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Old 2nd September 2011, 13:20   #76
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

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Originally Posted by Ace F355 View Post
I am planning for a looong drive from Delhi to Goa in the coming year end. Still on paper, but would like to realize this idea (advantages of being bachelor, eh!)!
Hope this materializes. In that case, the Shark and you will probably go through Pune...

Interesting.
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Old 2nd September 2011, 15:00   #77
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

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Originally Posted by arvi86 View Post
@ Ace F355 - The Shark badly needs a photoshoot, one very soon at that. With those delicious looking wheels and tires, its unfair to not let her show off.
Will be doing soon. Actually I want to get rid of ugly dent that my car had received couple of weeks back due to a biker! And I am not able to find time for handing over my car to the bodywork shop because of my tight schedules!

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Again, glad to hear those nice cosseting words. You know I love your Shark and its nice to see that you love my Civic too.
True and my heart goes out for every Civic I see on the road, arvi! Except the one or two wacky offtypes!

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Bring it on man. That would be an awesome trip if all goes well. I bet not everyone gets to enjoy their machines as much as we bachelors do, isn't it? Now, did I prick the heart of some souls here?
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Originally Posted by dot View Post
Hope this materializes. In that case, the Shark and you will probably go through Pune...

Interesting.
Should be able to materialize it in December since my Switzerland team will be on vacation during that time period and it will in return give me some time to have fun and free time for myself!!! Will keep you posted.
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Old 2nd September 2011, 17:51   #78
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

Some nice pics Arvi

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Originally Posted by arvi86 View Post
And finally, some shots of the Civic
Attachment 597045

Awaiting your comments and feedback.
This pic is good. Nice, loved it.

One can easily notice the saggin of the rear suspension of a civic when loaded.
Did you face any scraping issue in Coorg roads ?
Are you planning to install Coil spring Assisters ?

Where did you go for River rafting ?
Was it at the Barpole ? Near Kutta - South coorg.
Last time we had been to the Barpole River rafting, It was a fantastic experience.
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Old 2nd September 2011, 22:41   #79
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

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Some nice pics Arvi

This pic is good. Nice, loved it.
Thanks a lot sushrutha, glad that you liked them.
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Originally Posted by sushrutha View Post
One can easily notice the saggin of the rear suspension of a civic when loaded.
Did you face any scraping issue in Coorg roads ?
Are you planning to install Coil spring Assisters ?
Tell me about it. Why three, just two passengers in the rear seat is enough to make the rear suspension of the Civic sag. I was seriously contemplating on installing the Coil Spring Assisters but the recent Coorg trip was an eye-opener of sorts.

As I had stated before, except for two instances where the Civic hit the speed-breakers right before we left Chennai borders, there wasn't even a single issue faced throughout the trip thankfully. Just a little bit of care and change in driving styles from us (like coming almost to a dead stop in huge speedbreakers and crossing them slowly and taking really large humps at an angle) and the car came out unscathed. I was really impressed and am now feeling really confident in taking the car out. To cut it short, I have learnt to live with it and am ready to make these really small compromises for an otherwise lovely car.

BTW, how do you tackle it with Concorde? Please share your experiences as it would prove very helpful for me too.
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Where did you go for River rafting ?
Was it at the Barpole ? Near Kutta - South coorg.
Last time we had been to the Barpole River rafting, It was a fantastic experience.
That rafting snap was taken at Dubare Camp near Kushalnagar. Sadly, we didn't get to go rafting due to unusually huge crowd there. We were told that the queue could take upto 4 hrs to clear. It was a long weekend and the entire Bangalore crowd was there. But I heard from a friend who had been there and went for rafting that it was a great experience. Bad that we missed it but there is always the next time. Keeping my fingers crossed.
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Old 2nd September 2011, 23:27   #80
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

