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First the apologies - A newbie starting a new thread. Hope this is an interesting read.

I have been a silent member for a long time. Enjoyed TBHP during the dark after-hours and late nights. Specially new car launch threads. However something really nice is happening in my life and thought to share with all of you.

Of course it is about a new car. The title gives it away!

My current car -Ikon is ultra headache free. We used to TD many new launches and come back feeling good to be in an Ikon. Really, what is the point of buying a product when your current car brings more smiles every time you drive. Or every time you walk towards it in the office basement after a hard day at office, you feel happy. So for quite sometime I have been shrugging off the new purchase feeling.

Till the preworshipped Civic threads (GTO and smartcat) came up here. Thanks da. I was blown over!!
Used car never appealed to me. How do you know what the previous owner did? Did the fellow change oil and filters on time? Major accidents covered up? What about wear and tear after 50k Kms. These were the questions and I felt that Indian used car market is not matured enough like US where VIN number identification really helps in choosing a good car. But when I read from various threads here that you cant tamper with Civic's odometer and Honda can tell the service history, I started thinking.
During a grocery day at Reliance Fresh a quick detour to Honda showroom. Wife was shocked. I told her just checking and walked in and plonk, sat in a Civic. Taking cue, my little 4 year old son hopped in and promptly started jumping on the seat. Wife decided to stand stiffly outside. The salesman came, bent down and looked at me. Maybe we looked like customers. So he switched on the ignition.

Wow.
There I was, smiling stupidly, holding the leather clad steering with thousand blue, red and orange lights dancing in front of me. World around me vanished in that instant. From far away I head wife scolding my son to stop jumping on the seats. During that instant it didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

I knew. I have found the perfect replacement for the Ikon. And we have not even driven the car.

For long, me and wife had decided that no new car purchase till we pay off the home loan. Came back home and looked at our finances. We can pay off that loan but with heavy casualties. No problem. In a months time home loan was paid off after selling off MFs and sleepings FDs. I convinced my shocked friends why it is important not to have a liability, how much one can save by not having EMIs etc etc. Real reason no one new (until now).

Well after that 14-16 lakhs became really out of my budget. So used Civics became my mission for the next few months. Used Civic market in Pune is nothing like Mumbai. Choices are few and prices are higher. Saw a 07 Black with 58k. Looked like someone has scrapped the interiors. Even the gear knob had worn off. Saw a 09 with 14k. It had already started getting corroded. Very strange. In all saw about 9 cars in the last two months, including one in Mumbai.

To be continued.

[vasanthn21]

First of all, congrats!

GTO seems to have started a trend of "Preworshipped Civics", though the idea was about any preworshipped good car!

But then, if one is upgrading from an existing mid-range Sedan Civic seems to be THE BEST choice so far!
(I ha
Looking forward to your buying experience and pics. (I had a very interesting and at times frustrating time looking for a pre-owned hatch, so I am quite eager to hear your story).

[Klub Class]

Aaha! It's raining pre-worshiped Honda Civics in T-BHP

IMHO, finding a very well maintained car in the used market is not a simple task.(Yes, I'm yet to learn that art). So, I'm eagerly looking forward for your story.

You know, no review is complete without pics. So, make sure that you upload many high resolution pics.

Have fun with your new car. Follow the traffic rules and drive safe.

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Originally Posted by vasanthn21

First of all, congrats!

Thank you.

Will continue the story.

Hunting for a car in Pune opened up quite a few automotive realities which I didn't know before. Dealers keep cars which are still in owner's name and charge 2% commission. Some dealers don't even keep cars. When you go there, they will call up the owner and ask you to fix up a rendezvous. So the bad interior 07 Black V-MT will still in owner's name. Again TBHP came to rescue. Looked at the used car purchase thread and called up Honda and Insurance. Honda said that it is lunch time. Insurance said that the insurance is actually over and they cant say anything. Smelling a bad deal, I decided not to call back Honda and walk off this car. If the owner didnt have time to take care of the interior, god knows how he took care of the car. Moreover the clutch also was felt very hard. A different dealer over phone said a nice car is available. On going there I realized that the fellow is talking about the same car!

The 09 silver sounded interesting. On going to dealer saw that the car is Nagpur registration. No issue about that. However trunk lid insides, door bolts and engine parts showed rusting. Wife said lets walk off. By the way, in the mean time she also got smitten by Civic. Normally car and her are poles apart.

Then we saw a 06 and 07 with over 50k kms. Not that they were bad. In fact, (one maroon and one silver) they were in pretty good condition. However the multiplex plastic cover had scratches. Hated that.

