[Ranjan Sharma]

Originally Posted by smartcat

JC Road, Rs. 1200. If you get an option between a cheap one and an expensive one, go for the latter - it will last longer. Cheap ones will probably last for 1 - 2 yrs. The image is not very clear - but this is how my Chinese made air pump looks like -

If anyone going to JC road from Marathalli, CV Raman Nagar side, can buy one for me too? I badly need this thing.

We can even meet at ITPL or somewhere around.

[vnk77]

Originally Posted by smartcat

And finally, the markings on the key chain are fading. But do checkout my Rs. 700 (bought in Malaysia) Honda Formula 1 car silver finish keychain.

If you have the habit of keeping the car keys in your pocket then you probably need to invest in getting a stronger bigger pocket to accommodate the huge key and the key chain.

The cows in that pic look awesome....did they come free with your car?

[anekho]

Congrats Smartcat! She looks gorgeous! Always loved this colour on the civic

Civic is an excellent choice, it's bullet proof reliability should serve you well as you traverse the country! Only issue that crops up in my mind is the low ground clearance - but I guess with some patience and love you'll manage

So where is the first long drive with your civic going to be?

[thedreamcatcher]

Congrats on the buy. Even I had been to the Classic Auto Luxe Car showroom. Was looking for an Elantra or Octi at the time. Did not get something too good.

Passed by a couple of times and saw atleast 6-7 Civics displayed

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Congrats smartcat. Optra to Civic, just like me. How much you paid for the tyres?

Yeah, but I couldn't replicate the fantastic bargain you got the Civic for.

Rs. 4900 for the tyre.

Originally Posted by ranjith.rajaram

700 for a keychain thats but i guess loved one deserve this price

Well, we paid Rs. 3000 for water in a day in Malaysia - so this keychain seemed to be a bargain. Plus, the build quality of the keychain is so good - I think I can leave it as a heirloom for my grandchildren.

Originally Posted by Ranjan Sharma

If anyone going to JC road from Marathalli, CV Raman Nagar side, can buy one for me too? I badly need this thing.

Ranjan, I got some better pics of the air pump - see if you can get this one. The low quality one I bought initally hardly lasted for 1.5 yrs. This one is still working well after 4 years. It even comes with a nice compact bag.

Originally Posted by vnk77

If you have the habit of keeping the car keys in your pocket then you probably need to invest in getting a stronger bigger pocket to accommodate the huge key and the key chain.

Yeah, I have reinforced all my pant pockets with extra padding.

Originally Posted by anekho

Only issue that crops up in my mind is the low ground clearance - but I guess with some patience and love you'll manage

My arsenal of tools (developed from Optra experience) to tackle the low GC -

- Wingman (wife/friend) sitting in the passenger seat to keep an eye on rough roads on highways in the night. Basically, hit the brakes when approaching rough sections of the road.

- In the city, tackle the low width tall humps at crawling speed.

- In the city, tall humps with decent width can be tackled at higher speed - by approaching the hump at a 30 something degree angle. Basically, at any instant, only one wheel will be at an elevated position.

- On rough untarred highway roads with huge craters, drive in such a way that only one wheel goes into the crater while the other wheel is on level ground. This requires going in a zig zag pattern sometimes. But one needs to keep an eye on the rear view mirror so as to not inconvenience vehicles coming behind you - but anyway, they will be on crawling mode too. So this won't be an issue.

Basically, scraping happens only when both the front or both the rear wheels sink in at the same time. Avoid this, and you will not scrape. I have taken the Civic intentionally on some rough patches of road between my home & office - and so far, it has emerged with flying colours.

Originally Posted by thedreamcatcher

Congrats on the buy. Even I had been to the Classic Auto Luxe Car showroom. Was looking for an Elantra or Octi at the time. Did not get something too good. Passed by a couple of times and saw atleast 6-7 Civics displayed

That dealer likes selling Civic - an average Civic stays in the showroom for not more than 10 days apparently. Sonatas & Accord V6's don't move well he says.

I liked Elantra but its interiors (especially the centre console) haven't aged very well. Interiors looked pretty decent when it was launched, but now, it looks really old school. But if you can live with that, Elantras diesels are a bargain - available at Rs. 4 - 6 lacs in Bangalore.

[raj.barcode]

Congrats on your buy; but price looks a little inflated;
have driven Laluji civic, man what a brilliant engine we were in 2nd gear reaching 100 and still some way to go to rpm limiter ; brilliant;
hope to catch you in one of our night drives

P.S how come you didn't consider Sonata Transform; it a really good car with 150 bhp on tap

[SmartCat]

Yeah, I was salivating looking at the Sonata & Accord used car prices. But my garage can take a car of maximum 4.6 metres length.