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Just a little bit of care and change in driving styles from us (like coming almost to a dead stop in huge speedbreakers and crossing them slowly and taking really large humps at an angle) and the car came out unscathed. I was really impressed and am now feeling really confident in taking the car out. To cut it short, I have learnt to live with it and am ready to make these really small compromises for an otherwise lovely car.
Thanks for sharing. This is exactly the way I have learnt to drive a Civic without bottom scratches. Just take it easy and the car rewards you.
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Old 26th September 2011, 07:11   #81
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

Well, it's been almost a month since I updated this thread. Blame the Civic for it as it keeps performing flawlessly (touch-wood) leaving me with nothing much to update or report. I need to learn from dot, mdsaab, Poitive, Ace_F355 and the like to come up with some interesting stuff to keep the thread running.

Ever since the Civic came into my life, time (and distance) have been literally flying. Hardly did I realize that until I got a call from Capital Honda on Friday stating that my car was due for its next service (6 Months or 5000 km). With the 30000 km service done on June-01, I immediately responded in the negative and told the lady that I would bring my car for service in December. Only while driving back home next day after a late-night dinner bash did I check the odo and it read 34418. "Oh, it's close to 35000. Did I drive it for 5000 km in 3 months? Oh yeah, a couple of drives each to Trichy and Yeagiri and one trip to Coorg! With another long drive to Masinagudi & Mudumalai planned next weekend, is it time for service?", the alarm bells rang inside.

Sunday morning, I called up the dealership, fixed up an appointment and drove the car for its regular paid service. I asked the Service Advisor to check the oil levels and change them, if necessary. I also asked him to check the under-body to check if there are any damages as a result of a couple of hard thuds in my earlier drive to Coorg. At the end of the day, I get a call from SA stating that all is well and the under-body only had a few minor scratches. The oil levels have been topped up too and the SA insisted that the oil can be changed in the next service. The final bill amount was INR 1794. I have heard a lot about 'having the pie and eating it too'. But, the Civic just showed me what it actually meant.

The car has come back spanking new and the clutch is relatively easier to operate now, not that it was hard previously, but the feel is better. So, the machine is all set for the trip to Masinagudi coming weekend. Now only if the men could apply for a day's leave at their respective workplaces and start getting ready!
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Old 26th September 2011, 07:41   #82
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

Since you have hunted a lot of cars before finally settling down for this one, which all places/ dealerships would you recommend for hunting used Civics? In Chennai.

For checking the service records for the cars, do they have any procedure? Or can anyone just walk in and get the service history for any car?

Last edited by CrAzY dRiVeR : 26th September 2011 at 07:43.
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Old 26th September 2011, 10:37   #83
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

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Originally Posted by arvi86 View Post
Hardly did I realize that until I got a call from Capital Honda on Friday stating that my car was due for its next service (6 Months or 5000 km).
did I check the odo and it read 34418. "Oh, it's close to 35000.
I asked the Service Advisor to check the oil levels and change them, if necessary.
The oil levels have been topped up too and the SA insisted that the oil can be changed in the next service. The final bill amount was INR 1794.
Hi RV, what is the frequency of oil change for Civic according to owners manual?
In case of City it is 6 months or 5k KM whichever is earlier.
Please check this and follow this requirement as much as possible.
Enjoy your Masinagudi trip and post your travelogue as well.

HC
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Old 26th September 2011, 13:20   #84
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

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Originally Posted by Habanero City View Post
Hi RV, what is the frequency of oil change for Civic according to owners manual?
An oil change is recommended every 10k kms if synthetic oil is used.

However, the service interval is 5k kms. So oil is changed during every alternate service.

Ask your SA. I think a 5k oil change interval is a joke, especially if it's synthetic oil.

Regards,
spadix
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Old 26th September 2011, 13:24   #85
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

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Originally Posted by arvi86 View Post
The final bill amount was INR 1794. I have heard a lot about 'having the pie and eating it too'. But, the Civic just showed me what it actually meant.
It is a nice feeling when you get to drive such an accomplished vehicle without burning the pocket. I never understood why many owners are selling the Civic in the first place.