Then things got a little complicated. Will tell that as simply as possible. Some relatives needed money. Had to give. Coffer went down and I dropped the Civic idea. But something had to happen, some change. So decided to change the ICE of Ikon. First the HU, then the speakers, then an amp. Again TBHP came to rescue. The system is actually quite nice, better than Civic stock. But that is another story.

Then things got even more interesting. In a month's time a promotion happened at office. And Civic was back!!

A dealer had a 06 51K silver V-AT. Negotiated price from 7.7 to 7.3. He even had service records. At the same time saw a good deal in carwale. A 08 V-MT with 24k miles. This car was in Mumbai. My sister stays in Mumbai. Asked her is she could check it out. She did, with a car-knowledgeable friend, no idea who. Anyways, the feedback was that the clutch looks too heavy, may need replacement. Plan was dropped.

Almost at the same time three good cars came with some good dealers. One was 07 silver V-MT with 67k kms. Another blue-silver 07 S-AT with 33k kms and the last one Black 07 V-MT with 37k kms. 67kms was off the list. Yeah I know that Hondas last for 2-3 lakh miles. But still.
The black 07 was very nice. Nicely maintained interiors. Clutch fine. Multiplex didnt have any scratches. However salesman refused to lower the price from 8.5. I asked in TBHP whether black will become hot in summer. Akshay1234 and Spadix advised not to got for black due to maintenance and hotness. Thanks again folks.
The Silver Blue 07 S-ATwith 33k kms on odo was also nice. Again well maintained interiors. No scratches on the multiplex display. The ride was firm. Drove over bad patches to learn about the legendary Civic suspension. Nothing happened. Autobox was also shifting well, a bit noisy. My other Autobox experience has been my own Altima in US, which was more quieter. We all liked the car. Dealer reduced price from 8.5 to 8.15 in a weeks' time. On our second visit paid the booking amount.

To be continued.

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Originally Posted by Klub Class

Have fun with your new car. Follow the traffic rules and drive safe.

Thank you. Both the replies liked to know the purchasing experience, so tried to elaborate it.

A great deal has been said about Civic, so wont repeat them. What we liked, fantastic handling and over all a premium feeling. I have driven the previous gen Civic and this is a different car altogether. The Silver Blue color is soothing for the eye and matches our expectation of a lighter color. The brakes are in good condition with even wear in both front and rear disks. Dealer has "touched-up" minor scratches and dents. I opened the oil filling cap to see the interior of the engine. It was nice and clean, no buildup of any coating. The tyres seem to be relatively new since the tread amount is quite high. ICE is average. Need to fit a Aux-in. S-AT came with fabric seats. The condition is ok, but down the line planning to do something about it.
As of now posting some pictures.








Would like to write about the dealer, Mahindra Firstchoice and some subsequent heart-stopping moments. But that will need to wait.

[vasanthn21]

Posting at 2:00 in the night shows your interest (unless you work in night shifts )!!

In your first post in this thread you had apologized for a newbie starting a thread, you have to take it back. Your posts are very neat.

In the pics, your civic looks very good (the color and the body condition externally). Of course, the dealer would have polished the vehicle, even then the shine of the vehicle looks nice.

The half-light, half-shadow effect in the first pic is nice.

Yeah, finding good/honest deals from traditional dealers is very difficult (there are some exceptions though like classic automotive in Bangalore from where Smartcat purchased his Civic). The branded dealers (like Mahindra first choice, True Value and AutoMart) are slightly more reliable.

[dot]

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

Posting at 2:00 in the night shows your interest (unless you work in night shifts )!!

In your first post in this thread you had apologized for a newbie starting a thread, you have to take it back. Your posts are very neat.

In the pics, your civic looks very good (the color and the body condition externally). Of course, the dealer would have polished the vehicle, even then the shine of the vehicle looks nice.

The half-light, half-shadow effect in the first pic is nice.

Yeah, finding good/honest deals from traditional dealers is very difficult (there are some exceptions though like classic automotive in Bangalore from where Smartcat purchased his Civic). The branded dealers (like Mahindra first choice, True Value and AutoMart) are slightly more reliable.

Thank you. Yeah, the picture came out in an interesting sort of way. Furthermore, it is really true that dubious used car dealers are a large population. Thats why I feel that used car market in India is still not mature enough. Maybe in another 5-10 years it might become, with so much information being available with a few clicks. Awareness is also increasing.

