19th March 2010, 14:15
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| Senior - BHPian  | Background: My association with the Civic is not something that is new. It dates back to the year 2006 when I bought the 6th gen USDM Civic during my stint in the US. The car was a 1999 model with 65K miles on it. Had a splendid experience with it during the 2 plus years that I owned it and drove it.It has never let me down once, be it the highway or downtown. I bade it a tearful farewell when I moved back to India. It fetched me an excellent resale value ($6.4K against the $7K that I bought it for)   Being the sentimental fool that Iam, I promptly took back the license plates of the car with me and this still adorns my drawing room. It so happened that I became part of TBHP when I was in the US and that helped to keep me abreast of the happenings in India. When the JDM Civic was launched in India in 2006, it was love at first sight. I used to keep drooling over it all the time much to the chagrin of my better half. Along with it also grew a strong desire to own it one day. My passion was further fuelled by the great ownership reviews of the car in TBHP. Ever since my return to India in 2008, my eyes were set on the Civic and I had to buy it one day. Now,I am not someone who can readily afford the Civic for its price and I knew it would be sometime before I could buy one. Also, I do not belong to the category of buyers with a budget in hand and scouting out for a car in that range. Anything I generally buy (esp cars), I zero upon the product and then work towards the financials. Fast forward to 2010 and with things falling in place, I booked a Polished Metal Metallic Honda Civic V MT on Feb 10 2010. While, there was no opposition to my decision to buy the Civic, there was - to retain my trusted workhorse, the Esteem. I always consider the Esteem my priceless possession and love the car for what it is and for its exemplary service in the last 7 years. In fact, I insisted on and wanted the same reg-no as the Esteem for the Civic. The car arrived at the showroom on 15-Feb-2010 and I get an SMS on the same while am at Tirumala. Considering that to be auspicious, I come back to Chennai and manage to to take some time off for a detailed rendezvous with my new dream car. Spent more than hour inspecting various things (thanks to the TBHP PDI checklist) and everything seemed to be in order. Paid off the balance amount and got ready to work on procuring the special number which was still about 5000 numbers away from the current running number at the RTO. The original plan was to take delivery of the car on 9th March 2010 but the reg-no made me postpone it to 18th March. So yesterday had to be the D-day. Some initial pics. Will post more later along with the buying experience when I click more !    Buying Experience: Amongst the three Honda dealers in Chennai, I dropped off Sundaram Honda upfront not only because of bad reviews but an earlier bad experience while buying a NHC for my brother-in-law. Capital Honda is relatively new having been around for 2 plus years and Olympia Honda the newest as its been a little over a year since they opened shop. I was impressed with Capital Honda's showroom and its size. However, I was taken aback looking at their stockyard which was an open plot with trees providing protection from the sun and all cars were endorsed with bird droppings all over, not to mention the amount of dust that had settled down on all the cars. I convinced myself with great difficulty that the car should be spanking new when it would be delivered. The sales person though knowledgeable did not seem to enthuse me and it sounded that as if he was doing me a favour by selling me a car. When asked about the discounts, I was told that there are no discounts offered on Honda cars(typical Honda dealer attitude) and at best the dealer margin in the insurance could be passed on to me. I was surrounded by three people who tried to brainwash me with the Honda Assure package and the potential benefits it offered. After listening to all this, I finally took leave with the sales guy promising me to get back with the best offer he could. And he never did. Looks Capital Honda is doing roaring business and doesn't mind losing a few customers.So, Capital Honda was out of my list too. Meanwhile, I had also been interacting with Olympia Honda parallelly. In fact it was them that I approached first for a test drive due to proximity from my home. The treatment meted out was quite satisfactory and the sales guy whom I interacted with was prompt in following up with me and in providing me specific details I had asked for. Also, I managed to bargain for accessories worth 10K in addition to the 20K corporate discount which is standard across Honda dealers for the Civic. Further, I observed that their stockyard was housed within the same complex on the 3rd and 4th floors. I had an opportunity to visit the same for choice of colours. At that time, there was no car available in the colour that I asked for (Polished Metal Metallic) and I was told that an order had to be placed for it once I booked the car. I booked the car on 10th Feb and was told that it would take a maximum of 15-20 days for it to arrive from the factory. Surprisingly, I received an SMS from the salesguy on 15th Feb stating that the car had arrived at the showroom. Since then it had been waiting to come home but for the special number that I was waiting for. Of the 10K worth accessories that I was offered free, I chose the following: 1. Ambient Lights - 5500 INR 2. Body Cover - 1950 INR 3. Floor cum Trunk mats - 900 INR 4. For the rest of it, I opted for a pair of seat belt pads, 3M scratch out polish, car perfume(2 nos) and an idol. I got the number on 17th March and wanted the car to be registered the next day. On the day of registration/delivery, I was kept informed at periodic intervals on the progress. The car was to be at the showroom after RTO inspection by 3PM and I was schedule to pick it up at 4-4.30PM. Thanks to our great government servants at the RTO,the inspection was delayed and the car arrived at the showroom only by 5PM. I reached the showroom around 5.30PM