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Honda Civic 2005 and earlier

2456779

Comments

  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    You are correct. It's the total cost of ownership that really counts.

    Even so, Civics are priced to compete.
  • f6bikerf6biker Member Posts: 33
    You need a new seat for free! Call some one and I bet that they will do it, that's gross.
  • f6bikerf6biker Member Posts: 33
    Had my windows tinted today (we live in Florida) and it looks good on the car. Went with the medium tint on the sides dark on the rear. Also put on the Z-Racing #22 wheels ($200 at Sears) yesterday and I have to say that the car looks good. Now if I can find a good deal on the in dash CD player I am done.

    I have never driven a Civic before this one and I really like the ride, steering, suspension (does great over the tracks), fuel economy, and interior size. The more that I see of it the better that I like the style.

    I agree that over 65 it gets a little noisy but nothing more than any other small car and better than most.
  • milindcmilindc Member Posts: 123
    10,000 mile intervals for Oil changes !! or 12 months !! Now that is something. I wonder how many gusy are going to follow this ?
  • pqxypqxy Member Posts: 5
    Going to get my 2001 lx tinted by the dealer. How much does it cost? Any suggestion on color, quality on materials and work done by the dealer? Thank you.
  • chilehead100chilehead100 Member Posts: 4
    You might call the dealer and ask them who (what company) tints their vehicles. I'm fairly certain you will find that they farm it out to a local tint shop where you will pay much less for the same quality tint and installation. Price is also negotiable (at least 10 to sometimes 20 percent).
  • f6bikerf6biker Member Posts: 33
    I paid $120 for both sides and the rear. They had 2 basic tint levels for cars and a third for rear truck windows that are legal here. The guy who tints them (he did my last truck in '94 too) said that 95% of his work is light in the front to satisfy the law and dark in the rear and back deck. I chose a different option. I used light on all side windows and dark on the back deck window. I did not want it to dark on the sides and like the uniform look from each side. Because of the angles that you view it from the rear is not noticeably darker than the sides.

    I like the look a lot and I would choose it again. The wheels and splash gaurds round it off well too. FYI the tint level on factory glass is about 5% according to the tinter and the 2 choices that I had were 37% and 52% each plus the 5%.
  • garrickkgarrickk Member Posts: 4
    I have not purchased the warranty, but for my 2001 EX Civic, the price Honda charges through the dealer is only $585. My salesperson even showed me the page with all of the dealer prices. After that, they said they mark it up $200, so $785 for the warranty. I wasn't interested at the time, but I know some dealers ask over $1000 as someone mentioned. This was the dealer's so-called "standard" rate.

    Still, $785 isn't bad - considering it includes free towing and car rental for 7 years/100,000 miles.
  • f6bikerf6biker Member Posts: 33
    Who is the dealer? I bought the same warranty as part of the car price but I think that I could have done a couple of hundred better with your dealers warranty price. Here in Florida we have a law that prohibits offering insurance policies and warranties at different prices throughout the state. I bought one for my Honda Valkyrie motorcycle (1.52 liter V6 with 6 carburators, I have more money in it than in my civic LX) 4 additional years unlimited miles from a dealer out of state for $400. The dealer that sold me the bike for a very good price wanted $600 for 3 additional years and said two interesting things;

    1 The markup is 100% on warranties.

    2 Don't waste your money the bikes wear out before they break, and he meant after many, many years. I bet the same applies to the cars.

    I buy them anyway because I sell my own cars and bikes instead of trading to pick up a couple of thousand bucks per trade and having warranty on a bike or car always pays for the price of the warranty plus in increased selling price. You don't get the same benefit if you trade though, they just cancel your warranty and send you a prorated check for a small amount of what it cost and don't give you retail for your car of course, why would they. So in the mean time I have the benefit of full warranty and roadside assistance, a pretty good deal for me.
  • garrickkgarrickk Member Posts: 4
    The Honda dealer in Savoy, IL claims to only charge $200 over their cost on all Honda extended warranties. Perhaps this is only if you buy the car there.

