[procircuit_234]

although we all loved OHC,i strongly feel OHC is one of the worst highway car.what about civic?is it great highway car???

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by GTO

The running will stay on the higher side till we replace the Indigo with another beater. One option is the Innova.

And if you replace that Merc with a Fortuner, your lineup would look rather boring with 2 reliable Toyotas and a reliable Honda.

How about bringing back some excitement into your car life by replacing the Indigo with a Skoda, Tata or a Fiat? In these times of global slowdown, you should help our economy by spending some money at the garages.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by GTO

Recently made two trips to Pawna, and the undeveloped roads out there gave the underbody a royal hammering. Tried all kinds of zig zag manouveurs on the rough patches, still all three cars of the convoy took a beating. Came back and got it checked, a part of the exhaust has worked itself loose. Going to have it fixed tomorrow.

GTO, hope the exhaust fixup is minor thing, and everything is shipshape. Probably would have been much worse if the coil spring adjusters were not in place, right ? Or do you find them not giving much benefit after the initial few months ?
I was thinking of recommending these coil spring adjusters to my bil for his Civic, and then I read this.

[spadix]

Originally Posted by procircuit_234

although we all loved OHC,i strongly feel OHC is one of the worst highway car.what about civic?is it great highway car???

Give it roads like the GQ or the Hyd - Blr NH7 and it shines. Broken surfaces do tend to catch the soft rear suspension out.

The two classic issues are understeer and the rear feeling disconnected and stepping out when you hit a mid-corner bump or ridge, especially when the car is fully loaded.

The steering is nearly spot-on perfect except for a very slight amount of play at dead centre. Brakes are just absolutely awesome and true life-(and car-)savers.

And we all know about Honda's engines of course. That said, the stock engine does require a downshift every once in a while. It comes into its own above 4k rpm. Don't expect diesel-like pulling power from lower down in the rev range. The top end is weak compared to say the Cruze, but is decent on absolute terms.

The auto's tall gearing (100 kmph @ 2k rpm in 5th) makes for easy cruising and great F/E. The manual does 80 kmph in the same conditions.

This is my experience after having done 7k kms over the last year on all sorts of highway roads in my new Civic V M/T (a July 2010 model).

I somehow think a Civic Si or Type-R with its stronger engine and better suspension would've made a good highway car even better.

Regards,
spadix

[GTO]

*Update* : As expected, some stone or rock hit the bottom at Pawna. Exhaust developed a leak and was slightly dislocated. Cost to fix = Rs. 350 only

Originally Posted by ghodlur

How about the new Indigo with a mind boggling (Claimed) milage of 25kmpl.

I have faith in the Manza, as the mechanicals are from Fiat. But after the Indigo experience, the family is vehemently opposed to bringing another Tata home. In fact, my Indigo will soon hit the block and I don't remember the last time we sold a car after owning it only for 4 years. But it's too unreliable. 4 visits to the workshop in 4 months, and 2 breakdowns. She just came back yesterday from Sunil Shanbag for a problem with the fuel pump.

Originally Posted by procircuit_234

although we all loved OHC,i strongly feel OHC is one of the worst highway car.what about civic?is it great highway car???

The Civic is a lovely highway car. Superb steering, good stability at even 160 - 180 kph and sharp front end. The coil-spring adjusters have greatly helped in flattening the ride. However, the OEM tyres are lousy and I'm looking forward to the sports suspension upgrade.

Originally Posted by smartcat

And if you replace that Merc with a Fortuner, your lineup would look rather boring with 2 reliable Toyotas and a reliable Honda.

Don't think the Fortuner is happening anytime soon. And I'd much rather buy a pre-worshipped Montero for 20 lakhs, over a brand new Fortuner.

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

Probably would have been much worse if the coil spring adjusters were not in place, right ?

Still a fan of the adjusters. Remember, on the same Pawna stretch, even a Swift with its smaller wheelbase scraped all through.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by GTO

And I'd much rather buy a pre-worshipped Montero for 20 lakhs, over a brand new Fortuner.

I like the handsome made-from-a-single-block-of-steel looks of the Montero. But doesn't that go against one of your guidelines for buying used cars - which is to only buy cars that are popular in the new car market? Montero hardly registers numbers in the sales charts.

Also, these Rs. 40 Lac full size CBU import SUVs (Montero, Prado, Discovery) - how heavy are they on maintenance costs? Comparable to something like 3 series/A4/C class?

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by GTO

And I'd much rather buy a pre-worshipped Montero for 20 lakhs, over a brand new Fortuner.

Exactly my thoughts. Infact the other day I saw a HR 26 VIP registration Montero for sale in Delhi, 2008 model and 48000 clicks done for 22 lacs. I was toying with the idea of having such a SUV in my garage. I am not a SUV guy at all but a Rangie or a Montero make even my heart blip like anything.

Ah, someday...

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Exactly my thoughts. Infact the other day I saw a HR 26 VIP registration Montero for sale in Delhi, 2008 model and 48000 clicks done for 22 lacs. I was toying with the idea of having such a SUV in my garage. I am not a SUV guy at all but a Rangie or a Montero make even my heart blip like anything.

Ah, someday...

A 2008 for 22L where can I see it ?? I can change it for my Pajero with a few $$$ thrown in !! Did you check out the car ?

Most vehicles have their odo's tampered. My Pajero is selling in another part of the country with 65k on the odo, whereas there are pictures of it here on this forum with 1,34,000 kms...so much for odo readings

I am sure it has done at least double of that, or it may actually be what you said.

