[jocreative]

Well after a strong and well faught battle between the Altis and the Civic in my mind, i have finally decided to go for the Civic AT. Feeling proud of making the decision, I confidently picked up the phone to call the dealers to book for a Civic AT Black!
Here comes the next confusion - The dealers say they may have another possibly "better" offer that may interest me and tells me that they have a Civic AT model available, but its the previous model without the cosmetic upgrades and the cruise control on steering wheel... and its White!

They offered me a big discount - Waived off the 49K insurance, and threw in a 4k Rear Parking Sensor for FREE, and since they looked desperate to sell the model, I asked if they can give me a Rear Spolier for free...or even half the price . They put me on hold and said that it was not possible, but they managed to give another 1.5k discount on the 20k spoiler, and throw in some more freebies like Perfumes, Mats etc.

My paranoid thoughts are - be it the old model or the face lifted new model, the resale value is really going to go below 50% after 2 years or so, because of the other well valued competitor cars and also them having alot more features that Honda will obviously bring out a new Civic with alot more features soon... hence even driving the value down more. Its a pretty obvious assumption, so I guess thats one of the reason why I am still leaning towards the White AT offer.

I really dont care for the cosmetic changes in the new model, or cruise control. I am right now basically in Trivandrum, and cruise control is not going to be in my list of usage controls for a very long time since the roads are really bad. And everything else is still the same, and I am getting the same AT model for 60-80k lesser than the newer model, and ofcourse White rather than Black.

I have no issues with the color White, but considering my previous car Chevrolet AVEO was Ivory (off white), I was actually ready to go for some color on my next purchase.

Another quick doubt, does the 2007/8 model and 2009 model suffer any major difference in drive comfort, FE, or performance?

I already have a semi-guilt for not going for the well classy royal Altis because I am just not ready to transistion into the grown up mature looks classy Car yet... and also because the TVM dealears refused to provide the car in Black. I just want to make sure I make the right decision on this one.

So, the question is should I go for the White previous model AT (14.2L) with the ridiculous discount offer and get it delivered within a week... or Spend 15L on the new model and get it in Black and also wait for 30 days.
Let me know if you guys have any thoughts on this.

[AirWind]

Are you a petrol head? Havent seen one for a long time from the state... I say dont discount the Cruz yet!

Except for cosmetic upgrades, dont think there is any difference in ECU on the new Civic, so should be okay to buy the older variant, just ensure it wasnt abused as a TD car.

The discounts seem less for a pre-face lift model, you should be able to get atleast a lac off - c'mon its Kerala and petrols dont sell. Haggle hard, especially with year end you should be able to get more discounts not just on the "outdated" but also the "face-lift" model.

I find it difficult to maintain a black in our dusty environment and that too in hot conditions, but that said a black Civic with Mugen body kits is one hell of a looker!

If your heart is set on black, just dont let the 80k difference spoil sport, you will curse yourself for rest of the car ownership every time you see it.

[Guna]

There was also a discussion about Honda having stiffened the rear suspnsion in the facelift model. And, have they removed the 6 CD changer which was there in the pre-facelift model?

[RJK]

Jo,

You can push for more discounts;I was offered a similar kind of deal when I got my civic 3 weeks back, but I ended up getting the new civic. I was offered 1L discount here in Bombay. I would advise you to forget about the spoiler and try to get as much cash discount as you can since you can most definitely get the spoiler from outside for a cheaper price anyway. Its up to you really, if you want to keep the car for a long long time to come, then its fine, if you think you're going to sell it in 2-3 years, you might take a hit on the resale of the car.

[jocreative]

Originally Posted by AirWind

Are you a petrol head? Havent seen one for a long time from the state... I say dont discount the Cruz yet!

