[laluks]

Done the 50K paid service.
Service cost - 1110
OIl replacement - 890
Oil filter - 156
washer plug - 19

Over all Rs 2200.

-------------------

I took care of that silly rattle inside the dash by myself. Thank you ST7677 for the information on how to do it.

Some pictures from myside - how I fixed the rattle .

[laluks]

I also had a peculiar issue with the AC. The driver side vents were not giving me cool air, but the passenger sides were. While I opened the dash I understood that accessing the AC parts required quite a lot of removal of the dash. This I thought was better left with the specialists.

Told the HASS - Dakshin Honda about my AC issue, with a strict warning that any rattles after the Dash refitment I'll take them to task. This time I was equipped with all data required. Knowing me I was assigned the good guys for the job, and the only request from their side was time. I was ok with that genuine request and I wanted in return access to the car whenever I wanted to inspect. Agreement done and car given.

Some pictures during the work.

Day 2 (sorry camera phone pics)

This unit has vents and open/close mechanisms. One such was stuck due to the dust and dirt accumulated. This unit must be removed and cleaned thoroughly to clear my ac problem.



The pedal assembly.



Gear cable assembly


This is the opening through which the AC blower takes in air. Rats has a potential entry through here. HASS asked me to put a mesh here, and I had allowed them to do so.


Me checking out the Manual



And then checking out the AC unit


Day 3

The gear cable assembly


Absolutely nothing under the dash. You can see the ac piping too.



The entire Dash removed and kept aside.




The passenger side airbag unit


The airbag ECU - its from TRW


The major components of the AC under the dash, cleaned thoroughly and kept for drying.






Took 4 working days to remove the dash, clean the ac vents, and blower and the ac inlet outlet cleaning and refitting. Very nicely done, and in each stage I was informed about the progress and I visited them daily. Absolutely fine workmanship.

Costed Rs3500.


Further found the battery weak, so replaced it wit an SF from the dealer itself -did not want to go out and hunt and check reviews. Later found that SF also has 5 years warranty and after 3years some prorated discounts comparable to other brands. Damage - Rs5300.


Still on stock tyres and brake pads.

[ImmortalZ]

Holy cow. That took some balls on your part to trust them to do a complete dashboard reassembly. On the other hand, very happy to hear that there are skilled people in Honda A.S.S who can do this sort of work.

My car just got another bit of painting done. The story is quite funny. Peninsular Honda, Trivandrum has had some staff retention issues over the past year. To recap : I had a fender bender quite a few months ago that ended up in the replacement of the front left fender, full repaint of the front bumper (over a 1.5inch scratch at the point where the bumper meets the fender) and the rear bumper too fully painted (I asked them to touch up a scratch and they were feeling generous).

When I got the car back, I found out that the shade didn't match. There's no metallic luster in the newly painted parts. I go back to Honda and find out that all the people who handled my car - the service advisors, the body shop people - are all gone. New body shop dude comes up, says "no problem sir, will fix it for you!". Takes the car for two weeks and gives it back to me. The only thing he did? Painted my passenger side door edge to try and hide the color change.

I had taken the car back from scheduled service in April and showed this to the another new body shop dude and the manager, who were both apologetic and asked me to bring it in for fixing. After my last two experiences, I wasn't too keen to give it to these people.

So, two weeks back, the bodyshop dude calls me up and asks me why I didn't bring in the car yet. Apparently someone in the organization had noticed my persistent complaints about their body shop on T-BHP and had taken issue. So I gave it on Monday evening, got it back on Thursday, all three panels painted.

As it is with everything Peninsular, everything has a plus side and minus side. On the plus side, color match is nearly perfect. I feel that a good wax/polish all over the car will make it perfect. On the minus side, there are a few dust spots and most annoying of all? A dent on the rear quarter panel - the most dangerous panel to get a dent on.

They offered to fix it for free of course with a full repaint of the quarter panel. But I might just leave it there. Haven't decided yet.

[laluks]

I thought about that for a while. Then anyways I had to get the ac cleaned. So a give and take - I gave them the time, and money and in return asked for access to the car as and when I needed, quality and satisfaction. Seemed to work

[navpreet318]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

Holy cow......................

................They offered to fix it for free of course with a full repaint of the quarter panel. But I might just leave it there. Haven't decided yet.

Immortalz even i have got a similar dent on the rear quarter panel.Its near the boot area.But the fact that they had to remove the doors and the entire panel from the rear to the front has to be painted Just made me keep that dent.

