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Yes :unhappy

Nothing that I can convincingly relate to. The car is a pampered one at that lol:

According to the SA, there was no need to replace it as its just a very slight noise that was coming through. But I was getting bothered due to the sound coming in from an otherwise very silent cabin. When I 'felt' the vibration, then also it was very faint, so I would say that I went for the replacement little ahead of the time.

Since its a bearing issue, I had a feeling that it will only become bad over period of time and hence went ahead and did the replace without waiting for it to go really bad.

Hey BHPians, our Civic's battery recently died completely, it was a 7 year old Exide Matrix, and we need some help from you to suggest a good, reliable replacement brand and model. It used to start the car just fine, but today it did not start after the warning lights were on for around 30 mins by the side of the road.

Thanks in advance

I've always had an exide matrix battery in the civic but in the crv I have the sf sonic , both work quite well no issues. the previous exide matrix(45-ah) in the civic was replaced after 5 years I think. We always replace the battery before it completely dies so as to avoid getting stuck by the side of the road.

Went ahead with amaron hi pro 45ah- costed 6.9k after exchange, discounts et al. Have heard that amaron is better than Exide, so went with it. But i have to acknowledge the fact that the Exide Matrix red which was there previously lasted for almost 7 years!:)

The current battery in my Civic is the Exide Matrix Red doing it's duty since 30/06/2021. However, the previous one was an Amaron Make. Though it went dead without leaving any trail, I was literally taken aback to see the manufactured date as 11/10:Shockked:.

11 years inclusive of the 1.6 years under my belt, without any hiccup! Speaks volumes about the longevity of Amaron:).

Hi all,

Last month my Civic went to garage for midlife makeover. Changed below parts

1. Front Shocks
2. All bushes
3. Lower arms
4. AC evaporator coil (Denso)
5. AC compressor fan assembly
6. All disc pads
7. All oils and filters

Total bill comes to 50k.

Still tyres change is pending and which will set me back by another 40k. I am happy to spend on Civic even though it is 12 years old. I want to keep it for another 5 years :)

In my Civic, I am observing the AC compressor/fan is turning on and off following one minute interval. I am not sure if there is any issue with new fan assembly. But AC is cooling the cabin very quickly and performance is good.

Do we need to check for anything after replacing AC evaporator coil and fan assembly?

Thanks

I don't think there is any problem with the system, as per my knowledge if you are getting cold air, it should be fine. It is normal for the fan to turn on and off intermittently, same behavior has been observed in our civic and our cooling remains unaffected.

Hello fellow Civic lovers. I need your advice, to balance the head versus heart conundrum I am facing - this is perhaps one of the few forums on the planet where it will be understood.

Like a lot of us, I too grew up drooling over the sweeping lines and spaceship like dash of the 8th gen civic. Also, like a lot of us, now that I am grown, I observe that the drooling has not stopped and the object of desire is the same. Now while I recognize that a lot of this is rooted in nostalgia (The Heart), I also know that having owned 2 Honda cars from the era (a 2006 city and an early 10s Jazz), my respect for Hondas from the time has some basis in reality.

Talking about our '06 Honda City - while it has served us quite well over the past many years and lac and a half off Kilometers, and continues to serve us well even now - that engine is a thing of beauty - it is now time to replace it. We (my mother, who drives the City, and I, who drives the Jazz) have done the rounds of auto showrooms and had a look at the cars on offer today, and while they're all good solid options, nothing really has tickled our fancy in the way that we would have liked a new car to. The most logical option has been to walk back into a Honda showroom and drive back out in a new Honda City ZX. (The Head) But where's the fun in that!

The less logical but more fun option seems to be to walk into the Honda used car classifieds and emerge out of them with a well maintained Civic that has been making my heart flutter for over a decade and a half now. Following this process has lead me to an example that I could consider, the specifications of which are as follow:

A Feb 2011 Honda Civic 64000kms VAT with sunroof.

The car is technically a second owner vehicle, but that is because the 2nd owner had it transferred to his name from his company. The mileage is genuine, confirmed with the service history. The car is being sold because the owner has moved abroad and his family is no longer using the car. The car is registered in Karnataka and I will be needing to register it in Chandigarh, where it will be driven primarily by my mom. I visit Chandigarh often from Gurgaon which is where I stay, so would enjoy it there on the weekends.

The idea is that I buy this now, enjoy it for a few years - a cure for the proverbial itch, and then buy the proper new car replacement.

My (need for validation masquerading as) questions are as follow:

1. The car is 12 years old now. Does it make sense to be buying a car that old? The City has been rather trouble-free, can I expect the same from the Civic? This is important because I don't need mom to be inconvenienced.
2. What is a fair price I should expect to pay for the 12 year old car? The initial ask is 3.5L. Seems steep to me. How much should I negotiate?
3. Will the Civic be as fun to drive in the long run as it is in my head? Only makes sense to buy this old a car if the pay-off is strong enough.
4. I've heard horror stories about the fuel consumption - is it really that bad? Will the joy of owning a Civic be enough to overlook this factor?
5. Is it technically becoming a 3rd owner car when it comes to me much of a factor?
6. Will the joy of owning a childhood dream be enough to overlook the lack of modern amenities, or will I regret this decision?

Now, I know that a lot of these questions are heart questions and there's no answer to them, but I guess that's what makes BHPians the right people to answer this. You all are the most likely to get the head versus heart debate I have going on in my mind, and help me sort out my thoughts.

