Honda Civic Sedan 2006

robrwa123

After not being able to get a dealer to budge from a mark-up on the new HCH, my wife & I test drove an 06 EX Sedan, and then a coupe.

The sedan was OK; I liked the ride, acceleration, handling, brakes, and dashboard. No complaints from me, but my wife just didn't like the looks.

The coupe was much more fun to drive, and my wife loved its looks, but the front pillars and rear view constituted major blind spots for me. I was not comfortable with it changing lanes in the city. I'm surprised no one else here has mentioned that. Perhaps with some getting used to, it'd be fine. Further, the dealer wasn't willing to go below sticker for either (I later got her to offer a discount, but too late)!

We left the dealership Saturday, back to the drawing board. My daughter really needs to have a car by the end of the week, due to school and new living situation. So, I figure, since I liked the fun to drive factor of the Civic coupe, I investigated the Acura RSX. Perfect! They're offering a special lease deal right now, which is what I wanted to do! Long story short, I took a test drive, loved it, paid about as much as I would have for the Civic EX Coupe, and got a better lease rate, better nameplate with even higher resale value. I'll take delivery on Wednesday, and can't wait.

The deal was advertised as $1499 down, $199/month. I chose, per Edmunds.com advice, not to put any $ down (there were still $1400 up-front costs, including 1st monthly payment), so it was $239/month. Simply put, the best deal for a sporty coupe at the current time, even though it's not as updated a model as the new Civic. Maybe next time!

BTW, EPA gas mileage is excellent (27/34), but still a bit less than the new Civic (30/38).

What d'ya think?

sr45

" Just wanted to inform any potential 06 Civic buyers that I had a great experience through the COSTCO Auto Buying program in San Diego, CA. I ended up purchasing an 06 EX AT Civic Sedan at Cush Honda of Escondido for $500 over invoice, although prices have recently gone to $750 over "
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COSTCO did not work for me in Florida. Dealership refused to budge one penny, with the Costco car plan. Said they can and will continue to sell at MSRP and would not go lower, perhaps for a very long time.

drexelnet

Hi everyone,

I just got quoted$16,375 for a 06 Civic LX auto sedan including destination charge. And then have another dealership who is willing to beat it by $100 to $300. Is that a good deal or should I wait until Thanksgiving or Christmas for better deal.

307web

So the dealer says Honda Civic sedans will be in short suply in Florida "for a very long time?"

sr45

So the dealer says Honda Civic sedans will be in short supply in Florida "for a very long time?"
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No, I don't believe so. Just this USELESS dealership that thinks they can for now, get MSRP, even though other dealerships are beginning to waver on MSRP. I will not go to this dealership now or in the future for his attitude. I'm waiting for someone in my area to crack to at least $500 below MSRP. I can wait....

mylai1

hi everyone,

i've been reading this forum for a while now, so after buying my civic lx coupe, i figured i'd share what i paid if it would be helpful to anyone seriously considering buying one.

i live in texas, and i paid $17,000 even including delivery. this didn't include TTL though. we went into the dealership pretty late, i think about 30 mins before closing, and i think most of the employees were pretty tired of us, and didn't wanna deal with the bargaining anymore and just agreed at 17 even, even though they were shooting for higher originally. so i would recommend going LATE when purchasing! hehe.

anyways, i LOVE my coupe. it drives well, smooth, very quiet, a little bumpy over uneven roads, but hey, what do you expect from a coupe? before purchasing, i narrowed my choices down to the TC, Mazda3, and civic coupe. i went with the civic because of the excellent gas mileage, and even though some or many may not like it, i personally like the interior, compared to the TC and 3. theres cupholders in the backseat, also upfront, and even spaces where you can keep your cd's, etc. the stereo is excellent, along with the A/C.

i can tell you, i owned a mazda protege since '96, and in my own case, it gave me soo many problems, im happy to be rid of it! it was in the shop time after time after time, not very reliable in my case, and i was only offered $200 for the trade-in, which im sure a honda could do better in that area.

i was also in a terrible accident 5 years ago, so reliability and safety prevailed over speed, etc. the civic comes standard with side airbags, which is an option on the tc. although the tc has many standard options that the civic does not. it just really depends what you prefer, and i prefered the civic.