I cannot park on the driveway because of rat problems.

[Ranjan Sharma]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Ranjan, I got some better pics of the air pump - see if you can get this one. The low quality one I bought initally hardly lasted for 1.5 yrs. This one is still working well after 4 years. It even comes with a nice compact bag.

Thanks man. Can you mention the shop name and other details in "T-BHP directory" or here? I was looking for this one from a long time, but going to JC road for this is such a pain.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Yeah, but I couldn't replicate the fantastic bargain you got the Civic for.

Originally Posted by raj.barcode

Congrats on your buy; but price looks a little inflated

9.1L ain't a bad deal. This is a V, one year newer, and manual. Autos have lower resale values. Also I don't find one scratch in the pics, not even on the bumpers.

Keep aside 10K for your 40K service. I think that is the highest you would ever pay.

BTW, how do you find the new tyres? The grip, the ride etc? There is a lot of rubber in the pic. Perhaps because of the upsize.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Ranjan Sharma

Thanks man. Can you mention the shop name and other details in "T-BHP directory" or here? I was looking for this one from a long time, but going to JC road for this is such a pain.

JC Road is a pain, yes. Anound I don't remember the name of the shop - it was opposite to the multi-level car park (but not Car Shringar). I guess you can try at Car Shringar.

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Keep aside 10K for your 40K service. I think that is the highest you would ever pay.

Oh okay!

BTW, how do you find the new tyres? The grip, the ride etc? There is a lot of rubber in the pic. Perhaps because of the upsize.

Compared to my old Michelins (in the Optra), the A-drives (in the Optra) were slightly more noisy on the highway. But the ride quality was much better. I really don't push my cars too hard - so cannot tell you much about the grip of the A-drives. Basically, I cannot spot the difference in grip levels between two different brands.

Meanwhile, the Civic now has a likeable "springy feel" to the suspension with the new A-drives. But, a rather simple tread pattern on the Yokohamas though.


Final Set of Pics:

Cool looking accelerator pedal - I think I last saw the floor mounted accelerator pedal in a Premier Padmini! My legs are "happy" in a Civic.







It took me around a day to figure out how to open the bootlid. "Push" I understand, but "Pull" what?






Transmission tunnel does not intrude into rear middle passenger space





Covered cubby holes are boon - leaving behind expensive items like wallet/mobile in the car is no longer an issue.





The used car dealer has removed the sunfilm from the windscreen & the windows to improve its presentability - and I intend to keep it that way. It does get a bit hot even if the car is parked for 5 mins in the sun, but in return, I get fantastic allround visibility. The AC cools down the vehicle pretty quickly, so heat inside the car is not a major issue. Without the sunfilm, this 3 year old car is still an attention grabber - to pedestrians, it looks like we are sitting inside a large glass vehicle.

[p'arth]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Basically, hit the brakes when approaching rough sections of the road.

Also remove the brakes just before the rough/hump. Moving with brakes applied further reduces the GC.

Originally Posted by smartcat

I cannot park on the driveway because of rat problems.

This shouldn't be a problem. You are a smartcat

[vasoo]

Good car smartcat! You may want to change the number plates though. It looks a bit cheapo. Try to get an HSRP. Getting some good sunfilms such as 3M CS50 would make it look better.

[ArunV]

Smartcat,
The number seems similar. By any chance, the previous owner used to work in Golf View Campus, near Old airport?

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by p'arth

This shouldn't be a problem. You are a smartcat

If I am "Tom", the rats are like "Jerry" - those darned critters are way smarter than me.

Originally Posted by ArunV

Smartcat, The number seems similar. By any chance, the previous owner used to work in Golf View Campus, near Old airport?

All I know is that the previous owner is a businessman - that logo on the number probably is his company's logo.

Originally Posted by vasoo

You may want to change the number plates though. It looks a bit cheapo. Try to get an HSRP.

Will do. What is HSRP? Google says HSRP stands for Hot Standby Router Protocol - a Cisco proprietory redudancy protocol.

[akshaymahajan]

Originally Posted by smartcat

If I am "Tom", the rats are like "Jerry" - those darned critters are way smarter than me.



All I know is that the previous owner is a businessman - that logo on the number probably is his company's logo.



Will do. What is HSRP? Google says HSRP stands for Hot Standby Router Protocol - a Cisco proprietory redudancy protocol.

Ya Cisco diversified its business and is now making weird number plates with router protocols.
On a serious note, I think he refers to High Security Number Plates.