Its not worth getting all those hassles.who knows they might even dent the doors and worst of all some vibration crops up in the doors.Its just not worth getting into this hassle.

[hiren.mistry]

Hey fellas,
I have more or less decided to buy a used Civic or a Corolla, 2007 model. Mostly Civic though.

The cars I am looking at have done around 40000 kms on an average, so what I'd like to know what will be general upkeep costs of such a car.
I am confident that the engine is fairly reliable and will not require any maintenance but I am concerned about the life of suspension, brakes, AC and other mechanical bits.

I am yet to go through the entire thread but will be doing so now. I will of course get the car checked over by a Honda service station before I finalise it.

Looking forward to your replies. Thanks in advance.

Regards

[ImmortalZ]

The Civic is cheap to own. Regular services at 3 month intervals come to only 750+ taxes. Oil change services at come to around 2600+ taxes for synth. If your Honda A.S.S is friendly, they'll let you change oil independent of time, something very useful if you go for synth oil. Mineral oil changes are somewhere around 1000+ taxes.

The only known issue is the hydraulic engine mount which prone to early failure. This is covered under warranty. The car in general is supremely reliable. As with all Japanese cars, if things DO go wrong, costs are high. Other than a couple of cases of lemons, I have never seen any Civic on T-BHP with problems.

I think the best advice I can give is... buy it, enjoy it, just don't crash it or break it or you'll pay for it.

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

The Civic is cheap to own. Regular services at 3 month intervals come to only 750+ taxes. Oil change services at come to around 2600+ taxes for synth. If your Honda A.S.S is friendly, they'll let you change oil independent of time, something very useful if you go for synth oil. Mineral oil changes are somewhere around 1000+ taxes.

The only known issue is the hydraulic engine mount which prone to early failure. This is covered under warranty. The car in general is supremely reliable. As with all Japanese cars, if things DO go wrong, costs are high. Other than a couple of cases of lemons, I have never seen any Civic on T-BHP with problems.

I think the best advice I can give is... buy it, enjoy it, just don't crash it or break it or you'll pay for it.

Thanks Immortalz, thats perhaps the best piece of advice I can possibly get.
I am looking to buy a manual, any idea how much will a 2007 model set me back in Bombay?

I am not familiar with the features the V has over the S. Can someone be kind enough to enlighten me?

Cheers

[ImmortalZ]

I have no idea how the prices are in Mumbai. GTO's pre-worshipped thread is probably the best place to ask.

As for the extra features in the V,

1) ORVMs have indicators.
2) Misty Violet Pearl is an option for color.
3) Leather interiors.
4) Fog lamps.
5) Chrome door handles.

This is all I can remember on the top of my head right now.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

As for the extra features in the V,

1) ORVMs have indicators.
2) Misty Violet Pearl is an option for color.
3) Leather interiors.
4) Fog lamps.
5) Chrome door handles.

This is all I can remember on the top of my head right now.

Did the 2007 models have differences in the ICE?
- 6CD changer vs single
- 6 speakers vs 4

[ImmortalZ]

Nope, only the E came with a single CD changer and speakers cut down accordingly. I have this nagging feeling that the AUX IN was a V only feature for a while. Need someone to confirm that one.

[lalitk25]

Yes it was not there in intial S models later it came as astandard fittment in S as well. Mine is Nov 2007 Manufactured bought in Feb 2008 and it has Aux as standard.

[lalitk25]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

5) Chrome door handles.

Chrome in door handles are there in S as well.

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

I have no idea how the prices are in Mumbai. GTO's pre-worshipped thread is probably the best place to ask.

As for the extra features in the V,

1) ORVMs have indicators.
2) Misty Violet Pearl is an option for color.
3) Leather interiors.
4) Fog lamps.
5) Chrome door handles.

This is all I can remember on the top of my head right now.

Thanks Immortalz! I will be seeing a couple of 2007 Civics over this weekend. Hope they are V models.

Originally Posted by lalitk25

Yes it was not there in intial S models later it came as astandard fittment in S as well. Mine is Nov 2007 Manufactured bought in Feb 2008 and it has Aux as standard.

Damn! So that means I need to be on the look out for late 2007 model cars if I need an AUX in. I hope atleast the head plays MP3 format.

Thanks

[ImmortalZ]

The HU plays MP3/WMA. The AUX IN can be retrofitted on if you get one without it. The HU is the same. The only thing it lacks is the actual cable from the HU and the little flippy cover thing which has the connector on the dash.