    $785 is a good price in my opinion, and maybe I'll buy it later this year after I attempt a little bargaining.

    I personally still think $200 is too much! I mean, how much work is it to sell a policy from Honda? I mean, they give Honda $585 of that money, and then everytime they work on my car under warranty, Honda reimbursed them for the work (they make money). So, is $200 for 10 minutes of work fair, when they will continue to make money on the deal in the future regardless? There must be something I don't understand.

    I think I'll offer $685 to several local dealerships and call it a day.

    WarrantyDirect.com charges $910 for their 7/100k platinum plan with a $0 deductible! The Diamond plan is $970 with no deductible. I don't know if these plans are better or worse, but if WarrantyDirect.com goes bankrupt, you're screwed. I think they claim the Diamond plan is true "bumper to bumper" which would be nice.
  • garrickkgarrickk Member Posts: 4
    I'm having a productive day at work...

    Anyway, check out:
    http://www.hondawarranty.net

    They claim to sell actually Honda extended warranties and they appear to be fairly cheap. The Civic link is dead, but for a 4 cylinder 2001 Accord, $770 with no deductible, 7 yr/100k miles.

    I hope the Civic's is even lower.
  • inkyinky Member Posts: 370
    You are pulling our legs --right? That story is so embellished that I think it is as likely as a presidental election in half a dozen states within 5,000 votes. But then-A.G. is looking lighter.
    INKY
  • midgeysdadmidgeysdad Member Posts: 4
    Just picked up my new '01 EX Thursday. I've gone a total of only 105 miles so far but already I can tell I'm going to love this little car. Torrential rain yesterday {it's first day out} It handled beautifully. I raised the question regarding extended warranty about 20 posts ago...The dealer kept coming down on the price of the warranty as I sat in his office before delivery. We finally agreed to $600.00 for 6yr./100,000 miles bumper to bumper with a $50.00 deductible. This deal also included the shop's installation of Honda mud guards which look great and really work well.
  • smoresmore Member Posts: 25
    Can anyone please explain what the final drive ratio is? I see it's high for Civic (4.3) compared to other cars and I don't know if that's good or bad. Tks.
  • f6bikerf6biker Member Posts: 33
    Think of it like a 10 speed bike. The front gears are like your transmission and any of the rear 5 gears is your final drive gear from which you get the ratio. One will make it easy to get going and another will make it possible to apply power at high speed. On a car you must compromise and pick just one, at the moment. Somewhere in the middle is a gear that is optimum for each car depending on things like the torque and horsepower of the engine, curb weight of the car and the drive ratio of the transmission. The ratio is based on wheel and tire size also.


    I think that the only way that this can really affect you on the Civic is if you buy say an LX with a 14" wheel and then change to a 15" wheel with a larger diameter tire. If you found a 15" low profile tire that had the same outside diameter as the original 14" tire it would be a wash.
  • titopuentetitopuente Member Posts: 46
    I'm now considering an Acura 1.7 EL which is the Acura version of the Civic, with all the luxuries. This is a Canada only car and I am wondering if anyone can share their 2001 EL experience.

    Another thing, how fast does the 1.7L 127hp engine bring the civic sedan up to 60 mph with auto?
  • soberssobers Member Posts: 496
    I drove 2001 Civic Lx for about 6 miles. It provides no-feedback whatsoever. I would rate last generation steering as much better in terms of feedback. Steering is quicker though but I was almost broke-down to observe such a step backwards in terms of the feedback.

    New Struts are also very apparent. There IS something missing when you drive. Whether a common buyer notices this otr not I noticed it a BIG time.

    Even though it is all around improvement(Interior materials, room, classy looks) these two things(steering/wishbone) are making me too sad. I won't drive 2001+ civic again.....

    My Accord 2000 gives very good feedback of what is happening below on the surface.

