Rep Power: 420

Well, this sucks. Maybe the harshness I have bean feeling over speed bumps in back was really my spare tire flying around? I checked it out and the part that has a nut welded onto it that is tacked on to the chassis was barely hangin' on. It's tacked on in two places with spot welds. Looks like someone used too much power, so it melted through the chassis and the spot weld was very fragile. Maybe it was loosened by the speed bumps? Who knows?

Anyway, I tore that piece off. I Had to straighten it out. It was deformed from the spare tire flying around with that piece still attached. Why didn't Honda tack it down on all four corners? Stupid! I then spraypainted it silver and I used some 1-ton epoxy to strengthen that nut and to glue the piece down to the chassis. With any luck it shouldn't come off ever again. I'll test it out tomorrow when it's fully cured. The bolt is also a little crooked, but I haven't bean able to straighten it out. I'll try again tomorrow.

CHECK YOUR SPARE TIRE! Unbolt it and make sure that little piece is securely welded on. If it's not then tear it off and fix it. Or take it to your dealer. I hate dealers though. I don't think they would have done a better job of it then I did. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG]

Oh yeah, if you look hard enough you can tell why our cars cost so little. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

 
Rep Power: 0

I'm not sure what little piece you're talking about. I took a look at mine, and that long bolt that secures the spare in place is enough to keep it from moving around. Can you take a pic of that little piece you're referring to?

As for our cars costing so little, I would have to argue against that. Civics are not overly expensive, but they are not cheap either: on the top-o-line EX, you still only get 15" steelies with hub caps, drums for rear brakes, crappy Firestones, and no fogs (and this is for people who don't mod their cars). I bought mine for the Honda name, the looks, and and the good mileage it gets.

 
Rep Power: 420

It's the little piece that the long bold screws into. You have to take out the spare to see it.
It's hard to let go son, I know... [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

 
Rep Power: 0

"I bought mine for the Honda name, the looks, and and the good mileage it gets."

If you feel that that's all this car has going for it that's not saying much, there are a ton of cars that fit in this category.

 
Rep Power: 0

Do you have trouble accepting someone else's personal preferences, or what?

Looks and the Honda name are my own personal preferences. At the time I bought it, it was the best-looking car in its price range. And I liked the Honda name for its reliability and fun to drive factor. And also at that time, it was one of the most most fuel-efficient non-diesel cars in its class.

In terms of those 3 factors, it has met all of my expectations. Mileage almost exactly as advertised... I still enjoy looking back at my car after parking it... and except for one leaking strut, my car has operated flawlessly, in temperature ranges of -10 degress (fahrenheit), to 110 degrees recently. And, strange as it may be, that occasional rough idling (down to 450 rpm), seems to have disappeared completely with the hot weather.

At least I can stand by my reasons for buying this car. What about you? If there are so many other choices out there like you say, why did you buy yours then? And believe me, there are plenty of us here who wish you and the other whiners had bought something else besides a Civic. You're definitely not alone there.

We're counting the days with you buddy ...

 
Rep Power: 0

If you ask me, you don't have to look very hard at all. I am not cutting the civic down, but how the hay does anyone think that you can buy a car for so little. The compact category is so competitive that the manufacturers have to skim pennies anywhere they can.

 
Rep Power: 420

Well, I drove around with the fix now for a while and it's holding up very well. No more annoying bang when going over bumps. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] Looks like my solution is working.