Yep definitly a petrol junkie. I cant find myself transitioning into the Deisal stage yet. I TD'ed the Cruze, and found myself to have a lower body work out while managing the clutch in city traffic! I wondered if my driving can go wrong...The executives said its becuase its a deisal model

Originally Posted by AirWind

Except for cosmetic upgrades, dont think there is any difference in ECU on the new Civic, so should be okay to buy the older variant, just ensure it wasnt abused as a TD car.
The discounts seem less for a pre-face lift model, you should be able to get atleast a lac off - c'mon its Kerala and petrols dont sell. Haggle hard, especially with year end you should be able to get more discounts not just on the "outdated" but also the "face-lift" model.
I find it difficult to maintain a black in our dusty environment and that too in hot conditions, but that said a black Civic with Mugen body kits is one hell of a looker!
If your heart is set on black, just dont let the 80k difference spoil sport, you will curse yourself for rest of the car ownership every time you see it.

I would love to go for the black... I wonder even if I get them to do a black paintjob on this car, it would probably cost me around 30-40k extra, and it would probably look as good as a stock black car. Correct?

Originally Posted by Guna

There was also a discussion about Honda having stiffened the rear suspnsion in the facelift model. And, have they removed the 6 CD changer which was there in the pre-facelift model?

Havent heard any talks about the rear suspension yet. THey have changed the 6 CD Changer to a single CD changer. But I do not see that as a big problem... who listens to CD anymore when they have iPods and USBs!

Originally Posted by RJK

Jo,
You can push for more discounts;I was offered a similar kind of deal when I got my civic 3 weeks back, but I ended up getting the new civic. I was offered 1L discount here in Bombay. I would advise you to forget about the spoiler and try to get as much cash discount as you can since you can most definitely get the spoiler from outside for a cheaper price anyway. Its up to you really, if you want to keep the car for a long long time to come, then its fine, if you think you're going to sell it in 2-3 years, you might take a hit on the resale of the car.

I did try to ask for more discounts, here is their justification. Car costs = Rs13,40,000 , Insurance= Rs49,593, RT = Rs 80,405. They say they cannot touch the car Cost or the Road Tax since its a fixed amount, and can only waive off the Insurance.
Are there any hardcore pointers I can say to bring down the car cost? Let me know. I do have a feeling that they would reduce them more but I just need to know what chains to pull

[mkc15]

Jo, you should be getting more discount (atleast a lakh + freebies) on the pre-facelift. Bangalore dealer's were already offering 50K cash discount during the launch of face-lift. Haggle for discounts on the face-lift as well. Dont take the insurance from the dealer, ask them to give that as cash discount. You can get the insurance from an external agency for atleast 20% or more discount.

BTW, the face-lift is not just cosmetic, but also comes with some minor upgrades (ofcourse not significant except for the stiffened rear suspension). You can check for some details at http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-improved.html

[jocreative]

Originally Posted by mkc15

Jo, you should be getting more discount (atleast a lakh + freebies) on the pre-facelift. Bangalore dealer's were already offering 50K cash discount during the launch of face-lift. Haggle for discounts on the face-lift as well.

BTW, the face-lift is not just cosmetic, but also comes with some minor upgrades (ofcourse not significant except for the stiffened rear suspension). You can check for some details at http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-improved.html

On a side-note, why dont you TD a Cruze, before deciding ?

I did TD the cruze... i didnt like it actually... Maybe it was the model I drove, but the clutch handling was just too much. There was a lot of play and I had to push all the way down for it to work and also to drive in the city. It was a real turn off.
Ofcourse it has a lot of features, and the sun roof is also awesome... just wasnt satisfied with the drive quality.
Also the gear shift was a bit rugged as compared to Honda Civic and Altis MT version. It didnt have the 13.5L smoothness to the gear shifts maybe it was just me.

[iTNerd]

49K for the insurance FREE with the old model is not a good offer because, if you get the insurance from outsite you can get about 40% discount, and hence, effectively, what they are offering is merely half of it.. A good rear parking sensor from outside would cost around 2.5K to 3K.. so, effectively what all you are getting as discount will be around 30K at max, which IMO, is not a good offer on the old model..