I LOVE MY CAR! i hope this helps anyone :shades:

bigal3

It is hard to find a honest saleman who will tell you not to buy from him because there will be over-supply pretty soon & you can get a better deal later on.

suhr

I agree! I've been in my '06 EX Sedan w/Navi for a week and am totally loving it. Just feels like one of the most well-made vehicles I've ever driven (after years of driving domestics...), but is fun as heck to drive.

backy

Actually, an honest sales person won't tell you that. There's no telling what the future may hold. What if gas continues its upward climb? That will make high-mpg cars like the Civic extremely desirable. What if in the fall of 2003, an "honest" Toyota sales rep had said, "Don't buy a Prius now--you'll pay MSRP or more, and maybe have to wait for many months. Just wait a year or so until demand slacks off, and then you'll be able to get a Prius at invoice or below, with no waiting." That wouldn't have been too helpful, would it?

Personally I think the odds of the price dropping on Civics are pretty good. But if I were a Honda sales rep, who is an agent of Honda Corporation, I would never tell a customer that. I could be right, but I could be very wrong. Just be straight with customers, that's the best approach: "The prices are high now because demand is high and supply is low, and it's a brand-new design. Prices might drop in the future, but I honestly don't know if and when that will happen." Buyers can use publically-available information to make up their own minds about the right time to buy--they don't need sales reps to tell them that.

allfiredup

I wonder if the EPA estimates are realistic at least in the sense that the automatic will get 2 mpg better than the manual? I find it very interesting that they geared them this way, but I guess it had something to do with the fact that the vast majority of them will be automatic.

I've read in various places compaints about the manual cars turning at higher than usual RPM during highway driving in 5th gear. That would obviously affect economy, but still the question remains why Honda did it?

That 6-speed from the Si would be awfully nice. Especially with a super tall 6th gear for economy.

joeluc13

Hmm... Well the RSX Type S revs high as well. On 6th gear at 65 mph, the tachometer will be at 3000 rpm. I assume that the Si would be just the same, and probably why the new MT Civics rev high as well. Honda's K series engines are designed to rev high and their range of efficiency is between 3000 rpm and somewhere around 5000 rpm. After that, gas mileage simply increases. Below 3000 acts the same as well for some reason, that is why you get the maximum mileage through the vehicle's top gear (5th in a 5 speed, and 6th in a 6 speed). I guess the reason behind this is that the K series has the new i-VTEC configuration that uses speed to manage fuel effiency, unlike the old VTEC that uses rpms to manage fuel efficiency. Hence, the new K series engines have become more fuel efficient at higher speeds compared to the B series engines of older Civics, Integras, etc. I think the design is reasonable since higher speeds mean higher rpms but higher rpms doesn't actually mean that the car is moving fast. So the "i" in the i-VTEC is the intelligence that senses the vehicles speed.

claudius753

I believe someone quoted the reason for shorter geared manual transmissions was cruise control. If you have the cruise control on, and go up a hill, an auto would shift if need be, were as a tall geared manual would bog down and lose speed. So with a shorter gear, it would be able to climb hills without the need to shift.

joeluc13

I think I've read that somewhere as well. Sounds intelligent actually since cruise control on manuals used to be a pain in the butt before.

fordfocus

um, to me, the USDM looks much nicer in sedan form

rutger3

I like the civic, but am not crazy about the digital speedometer, could be distracting.. It should have been an option. I always prefer analog. This was probably done to appeal to the younger crowd, but if Honda wants to sell 300,000 of these, this may be a mistake.

As to pricing, paying msrp for a mainstream vehicle is too much. Heck, you could get an Accord LX for less than the price of a Civic EX. In a few months, they will have plenty available and will have to discount. The same thing happened when they changed the Accord a few years ago. This is typical Honda at work, although in their defense, they are only playing the market and basic economics for now.

JBaumgart

Don't forget what the "S" means in MSRP - it's the negotiation between the buyer and the dealer that sets the actual selling price. And actual selling prices are heavily influenced by supply and demand. When faced with low supply relative to demand, the majority of dealers will refuse to negotiate off of MSRP (why should they?) while some will even try to tack on various "market adjustment" surcharges or force you to buy grossly overpriced and unneeded paint sealants, fabric protectors, etc. This is certainly not unique to Honda, and has in fact been the case for many years with most other manufacturers at one time or another after introducing a hot new model and the factories are not meeting demand, at least initially. But the Civic, being a high volume, "bread and butter" model for Honda, should become readily available fairly quickly I would think, and better deals will await those buyers who can be a little patient.

In the meantime I think Honda has a real winner on its hands, digital speedo and other minor annoyances aside, as evidenced by the level of interest that is being generated on these threads. It may take longer than normal for supply to catch up with demand, especially if gas prices stay high. If they head even higher, you might not see widespread heavy discounting until just before the 2007's come out. Until then, good deals will only be available to the best negotiators who pick accommodating dealers.

ciprian

I'm not happy anymore with this car.
First, I've found out that one door didn't close tight. Eventually, the door was fixed by the dealer. But now, a few weeks later, the CD player didn't accept any CD anymore and displays the message "mechanical error".
I've taken the car to dealer yesterday and they asked me to come back again today. They said it's a new technology and probably, don't really know what to do.

