: Is there a specific reason why you opted for Mobil 1 even before reaching the 10 K mark as opposed to what is recommended by TBHP?

[Sheel]

Loved the narration and experience, i always felt i was present at the proceedings
Congratulations and the Civic looks absolutely rock star in white/black, waiting for the wheel swap
bumper and the rear tail-lamp are upgrades which may be noticed externally in the upgraded Civic

@rehaan--the stickers make GTO's ride really cool

[kutlee]

i think that not having that firmer suspension has given you to put a good aftermarket kit rt?
waiting for the new mod thread.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

The springing of the car will come into play as will other factors.

Bingo!

Originally Posted by smartcat

Do you always buy used cars with less than 10,000 kms on the clock and take home a 40% discount? Financially speaking, doesn't it make sense to get a further 30% discount and buy a used car which has been run for 60,000 km - especially since modern engines run for a couple of lakh kms without big issues?

If we were to act strictly in financial terms, then a used 800 for 50,000 - 75,000 rupees is the best. And it's easy to find a reliable one too. However:

a) 70% discount on any used Civic is impossible, however high the kms. What you are talking about is a 60,000 kms run Civic for 4.2 lakhs (30% of 14 lakhs). I have yet to see one, and doubt anyone will before 2012. The Civic was only introduced in mid-06.

b) Finding *nearly new* cars for a good price is the equivalent of killing two birds with one stone. You get nearly all the benefits of a new car (top shape, reliability, negligible wear & tear, high on the feel good factor) at a great price (in this case, almost 45% off). As you can see, I'm a fan of these kind of deals. Of course, there isn't any particular rule as such. Admittedly, I was tempted by '05 Accord V6s and am still hunting for a classic Merc (could end up with something 20 years old).

c) It really depends on budget. I had originally planned for 6.5 - 7.0, but didn't think twice about extending that to 8.0 for such a sweet car. The rule of used cars is, buy the newest / lowest mileage / best condition that your budget allows for.

d) Today's cars are good for 2.0 lakh kms, yes. However, there's a difference in owning a car yourself from 0 - 75,000 kms (and knowing exactly how those 75K kms have been driven) and buying someone else's 75K kms (not knowing the history of the car). I'd still consider if a 75K car belonged to a friend, or someone who I know is particular about upkeep, but again.....buy the newest / lowest mileage that your budget allows.

Originally Posted by Bumble Beast

Could we have some sneak peak on the mods planned?

In no particular order:

- Wheels + tyres
- Race Dynamics Box or a remap
- Free flow
- Air intake
- Performance suspension
- I.C.E.

That's it for now, though some people are doing the best they can to lure me onto bigger things

Originally Posted by JVH

Have you zeroed in on the products/kit? I'm sure you would have concluded the research by now.

Wait and watch

Originally Posted by rr_zen

@GTO: Is there a specific reason why you opted for Mobil 1 even before reaching the 10 K mark as opposed to what is recommended by TBHP?

Good question, RR Zen. See, I bought a used car and thus, there will always be some element of doubt on how it was driven. Plus, it is over 2 years old. That's why I switched over to Mobil 1 2,500 kms too early. I don't expect her to visit the service station before Feb '11 now.

Originally Posted by Sheel

the rear tail-lamp are upgrades which may be noticed externally in the upgraded Civic

I personally like the "perfect circle" rear lights of the pre-facelift. But the front end of the new one is better.

Originally Posted by kutlee

i think that not having that firmer suspension has given you to put a good aftermarket kit rt?

Yup.

[akaushik]

Originally Posted by vasoo

Well, in my experience and test drives I found City to be hitting more humps in Bangalore than the new Civic. In fact City is strung lower at 165mm than Civic which is at 170mm. The main thing that may cause issues for Civic is its long wheel base. Of course in Himalayas, an SUV or at least an SX4 would fare much better.

Hey dude , As I mentioned that I am in Honda itself , I got a very good deal and a discount of 2.5 Lac on Honda City and mine is previous model vtec not ANHC.Although my car is new but because of one model earlier I got a new car in this price so I think it was a good deal else I would have gone for Civic.

But I had been to few places and planning a drive to leh this summer so I can only comment on this point after that trip.

[s3va]

Originally Posted by GTO

At the time that I bought my OHC Vtec, it was less than a year old. This Civic is a li'l over two years old. I don't ask the reasons. Why? If it was something irrelevant to the car, I am not interested in knowing. And if it was relevant to the car, do I think the owner would give me an honest reply? No. What's the point then.

Either ways, the OHC Vtec & Civic were bought through Honda authorised dealers (their used car division) and hence, I've had no proper interaction with the respective owners.

Well, only if we ask the previous owner then we would come to know about the relevance and to an extent we would be able to judge the honesty of an owners statement along with verification of the service records ! And if we find the owner to be dishonest at some point, then that would leave us think whether to proceed with the deal or not ! Anyways, its upto one's own comfort level that this question needs to be applied. If there is a belly full of risk taking appetite then this question is totally irrelevant ! Well that's my perspective ! Glad for you that Honda used car dealer relationship has brought only good luck so far especially in a country where dealers are famous for selling lemons and total loss cars including premium car dealers like Skoda !

Nevertheless I know you would have defenitely done over and above what is required to buy an used car ! that was just my perspective which is subjective again .

Looking forward to your mods now !

[holysmoke]

Mobil 1 on the civic is pure bliss. I just changed mine after 40k kms and its has become really rev-happy. just a light touch on the accelerator and the car just leaps. Much easier and more fun to redline now

[civic-sense]

Couldn't hold back the rush of jealousy when I started reading your post. Where were all the white Civics when I was searching for one? I ended up buying a silver-blue. It is hard to find a good deal in Bangalore, paid 7.6L for a Sep 2006 AT with 40K on odo.

Honestly, didn't like the drive very much in the begining. The lack of low end torque made it feel underpowered. But once I discovered what is in store after 3000 rpm, there was no looking back. The throttle is almost always in kick-down. And the trade off of 1 kmpl, is worth the price paid for the tremendous driving pleasure it offers.

Looking forward to the mods. There are quite a few irritants that I want to get rid of.

- The soft suspension.
- Lack of low-end torque.
- Ugly looking alloys.

[ImmortalZ]

The alloys might look ugly stationary, but they look good in motion I hear. I've never seen my car in motion from the outside though.

Nearly 1.5 years in, I'm loving it more and more every day. Trivandrum arguably has some of the worst roads in Kerala, or even South India thanks to the JBIC (now JICA) water project digging up just about every road in the city and leaving it like that for years. My Civic has travelled on these roads for the majority of it's life and it feels as tight as a drum.

Post an engine mount change (under warranty, accurately diagnosed by dealership, delayed part arrival), it is back to being the springy, sprightly, upbeat self, raring to go at the slightest touch of the fast pedal. Honestly, every time I go to the pump, I'm not thinking "there goes more money to be exploded". I think "that's another 200KMs of fun!".

Honestly, if Honda A.S.S wasn't so varied across India, ranging from extremely good to Skodaish levels (poor bloke in Rajasthan) and anywhere in between, this car would've been a no questions asked recommendation. I was recently contacted by a survey dude from J D Power who actually noted down all my complaints. Maybe change is in store?