[crackparag]

Originally Posted by GTO

Civic was sold yesterday. Sold the ICE & car separately.... .. 2.5 for the car).

Originally Posted by Aniruddha_Ch

Sad to see your civic going. At this price, I would say this is absolutely steal for that lucky buyer, considering mods you carried out on your ride.

Slightly OT - Its on sale again . Saw it on a classifieds website.

[slipstream]

Brothers on wheels, I've relocated from Chennai to Mumbai just a couple of weeks back and I'm on the look out for a *pre-worshipped* Honda Civic AT. I'm specific on the AT as this would also be a car that my wife drives in the city when I'm travelling. And Yes, after reading this thread, I'll take a white thanks to GTO !

I've got a base budget of around 4 lacs but can stretch for the right car. I need the help of you brothers out at Mumbai as most of the ads I've seen here are dealer posted and since I don't speak the local language too well (not yet at least), I just want to make sure I don't get ripped off. So if you come across a good specimen in your circles, request you to give me a shout.

Incidentally, I had a Swift DDIS and a Gypsy King MPFI back at Chennai. I managed to bump off the Swift within just 3 hours of posting an online ad while the Gypsy is still waiting for a loving owner to take her home
I saw a 2002 OHC Vtec in the bhp classifieds here and was very tempted but then held my reins in a reality check for an automatic Civic.

So the Civic AT it is and am requesting you guys to get me a good buy.

Love & Cheers

[GTO]

Originally Posted by crackparag

Slightly OT - Its on sale again . Saw it on a classifieds website.

No man, have lodged a complaint. That listing should be offline soon.

You'll frequently see sold cars still being listed on car websites. Reason:

1. Dealers steal pictures & create fake listings. Standard 'bait & switch' tactic. When you go to see the car, they'll tell you that car 'just got sold this morning', but hey, do you want to see other similar cars in our inventory?

2. Car websites get a load of search engine traffic from listings, even expired ones.

We just spoke to the owner and my Civic is currently in his home town in Kerala. He drove down from Mumbai to Kerala .

Originally Posted by slipstream

I've got a base budget of around 4 lacs but can stretch for the right car. I need the help of you brothers out at Mumbai as most of the ads I've seen here are dealer posted and since I don't speak the local language too well (not yet at least), I just want to make sure I don't get ripped off.

4 lakhs is a very good budget for a Civic. Bargain hard as the model is very, very slow moving. It has poor demand.

Don't rule out listings from dealers. The last 3 used cars I bought, all have been from dealers.

Pick the updated one that came in 2010. It has a firmer / better rear suspension and some other updates (including a USB port).

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by GTO

You'll frequently see sold cars still being listed on car websites. Reason:

1. Dealers steal pictures & create fake listings. Standard 'bait & switch' tactic. When you go to see the car, they'll tell you that car 'just got sold this morning', but hey, do you want to see other similar cars in our inventory?

Quikr seems to be the worst of the lot. No quality control methinks. It has the highest number of car listings for pretty much any model, with list prices 0 (real listings) to 50% (fake listings) lower than the average.

[antony5279]

Congrats on the car GTO!

I bought a Dzire (named after me I am sure) 8 years ago in the Andamans. Its run just 50 000, mostly because of my absence on long travels. I feel like going in for a change.

Somehow I wasn’t too convinced about getting a Civic (probably because of the low rates they are selling at... thought they might have issues which couldn’t be resolved). Have a couple of questions for owners:-

(a) Is the floor too low? Do you regularly hit speed breakers? How do you deal with that?
(b) Is there any dearth of spares? Has the model been discontinued?
(c) I am thinking of going for an AT. Which year or later would be the best model to buy? (in terms of upgrades to the model)

Thanks, in advance

[saket77]

Originally Posted by antony5279

Somehow I wasn’t too convinced about getting a Civic

Just back from an 1100 kms trip in my '07 Civic. Most points have been frequently covered on the forum but as you asked:

A. Yes, the ground clearance is low compared to other cars across segments. Plus, the soft rear suspension adds to the problem. Not that it kisses every speed breaker but you will have to be careful with slightly bigger ones, and esp. with a loaded car. Many times you may get away with an angled approach to the speed breakers. That helps. I will like to add one thing though. Although the floor is low, but whatever hits the ground is probably not delicate. It is mostly the chassis part & of course it's sturdy.

B. Civic was discontinued in late 2012. However spares availability is not an issue as of now. Plus, spares are available in the open market as well.

C. Look for post 2009 models. It was the only facelift in the life cycle of the Civic in India. Post 2009 models came with a slightly stiffened rear suspension, a redesigned bumper, a thicker chrome grille, blink and miss 'redesigned' tail lamp and a USB port for the music system. You lose the 6 CD changer of previous model.

Regards.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Hello GTO,

I had a few queries regarding the automech FFE that you had on your civic. I plan to install something similar on my Corolla.

Just to give you an idea I have a Corolla and a Nano twist. 80% of the time the Nano is used in the city. It is just on weekends or at night that I use the Corolla. Otherwise the Corolla is only used for family trips (mostly Dhule, Mumbai and Ahmednagar) and for team-bhp drives. I am a pretty sedate driver but at times like to rev the car in the 3rd gear for the brutal acceleration. Anyway I have the following queries-

1. Did you have the complete exhaust or just the muffler?

2. IIRC you had the car for 6 years. Did you face any issues with the exhaust w.r.t rusting or any other quality issues?

3. Did you find the sound too loud during your highway drives? What was your family's reaction about the sound?

I am looking at a slight gain in performance and need something which sounds nice. About performance mods they are planned but only after adding a used fortuner/innova to our garage which should happen once my dad moves back to india in 2-3 years. So till then the Corolla will be used for all our highway trips.

