[Ajay_Sensei]

I got a call from my dealer (Linkway Honda Andheri Mumbai) regarding the delivery of our City SV MT, saying that the car has been dispatched from Honda. This came as a bit of a surprise because I was expecting a late July delivery.
Should I go for a PDI at the dealer stockyard? Or an inspection at the showroom would be sufficient?
He wouldn't say what tyres are going to be on the car and I doubt if I will have any choice.

[vasudeva]

He would find out the tyre brand probably once he receives the car.

[CapnCook]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

The dealer told me warranty will not be void but that is his point.
What can I expect to lose per tyre. Existing is Bridgestone 175/65 15 but quality is not known.

I have completed 20K Kms on stock Bridgestone B250 175/65 R15s. I can't comment on relative comfort since I have not driven on any other brand. I suggest that keep your tires inflated as per the manufacturers recommendations and you should be fine.

My Review of the Bridgestone B250

1. Not a single puncture so far in 20K Kms. ++
2. Very less thread wear. Looks long lasting. ++
3. Good dry grip. +
4. Struggles for grip in very wet or downpour kind of conditions at higher speeds but not alarmingly. -
4. Slightly noisy. -
5. Neutral ride. ~
6. ABS Incident: Once lost grip on very hard braking under dry conditions on a squeaky clean highway (@ 100kmph) which activated car's ABS (which worked really well and saved the cow).

My driving profile:
Prefers to overtake often on highways to stay clear of trucks/buses and crowded traffic which makes me nervous and claustrophobic.
Loves fuel economy when driving in the city (no pun intended ) not so much when on the highway .
Drives 60 Km daily to office in Bangalore's traffic.

My Verdict: A balanced tire neither remarkably good nor remarkably bad. Upgrade if you are really going to push your car hard but for sedate driving and good mileage these tires are more than adequate. I am planning to keep them till they wear out but not going to buy them again.

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by Ajay_Sensei

I got a call from my dealer (Linkway Honda Andheri Mumbai).... He wouldn't say what tyres are going to be on the car and I doubt if I will have any choice.

You can do the PDI BEFORE signing on the papers either during the day of the delivery on when the car lands at the dealership service-bay.
No, you won't have the choice to switch the tires.
You SA will not know about the brand of tires until the car comes to the dealership workshop for their own PDI and cleanup.
Hope that help!
All the best and congrats on your new car!

[vasudeva]

I think I have been pleasantly surprised by the new City. The last time I drove it was in early 2007 (the 2003-08) model and it was extremely noisy at 60-70 kmph. Plus the steering was light. This time, it was none of that but I did notice revving noise when you push the accelerator. Still am buying it for the overall package. My first Honda car though my brother has owned 2 Hondas (2003-08 model sold in 3/2013 and 2008-13 model bought in 3/2013).

Feels quite easy and light to drive which should please my wife and me. My primary car will still be the Corolla but who knows. The biggest change is that both me and wife are short in height (153-164 cm) and always use a cushion to get better visibility for all sorts of things incl. cornering. In City, I feel we may not need that.

I think one has to look at the overall stuff rather than quibble about specifics.

[themonster]

Originally Posted by rockporiom

Hi themonster thanks for your reply. My car has done about 7.3k kms And will complete one year in august. I visited the ASC today and they couldn't hear the noise so i showed them the video to which they were surprised and looked like they were hearing it for the first time.

I also told them about a few more issues in addition to issues in the previous post like:

1) boot not closing properly without using brute force.

2) Stock HU hanging and resetting

3) wiper water jet not working Properly.

They say they need the car for at least 2 days tp diagnose and solve the issues which is a headache as i have only one car.

Why Honda why no proper quality checks?

1. Most probably the boot maybe misaligned or it may need some grease or MAYBE (worst case scenario, but chances are slim) the lock system might have gotten damaged.

2. That might need a factory reset. By the way, does it hang when you use USB or bluetooth? And did you try multiple USBs?

3. By wiper water jet not working properly, do you mean that the jets of water are not aimed properly at the windshield (lower down on the windshield) or if the force with which the water comes out? if its the first case, then you can manually adjust them using a needle. (Trail and error method)

Depends on dealer to dealer on how fast they work. Some dealers can finish off major services in a day, others might take 2-3 days.
The quality of the work done - that's a different story altogether.

Originally Posted by vasudeva

I think I have been pleasantly surprised by the new City. The last time I drove it was in early 2007 (the 2003-08) model and it was extremely noisy at 60-70 kmph. Plus the steering was light. This time, it was none of that but I did notice revving noise when you push the accelerator. Still am buying it for the overall package. My first Honda car though my brother has owned 2 Hondas (2003-08 model sold in 3/2013 and 2008-13 model bought in 3/2013).

Feels quite easy and light to drive which should please my wife and me. My primary car will still be the Corolla but who knows. The biggest change is that both me and wife are short in height (153-164 cm) and always use a cushion to get better visibility for all sorts of things incl. cornering. In City, I feel we may not need that.

I think one has to look at the overall stuff rather than quibble about specifics.

