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Any thoughts on the Civic? I am eyeing one down for my 16-year-old, who is turning age 17 and eventually getting her license. Interior-wise, a beautiful car, but the little ***** on the vents are an eye-sore. Are there any after-market accessories that clamp on over to make them look more aesthetic and appealing? It is between this and the Toyota Corolla, but I am liking this a little more. I need all the safety features, including blind spot monitoring, etc.
Also, is the car fairly quiet with road noise at 65-70 mph? Thoughts? Thanks!
Out of the gate, they seem to be pretty good. Not sure about the features (I actively try to avoid cars with them), but their collision ratings are excellent.
I wish it was this simple. When you look at 2-3-year-old vehicles with 25,000-30,000 miles, the cost is only about $5,000 less. Yes, you probably get a CPO vehicle, but it is not worth it. I still have time. Most lease vehicles that came off a 3-year - 36,000-mile lease were about 60% of the MSRP. Now, they are literally 85% of the MSRP. Quite a big difference.
The other thing I do not like is that most CPO used vehicles off lease come under the mileage. Many people I speak with coming off a lease are usually over the mileage. I'm not too fond of the idea of mileage being rolled back. I am not saying all dealers do this, but it is common in the US. I would rather not take my chance on a used vehicle unless it came from someone I knew really well.
What a beautiful car, and those stupid *****. Also, the other issue is the Turbo. The newer models with advanced safety features come with a Turbo. The Corolla XSE is a nice car, but all the NJ dealers charge over MSRP, almost $2,500-$3,000. I will have to wait until prices and inventory drop throughout 2023.
"My" first car was a rusty '95 Honda Passport that my parents let me borrow when I needed to go somewhere. I then bought my own Civic at 18. Your child is spoiled
The 1.5L turbo in these Civics is still reliable, fuel efficient, and quite powerful for it's size. Some of the earlier model years (starting in '16) has some oil dilution issues. That is really only an issue if you're in a cold environment and are only making short trips where the engine cannot fully warm up.
Yes, some children are spoiled. I make them understand how to take care of a car. As mentioned earlier, it does not make sense to purchase a 2-3-year-old. Now, if you go out and start searching for a clean used car, well around here "GOOD LUCK". The kids do pick up the car payments after a few years and also have to work to pay for brakes, tires, etc. So they do chip in.
People usually do not take care of their vehicles. They are all scratched up from either car washes, or bad hand washing. Stains and spills all over the carpet. I have seen weeds growing out of trunks for some used cars. Then they ask for ridiculous amounts of money. Lastly, the stare you get when you ask for maintenance receipts is like you committed a crime.
I would have no issue purchasing a 10-year-old Honda or Toyota, if clean and in good shape with maintenance records, etc. I purchased a 2006 Honda Civic EX with 133K on the odometer off driving school for $2,300 and it is still here today. This was for MOM and she put about 20,000 miles on it over the last 5 years. It was maintained properly because they need receipts from mechanics for certification. All the other used cars I purchased in the past were from people I knew really well. People destroy their cars and then want top dollar. I guess in this market environment, it does not even matter.
I have a 2016 Toyota Avalon (a little big for a new driver), but it may just do for the time being until things calm down a bit. It can't be like this forever.
Geographical location does play a big factor. Deals can certainly be had for clean cars here, mainly because they rarely salt the roads and markups were virtually nonexistent.
$2300 for what would have been a ~10 year old car is fairly unusual, even by that mileage and pre-covid standards.
The car was purchased 10-17-2017 and it is a 2006 Honda Civic. The school purchased it from the daughter (owner's daughter). She had all the maintenance done.
The owner of the driving school sold it for a good price as he was in a hurry to get rid of it, and going away for 60 days to Florida. Then the house would have been sold. So it was the right place at the right time. He was asking $2,500 and had 2 offers of $2,000 or less. He took my $2,300 offer. We were 10 minutes shy of the bank closing for a bank check. A little luck played on my part.
The only thing it had was the passenger brake pedal and I wish it was never removed as I could have used it to teach the kids to drive. He had it removed, and I actually placed mastic (seals AC units) and black duct tape and put the carpet back down. Cleaned it up pretty well. A little fading where the magnetic driving school stickers were, but it is silver.
Yes, $2,300 is out the door. He was asking $2,500. Since then, we only spent like $1,500 in maintenance & repairs, and outside some tires, brakes, oil, and tranny fluid changes, I think some suspension parts, some oxygen sensors, and a starter went bad. Some work is done by side mechanics, some by regular mechanics. Mechanics out in NY and NJ are quite expensive.
The only thing this car does is burn a little oil at around 150K mark. Maybe 1/2 to 1 quart every few thousand miles. It is hard to tell with that orange dipstick. Drives me nuts.
This car can be sold for $3K-$4K to the right buyer, given the cost of vehicles out there. Truly amazing that cars are a luxury for some people.
Just purchased a '23 Touring model. Literally searched over a dozen states to find the color combination I was looking for as well as a dealer not charging over MSRP. Finally found one in Cleveland Ohio, however still paid $1500 over MSRP. Some sales reps actually laughed at me when I told them I wouldn't pay above sticker. That said, I really love the car and definitely made the right choice. I was choosing between the Honda, a Subaru Legacy, Subaru Crosstrek or a used Mazda 6. The Civic won on aesthitics as well as reputation. Most publications give it "Best in class" rating and I agree. Was at a local coffee and cars gathering this past Saturday and it got some attention even though I parked it well away from the main area. So far it definitely performs as well as expected. My only concern is the lane departure function is over aggressive in correcting. It seems to pull too hard and overcorrect. I'm sure I can disable it but haven't looked into it yet. As for the waffle trim over the air vents, it doesn't bother me at all. Good luck in your search!
My only concern is the lane departure function is over aggressive in correcting. It seems to pull too hard and overcorrect.
My experience with rental Toyotas was the same.
What I did was to simply be touching the steering wheel, no need to grab it - just let the wheel move on its own and let it move your hand with the wheel.
There was also an adjustment for sensibility, not sure if civic have it
I am almost positive that in most modern cars with "lane tracing" that one can set the sensitivity of correction, and when. I know I have this on my 2022 Toyota Avalon. I do not know about the Honda though.
Interestingly enough, a dealer in NJ had specifically told us that they will not charge over MSRP. This does not mean at the time of the sale they will try to add on "extras". However, we passed on the car for a few reasons. One is that there was a limited selection of colors and cars. Also, in order to get all the safety features, you must order one with a turbo (too complicated) for a new driver. Lastly, those stupid little joy stick ***** on the dash and vents killed the whole deal.
We are now looking for a Corolla XSE, but again most dealers are charging about $2,500 over MSRP. We have time and will wait. One dealer will only charge MSRP, but the vehicle needs to be on the lot, so I may miss the opportunity. Amazing the world we are living in that no longer can we find a good deal on a new car.
01-23-2023
