[spadix]

Originally Posted by GTO

Did I mention the beautiful steering? I had a quick splash & dash to Lavasa on wednesday / thursday. The highpoint of hitting the curves really hard was the mindblowing steering; perfectly weighted, perfectly sized, chunky to hold and continuous feedback. The best unit in this segment by a mile.

Agreed, although I think there's -

1. some vagueness just before full lock either side - not very critical under "normal" driving
2. a little - very little - bit of play at dead straight, which can be both good and bad depending on the situation

I'm wondering if it's just me, though.

Regards,
spadix

[vivekmohan83]

Originally Posted by spadix

That's a fantastic deal for an AT! In Hyderabad the OTR without discounts is around 17 lac!

Honda is very stingy with freebies. That's been my experience and also of many others on the forum. It's almost as if they're doing you a great service by offering their cars at the current prices .

Add the Honda Assure offer on top of that (part of which is borne by the dealer) and you have a very stubborn dealer. It should help your cause if there are at least 3 dealers in town (for instance, Hyderabad has two and it's an oligopoly that works very well).

Body cover, monsoon protection floor mats (the Civic comes with carpet mats which will gather slush and stink like crazy when they get wet) and window tints are the things I would push the dealer to give for free.

I got the body cover "free" but it turns out it's some cheap after-market cover and not the genuine Civic cover, from the looks of it. YMMV.

One note regarding the spoiler. I counted pennies and didn't go for it when I purchased my car (always wanted it). I thought I'll buy it later. However, Honda body paint is very soft and swirls/mars/dulls easily (this is despite taking precautions like not using bore water, washing in the shade etc.). So if I go buy the spoiler now the paint difference will look ugly. Something to keep in mind.

Regards,
spadix

Thanks Spadix, I finally booked my Civic 1.8 V AT today. Cost me 15.6l overall (including anti rust and paint protection treatment, sun film and rubber floor mats). Mrs is not very enthused about the spoiler, so I am leaving that battle for another day! expecting delivery in the 1st week of Dec. Will post an ownership thread once I get my chariot

[spadix]

Originally Posted by vivekmohan83

Thanks Spadix, I finally booked my Civic 1.8 V AT today. Cost me 15.6l overall (including anti rust and paint protection treatment, sun film and rubber floor mats).

Boy, would I like to take a class in negotiation from you or what? That's a fantastic deal! Congratulations!

Originally Posted by vivekmohan83

Mrs is not very enthused about the spoiler, so I am leaving that battle for another day!

Just keep in mind what I had to say about it in an earlier post.

Originally Posted by vivekmohan83

Will post an ownership thread once I get my chariot

It truly is a chariot (that handles well )! I'll keep an eye out for your thread.

Regards,
spadix

[vivekmohan83]

Originally Posted by spadix

Boy, would I like to take a class in negotiation from you or what? That's a fantastic deal! Congratulations!

It truly is a chariot (that handles well )! I'll keep an eye out for your thread.

Regards,
spadix

Thanks, I am an investment banker so I kinda negotiate value for a living. Will put up a post once I get delivery.

Also had a quick question on side bumper protection. Do those 4 attachments at the corners take away the looks a bit? And how useful are they in actually preventing scratches?

[evo]

Originally Posted by vivekmohan83

Also had a quick question on side bumper protection. Do those 4 attachments at the corners take away the looks a bit? And how useful are they in actually preventing scratches?

DO NOT put the ugly rubber strips. They will kill the way the car looks.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by vivekmohan83

Thanks, I am an investment banker so I kinda negotiate value for a living. Will put up a post once I get delivery.

Also had a quick question on side bumper protection. Do those 4 attachments at the corners take away the looks a bit? And how useful are they in actually preventing scratches?

Absolutely useless my friend. I cant understand why people put them at all.

[spadix]

Originally Posted by vivekmohan83

Also had a quick question on side bumper protection. Do those 4 attachments at the corners take away the looks a bit? And how useful are they in actually preventing scratches?

No. I once got a minor scratch on my front bumper (driver's side) because of a tree cage that was leaning at an angle greater than the Tower of Pisa. From the driver's seat it looked like there was enough clearance at the top of the fender but when I got out of the car there was a slight touch right at the bottom edge of the bumper.

This may look like a corner case but what I'm trying to say is that you've generally got good sense of vision, depth and geometry those strips are not really useful.

Where they *might* be useful are in preventing scratches that you aren't in control of (think someone who just brushes past your bumper while overtaking). Even there the chances are pretty remote that the strips will save you.

Just look around at cars that have these strips and see if they're squeaky clean .

The reverse parking sensors are very good (very conservative though, perhaps with good reason). You can trust them in almost all situations.

Regards,
spadix

[gaurav_chopra04]

Please find my replies in bold.