So to tell the last part of the story.
After paying for the booking amount, I could not sleep for the next few days. Constant dilemma on whether we made a right choice. Excel files were made to estimate fuel price difference between the Ikon and Civic AT. Estimated that at 10kmpl for Civic and 13 for Ikon for monthly 800-1000kms drive I will be spending roughly 1500-2000Rs more. Actually not too bad.
Then the next pain point. How was the car maintained?
Mahindra had showed me the RC smart card and Insurance papers. It was first owner car, registered in Nagpur but apparently driven in Pune. Insurance was never claimed.
Called Nagpur Honda showroom. Number was in Honda website. Asked them
whether they can tell if the car was regularly serviced there. They said that they have never heard of the car. Very fishy. Called Deccan Honda in Pune. They also never heard of the car. Then I will really upset.

Called Mahindra. They said that "Dont worry sir, car is in very good condition. Thats why we give warranty" etc etc. Not convinced.

Then I realized that it is me who have been making a silly mistake. The car registration numer is MH34 not MH31. I have been inquiring about MH31****. How silly of me. MH34 is Chandrapur registration, near Nagpur. So called Nagpur Honda again. By this time the lady over there recognized my voice. This time it worked. The car was bought there but never got serviced there since owner moved to Pune. It was in their records. Thanked her lots.
Finally called Deccan Honda again. The lady over there also recognized me! This time she also confirmed that the car used to come there for service. Last service was done in March 10 with odo reading 30000. Asked her name and thanked her personally.
Finally happy.

The delivery is not done yet. Arranging Vitamin M in the meantime. Maybe in a day or two we will get the Civic. I will also try to write about the initial drive experience. Eagerly waiting..

[vsk2009]

Congrats for your selection. Also thanks for sharing detailed buying experience. Enjoy rev friendly ivtec. waiting to hear more about engine performance. Civic looks still younger.

[dot]

Well, finally Civic is part of the family. Had to go through a few unending days when the money part was being processed. Finally the time came to pick up the Civic. As Mr. Murphy would have it, there was an extra long meeting at office which ended at 7p.m. Called up dealer (Mahindra First Choice). They said that they are open till 7:30. So had no option but to drive my Ikon to the dealer and park it there overnight so that I can drive back the Civic. Just told him not to sell off the Ikon also.

Mr. Murphy didnt yet had the final say. Massive traffic block outside Mahindras. I was a little apprehensive about driving an automatic after a long time and a low traffic condition would have helped. So while signing the final papers, back of my mind I was thinking about the traffic and the unknown bulk of the car, what if Ghorpadi railway crossing falls and the U-turn will become hellish, what if this, what if that, etc etc.

Finally the time came to start the engine and drive her away from the door. I stopped outside the door and took a deep breath and pressed the accelerator gently. Then it started to rain.

I looked up and said is there anything left to go wrong. Come on, give it to me.

But once on the road, Civic took over. The soundless cabin, with faint AC breeze fluttering on my face, autobox in D mode, the matured engine purring noiselessly, the brisk scissor action of the wipers, all worries just disappeared. It took me all of five minutes to be in the perfect driving mode. The road ahead become incredibly easy. I just drove home. With a smile.

After that it has been almost five days of driving. The very next day of delivery we had to pick a friend from Pune Railway station. Easily managed the traffic. One issue is that the trunk is shallow. One large 30 inch suitcase could go in easily, however the other 26inch didnt get in. It might have got in also, but the shallowness prevented fast upload. We didnt try to juggle too much since honking had already started from the back. So the other suitcase had to kept in the back seat. Then I realized that AC was not cooling very well. Back to Mahindra who diagonized the issue as low gas pressure. No leaks. They added a gas charge and AC became chilling. They should have checked this before. I should have check this before.

Weekend came finally and I had the time to read the manual. Since this is a car which has spend three years on the road, I started checks. First green immobilizer light. Check. ABS light. Check. SRS light Check. This went on for sometime and ended with the trunk and door ajar lights. Seems that whatever has to glow or whatever had to glow and switch off is doing the job. Great. Next issue, the 12V adaptor not working. I had plugged in the Nokia car charger whose green light indicator should glow. No glow. Looked at the fuse system, no dedicated fuse for the adaptor, at least I could not find it. I was contemplating to go to Mahindras again when I suddenly thought to switch on the ignition. Happily the green glow came on the charger. Well, Civic is far advanced than Ikon where the adaptor has power all the time.