    ISell: This is a BIG disappointment, please convey our thoughts about the new suspension & steering to appropriate authorities.
  • midgeysdadmidgeysdad Member Posts: 4
    Any problems out there with the new cd/radio in the 2001 Civic's. Mine needed to be recoded after one day's use then went completely dead the next day. Took it right back to the dealer. Service mgr. was great, said Honda was aware of the problem and was working on it. They swaped a radio/cd from a new EX on the lot. So far so good. Heads up...
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    I guess we are all different and have different expectations. On my many demo drives, I haven't heard this comment yet even from previous Civic owners.
  • jrct9454jrct9454 Member Posts: 2,363
    I drove the '00 and '01 Civics back to back, as well as the '01 4 and 6 cyl Accords, before we bought our '01 Accord EX V6. I found the new Civic to be an improvement in every important respect, and am mystified at folks who say this car has handling or steering faults compared with the previous generation. Struts vs 'bones is a silly complaint: BMW manages quite well with struts, and has for 40 years. MB just went back to struts for the new C, which gets nothing but rave reviews for its ride and handling. The important thing is how the car manages the everyday tasks of getting down the road and around corners...and there is nothing to complain about on either count with the '01 Civic. I submit that in the absence of the print media making a big deal about this, virtually no one would have noticed any differences in real-world driving. [And I have one of the most sensitive butts ever to get behind the wheel...I can feel problems in steering and suspension behavior that no one else seems to be able to find. This, incidentally, is not necessarily a "good thing"; it makes me harder to please than most.]

    Anyone who really prefers the old car to the new is, of course, entitled to their opinions, and if those opinions mean one less sale, then that's one more car available for the rest of us. I am very confident Honda has hit a home run with this car in terms of the vast majority of the potential market. Skeptics should wait to try the new Mazda Protege after the first of the year...oops, it has struts, too, notwithstanding the good handling and braking...oh well...
  • svenjsvenj Member Posts: 19
    I have to agree with JRCT. If there is a major difference between the 00 Civic and 01 Civic I can't feel it. About the only differences I could tell between the two is that the 01 is a little more powerful and a little quieter. 3 decibels I think was the objective reading given. Styling is subjective. I like the new look better than the old.

    I just went over 1000 miles on mine and am quite happy to average 36 MPG on the first couple tanks of gas. I do wish I had ponied up for the CD player now though.
  • f6bikerf6biker Member Posts: 33
    I want the CD too, best price that I have seen is $250 online. The sensitivity of the AM tuner is so good that I wont part with the radio.

    I have been getting 31 MPG my at 1000 miles also. Wish I had your driving habits.
  • soberssobers Member Posts: 496
    It seems there is some confusion. I was talking about the feedback thru the steering wrt the older version. I am a honda-fan & won't buy any other make so don't think that there is one more car in the market-:). Also, I was NOT in the market for Civic. I bought an Accord SE.

    New civic is improvement in almost every area: NVH, Power, Styling, Interior materials, Upscale look. The only thing which is hurt is feedback thru Steering & suspension. I am not complaining about struts all the way. Honda is getting bad-press for struts as they over-advertised their wishbones previously. I am also concerned abouot rear-suspension being much softer than 2000. It is evident while driving. Steering is light & effortless than 2000 but it lacks the typical Honda road feedback. (2001 has variable assist which is good though on Highways when Mazda Protege's steering annoys too much)

    There is no way I ever get something other than Civic if I was in compact market, but this change of flavour is not going very well with me atleast.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    He was NOT in the market for a Civic in the first place?....Ah....O.K....Guess he just wanted to drive one for kicks, I guess...

    We are all different and have different opinions. I respect his but have not heard it echoed by anyone else that I've dealt with.

    But, that's why I like reading this stuff..:)
  • soberssobers Member Posts: 496
    "He was NOT in the market for a Civic in the first
    place?...."

    ==> Yes that is correct, I do help my friends getting cars. So happend to seat in passenger seat atleast 2-3 times & did test drive LX once.
    Is there any problem ??

    Also 95% of the buyer's won't notice the diff is Honda's guess. I guees they are dead right on target. 95% aren't noticing -:) !!

