[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by khoj

The guy who bought it 2 years back was made to promise that he will touch the other end of the tacho at least once a month. The insect went and installed a CNG kit.

hahaha! Tragic fate for the car though. I have difficulty in imagining the mindset of the guy who bought your car.

[avinash_m]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Your clutch is making a creaking sound and you are running it like that without problems since 2003?

Maybe its a Honda feature, not a bug!

Anyway, I can't stand "sounds" inside my car - so I'm off to a Honda dealership this Tuesday. I might as well get everything checked up - I will feel a lot better when I take the car on highways.

Not since 2003 sir! It has developed that sound over the years. I recently got the clutch replaced but didn't replace the cable as it still had life in it. Lately though the sound has increased, prompting for a replacement soon.

Thanks

[GTO]

Originally Posted by smartcat

See, GTO's "lateral upgrade" thread was my biggest inspiration for looking at the used car market.

Welcome to the pre-worshipped club, SmartCat! I'm glad that my thread played the role of a catalyst. A well-built Japanese car in the used car market makes plenty of sense. Sheer VFM, great space, power and all-roundedness. She will serve you well for a long time to come.

Congratulations & do drive safe.

[Nikhilb2008]

Congrats on a great car! And I have touched a maximum of 103 kmph in second gear. This was when the tacho needle was bouncing off the rev limiter!

The ride quality on your Civic seems to be better, mainly due to the different tyre size compared to your Optra. 205/65 R15 is quite a high profile tyre. Optra would have been running a 195/60 R15 or so.

Also, the car scrapes the huge speedbreakers lesser with this bigger tyre size. If you had the stock 195/65 R15 tyre size, it would be a lot worse.

[prguru]

Originally Posted by smartcat

I hit 7000 RPM (in the 2nd gear) today on an empty stretch of road near my house!!

Is it the stretch which is opposite to your house which goes towards the telephone exchange ?

Now that I know what that logo is, I have to get it rid of the number plate right away.

Yes, time get one of those High Security Number Plates.

What?!? Man, you should have just opened the gate, walked in, rang the bell and flashed your team-bhp username

OT : I would have but in Nagarbavi you never know who has dogs and who don't cos usually no one puts up a Beware of Dog board ( even we din't sometime back when we had a GSD ) and when someone enters unknowingly and hears the dog bark they run for their lives and I don't want to be in a similar situation.

Will surely walk up and talk to you when I see you around.

anantu2001 is also somewhere in Nagarbavi - time to have a Nagarbavi team-bhp meet at the BDA complex?

Yeah sure.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by GTO

Welcome to the pre-worshipped club, SmartCat! I'm glad that my thread played the role of a catalyst.

That thread of yours also put me in lot of trouble by the way - because everybody at home were wondering if I have finally gone crazy.

Rs. 9 lacs for a second hand car?
People only buy used Santros & Wagon R - not a Tucson or a Civic. That too, only when they don't have enough money to buy a new car.
If you spending so much money, why not buy a new car?
The car you buy will give you so much trouble, you will sell it in 1 year

and so on.

But now, after being with the Civic for a week, the 40% discount on the on-road price is making sense to everybody!

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

The ride quality on your Civic seems to be better, mainly due to the different tyre size compared to your Optra. 205/65 R15 is quite a high profile tyre. Optra would have been running a 195/60 R15 or so. Also, the car scrapes the huge speedbreakers lesser with this bigger tyre size. If you had the stock 195/65 R15 tyre size, it would be a lot worse.

Nikhil, what's your opinion on the A-drives? Do they suit my requirements (mentioned in the previous page) or are they better ones than the A-drives?

Don't say "it's terrible" though - I have already spent quite a tidy sum on them

Originally Posted by prguru

Is it the stretch which is opposite to your house which goes towards the telephone exchange ?

The new ring road - the long 5 km stretch from the Nagarbavi circle to the Magadi road flyover. I think because of the continuous incline, the car could only reach 93 kph in the 2nd gear.

[samy3660]

Congratulations thats a steal, maintain her well. Even i had recently purchased my first used car.

[recshenoy]

neat deal smartcat. I had not loged in to team bhp for 4-5 days. Today morning i was thinking, "need to check if smartcat has got his electric blue punto" and now i see this pre-worshipped civic

Any mods are planned? Get team bhp stickers so that we can spot you easily!

please provide a small report one to one comparison between optra and Civic!

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by samy3660

Congratulations thats a steal, maintain her well.

Will do!

Originally Posted by recshenoy

Any mods are planned? Get team bhp stickers so that we can spot you easily!

We live in a strange world. Today, I got introduced to a neighbour of mine (lives 4 houses away) - via Team-BHP.com! I met my neighbour (TBHP handle "prguru") today and discovered that had I put the TBHP sticker on my Optra, we would have met long time back.

So now I have ordered a set of stickers for the Civic from the Team-BHP store - when can I expect it?

please provide a small report one to one comparison between optra and Civic!

What I miss in the Civic (Basically, things I liked in the Optra):

- Driveability in stop-go-stop-go traffic. Optra 1.8 had such a fantastic low end torque, I could handle stop-go traffic without pressing the accelerator and just using the clutch. If I do that in the Civic, I hear a big shudder, complete silence and barrage of horn sounds from vehicles behind.

- Sunroof/moonroof & stereo mounted audio controls.

- Sound quality from the 8 speaker system of the Optra 1.8 LT

- The Keeeenk sound when I lock the car (Civic makes no sound and I wonder if I have locked the car or not).

- Boot open button on the key fob.