2 problems in less than one month. I have doubts if this Civic06 is really a reliable car. And by the way, the mpg is far from what was advertised. Maybe I had just bad luck with this specific car, maybe it's about all Civics06.
But this is the gamble when you buy a new model. I should've bought a different car.

I had a Toyota Corolla for 5 years and didn't have any problem. Our second car is a Pontiac Vibe and still OK.

307web

You bought one of the first cars of an all-new design, so there will be some problems. Comparing to a Corolla is like comparing to a 2005 Civic. You can expect both to be more reliable than the first of the new Civics.

backy

That is the risk you run with any brand-new design. Recall the '01 Civic also had some teething pains, including the sound system and a few recalls, but these issues were pretty much taken care of by the '02 model year.

aaykay

This is typical Honda at work, although in their defense, they are only playing the market and basic economics for now.


I don't think the manufacturer (Honda) makes any extra money, if the dealer (retailer) sells it for more than MSRP or whatever price the dealer sells it at. The manufacturer will get the "invoice" price plus the destination charge, less the holdback and nothing more. That is applicable, even if the dealer sells the car for 10,000 $ over MSRP and would be applicable if the dealer sells the car at Invoice.

Due to this very reason, from the point of supply/demand, the manufacturer will make more money, if the supply can be quickly ramped up to meet the demand. The dealer's per car margin will obviously reduce, when the supply catches up, but the dealership's monthly profit/margin figures should be a wash overall, since they would make up the money in volumes (per car margin being slimmer once supply is plentiful).

bcmalibu99ls

That's why it pays to shop for a car as close as possible to the end of the month/quarter/year. Since manufacturers usually give dealers nice bonuses for selling X number of cars in a certain period of time, the dealer may easily let you have a car for a good discount, as the dealer may need to sell a few more cars with very little time left, to get a fat bonus from the car maker.

Just the same, go to a dealership closer to the end of the day, when everyone is tired, don't have as much strength and time to haggle, and would love to go home with one more sale under their belt.

mdchachi

Defect rates for new models are usually twice what it is for established models. At the very least I'd wait 6 months into the production run to buy a new model.

fordfocus

hey ciprian, what trim and model do you have and do you know where it was built? thanks

micweb

Two problems in less than one month is nothing. I have had over 10 cars in the past 5 years and they all had minor issues like you describe - some with imports, some with domestics (I've actually had more problems with my imports, but the dealers tend to fix the problems faster and better). Having your Corolla and Vibe trouble free is just luck of the draw.

gearjammer62

2 problems in less than one month. I have doubts if this Civic06 is really a reliable car. And by the way, the mpg is far from what was advertised. Maybe I had just bad luck with this specific car, maybe it's about all Civics06.
But this is the gamble when you buy a new model. I should've bought a different car.

I agree. I really like the new Civic - but I am going to wait until the '07 comes out. It may be a couple hundred bucks more MSRP, but the discounts will be higher than now 'cause it won't be "the newest thing" anymore, and most, if not alll, of the bugs associated with new '06 models will be gone. I'll get a better car at a cheaper price than people buying an '06 today.

bcmalibu99ls

There was an article on the Internet several months ago. It said that all manufacturers have more bugs in first year models. Which is to be expected, since it's much easier to eliminate bugs after you've had tens of thousands of vehicles on the road and get all the data on all the problems from warranty claims, as opposed to testing 10-20 vehicles before launching the model.

At the same time, vehicles these days are much more reliable than even ten years ago. So, you may get a few more minor bugs in the first year, but it's highly unlikely that something major would happen (i.e. drivetrain problems), even if you buy a Kia or a Landrover

bigal3

For me, it is hard to understand why the manufacturer want to put cruise control on a stick shift. Yes, it may make sense for people who want to drive automatic....but not for people who want to drive manual.

Instead of wasting money (& gas) on cruise control, I would rather have 6th speed (over-drive). It will be more relax & quiet driving on the highway with overdrive than cruise control.

allfiredup

I have to disagree with you bigal. As someone who's owned eight Hondas/Acuras, all manuals and six had cruise. I use the cruise frequently on the interstate and it is a requirement for me when I buy a car now.

My older Civics required a downshift on hilly interstates to maintain the 75-80 mph that I usually drive. It did deactivate the cruise when I downshifted, but once I shifted back to 5th all it required was one tap on the "resume" button and I was back in cruise mode.