and all necessary formalities along with a photo session and pooja were completed by 6.15PM. The TBHP influence made me offer the salesguy a gift and he was pleasantly surprised. Drove off with a big smile on my face and headed straight to the temple for pooja. The initial impressions: 1.The Good Ones: Once behind the wheel, the cockpit(aptly put) presents a view that boasts of exquisite workmanship. The dashboard and the instrument console with its brilliant illumination makes one want to see it all day. I am in particular very impressed by the stylish design of the dashboard which stands testimony to quality craftsmanship - light years ahead of the one in my Esteem(of course I know that's not a fair comparison). No offense meant to ANHC owners but when I saw the dashboard of the ANHC after seeing the one on the Civic, it felt cheap. The OE leather seats are very comfortable and have a plush feel to them. The steering wheel is so compact and aids easy manuevering. The gear box is slick and gear shifts are butter smooth. No complaints thus far. The engine is super silent and I find myself looking at the tacho often while idling to check if the engine is still on. Throttle response is excellent and I find it difficult to control myself from stepping on the gas. The car feels very stable and gives a solid feel. Needless to say, contemporary styling that is for sure an eye-catcher. Last but not least, a HONDA and that says it all. 2.The Not-so-Good Ones * Absence of steering mounted audio controls. If Honda thinks that all Civics are chauffeur-driven, they better take a peek at what TBHP has to say. * Non-alloy spare wheel - This is not acceptable given the fact that someone coughs up 14 plus lacs to buy the Civic. Stingy Honda * Absence of a second remote transmitter - For a pemium car of this segment it is a shame that only one remote is provided. Again, Honda's stinginess at its peak. * Lack of spring action in the trunk lid - Even my 1999 USDM Civic had this feature and it was very useful. It offered ease of lifting the trunk lid and also prevents the lid from dropping off accidentally which could cause human injury. Dont know why Honda India did not pay attention to this. The First upgrade: My Civic was shod with Bridgestone tyres as OE and I was not happy when I noticed it during inspection. Was originally planning to upgrade to 205/65 R15 Michelin Primacy LC(for the increased GC) but dropped the idea later as I wanted to play it safe with warranty issues and also avoid the potential risk of the tyre-body contact. Hence,today I swapped the Bridgestones with Michelin Primacy LC of the same size (195/65 R15). Not able to appreciate any difference due to the change as I had hardly driven the car with the Bridgestones for 30-40 KM.   Before  After  Planned add-ons: I am going in for 3M sun film for my Civic. The front windshield will have the CR70 while the rest will have my favourite RE35. This activity is to be completed on Sunday. Other than this, I am planning to give the car the 3M paint protection and underbody protection. Also planning to get the side step garnish (illuminated ones) installed in a few days. Last edited by GTO : 21st March 2010 at 18:54. Reason: Merging post 1 & 16, so that the opening post itself has information on the car |
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19th March 2010, 14:26
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| BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Coimbatore
Posts: 27
Thanked: 0 Times
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19th March 2010, 14:51
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| Senior - BHPian  | |
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19th March 2010, 15:10
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19th March 2010, 15:28
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| Senior - BHPian  | |
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19th March 2010, 15:30
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| Senior - BHPian  | Congrats & the combination of that color & the smoked headlamps looks just wicked  !!Any particular reason behind opting for the V & not the S? |
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19th March 2010, 15:37
| #7 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai
Posts: 441
Thanked: 12 Times
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19th March 2010, 15:42
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19th March 2010, 15:57
| #9 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: chennai
Posts: 486
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19th March 2010, 16:37
| #10 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Mangalore / Bangalore
Posts: 1,128
Thanked: 254 Times
| congrats buddy! what is the OTR any mods planned? At TN, how much you need to pay extra for the reg number of choice? |
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19th March 2010, 17:34
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| Senior - BHPian | |
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19th March 2010, 17:42
| #12 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: .
Posts: 1,995
Thanked: 684 Times
| Congrats buddy! She's a real beauty - this colour suits the car a lot! Please do write up about the driving experience and also post lot's of pics cheers! |
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19th March 2010, 17:47
| #13 | |
| BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 427
Thanked: 150 Times
| Congratulations!  Quote:
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19th March 2010, 18:07
| #14 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 895
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19th March 2010, 22:35
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| Senior - BHPian | Thank you guys for your compliments. Quote:
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Again, this is for any number in the current series. If one needs a number out of series, the charges range from 25K to 1L depending on the number and series and a G.O is required for this.Quote:
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