    Also have followed many 2001 Civics lately on my regular commute. I see damping on the rear end(up-down movement) which I didn't observe on 2000.
    So it leads me to believe(which was confirmed after driving) that they have softened the rear-suspension in the name of softer ride. Ofcourse this is not as pronounced as in Corolla/Camry (Thank God for that)
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    They try to please the masses.

    I've lost a few sales to Camry and Corolla because the shoppers preferred the mushy, softer ride.

    Personally, I don't think handling suffered at all. When the new Civics were introduced to us, I drove one through a test track lined with cones.

    We all agreed that it was improved over the 2000 models.

    We also drove Sentras, Corollas and a Focus through the same track. The Focus was next best, and the Corolla was, by far, the worst.
  • svenjsvenj Member Posts: 19
    My conservative driving habits are a reflection upon how many times I was pulled over in my younger years. Rampant paranoia sets in after a time; though it doesn't mean that they aren't out to get me.

    I am also lucky in that I commute about 25 miles one way to work everyday and about 23 miles of that is highway driving.

    I figure I could probably get over 40 MPG on an extended trip where I don't try to average 80 MPH. I noticed that it tends to use a little more gas at those speeds.

    Does the $250 for the CD player include installation? I need to start looking into getting one put in, but am a little unsure of where to start. Places like Best Buy or Cicuit City an an option?
  • f6bikerf6biker Member Posts: 33
    I think that the CD player from Honda will plug right in. I put in the keyless remote module and it was simple to do. I thought about a changer in the trunk that hooks up to the radio but I would really like to keep the Honda radio so I want their CD player. The Honda dealer here copies pages from the service manual for installation of accessories that I buy from him.
  • concord72concord72 Member Posts: 2
    I am planning to buy a used Honda Civic 98 EX model with 68300 miles on it, at the price $8600, how does the price sound ??? Am I paying to much for this car. Do you think that where will be lot of maintainence cost on this car since it has 68+K miles on it. Please suggest me.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    That price is too low for that car. Is it a salvage titled car?

    I would insist on having it completely inspected by a qualified shop!

    68,000 miles is nothing for a Honda.

    However, if the car is in good shape, the seller has mispriced it and it's probably already sold by now.
  • concord72concord72 Member Posts: 2
    I checked for the car at Carfax and the title seems to be clean, but the only thing is that the owner still has to pay loan on it, he don't have the title with him, its still with the financing company, he wants me to pay him and he will give me the bill of sale for the car to me (which I dont know is a legal document or not to protect my money) and once he get the title (which will take about 5-7 days he will transfer the title to me). My concerned is that since the car has 68+K miles on it, there should not be much repairs cost on it, cause I dont want to send much on it atleast for 3 years. Actually there is a extended warranty on it upto 100k, but it dont know what all it covers. Thanks for your response.
  • venus537venus537 Member Posts: 1,443
    If people didn't know about the changes to the Civic's suspension when they test drove the car, would they be saying the handling is a disappointment???
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Yep, something smells VERY fishy here.

    You are worrying about the wrong thing! Once again, 68,000 miles is NOTHING for a well maintained Honda. Give this guy NO MONEY until you have the title! And make sure to have the car inspected!

    People....For crying out loud...when a car is priced way below market, something is WRONG!
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Running a Car Fax is a good idea. There is much that Car Fax misses, however. It is far from foolproof. Some people think that Car Fax reports all accidents. Not true.

    Bargain hunters are the ones that usually get burned the worst!
  • soberssobers Member Posts: 496
    "If people didn't know about the changes to the
    Civic's suspension when they test drove the car,
    would they be saying the handling is a
    disappointment?? "

    ==>No Handling is not at all a disappointment. It is just that Honda-fans(& also Honda in their brochures) use to rave about Double-Wishbones too much. So with the loss of it these fans have to listen to some music atleast.