I am sure Harbir who has been hunting with a loaded shotgun in his hand, would love this - IF it were for real.

BTW Montero's cost an arm & a leg to maintain.



Cheers

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

A 2008 for 22L where can I see it ?? I can change it for my Pajero with a few $$$ thrown in !! Did you check out the car ?

Most vehicles have their odo's tampered. My Pajero is selling in another part of the country with 65k on the odo, whereas there are pictures of it here on this forum with 1,34,000 kms...so much for odo readings

I am sure it has done at least double of that, or it may actually be what you said.

I am sure Harbir who has been hunting with a loaded shotgun in his hand, would love this - IF it were for real.

BTW Montero's cost an arm & a leg to maintain.



Cheers

Ricky

I didn't check the car myself. The car was listed on TeamBHP Classified itself, a white Montero bearing a 0001 registration.

However I do have the email ID of concerned person because the same person had enlisted a Civic before and I had contacted him for the same. Seems like the guy is a dealer. Weirdly, his Civic was enlisted pretty low as well. It was a 2008 purple Civic V/AT enlisted for 7 lacs flat (that was back in last November BTW). Unfortunately, I do not have reliable info about him since being in Canada, I could not check out his enlisted Civic as well. I contacted him after getting back to India and he replied the car was sold.

Will PM his email ID to you and Harbir both. Cheers!

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by GTO

The running will stay on the higher side till we replace the Indigo with another beater. One option is the Innova.

The Eeco is one option too.

[BulZire]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Most vehicles have their odo's tampered. My Pajero is selling in another part of the country with 65k on the odo, whereas there are pictures of it here on this forum with 1,34,000 kms...so much for odo readings

I am a great Fan of Pajero's and i dont miss any of your posts on your pajero's thread. Though i dont have much technical knowledge, i keep watching all the mod's that you are doing.

I saw your 98 Pajero in T-BHP classifieds last week without knowing it is actually yours initially. The ODO reading quoted by the dealer did not give a chance to rethink. But still the DL registration gave me a pinch and i ran back to your thread to confirm. it is sure a shock .

[Arion003]

I am being offered a 2008 Civic at 5.5 lac. Now the only catch is that I can't go and physically see it as its in another city (a real far away city). However, my dad (who has little to no knowledge of cars) and my cousin (who has fair to decent knowledge of cars) will be the ones taking a look at it.

Now while I will be forwarding all the useful information in this thread and in other 'pre-owned civic" threads and ofcourse the very useful article on 'how to buy used cars in India' to them, I also just wanted to ask if anyone had any other specific pointers or red flags that they must watch out for when they go and see the car.

Does the price strike anyone as suspiciously low? I have done a little research and haven't found a 2008 Civic at this price. I should mention that it is the second owner who is selling and that the car has done 29k km.

Any advise would be appreciated.

[gaurav_diavolo]

Originally Posted by Arion003

I am being offered a 2008 Civic at 5.5 lac. Now the only catch is that I can't go and physically see it as its in another city (a real far away city). However, my dad (who has little to no knowledge of cars) and my cousin (who has fair to decent knowledge of cars) will be the ones taking a look at it.

Now while I will be forwarding all the useful information in this thread and in other 'pre-owned civic" threads and ofcourse the very useful article on 'how to buy used cars in India' to them, I also just wanted to ask if anyone had any other specific pointers or red flags that they must watch out for when they go and see the car.

Does the price strike anyone as suspiciously low? I have done a little research and haven't found a 2008 Civic at this price. I should mention that it is the second owner who is selling and that the car has done 29k km.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Its very low!!! I got my 2007 end Civic 28000 km done in mint condition for 6.10 which according to dealers was a jackpot! I would check the car thrice before making a deal as the price appears much lesser than prevailing market price for 2008 Civics of around 7-8 lacs.

[pineapple_ameet]

Originally Posted by Arion003

I am being offered a 2008 Civic at 5.5 lac. Now the only catch is that I can't go and physically see it as its in another city (a real far away city). However, my dad (who has little to no knowledge of cars) and my cousin (who has fair to decent knowledge of cars) will be the ones taking a look at it.

Now while I will be forwarding all the useful information in this thread and in other 'pre-owned civic" threads and ofcourse the very useful article on 'how to buy used cars in India' to them, I also just wanted to ask if anyone had any other specific pointers or red flags that they must watch out for when they go and see the car.

Does the price strike anyone as suspiciously low? I have done a little research and haven't found a 2008 Civic at this price. I should mention that it is the second owner who is selling and that the car has done 29k km.

Any advise would be appreciated.

I got a similar deal (2006 S MT) very very recently. (ownership thread coming soon!) The car belonged to a fellow bhpian, and hence the level of trust/ownership history was known... I got it checked at a honda dealership, along with checking the service history! Not that the car does not come with its own niggles, but overall m thrilled! so my two cents...a deal like this might be possible, investigate why is he selling, feel the vibe!,but also do invest in checking the car yourself, apart from getting the same done professional, and try not to get overwhelved ( easier said than done! )

[Arion003]

Originally Posted by pineapple_ameet

The car belonged to a fellow bhpian, and hence the level of trust/ownership history was known...

I should mention that the guy who's sort of organised this is a fairly trusted fellow. My family have bought two cars via similar deals through him in the past and both have been problem free.

Ofcourse that per se isn't reason to lean back and 'let it flow' so to speak. Will look into taking the assistance of a professional, as you mentioned, to check out the car quite thoroughly as well.