What I like in the Civic (Basically, my old Optra didn't have these features) -

- Climate control (The "AUTO" button is quite useful - no need to bother about adjusting blower speed).

- Much better quality leather used in seats & door pads.

- More legroom than Optra. Better backrest angle. Comfortable middle rear seat (Optra's middle rear seat was hard as a rock). No "bump" in the floor at the rear.

- Nice airy feeling/larger glass area.

- Unbelievable midrange & top-end performance in the Civic. Believe it or not, I have never crossed 4500 RPM in the Optra - because it used to sound like the engine is going to blow up if I push any harder.

- Nice slick short-throw gearshift.

- Heavier steering feel than the Optra

- Nicer driving position.

- 6 MP3 CD changer (Optra had a 5 CD changer that couldn't play MP3s)

- Dual airbags/ABS/EBD (old car had driver side airbag only)


Some characteristics of Optra & Civic that are similar:

- Ride quality

- Exterior good looks & interior feel-good ambience

- Ground clearance

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by smartcat

What I miss in the Civic (Basically, things I liked in the Optra):

- Driveability in stop-go-stop-go traffic. Optra 1.8 had such a fantastic low end torque, I could handle stop-go traffic without pressing the accelerator and just using the clutch. If I do that in the Civic, I hear a big shudder, complete silence and barrage of horn sounds from vehicles behind.

- Sunroof/moonroof & stereo mounted audio controls.

- Sound quality from the 8 speaker system of the Optra 1.8 LT

- The Keeeenk sound when I lock the car (Civic makes no sound and I wonder if I have locked the car or not).

- Boot open button on the key fob.

What I like in the Civic (Basically, my old Optra didn't have these features) -

- Climate control (The "AUTO" button is quite useful - no need to bother about adjusting blower speed).

- Much better quality leather used in seats & door pads.

- More legroom than Optra. Better backrest angle. Comfortable middle rear seat (Optra's middle rear seat was hard as a rock). No "bump" in the floor at the rear.

- Nice airy feeling/larger glass area.

- Unbelievable midrange & top-end performance in the Civic. Believe it or not, I have never crossed 4500 RPM in the Optra - because it used to sound like the engine is going to blow up if I push any harder.

- Nice slick short-throw gearshift.

- Heavier steering feel than the Optra

- Nicer driving position.

- 6 MP3 CD changer (Optra had a 5 CD changer that couldn't play MP3s)

- Dual airbags/ABS/EBD (old car had driver side airbag only)


Some characteristics of Optra & Civic that are similar:

- Ride quality

- Exterior good looks & interior feel-good ambience

- Ground clearance

Being somebody who upgraded to a Civic from an Optra, lemme do a comparison here. I know, it should have been in my ownership thread, but I am now too lazy to hunt for it.

Mine was a 1.6, but low end torque was better than the Civic. But there was only a boom sound once you cross 4000rpm.

Seating position in the Optra was even lower than Civic, but the car itself had a higher stance so it is evened out.

Seats hugged you better in the Optra. I find the headrests in the Civic a pain. Any idea why it is tilted to the front?

There are a few rattles that I hear in the Civic. Not even one rattle was there in the Optra.

Optra used to soak up all bad roads; was the most comfortable car I have ever driven.

Used to feel nervous inside the Optra when it is in a three digit speed (100+), not so in the Civic. I did up to 160 in the Civic, and still it was well planted and the car asking for more.

Same FE 8-9, the Optra being a 1.6 and Civic being a AT.

Braking was better in the Optra, I got the brakes of the Civic checked up at the SC, but they found it normal.

Nice small steering wheel in the Civic, Optra's horn placement was a horror.

[SmartCat]

Just gave my Civic for a general checkup at Magnum Honda. Will be getting the car tomorrow.

Had a totally "non-premium" service experience. Those people made me wait for 40 minutes before a service engineer walked in to take a look at my car - and that too, after I deployed the "Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease" strategy.

But they did offer free coffee and I was engrossed in watching an action packed Vishnuvardhan Kannada movie on TV. The service engineer walked in just before the movie climax though.

The service engineer mentioned that Civic needs wheel alignment at the rear too, and that the service interval is 10,000 km.

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Seats hugged you better in the Optra. I find the headrests in the Civic a pain. Any idea why it is tilted to the front?

Actually, headrests are primarily designed to protect our necks during rear impact - rather than offer neck comfort. Actually, when I'm driving or sitting in the passenger seat, my head doesn't touch the headrests at all.

There are a few rattles that I hear in the Civic. Not even one rattle was there in the Optra.

Yeah, Optra has surprising build quality. But thankfully, I don't hear rattles in my Civic - yet!

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by smartcat

The service engineer mentioned that Civic needs wheel alignment at the rear too, and that the service interval is 10,000 km.

I was told that only Toe adjustment of the front wheels is done !

[anantu2001]

Originally Posted by smartcat

The new ring road - the long 5 km stretch from the Nagarbavi circle to the Magadi road flyover. I think because of the continuous incline, the car could only reach 93 kph in the 2nd gear.

Ha ha ha.... You did it !! that stretch is amazing ..... mostly if you are coming from the other end - Magadi road flover. While your nearing Nagarbhavi circle, you can reach the maximum speeds

And yes its time we meet up near the BDA complex !!

Anant.

[sgiitk]

@smartcat: Are you sure that the service interval is 10,000km What I was told is 5,000/ 6months for service and 10000/12 months for oil change, provided synthetic is used.

[YaeJay]

Originally Posted by smartcat

I cannot park on the driveway because of rat problems.

That coming from dear smartcat is funny! Cong'rats' on the ride! Lovely colour!