In parking mode I pressed the accelerator, the RPM goes till 5k before it stops and drops back. I suppose this is normal (torque limiter ?) Hopefully during driving RPM can touch red line. Dont intend to check that as I am a very sedate driver, I have never redlined the Ikon.

All these time I had not even bothered about the DTE and mileage. Read vasoo's thread where he discusses the innovative way to utilize the paddle shifter. Had some silly questions which he patiently addressed. Tested the paddle shifter after that. Man it is amazing. I am not repeating the conversation in that thread, but boy am I glad to see the DTE increasing in value.

Attaching a show off pic of the Ikon and Civic


To be continued.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by dot

The soundless cabin, with faint AC breeze fluttering on my face, autobox in D mode, the matured engine purring noiselessly, the brisk scissor action of the wipers, all worries just disappeared. It took me all of five minutes to be in the perfect driving mode. The road ahead become incredibly easy. I just drove home. With a smile.

Believe me, this car is BIG on the "feel good" factor. Right from the high quality interiors to the refined engine & tranny. The 5 speed AT, in particular, is very smooth shifting. You must find it incredibly spacious after the Ikon, no?

One issue is that the trunk is shallow.

In other words, useless! The boot is shocking small and that greatly reduces its ability to eat up airport luggage.

Back to Mahindra who diagonized the issue as low gas pressure. No leaks. They added a gas charge and AC became chilling.

How can there be low gas pressure without any leaks? Plus, it's unusual for a 33K car. I feel your car still has a slow leak, but they haven't found the culprit yet.

Attaching a show off pic of the Ikon and Civic

Neat picture.

Congrats on going the pre-worshipped way. I hope you see value in the deal over the longer-term. Drive safe!

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Originally Posted by GTO

Believe me, this car is BIG on the "feel good" factor. Right from the high quality interiors to the refined engine & tranny. The 5 speed AT, in particular, is very smooth shifting. You must find it incredibly spacious after the Ikon, no?

Absolutely. Nowadays whenever I am driving the Ikon I feel like immediately coming back to the Civic. Thanks for all the kind words.

I am planning to go to Honda workshop anyways for a check up. Will tell them about the AC and ask them to check spark plugs, fuel injectors, auto transmission, brake pad condition etc.

[veedub89]

Congratulations on your new car! Excellent write up this.
Those paddle shifts must be really fun to operate.
I remember using them way back when the Civic was launched. Fell in love with this car from then on.

Drive safe and have fun!

[C300]

excellent writeup and your car is in great condition! congrats!
can you share your used car dealer experience? any preferred/reputed dealers that you would recomend?

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Originally Posted by vsk2009

Congrats for your selection. Also thanks for sharing detailed buying experience. Enjoy rev friendly ivtec. waiting to hear more about engine performance. Civic looks still younger.

Thank you. Yes after four years on the road, it still looks fresh, in fact timeless. As GTO said in one of his posts, this is a rare car. I have my reservations on how the next gen will look. It will be a very tall challange for Honda to make a better Civic. Many times car companies fail to bring on the magic in the next generation. Like Zen, Lancer, Accent on Indian roads. Current gen Camry doesnt live up to the previous gen. This is entirely my opinion.

Originally Posted by veedub89

Congratulations on your new car! Excellent write up this.
Those paddle shifts must be really fun to operate.
I remember using them way back when the Civic was launched. Fell in love with this car from then on.

Drive safe and have fun!

Thank you. Yes paddle shifts are amazing. I am driving only in S mode since last weekend and using paddle shifts. So I can quickly move from 1st gear to 2nd by 5-8kmph and 3rd by 15kmph which in D mode would not have been possible. Civic decides the downshift.

Originally Posted by C300

excellent writeup and your car is in great condition! congrats!
can you share your used car dealer experience? any preferred/reputed dealers that you would recomend?

Thank you. Sure, Mahindra First Choice was a good experience. They gave a good price which was negotiated with six months warranty. Honda Terrace cars were also in great condition, but they were playing hard ball when it came to negotiation. Maybe some one with better negotiation skills can get a better deal from them. I didnt find any other dealers who were any better than these two. If you find do let me know as now some of my friends are also interested! Another suggestion is to go down to Bombay where plenty of options are there for preworshipped Civics.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by dot

Thank you. Yes paddle shifts are amazing. I am driving only in S mode since last weekend and using paddle shifts. So I can quickly move from 1st gear to 2nd by 5-8kmph and 3rd by 15kmph which in D mode would not have been possible. Civic decides the downshift.

Haha not done my friend. You should be using the paddles to put the car into 2nd at 55kmph and into 3rd at 105kmph.