I guess the botton line is- people who prefer manual transmissions drive on the highway as much as anyone else and cruise is a very nice convenience.

What doesn't make sense is why Honda would sacrifice fuel economy in the 5-speed manual Civic just so it didn't require a downshift when using cruise on hilly terrain. That might be 10% of the time MAX. I'd rather have a 5th gear with a more economical ratio.

bigal3

You are right, but cars are ever revolving & had improved a lot in the last 10 years. There will always be newer models on the market with better designs coming out all the time.

It is like waiting to buy a computer. You know that they will be better, cheaper & have less bugs later on....we may wind up waiting in endless circles.

bigal3

Drivers use cruise control so that their cars can cruise along the highway at constant speed without worrying about the stepping on more gas or adjust the gear-ratio & RPM of the engine when it is going up-hill (or down-hill).

It supposed to be an automatic system which you can just "set it & forget it" and the car will be able to maintain speed by itself (no matter it is going up-hill or downhill). That is what the cruise control is supposed to do.

However, if the car has some sort of "cruise control"....but the driver need to monitor the engine himself, and has to worry about downshift & upshift when the car is going uphill & downhill, deactivate when downshift, re-activate after upshift, resume, etc......actually that cruise control is not much use isn't it?

allfiredup

Considering that I have driven for hundreds of miles in manual transmission cars with the cruise set without having to downshift, yes it is useful to me! My right leg would get very tired maintaining the same position on the gas pedal.

Can the system be considered completely useless simply because it might require a downshift every few hours on a road trip? To you, perhaps, but not to thousands of folks like me who enjoy both our cruise and manual tranny.

bigal3

Unfortunately, in your last message (#2461), you had just slapped your own mouth by saying that "YOUR CIVICS DID REQUIRED A DOWNSHIFT ON HILLY INTERSTATES TO MAINTAIN THE 75-80 MPH THAT I USUALLY DRIVE. IT DID DEACTIVATE THE CRUISE WHEN I DOWNSHIFTED....., etc".

Unless you live on the Salt Flats in the Death Valley, WHERE can you find a place to drive for HUNDREDS OF MILES in manual transmission with cruise set without having to downshift?

In fact, my son had just bought a brand new 2006 Honda Civic Coupe EX with 5 speed manual (FG118) Alabaster Silver Metallic (which came with cruise control) & we found the cruise control quite useless.

For me, I drive a E320 automatic & the cruise control does not require me to downshift on hilly interstates.

joeluc13

Well, the cruise control is meant to be used on the freeway, especially during long distance trave so I guess it is still convenient to have it on manual transmission vehicIes. I use my cruise control on my Type S when applicable. I guess it depends on driving behavior. But with today's soaring gas prices, it's nice to have it in a car, AT or MT, since it's helpful in saving fuel.

sr45

Considering that I have driven for hundreds of miles in manual transmission cars with the cruise set without having to downshift, yes it is useful to me! My right leg would get very tired maintaining the same position on the gas pedal.
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Thats funny.....You get the Manual so that you can play the upshift, and downshift game, and now you are unhappy because you have to upshift, and downshift because you don't have cruise control..... :confuse:

sr45

backy

Unless you live on the Salt Flats in the Death Valley, WHERE can you find a place to drive for HUNDREDS OF MILES in manual transmission with cruise set without having to downshift?

The Midwest, for one. In almost 20 years of driving in the Midwest with cars with cruise controls, many of them with stick shifts, I have never had to downshift once while in cruise, except of course to slow down/stop. There are some hills there, but not mountains for which downshifting would be necessary.

midnightcowboy

mdchachi said:

"Defect rates for new models are usually twice what it is for established models. At the very least I'd wait 6 months into the production run to buy a new model. "

Interesting! Is that just your opinion or do you have a reference ?

MidCow

geovar

Looks to me like sr45 was talking about the benefit of not keeping the gas pedal pressed at all times. Downshifting and upshifting is totally different from keeping the gas pedal pressed on a straight, reasonably flat road - where there is no need to change gears. You would even note that on an automatic car. On cruise, for the most part, the car remains in the same gear - at least here in the MidWest, on the NJ turnpike and for long distances in Canada, on a '99 civic - my experiences do not go beyond that so I cannot speak for the rest of North America.

This is a great forum, but maybe we can steer the conversation back to the Civic?

mrunknown

Hi, I was looking forward to getting a manual LX, now I'm getting depressed.

