27th Nov 2011, 13:09
So let us summarize - You say it is "Crap, Junk" and a "Death Trap", but then protest loudly when offered $4,000 in a trade proclaiming it is in "mint condition".
So which is it? In any case it does have over 100,000 miles on it - what did you expect on to get for it on a trade?
You must admit, you are all over the place on this one.
27th Nov 2011, 19:01
Haha, Civic unreliable?
Yours was probably beat on, or a previous owner was in an accident to throw off the alignment that much. You do realize this car is rated highest reliability rating right next to your Corolla, Camry, Accord etc... right?
Chances are you bought the car with these problems, and this could happen to any car. I'm by no means a Honda fanboy; I actually prefer American cars. But time after time again, these cars get high ratings. 13 years in a row best seller in Canada for compacts.
28th Nov 2011, 19:55
Honda and Toyota long ago dropped out of the "highest reliability" category. The Ford Fusion and Lincoln are now the top-ranked cars on Earth in reliability.
Apparently the previous commenter has not heard of Honda's notorious "Transmission of the Month" club, or Toyota's nearly 23,000,000 recalls for very serious, life-threatening defects. Ford, GM and Chrysler are currently building the safest, fastest, most fuel-efficient and most reliable vehicles. Check the facts. GM is outselling Toyota nearly 2 to 1 in the U.S., as well as topping them in world sales. The Cadillac CTS-V is currently the fastest sedan and station wagon built on Earth, and Ford's new 200mph Mustang will have the most powerful production V-8 built on the planet. The F-150 has no competition, and is going on 4 decades as the world's best selling truck. Things have changed a lot. Ad hype can't offset facts.
All major car magazines are ranking the Ford Focus, Chevy Cruze and Hyundai Elantra way above both Corolla and Civic. In fact, in every comparison I have read, the Corolla came in dead last. Comments on the Civic included "outdated" and "lacking in sophistication".
Nor do I speak from lack of personal experience. Our Civic was one of the two worst cars we ever had. The other one was also a Japanese brand.
29th Nov 2011, 14:31
The only "facts" I need to check are my own experiences. I'm sorry, but sitting in a Chevy dealer service department waiting room over and over again, means more to me than your "facts" about GM outselling Toyota, or where domestics rank on some propaganda fueled list. Most of the great American achievements you cite are overpriced, overpowered, gas guzzling vehicles that have no place in today's world. Getting 15 mpg and going 200 mph is useful how?
So really nothing has changed in the American auto industry. They still focus heavily on low mpg vehicles like muscle cars, SUV's and pickups. As soon as gas fell in price from the 2008 meltdown, the domestics went right back to selling the same old crap. If gas were to soar past $4 per gallon today, GM would be knocking on the government's door for another loan. They haven't learned from their mistakes, because they weren't allowed to fail, which would have made them better companies. Why change when you've got nothing to lose producing cash cows like SUV's? They still make many of the same vehicles they did when they were at the bottom of most lists, yet you think they miraculously climbed the charts to the top. Yeah, it's not propaganda. Please! Sorry, my poor experiences with domestic vehicles are all I need to go by, not your rankings lists.
30th Nov 2011, 18:28
GM and Ford are currently building cars that get far better fuel economy than Honda or Toyota.
Our non-hybrid Fusion gets 38mpg on the highway.
My brother's V-6 Impala gets 33.
Our large GM SUV gets 24mpg fully loaded and running the speed limit on the freeway.
My friend's 4-cylinder RAV 4 gets 19mpg on the highway, and my boss has a new Accord that has yet to top 30mph highway.
Another friend says he has never gotten over 30mpg with his Corolla.
I'd hardly say imports have any advantage at all in fuel mileage. The gas-only Chevy Cruze gets the same mileage as the Toyota Prius.
1st Dec 2011, 12:15
My friend gets over 60 mpg with her Prius. Honda made a CRX back in 1989 that got 55 mpg. So what's your point? Everyone can claim whatever they want. I see people on here all the time claiming this, that and the other for high mileage. I'd have to drive the car and divide miles by gallons used before I believe you or anyone else.
Going by your computer is very inaccurate, as it takes an average, so if you do a lot of coasting, that will affect things, but it isn't a realistic driving scenario for the average person. I have a Focus that gets around 30 to 31 mpg with mixed driving. I drive it very easy and don't floor it or slam on the brakes ever. I don't speed with it, and I generally drive it like an old man. I still see people claiming 40 mpg with the same car. If I started coasting a lot more and turning the engine off on big hills, I could probably get into the 40's with mine too.
How you calculate your mileage creates a huge variation in your figures. Some of the vehicles you have listed in no way get the mileage you are stating. Not in reality that is. The computer might estimate it, but in actuality it isn't true mileage. Anyone can get ridiculous numbers on any car. In reality, they haven't made any huge strides in mileage over the past few decades. My older Fox Mustang 5.0's would routinely get around 27 mpg on the highway at 70-75 mph. The newest Mustang GT is still rated around 26 mpg highway. I used to get 45 mpg with my '89 Toyota Tercel that was not even fuel injected, never mind some fancy hybrid crap. Now a Civic gets 40 mpg, and people are all hyped up about it.
In my opinion, non hybrid cars should be at least 75 mpg today. If the auto business was more about technological advancement and conservation than it was purely about business and profits, they surely would be getting at least that by now... and still be powerful and fun to drive. It is actually annoying to me that everyone thinks hybrids are so revolutionary. Triple digit fuel economy would be revolutionary to me, not the same figures that we were getting with cars from over 20 years ago.
27th Nov 2011, 10:52
The dealers know this is a buyer's market... and many of them will give you 2000-4000 back off wholesales Kelley Blue Book. To sell any car it's best to go private party. I have had good luck with Craigslist. Just make sure you go with the buyer on a test ride. And limit the test to 10 minutes. It might take a longer to sell it yourself, but you get a lot better price than through a dealership.
Also, why buy new. The annual Consumers Reports Annual Auto Guide that comes out once a year in April... has a lot of great used cars to fit any budget... and many of the older cars are built better than new cars.
Remember to take it to a mechanic to check for major problems and accidents. Your disappointing Civic sounds like it would make a good back up or fair weather emergency car for you. Also a Civic in the snow or ice; I am not sure that is a wise decision in a small, lightweight, economy car...