TIA to any one who can navigate this labyrinth of jumbled thoughts and help me out!

I currently own a Feb 2010 V AT done ~49xxx kilometres and shall answer your questions.

Firstly check the overall condition of the car, if this is as clear as the genuine kilometre reading then proceed. Bear in mind the run roof was not company fitted at the time, this must be after market, so check for usual issues like water leakage and rusting on the roof rim.

1. No issues as such in the 12 years that I have owned it. I bought it new at the time. Regular service every year is important. Changed brake pads, skimmed the discs, tyres once so far and battery I think twice. It’s trouble free generally.

2. Fair price is up to you again depending on the condition and how much you really want this particular piece.

3. It’s absolutely fun to drive, you won’t regret your decision on this front for sure. A fully laden car will hit ridiculously high speed breakers if you are not careful. Going diagonally over them takes care of this issue. On highways I put it in S mode and use the paddles, fun, fun, fun is what I say:)

4. Fuel consumption is low, there is no getting away from that. Expect 8 in city traffic and around 12-15 on the highway realistically. Any more you eke out, consider it a bonus but don’t rely on it.

5. Third owner will matter when you decide to sell it. At the price you are buying it for there cannot be too much of a hit price wise. You could fulfil your hearts desire of owning one without much loss and at a relatively much lower cost while buying it.

6. Modern amenities? Only thing I have added is a music system with a reversing camera, everything else is stock. I don’t miss anything, that’s a call you have to take after thinking about what you will be missing with a new car. At this price point (~3-3.5lacs) you are in Maruti Alto territory, keep your expectations realistic lol:

Anything more in particular, ask away and do update us on your final decision.

Cheers

1. It is fairly trouble free. Only thing that you should look out for is the engine mount and the power steering leak, rest of the car won't have any major problems if maintained well.

2. Not sure how the market is in Chandigarh, but in Bangalore a used Civic around 11 years old is around 3.5 to 4, although you could get it down to 2.8 or 3 based on any issues that exist within the car.

3. The Civic brings a smile on your face everytime you go above 1500 rpm. It always has enough power to pull off overtakes with ease and is blessed by the 1.8L i-vtec engine.

4. In the city, as said earlier by BHPian Cyborg, you get around 7-8 kmpl and around 200-250 kms on a full tank. On highways, it has given atleast 500 kms on a tank. It's not that bad, the driving experience makes up for the fuel economy:)

5. If you're willing to keep the car for a long time to come I don't think you should really worry about being the third owner. The Civic is at the bottom of its depreciation curve, so it wouldn't make much of a difference.

6. The Civic, when launched, was already ahead of its time. A good head unit upgrade is all you need to make sure you have basic modern amenities. IMO, I don't think it is missing anything else apart from this.

I'd say if you really want a Civic, you've probably come across a really good example which is hard to come by as mine had been poorly maintained and the odometer had been tampered with, by the time we got to know it was too late.

All the best!:)

Echoing the comments shared by CzechItaliaMoto and Cyborg.
Regarding maintenance, there were few times when I had to wait for 1-2 weeks in getting the parts, but even then the car was in running condition and was never 'shelved' for parts.
Since most of the times the parts are imported, they will be relatively expensive.

If the car is in good condition (T-BHP checklist), the AC chills well over a ~30 km drive, power steering does not have any issues, there aren't much else to go wrong in the 8th gen Civic.
Since this was your dream, you should get it! Its an amazing car that will put the smile back each time you get behind the steering wheel, although its a decade old.

Regarding the sunroof, I think the last iteration of the Civic did come with factory fitted sunroof. Nevertheless good idea to have related areas checked as suggested by Cyborg.

Thank you Cyborg, CzechItaliaMoto, and sarathlal for your replies (and apologies for my late response - work has kept me super busy). These really assuage my fears about getting the Civic - I'm likely going to get it if all goes well.

The situation, currently is that the car is stationed in Himachal with the father of the owner, since the owner has moved abroad. He is likely to visit Chandigarh soon at which time I plan to get the car inspected, and then close the negotiations and the deal. (Fingers Crossed).

I will keep you updated with what happens, and will also bother you again in case I have more doubts!

Between earlier civics (2006-2010) and the later ones (2010-2013), was there any difference other than the Sunroof?

I am not able to find a proper source which has the full list of specs for both variants. Do share some insights if anyone of you have.

I understand V and S had the difference on leather v/s fabric seats and fog lamps only. But not sure if sunroof was the only difference between earlier models and later refresh or is there anything that I am missing?

Context: Looking for a fun-to-drive car at a lower budget and Civic is one of the contenders. Laura is another one but it is hard to find a well kept example for both of these.

The most practical difference was that the facelifted Civic from late 2009 had a better rear suspension which prevented the car from bottoming out so easily, which was a problem in the pre facelift models.
The front grille also looked more aggressive, along with the rear tail lights looking like they were LEDs(they had a futuristic design)
The instrument cluster had a new option- displaying real time FE as well.
It lost out on the 6CD changer which was in the prefacelifted Civic, only had a single CD player in the head unit.
The V variants came with cruise control in the facelifted Civics which wasn't present in the prefacelifted ones. This is something I have been wanting to retrofit for a long time but nobody is willing to take it up.


This is pretty much all I know about the differences between the two:)