[mdsaab]

Car 1 sounds pretty good.
and this reminds me of @dot's journey picking up the bluish silver civic now christened Scorponok.
I have sat and even driven his car, and can vouch that if you get a good example like @dot did, you just can't go wrong with buying a pre owned civic. Infact @dot's cars is so well maintained you will never be able to tell that he wasn't the first owner.
I can understand your dream to own the civic, I had gone through the same, and now finally drive one. It all starts with the dream, and if dreamt of with a honest heart it's bound to be realised.
No need to worry about convincing other family members, if you feel that you are making the right decision and your heart says YES. then go for it, you will never regret it.
Do get it checked out fully by a trained mechanic, before you sign that cheque.
Look forward to a new thread ~ Your pre-owned civic.
Good luck!

P.S It's a very reasonable-easy on the pocket car to maintain. So don't worry too much about maintainence. But as i mentioned earlier get the full car checked, and go through the full service history before you agree.

[dot]

Originally Posted by arvi86

Car 1 - Bluish Silver Civic S MT - 29,500 kms - Single Owner - Full Service History with Sundram Honda - Car was looking good, interiors were good too but there were some scratches near the power-window switches. But I will have to take a test drive to confirm the same. Will go for a test drive before tomorrow evening. Quoted Price - 7.7 Lacs

Any idea which year model is this? For an 06 or 07 model, the price is good. On top of that the service history is available, that is really a big plus.

The scratches near power window switches are very common for Civics. Other than @mdsaab's car, I have not seen any +2 year old Civic that didnt have these scratches. You can get it painted easily for 400-500 bucks. My Civic (Scorponok's) thread has some pictures of repainted power window casings.

[varunsonu]

Hi.. go for pre-owned civic.. let me tell you my experiance with honda city. Its a 2000 model and has done 105000 kms on the odometer and its been the most comfortable 11 yrs that i can think of.. I have got its suspension work done just once IN 11 YEARS and its still going..

Honda's are the most reliable of the lot and if it was me and i wanted to buy a pre-owned car i would go for nothing else but a Honda.

A next generation civic is also about to come to Indian market so if you can wait then its good because once the new civic will launch you would get a better price for the pre-owned.

And as all the BHPians are pointing out already, do check the car's service history and try checking it through VIN Number as it is like a DNA of the car and it has to be true. (i am not sure if you can do that in India but it is possible abroad)

varun

[rajivanoj]

dont think much, go for used civic, i always preferred used cars, since i can get it at much lower price than new ones, also all the fittingsm tax, insurance are paid by precious owner, you dont have to worry much, just buy and drive, but before driving, select an good one, which is nicely maintained. But my opinion is that the previous owner would have maintained well , in case of luxury cars, since they spend more than 1o lakhs, they will spend on spares, service regularly, since they have money.

If we are getting an used cars like indica, alto, santro, 800 we can suspect on service by previous owners. thats my opinion, not to hurt any of the above car owners.

[Got BHP?]

Dear arvi86, I use a 2000 Honda Civic in Vancouver which has done about 165,000kms, the car is still going strong. Having been used to the comfort of a Civic I wanted to drive one here in Chennai for the two month vacation I am here. The i10 AT which my father uses was found to be too tiny as I am used to bigger cars even while I was here. Keeping this in mind I went scouting for a pre-owned Civic. I found pretty good used ones for 6.8Lacs with 38k on the odo and similar 4-5year old model with as low as 16K kms for 7.5lacs. I found such examples at used car dealer lots and used car wings of Honda and Toyota (Mind you the prices are inclusive of free services and limited warranty offered by respective used car dealers). Another way to pick a clean car would be to scout for cars (ads from classifieds) from posh localities of the city directly from the owner. These owners habitually change cars and in most cases would be well maintained and parked under shade. Price can be negotiated and will be cheaper compared to what dealers quote.

[arvi86]

Big thanks again to all of you. I am going to drive the Car 1 that I had mentioned tomorrow morning. With all your experience, can you guys let me know what should I look at or notice during the short test drive that I am going to take? Your inputs would be highly valuable.

Originally Posted by Got BHP?

I went scouting for a pre-owned Civic. I found pretty good used ones for 6.8Lacs with 38k on the odo and similar 4-5year old model with as low as 16K kms for 7.5lacs. I found such examples at used car dealer lots and used car wings of Honda and Toyota

Thats great man. Can you let me know where exactly did you find such examples? I would love to check those dealerships too before settling for my ride.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by laluks

Here you go with some details.

Service costs are in the range of Rs800 (every 5k) to 2000 (every 10k). Consumables like oil is Rs1000/Rs 3000 (mineral/synth) every 10K. Fuel Filter every 40K - Rs5000. Brake pads - Rs 5000 each for front and rear. Brake discs 2500 each for front, Tail lamps - Rs 4800, Head lamps Rs 13000, Front / rear bumber - upwards of Rs 5000 plus painting based on what all parts required.