On the new facelift model, here are what you'll get:
1) New refresh bumpers and styling.. better than the outgoing model
2) USB/Aux in connectivity - very useful for seamless integration of iPod/other portable players
3) Much better leather upholstery
4) Cruise Control
5) Upgraded Auto Tranny (something with the S mode)
6) Average fuel efficiency meter
7) Stiffen suspension

For the kind of discount the dealer is offering, I think you should shun off the outgoing model, and get the new facelift one.. If the discount is ~1 lac, then yes, would make sense to go for the outgoing one.. besides, you wanted a black Civic, so, follow your heart and just get the facelift version.. afterall, after spending around 14 lacs, why compromise on 5% of the cost and ponder on the decision on why you had not gone for the newer one...

[jocreative]

Hello Guys, the dealer refused to nudge from the price they have to offer... so no more discounts and the price is still 14.2.
I have also asked how much it would be to do a Stock Black Paint job on the White model, it would be an additional 65k. Any comments? Is it too much?
And they say it may take around 20 days to get it done.

At this point booking a new model, and getting a White with Black painted on, is almost the same, and so is the wait period. If I book a new Black model, They say the delivery will probably be sometime on Jan 2010 only, which is disappointing because I sort of expected the vehicle to be with me before christmas, so that we can do some long distance driving.

So my options right now are, Book the white older model and get it delivered within a week or two, and probably go for a paint job some few months down the road... or book for a Black new model and get it delivered in Jan 2010.

Quick Question, is there any "aftersale value or resale value" difference if i get the 2008 vehicle registered in Dec 2009 or Jan 2010?

[RJK]

Jo,

49k is ridiculous amount for insurance. My dealer had also quoted such astronomical figures (47k) but I got him to give it to me for 26k; thats right, they jacked it up by 21k. So, really they're not giving you much discount on the insurance. Buying a white and painting it black doesn't make sense to me, you might as well just get a new black colored civic. Is there no other dealer in town ? Maybe you want to ask dealers in close by cities if they have a black colored civic ?

[vkochar]

The older model is not worth the 50k savingsyou are getting.

I'd say go for the newer model or better go for it in January as resale values matter a lot in these cars.

Why did you rule out the Altis bythe way if I may ask.

[csentil]

47K insurance is just nonsense. You can get your insurance done outside as well. The same Bajaj, AIG, etc will give you a cheaper insurance.

Buying a car and repainting it is not worth the effort. Paint jobs unfortunately can go wrong.

You should be looking at cash discounts only. Never believe in free accessories. The prices of those are always jacked up to make it look more impressive.

[EssYouWe]

Not worth it in my opinion.

Pre-facelift model calls for more discounts.

The thing about not being able to reduce the price is hogwash. They can pretty well do that.

The unofficial suspension tuning is something I am sure you would give 20k for (Unless you drive on Autobahns).

Forget the repainting etc. Go in for the new thing.

[rr_zen]

I agree with the lot. It is not worth it unless the dealer is willing to give you some more discount which can be termed reasonable. The so called discount on insurance is an eye-wash, for you can get a better deal outside for sure.

My take on the repainting is - please do not go in for it. Whatever be the paint quality, I bet the dealer will not be able to match the factory finish. If you are so keen on a black car, I suggest you might as well wait and buy the new version in black.

[princemanatt]

jocreative, My 2 cents.
I don't see a point in buying a white car and painting it black. I have heard that you will never get the same factory finish anywhere else.

Second, you are going to keep the car for a long time. So I feel the time and money you spend on getting a slightly better model(read face -lifted version) is worth it.

I drive a pre-face lifted civic. It is a truly wonderful car. But the soft suspension is something I can live without. It is kind of annoying when you see it assisting you to swing and hit the under body whenever you negotiate a hump a bit carelessly. And they say the new civic has harder suspension which I consider as a big improvement.

And the discount you are getting is not tempting enough. So my vote goes for a new black civic