Originally Posted by GTO

I check the dipstick (and all other fluids) atleast every fortnight. No top up was needed.

Thanks, Our bad luck with both new cars, first the civic and now the polo.

Two reasons for this:

- The driving experience

- The awesome ICE

Can we assume that the run is going to increase with new performance mods, suspension, alloys and most important Tires

Saw a 2010 new shape outlander today with 6k on the clock go for 14.5lac. First person I thought of was my cousin who is looking for a pre owned outlander and second person I thought of was you. I mean why not a new thread on best used cars for under 15lacs..hehe

[pgsagar]

Wow! What a car GTO! Civic in white eclipses cars several notches up. But why not an auto with paddle shifts? It would have offered best of both worlds.

[Ace F355]

Hey Rush, if you don't mind, can you put up a video how does your car sounds after installing K&N Typhoon and Automech FFE. Does it sound harsh or is it bearable?

I was keen not to do any performance mods on my Civic, but low end grunt is terrible and annoys me a lot. Guess I will have to go with some mods.

Also, can you tell me how much did you shell out for K&N 69 series. I am asking since I am traveling to Canada right now and will be picking up some other stuff for my car as well. Ebay has K&N for $212 + shipping! (K&N Typhoon Cold Air Intake 06-11 Honda Civic 1.8L 4Cyl - eBay (item 170579571291 end time Mar-14-11 13:04:28 PDT)) Sounds tempting!!!

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Also, can you tell me how much did you shell out for K&N 69 series. I am asking since I am traveling to Canada right now and will be picking up some other stuff for my car as well. Ebay has K&N for $212 + shipping! (K&N Typhoon Cold Air Intake 06-11 Honda Civic 1.8L 4Cyl - eBay (item 170579571291 end time Mar-14-11 13:04:28 PDT)) Sounds tempting!!!

I would recommend Amazon. Personally I think its more reliable than ebay. + the filter you want is available there for $200. Check it out. And it should improve the bottom end torque a bit.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

I would recommend Amazon. Personally I think its more reliable than ebay. + the filter you want is available there for $200. Check it out. And it should improve the bottom end torque a bit.

Could you please post the appropriate link, Akshay? What I could find was, it was the same price on Amazon and they won't ship it to Canada! Amazon Canada don't seem to have it.

Amazon.com: K&N 69-1013TS Typhoon; Short Ram; Silver: Automotive

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Could you please post the appropriate link, Akshay? What I could find was, it was the same price on Amazon and they won't ship it to Canada! Amazon Canada don't seem to have it.

Amazon.com: K&N 69-1013TS Typhoon; Short Ram; Silver: Automotive

Check this link out
Amazon.com: Used and New: K&N 69-1013TS Typhoon; Short Ram; Silver

I think they ship to Canada.

If not then I guess ebay is your best bet

[vasoo]

GTO, was there any update on your mods after the Typhoons and FFE? Did you do any suspension upgrades yet? What about the wheels and tyres?

[GTO]

1 year update

As many of you know, I get my cars completely serviced only once a year. Since the average running is about 10,000 kms per annum, this schedule not only keeps the car in good health, but also makes for hassle-free ownership.

Complete service performed at 18,000 kms @ Solitaire Honda:

Solitaire picked my Civic up on Monday morning, and dropped it back on Tuesday. All I did was email them a to-do list. Car ownership really doesn't get any simpler than this.

• Mechanical Problems : Zilch. Not bad for a 4 year old car, eh? In the one year that I've had my pre-owned Civic, not even a bulb or fuse has failed.

• Full check up, inside out, performed.

• Battery serviced.

• NO engine oil change, as I'd done it myself at the 15,000 km mark (Mobil 1).

• Check engine idle settings (speed & CO). Clean fuel injectors. Clean / adjust throttle body. Check ignition timing. Check valve clearance & adjustment.

• All doors lubricated. Driver door used to make a mild creaking sound at times. Some "door checker" replaced.

• Windshield washer tank pipe chewed by rat. Changed.

• Full suspension nuts & bolts retorqued (tightened to factory spec).

• Replaced wiper blades with new. Actually, the blade is the same; only the rubber part replaced (Honda sells them individually). The super-clean sweep this morning made me smile.

• K&N air filter cleaned.

• Cleaned & adjusted brakes.

• Wheels rotated, balanced and aligned.

• Total cost of annual service : Rs. 6,366 (includes some Rs. 1,720 charge for "20,000 kms paid service"). Or 500 rupees per month on a 4 year old C+ segment sedan for an annual 10,000 kms running.



Other work performed to the car in the last 1 year:

• OEM Battery replaced with an Amaron unit

• Performance exhaust installed

• K&N Typhoon installed

• Upgraded the ICE



Planned in the coming year:

• Wheels & Tyres

• Performance suspension

• Hondata....potentially