Can someone confirm that the manual has *less* fuel economy than the automatic, and is louder on the highway in 5th gear? Does it really matter that the rev-speed in the manual is higher in 5th gear? :confuse:

I would like to hear more about the problems new owners have been having with this car too. Thanks.

fordfocus

on another forum, I've heard that the fuel econ is lower at about 80 mph where the rpm difference is significant, but engine noise is not noticeable since the new R18 Honda engine is so very refined. I've been debating auto vs manual, too, even though I am a manual fan that likes heel and toeing. maybe I need to get another car for that since the manual 06 EX sedan I tested had very jerky clutch engagement no matter what...and the shifter doesn't have much notchy feel...

mrunknown

Does the manual actually ever beat the automatic in terms of mileage? What forum was this on btw? Thanks for the information.

fordfocus

ok...i am not sure if I can post other forums here, but it's vtec.net
I've never read anywhere where the MTX gets better mileage than ATX, and I kind of doubt it for regular drivers who don't immediately upshift in anticipation of acceleration ahead...most I know hold on to the lower gear for brief moments past where an ATX would have upshifted already...assuming an efficient ATX design such as that in the new civic?

kknowles

In second week of commuting 78 miles a day ( 85 percent highway ) in 06 coupe manual trans:

Extra noise from higher revs on highway is not an issue. I don't notice engine noise over the wind/tires until about 75 mph, and even then it's still a quiet car. Depends on what you're used to. It's definitely less noise than you'd expect for a compact.

Re: the gearing in manual vs. auto. I like the 5th-speed gearing because I can easily stay in cruise on hills at any highway speed, and can even use 5th around town in traffic at 40-45 mph.

While I wouldn't change the 5-speed gearing, I would welcome a sixth gear on a future model.

There have been a couple reports of some trouble shifting into 3rd. This has happened to me three times, where I thought I had it in gear and didn't quite. But I haven't thought it was a big concern.

The manual is a blast, and while I found the clutch very unusual at first, I got used to it by the second day.

Re: mileage. I think I've seen 3-4 other posts on this and other forums. Two guys with manuals reported 31 and 34 mpg (I got 33.8 on first tank), while one guy with auto claimed 40.

While that's somewhat disappointing, my second tank seems on pace to improve, and there are many reports on older models of mileage improving after several thousand miles. I think I'll be very happy if I can eventually average 35-36. To me, the fun of the manual is worth the difference in mileage.

The vtec forum has several posts claiming that the brand of gas makes a difference on mpg. I'm also getting a K&N air filter, but have decided against synth oil because the mileage benefits seem inconclusive based on another Edmunds forum.

mrunknown

Since there have not many reports on the mileage with AT, hopefully it will turn out that the MT is in fact competitive. Maybe that one guy on AT was going downhill.

Can you elaborate on the clutch being "unusual"? Thanks for the comprehensive reply.

midnightcowboy

Get the manual 5-speed LX you will love it!. The 5-speed gearing is about the same as it always has been and yes Honda reves the 4 cylinders pretty high on the highway around 22 mile per 1,000 rpm.

When they went to a 5-speed automatic they made the 5th grear extremely tall to get great mileage when crusing on flat terrain at highway speeds. They also fixed the auto trans logic so that whenever you step on the gas "at all" it speed matches and downshifts to 4th and if you push on the gas hard it downshifts to 3rd. The wonders of a wide ratio 5-speed automatic.

Having said all that Honda typically will oput a tall 5th gear ratio in their high fuel and hybrid versions but not in the normal Civics. However on the 6-speed Accord the 6th gear is very tall 30 miles per 1,000 rpm and correspondinly the highway mileage is very good. The 6-speed Si Civic however is more oriented towards perfromance and has a very high red line so its 6th gear will be even lower than the manual EX and LXs, porbably around 320 miles per 1,000 rpm.

Cheers,

MidCow

cooljw

Anyone seen many new '06 Civics on the road yet? I live in San Diego and have yet to see one.

mtbrider

Would you require a downshift because the engine would get so bogged down (and thus lower rpms)? I own a '00 Si and have never had a problem with the engine bogging down on cruise in 5th gear, even on very steep hills. Perhaps the gearing of the car plays a role.....because the Civic engine has relatively low torque to begin with, and given the fact that most of that torque is at higher rpms, a car with low torque would benefit from operating at higher rpms for a given speed.

geovar

I saw a silver '06 sedan (w/ alloy wheels) a couple of days back on the road here in the Chicago suburbs. Looked great in motion.

mrunknown

Are the rear flashers/blinkers/turn signals on the Civic red or orange? I get the impression that they are red and I have to ask, why??? Isn't enough that the normal and brake rear lights are already red?

ciprian

"what trim and model do you have and do you know where it was built?"

Civic06 EX w/o nav, built in US