General Comments:
I have owned 3 other Honda vehicles:
2003 Odyssey - excellent vehicle.
2006 CRV - excellent also.
1992 Accord - unfortunately not maintained properly by the previous owner, and did not last long.
I purchased this Civic new in 2008 and have been very happy with my experience with the car.
Best Features:
- Though there are many on the road, with some nice aftermarket wheels I get compliments.
- Very good fuel economy.
- Somewhat sporty performance (for my needs).
- Good handling.
- Pleasant and appealing cockpit design, very user friendly and intuitive.
- Well built inside and out.
- I like the maintenance minder, which keeps me from needing to remember oil changes, etc.
- Decent stereo (can play MP3s and has AUX input).
- VERY large cup holders for my Slurpees.
Needs Improvement:
- Road noise which can get annoying.
- Riding height is low (to be expected with this vehicle).
- Sometimes there is a lag in acceleration, especially when I need it to haul rear... it can be unnerving.
- Stock wheels are atrocious looking - so I replaced them, no big deal.
- Stock tires were poor performers in ALL weather conditions, so I replaced them (17" summer performance and 15" winter tires).
- This model does not have power trunk release on remote... sometimes wish I had that - not a deal breaker though.
- On this model there is no split fold down rear seat, only a single fold down.
Unfortunately, I have not liked the direction Honda has taken with the styling of their vehicles. When my lease runs out, I may buy the Civic outright, or, if there is a new, more attractive Civic, I may trade up, not sure. All other Honda's look bad in my opinion, and I don't want any of them. Only the Civic looks good to me.
I used this vehicle as a daily commuter to and from work, about 100+ kms a day. It has been reliable and comfortable.
The interior is well thought out. The cup holders are large and solid and can hold large Slurpees. There are many compartments for storage, though the glovebox could be larger.
This has been such a wonderful vehicle to own, I am considering purchasing it out at the end of the lease.
So far so good with the Civic!
27th Nov 2011, 08:27
Once again we have a used car with fairly high miles on it being bashed. Do you know if this car was in an accident? It likely was if the alignment is off that badly.
When you buy something used, it is a crap shoot as to what problems you are inheriting from another owner. People are not honest, therefore you are probably stuck with a very poor car. The dealer is only offering about 50% of value because they probably know it has been wrecked in the past just by looking at it. Did you ask them why they are offering you so little for a trade, when it books out almost twice the price?
You cannot make an accurate observation on a used car. It just simply isn't possible due to the facts I mentioned above. Any car can be wrecked and repaired. I have seen vehicles with over $15K worth of damage repaired like it never happened. 99% of the time they are never the same though, as nothing lines up like it used to, and things are permanently out of whack. Had you bought a brand new Civic, your opinions would surely be totally different. I'm not saying Honda's are perfect, but this is an unfair analysis of their quality. Take your car to a good body shop that does frame work and everything, and get their analysis of whether or not it has been wrecked. You will probably get your answers to your major issues there.