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Originally Posted by arvi86 View Post
I need to learn from dot, mdsaab, Poitive, Ace_F355 and the like to come up with some interesting stuff to keep the thread running.
Amazingly I was thinking of the same thing yesterday. When I had started the Scorponok thread, I was hoping to achieve two goals (1) 1000 hits and (2) at least two pages of posts. Yesterday I was shocked to see that the Scorponok thread is in top 60 threads, post count wise, in the "test-drive and initial ownership" section. The top 60 includes ACE's, noopster's, Guderian's and mdsaab's thread. Then I went through Scorpo's thread all the way and was amazed at the number of purchases that has been made. Same would be true for ACE's. However you need to really learn from Guderian, noopster and mdsaab on how to make interesting threads without too much mods or accessories.
Hope that this is not OT.
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Old 26th September 2011, 13:55   #86
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

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Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR View Post
Since you have hunted a lot of cars before finally settling down for this one, which all places/ dealerships would you recommend for hunting used Civics? In Chennai.
Auto Terrace at authorised Honda dealerships always have quite a few Civics up for sale in good condition, but they are a little expensive. Its the same case with Mahindra First Choice too. But the advantage in these places are the peace-of-mind factor that you get when you plonk in the money. Another suggestion from me is that you can pick up the details from The Hindu Classifieds every week like I did. You will get a mix of cars at dealerships and with individual owners and you can shortlist according to your requirements.
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Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR View Post
For checking the service records for the cars, do they have any procedure? Or can anyone just walk in and get the service history for any car?
First thing that you have to do is to get a photocopy of the RC of each car that you shortlist. Call up the dealerships in your city and just confirm whether the car was serviced there regularly. Usually, they say 'Yes' or 'No' but they don't let out any other detail. On visiting the dealership and showing the photocopy of the RC saying that you are planning to buy the car, they show you the full service history. This particular step was quite useful and helped me a great extent in shortlisting the cars.

And, by the way, if you are planning to get one soon, all the best for your search!
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Originally Posted by Habanero City View Post
Hi RV, what is the frequency of oil change for Civic according to owners manual?
In case of City it is 6 months or 5k KM whichever is earlier.
Please check this and follow this requirement as much as possible.
Oh yeah! I am planning to get the oil changed once I am back from my Masinagudi trip. As of now, the car has just covered 4000 km since the last service in which the oil was changed. Even then, oil change every 5000 km is a bit of steal on Honda's part.
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Enjoy your Masinagudi trip and post your travelogue as well.
HC
I am still planning to start a travelogue of my drive to Yelagiri in June 2011 but am just not getting the time and patience to do so. Since then, I have already been to Yelagiri one more time and had a really long and nice drive to Coorg as well. Somehow, very soon, I need to make some time and come out with a series of travelogues of my 'Civic' drives.

Last edited by arvi86 : 26th September 2011 at 13:56.
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Old 26th September 2011, 21:11   #87
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

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Originally Posted by spadix View Post
Ask your SA. I think a 5k oil change interval is a joke, especially if it's synthetic oil.