Thanks in advance!

Asit Kulkarni

[GTO]

Morning Asit!

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

Did you have the complete exhaust or just the muffler?

In my Vtec, I had the complete exhaust including headers. That's what is recommended. Civic - original headers were retained.

IIRC you had the car for 6 years. Did you face any issues with the exhaust w.r.t rusting or any other quality issues?

Zero. IIRC, at the 3 year mark or so, one mount had come loose. It was fixed in 15 minutes by Automech. No other issues. Go for stainless steel only. More expensive, more durable.

Did you find the sound too loud during your highway drives? What was your family's reaction about the sound?

I loved the loud sound, family absolutely hated it. I went for a full blown loud exhaust; if you'd start the car, the exhaust was audible on the 3rd floor . It was very, very noisy on the highway.

From the practicality POV, go for a milder setup. Tell Vivek that you want to cruise comfortably on the highway and he'll tune it accordingly. He has a tune that gets audible only above 4,000 rpm or so (this one is best for you).

Enjoy your free-flow!

[driveanddrive]

Hi BHPians,
Need some advice.
I am thinking of buying a car and heart approves very few of the available lot.
The Abarth is slightly out of budget right now.
In the used space, I am really keen on the Civic V MT.
I am scouting currently, but most of them are 2008-2010 models with 50-70K on the Odo. Have found one via Mahindra First choice with 52K Kms on the odo, first owner, Jul 2012 registration and asking price (non negotiated) is 5.85 as per the listing.
Before I go all the way to Andheri West from Belapur to check out the car, I wanted to know if I should go for a discontinued model with 51K Kms on the Odo. What are your thoughts? I think being a Honda, it can run another 50K kms without any problems. Also, what price do you think is justified for a 2011-2012 Civic?
Let me know.
Thanks!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by driveanddrive

Have found one via Mahindra First choice with 52K Kms on the odo, first owner, Jul 2012 registration and asking price (non negotiated) is 5.85 as per the listing.

52,000 km isn't much for a Honda; however, there are plenty of Civics in the market in the 40,000 km or lower range, and at better prices (5.85 is too high), I'd suggest you keep looking.

Be sure to bargain hard as Civics are incredibly hard to move in the used market. 9/10 buyers looking at this segment buy a used Corolla. Corollas move fast, Civics are dead weight.

If you intend to use it for only 3 - 4 years, buy an example like this for 2.5 - 2.7 lakhs, spend a lakh doing her up (K&N, free flow, rims etc). The K&N Typhoon, Automech Exhaust & Race Dynamics PowerTune box made a noticeable difference to my Civic's driveability. You'll have a nicely souped up car under 4 lakhs (or Alto K10 money). My Civic had absolutely no reliability issues. Because it was standing in one place, I sold her. New owner drove from Mumbai to Kerala without problems!

And be sure to get an Automech. Tell Vivek to give you the same sound he gave my car (it was loud + enjoyable).

[Astonite]

I was looking at a couple of used Honda Civics and the pre FL seems to be a lot cheaper. The suspension issue that has been mentioned a lot earlier, does it happen when the car is fully loaded (4 people plus luggage) or even when it is just 2 people (including the driver)?
TIA

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Astonite

does it happen when the car is fully loaded (4 people plus luggage) or even when it is just 2 people (including the driver)?
TIA

Car was beautiful on the ghats with only a driver + passenger. Load the rear seat & boot up however, and the rear suspension goes for a toss.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by driveanddrive

Hi BHPians,
Need some advice.
I am thinking of buying a car and heart approves very few of the available lot.
The Abarth is slightly out of budget right now.
In the used space, I am really keen on the Civic V MT.
I am scouting currently, but most of them are 2008-2010 models with 50-70K on the Odo. Have found one via Mahindra First choice with 52K Kms on the odo, first owner, Jul 2012 registration and asking price (non negotiated) is 5.85 as per the listing.
Before I go all the way to Andheri West from Belapur to check out the car, I wanted to know if I should go for a discontinued model with 51K Kms on the Odo. What are your thoughts? I think being a Honda, it can run another 50K kms without any problems. Also, what price do you think is justified for a 2011-2012 Civic?
Let me know.
Thanks!

When buying from a dealer keep this thought in mind. "99% of the cars would have tampered ODO." Even the nice showroom type dealers will want to maximize their profits upwards so the only way to do is to roll the odo's backwards. Service history verification is a must for any car. Do not settle for a car without getting the service details first. Match the service history details with the ODO on the car and if any discrepancy is found either stay away from the car or if the car is well kept seek for a lower price then the asking value.

Edit: Make sure the service details are acquired by yourself and not provided by the dealer. Call up or goto the dealer from where the car was bought when new and ask for the details like ODO reading when the last service was done etc.

[manishkapadia]

Just wanted to add that a good spec Civic can just go On and On. I have a Civic in family that's at about 1.1-1.2 lac Kms. We just do not feel like letting it go. Last year we did a complete repaint and suspention overhall. Its now good to go for another 2-3 years at least. Will anyways not get good price to sell it. Replacement cost of a vehicle as good as Civic is very high.

[manim]

Originally Posted by manishkapadia

a good spec Civic can just go On and On

Mine is a living proof of it!

9.5 years old with 1,55,000+ kms on the odo, it is still 'silky-smooth' as it was when new, with only routine services done, so far. On 4-lane highways, it is still unbeatable