Hondas are generally good vechicles, but their cost of maintenance is a little higher compared to Toyota. (read some reviews on Team-BHP comparing cost of ownership and cost per km run, etc etc)
Height doesn't matter that much when driving the City. One of my cousins, who is about the same height (around 160cm) drives my City with ease. and the best part is, the legroom in the rear seat he frees up when he drives.

On the tyre upsizing front, since your a ride comfort oriented person (which I felt after reading your posts); I would suggest Michellin primacy LC 195/60 R15 (the most comfortable tyre from Michellin) or you can go with the Michellin XM2 195/60 R15 (which is an all rounder, but not AS comfortable as the Primacy LC). I recently upsized my tyres (to Bridgestone Turanza AR-20) and the total ride and handling of the car has changed. It made me wonder, what if I had taken Michellins instead of Bridgestones. (Michellins are more comfortable and more silent compared to Bridgestones)

Wishing you many happy kilometers on your new ride !!

[Ajay_Sensei]

Originally Posted by RavSam

You can do the PDI BEFORE signing on the papers ... All the best and congrats on your new car!

Thanks for the inputs RavSam. I will keep that in mind and sign the papers only after the PDI ... will probably take the delivery next week.

Excited to say the least!

[rockporiom]

Originally Posted by themonster

1. Most probably the boot maybe misaligned or it may need some grease or MAYBE (worst case scenario, but chances are slim) the lock system might have gotten damaged.

2. That might need a factory reset. By the way, does it hang when you use USB or bluetooth? And did you try multiple USBs?

3. By wiper water jet not working properly, do you mean that the jets of water are not aimed properly at the windshield (lower down on the windshield) or if the force with which the water comes out? if its the first case, then you can manually adjust them using a needle. (Trail and error method)

Depends on dealer to dealer on how fast they work. Some dealers can finish off major services in a day, others might take 2-3 days.
The quality of the work done - that's a different story altogether.

1. They tried fixing the boot earlier but the problem persists.

2. The HU is factory resetting itself and hangs on the phone mode showing anonymous caller. The HU hangs in bluetooth mode and when switching between FM and bluetooth.

3. The jet is aimed correct but there isn't enough force coming from the water. The other 3 jets work properly.

The problem here is there are only 2 dealers since honda was introduced. Now that was ok when they didn't do big numbers earlier but now with the city alone selling 7-8k units per month they are having huge work load with cars piling up everyday. The rush is so much that people have parked their cars on the road since the parking lot was full. Too many cars and only 9-10 service bays. Even for bodywork the minimum waiting time is 20 days. They need to upgrade their workshop or introduce a new and bigger one to tackle the workload.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by themonster

Hondas are generally good vechicles, but their cost of maintenance is a little higher compared to Toyota. (read some reviews on Team-BHP comparing cost of ownership and cost per km run, etc etc)
Height doesn't matter that much when driving the City. One of my cousins, who is about the same height (around 160cm) drives my City with ease. and the best part is, the legroom in the rear seat he frees up when he drives.

On the tyre upsizing front, since your a ride comfort oriented person (which I felt after reading your posts); I would suggest Michellin primacy LC 195/60 R15 (the most comfortable tyre from Michellin) or you can go with the Michellin XM2 195/60 R15 (which is an all rounder, but not AS comfortable as the Primacy LC). I recently upsized my tyres (to Bridgestone Turanza AR-20) and the total ride and handling of the car has changed. It made me wonder, what if I had taken Michellins instead of Bridgestones. (Michellins are more comfortable and more silent compared to Bridgestones)

Wishing you many happy kilometers on your new ride !!

Cost of maintenance may not matter much since the driving will be so low at 300-400/month. I have no problems with Michelins except my last Michelin Primacy LC 195/60 R15 on Corolla lasted 26K and had to be changed due to cracks and tears.

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by themonster

On the tyre upsizing front, since your a ride comfort oriented person (which I felt after reading your posts); I would suggest Michellin primacy LC 195/60 R15 (the most comfortable tyre from Michellin) or you can go with the Michellin XM2 195/60 R15 (which is an all rounder, but not AS comfortable as the Primacy LC). I recently upsized my tyres (to Bridgestone Turanza AR-20) and the total ride and handling of the car has changed. It made me wonder, what if I had taken Michellins instead of Bridgestones. (Michellins are more comfortable and more silent compared to Bridgestones)

Originally Posted by vasudeva

I have no problems with Michelins except my last Michelin Primacy LC 195/60 R15 on Corolla lasted 26K and had to be changed due to cracks and tears.

My understanding is that the Primacy LC is now upgraded by the Primacy P3ST. The Primacy LC was too soft for Indian Road Conditions and hence was prone to punctures. The Primacy 3ST is better on this front and is supposed to be more Silent as well.

[vasudeva]

Will keep this in mind, as I am getting delivery at 2PM and tyres changed around 4PM. I have had no complaints about Bridgestone on silent part and did not consider Michelin (when I used them) to be materially superior. With Michelin, once burnt, twice shy.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by themonster

How could you forget about Goodyear? It one of the worst tyres that come with the City and some members like me and BHPian RavenAvi have gotten it.