Regards,
spadix
Thanks for the note spadix. I will definitely check with the SA once I am back from this week's planned trip to Masinagudi. Synthetic or not, I personally feel that an oil change every 5000 km is absolutely unnecessary. Not that I am going to leave it unchanged since I feel that way, but just shared the thought.
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It is a nice feeling when you get to drive such an accomplished vehicle without burning the pocket. I never understood why many owners are selling the Civic in the first place.
Tell me about it. What I have understood with my short experience of driving the Civic is that as long as we are nice to it giving it the respect and care that is required, it returns the favor multi-fold. Even, I am startled to see so many Civics in newspaper classifieds and online forums week after week. If its a high volume car, I can understand but the Civic only sold a few hundred units a month even in its peak period. Why do people have to part with a car as good as this?
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Amazingly I was thinking of the same thing yesterday. When I had started the Scorponok thread, I was hoping to achieve two goals (1) 1000 hits and (2) at least two pages of posts. Yesterday I was shocked to see that the Scorponok thread is in top 60 threads, post count wise, in the "test-drive and initial ownership" section. The top 60 includes ACE's, noopster's, Guderian's and mdsaab's thread.
Be it yourself or all others mentioned above, you guys have a knack of knowing the pulse of the readers and keep them addicted to it. Take mdsaab for example, though we all know that 'coasting' gives us improved fuel-efficiency, how many of us had the patience to try that out in our long drives until he did that and came out with those startling figures? I am sure a whole lot of people would have tried that style of driving after seeing those amazing mileage figures and would have benefited by it.
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Then I went through Scorpo's thread all the way and was amazed at the number of purchases that has been made. Same would be true for ACE's. However you need to really learn from Guderian, noopster and mdsaab on how to make interesting threads without too much mods or accessories.
Hope that this is not OT.
. Both of you have purchased a whole lot of accessories over the period of your 'Civic' ownership. And, it does mean that a lot of money has gone into maintaining this thread.
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Old 26th September 2011, 22:20   #88
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

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Well, it's been almost a month since I updated this thread. Blame the Civic for it as it keeps performing flawlessly (touch-wood) leaving me with nothing much to update or report. I need to learn from dot, mdsaab, Poitive, Ace_F355 and the like to come up with some interesting stuff to keep the thread running.
Same is the scene with me.I am having trouble updating my Civic thread.Inspite of having my own car and thread i still like to go back to your's and other people's civic thread and read again that which inspired go for my own.

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Why do people have to part with a car as good as this?
A brand new Civic is frankly a rich man's fantasy while a used one is a enthusiasts dream.All the fun at a lower price.
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Old 29th September 2011, 20:07   #89
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)



I also have lots of mileage experience with my car, however I am unable to update that stuff due to lack of time. Generally, what I like to do is, click some pics of the car and post. And the discussions begin. Thats my crude way. But I do envy noops, Guderian, mdsaab and others writing flair. Some skills I must say and I need to learn.

PS: Hey arvi, liked your RTR thread as well, buddy. You did the review very well. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 30th September 2011, 06:44   #90
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Re: The Joy of Living a Dream - Honda Civic S MT (Pre-Owned)

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Inspite of having my own car and thread i still like to go back to your's and other people's civic thread and read again that which inspired go for my own.
You can't stop doing that sumeeth, isn't it? Just yesterday, when in office, I was going through GTO's Civic ownership thread. I have read it completely 'n' times before but, as you rightly said, I just keep going back to that and a few other threads again and again.
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A brand new Civic is frankly a rich man's fantasy while a used one is a enthusiasts dream.All the fun at a lower price.
. If there were not those blessed souls who were willing to sell their well-maintained Civics, people like us wouldn't probably be owning one now. All is well, then!
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I also have lots of mileage experience with my car, however I am unable to update that stuff due to lack of time.
I guess all your experiences related to mileage are directly related to the Shark getting those awesome new alloys, right? Those wheels would have made you drive sedately resulting in some unbelievable figures. Correct me if I am wrong.
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Generally, what I like to do is, click some pics of the car and post. And the discussions begin.
Ditto here. If you go through these 6 pages of posts, all I have is pics, pics and more pics.
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But I do envy noops, Guderian, mdsaab and others writing flair. Some skills I must say and I need to learn.
Agreed. I would even go the extent of saying that all those threads started by them not only influenced the decision on buying this car but also spurred an interest in starting up my own thread.
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Originally Posted by Ace F355 View Post
PS: Hey arvi, liked your RTR thread as well, buddy. You did the review very well. Thanks for sharing.
Glad that you liked it buddy. Thanks for the compliments.

On another note, me along with a couple of my cousins are off to Masinagudi and Mudumalai today in the Civic. There are plans of visiting Ooty for a day too if time permits. So, yet another new destination and a lot more snaps of the Civic to come to bore you guys to death!
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