This sounds very reasonable, infact cheap for a car that costs 13-15L new. Thanks for sharing this.

A friend of mine got a quote of 8k for his first paid service of ANHC in Mumbai, hence the post.

[Got BHP?]

Originally Posted by arvi86

Thats great man. Can you let me know where exactly did you find such examples? I would love to check those dealerships too before settling for my ride.

I found those examples at TSM Royepetah, Lanson Toyota used car wing ECR and Capital Honda used car wing Menambakkam (Opp. Airport).

Am sure to too can find such good cars. Negotiate hard.

Cheers buddy. Happy motoring.

Note to MOD: I am sorry for using names here. I wanted to PM this information however I do not know how exactly it has to be done.

[arvi86]

Thanks buddy. My next job would be to check those places. And, am planning to check with Mahindra First Choice too, from whom I bought my first car Santro. Ahh, lots of head-scratching to do in a very short time.

All of a sudden, I would be out of station for a week starting this Friday on an official trip.

[SmartCat]

Arvi, In the past one year, I've spent around Rs. 75,000 on maintaining the Civic

Tyres - Rs. 20,000 (immediately after purchase, 35000 km)
Insurance - Rs. 16,000 (bought 2 months after purchase)
40,000 km service - Rs. 25,000 (brakes were the culprit)
45,000 km service - Rs. 12,000 (its the clutch this time)
Stereo Repair - Rs. 3,500 (MP3 player conked out twice)

My recommendations -

- Try to look for an used V MT or automatic (with leather)

- Avoid Civic if the mileage on the clock is close to 35-40K kms. 40,000 km service is a "major" service and so is the 60K kms service.

- Your "Car 1" and "Car 2" @ 30K are fine because you will have 1 year of low service costs. But you will have to change the tyres soon (Rs. 20,000). Civics with 40 or 50K on the clock might have new tyres.

- See if you can get a Civic with recently purchased insurance.

[arvi86]

Hi everybody. I just came after taking the Blue Honda Civic for a very short testdrive. I took a close pal, who has significant knowledge in and out about cars. Both of us were satisfied with the drive. Took it over some irregular patches and the suspension was ok, some muted thuds were heard which seems to be pretty normal. The only concern was with the tires which have worn out so quickly (just 29,400 kms old). Is that normal?

And the service history is as follows: 1st four services in a time of 1 year, the next 5 services were done regularly at every 5000 km irrespective of time intervals. In fact, the time between 5th and 6th service was 11 months. I am quite skeptical about this. I need you guys to help me out with this.

Called up Sundaram Honda, they only confirmed that the car was bought and serviced there. They are ready to open the full service history only if I go with the present owner there.

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Arvi, In the past one year, I've spent around Rs. 75,000 on maintaining the Civic

Tyres - Rs. 20,000 (immediately after purchase, 35000 km)
Insurance - Rs. 16,000 (bought 2 months after purchase)
40,000 km service - Rs. 25,000 (brakes were the culprit)
45,000 km service - Rs. 12,000 (its the clutch this time)
Stereo Repair - Rs. 3,500 (MP3 player conked out twice)

Oh, thats a bad sign. Because in the blue Civic, the insurance expires this month and as I mentioned in the last post, the tires are at the end of their life. The last service was done on Nov-2010 at 25,000 odd kms. If I buy it, I too have to immediately give it for 30,000 km service.

So, your Expense 1 & 2 are sureshots for me too. Then 3 & 4 will also add up.

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by arvi86

Called up Sundaram Honda, they only confirmed that the car was bought and serviced there. They are ready to open the full service history only if I go with the present owner there.

May be I am wrong here, just stating experienced of friend when he sold his City. As a owner he got a copy of service history and presented it to prospective buyers. You should also ask your seller also the same! =This shall give you picture if car had tire balancing issue?

Are Tires company stock or soft tyres? If they are soft tyres, they give better comfort with lesser mileage life. Based on tyre model, contact tyre expert like Nikilh, kpzen. They shall guide you better on particular tire.

[amulu10]

You can try through Capital Honda Auto Terrace program in Chennai.
Last year bhpian got a 2007 SMT with 28k on the odo for 7.2 L . Seems a good deal then and i am sure with the current Petrol prices , you can get a better deal . Also with the official dealer , you can be sure of the condition of the car to some extent .
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...mt-2007-a.html

[arvi86]

Pls find attached the pictures of the car taken today after the short test-drive that I took. Tomorrow or day after that, I am planning to go to the dealer with the car for checking the full history.

As I said before, the power window switch panel and the Honda logo at the rear are the only major grouses visually. Otherwise the car looks pretty good. The spare tire and the tool box is unused (brand new). But if I settle for this one (already inclined to it), I will have to immediately shell out for Insurance (12000) and 30K service (10000). After a few months, I need to shell out for Tires (24000). All these are approximate figures apart from the buying price.