Didn't want to scare him by taking that name.

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Nobody has specifically responded to my request as to whether changing to 195/60 15 will compromise handling

I haven't had any issue in terms of handling of the car after the upgrade. No stress in handling the car in any which way. In fact I love weaving through the City traffic and am amazed on how easily a car of this size weaves through the City traffic. I did read about the fact that upgrading the tyres makes the Steering heavy. I cannot comment whether it's heavy or not because I never tried the 175/65 on the City. But come to think of it, The steering be any lighter than it is already, it would be a too light for my liking.

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Will keep this in mind, as I am getting delivery at 2PM and tyres changed around 4PM. I have had no complaints about Bridgestone on silent part and did not consider Michelin (when I used them) to be materially superior. With Michelin, once burnt, twice shy.

Wow . You are probably the first person I am seeing who has got a VX AT within 5-6 days from booking. People have waited for 6-8 months to get their VX AT.

Originally Posted by themonster

Hondas are generally good vechicles, but their cost of maintenance is a little higher compared to Toyota. (read some reviews on Team-BHP comparing cost of ownership and cost per km run, etc etc)

Although I do not have any knowledge of the Ownership cost of a Toyota, but I did not find the Ownership cost of Honda to be anything absurd. If your running of the car is about 800-1000 Kms per month, which is what my running is, the Maintenance cost per km is coming to less than a Rupee per Km. You just need to be sure to not get ripped off by the Service Centers for unnecessary things.

Originally Posted by themonster

Height doesn't matter that much when driving the City. One of my cousins, who is about the same height (around 160cm) drives my City with ease. and the best part is, the legroom in the rear seat he frees up when he drives.

I found the Dashboard a little too high for people with heights less than 5'5" or so. My mother was trying to drive the car. and she struggled to get a correct (not even close to comfortable, the seat-belt just becomes too tight with seats at the foremost position) seating position and her legs could just about reach the ABC pedals. She is just over 5 feet though.

[vasudeva]

Dear All

Thanks a lot for your input. I have just come back home with the new Silver City VX AT. Called the dealer on Tuesday, booked on Thurs morning, financing cleared on Thurs evening. Reached dealer at 150PM today, and completed car delivery between 2-3PM today. At 4 PM, got the tyres changed to Bridgestone AR20 Turanza 195/60 15 after paying 11K. Little steep as he paid 18K for all 5 stock tyres. But the tyre person is the largest in East Delhi and NOIDA. Pls. no comments on BS. I prefer them though have used Michelin on 2 cars. So as quoted in my earlier post, everything was on time.

For whatever it is worth, the odo read 2.9 km when I left the dealership (ACE Honda in NOIDA). So overall a great experience getting it in 2-3 days. Perhaps my wife's luck (and my 16 year old son's) who will be using it. My son of course on reaching 18 yrs.

Took the old Etios to the dealer and left with the City. Very heavy heart in letting such a fine car go, but hope the City sticks for 10 years.

The steering is as pliant as on the old 175 tyres and I felt on worsening. I drove 14 km on 175/65 and 15 km on 195/60.

[modisan]

Hi Honda City Worshippers

Need some advise. Rather, need some pressing one. I am looking at letting go my 2009 Chevy Spark (have a 2011 Punto too) and buy something 'more' wonderful.

Shortlisted Ecosport, Rapid and City and having gone through so many viewpoints and decision makers here, have settled on choosing City for power, smoothness, spaciousness, peace of mind and, wait -'a happier wife'!

Shall be buying under my company policy which allows buying a car even up to 2 years old and this is where I need advice.

If I were buying a Punto today, I'd never give a 1 year old one a look because I feel that it loses a lot of newness in about 2-3 years (with a usage of about 20k per annum). However, I feel that a City will not grow as old in about 12-18 months.

My priority is Automatic and looking at SV AT. Enquired on a few websites: About an year old ones are available for about 9.25! (New on-road in Delhi/Haryana at around 11.2 with 3 months waiting) They were claimed to have run 6-13 k for 2 available till last week but I feel I can find more over next 1 to 2 months. One standard poser is that why would someone sell a 1 year old City but I believe that it is just Probability distribution curve wherein people do dispose new cars while moving overseas or upgrading for something else having caught their fancy though their could be chance of a bad piece/accidental piece too which will have to be thoroughly ruled out and shall need help once I go to see one.

This would be my 5th car in last 10 years (sold 2-yr old wagonR while upgrading to Diesl Swift and sold latter for not very valid reasons except calling myself a fool) and haven't bought a 2nd hand so far and not feeling very comfortable buying a used one but I am trying to convince myself that a year-old Honda City should not let me down.

Suggestions/help please!

[vasudeva]

Serial call dealers in NCR and there is a very good chance that someone may have SV AT in your first or second choice of colour. I did that for VX AT and hit pay dirt with 3 dealers (Prime, Ring Road, Ace). Then close it quickly.
Perhaps Honda's factory being nearby, there is a good chance of something on the way soon.