    My point of concern is feedback thru Steering. It is noticiable. Ofcourse that won't drive me away from the new Civic as it is WAY better than other competetors.
  • puckeyepuckeye Member Posts: 2
    I just bought my new silver 2001 Civic EX on Saturday and I love it! No problems so far, but I think I got a great price (17k) and I was happy about the whole experience. Is that a fair price for this car?
  • f6bikerf6biker Member Posts: 33
    I don't know what a good price is for an EX but I think that you will like it, I like my LX. If I were not so tall I would like to have an EX with a sunroof myself.
  • puckeyepuckeye Member Posts: 2
    Yeah, I heard the height difference was noticable. I forgot to add that I got side airbags, mats and an automatic transmition. paid 17k total. I just love the car.
  • pigloverpiglover Member Posts: 25
    I'm considering buying a 2001 Civic in a few months and I haven't seen the engine. Does anyone know if its easy to get at the oil filter? I don't mind getting under the car, so long as the filter is easy to remove.
    Louie
  • f6bikerf6biker Member Posts: 33
    No problem to get at the filter but still cant find the 5w 20 motor oil. Penzoil and Castrol both say it will be in stores soon. On the plus side the owners manual recomends changing it every 10,000 miles or 5,000 in severe conditions.
  • speedydriverspeedydriver Member Posts: 1
    Hi.
    I purchased a new Civic LX 2001 a few weeks ago.
    It's great although I had to take it back to the dealer because the left front struts were bad.
    What I notice though is that when I turn off the engine, I notice a very slight 'shudder' from the engine. Is this normal? I have 712 miles on it.
    Thanks for any input you can provide.
  • mdrivermdriver Member Posts: 385
    As a current 97 Honda Civic HX 5sp owner, I was disappointed when I drove the 2001 Civic EX coupe 5sp. Lets start with the outside: Huge trunk overhang in back, but small (good) hood overhang in front, makes car look unbalanced. Ford Focus style tailights. "Flip" style door handles, when the rest of the world has moved on to "pull" style handles. Ugly wheelcovers. Inside: Still no headroom with the mandatory sunroof. Seat fabric that grips (and feels) like Velcro. Crummy seat height adjuster. Poor sounding stereo with minute volume control. Driving: Suspension is underdamped, too much "float" over road dips. No steering feel whatsoever. Engine seems less willing to rev. Shifter was stiffer than mine (although still better than competition). But worst of all, the braking was appalling.

    After getting back in my Civic, I felt like I was in a sports car: great steering feedback, road hugging suspension, better braking. Needless to say I did not buy the car.
  • carczarcarczar Member Posts: 23
    Among the complaints I have for the 2k1 Civic is the wimpy, barely adequate audio system. The competitiors' sound much better (check out the new Elantra for example). If I were to replace the factory stereo unit, does that mean the keyless entry won't work with an aftermarket stereo? I understand that the keyless system works through the FM signals in the original stereo. How can you upgrade your stereo (I am thinking about an Alpine or Nakamichi unit) without hampering the keyless entry system? Anybody have an idea?
  • hondaaccessoryhondaaccessory Member Posts: 74
    "If I were to replace the
    factory stereo unit, does that mean the keyless
    entry won't work with an aftermarket stereo?"

    Only the '96-'98 Civics had the keyless entry tied into the radio. The 2001's have it as a seperate system.

    -Trevor
    www.honda-accessories.com
  • soberssobers Member Posts: 496
    I guess everybody knows about this by now.
    Civic Coupe got the 5-star crash test rating(BOTH front/Side). Sedan got 5 & 4 star rating !!

    Changes in the front suspension are really paying off it seems !!
  • glideslopeglideslope Member Posts: 37
    What would cause the sedan to receive a lower side impact rating as opposed to the coupe?
  • soberssobers Member Posts: 496
    rear doors would have made sedan lesser stiff for the side crash.
  • marksul234marksul234 Member Posts: 1
    I saw the TMV for a Civic LX was $13,685. How can this be so low compared to the invoice price? If it's just a calculation, is this unrealistic?
  • jrct9454jrct9454 Member Posts: 2,363
    Here in No. Calif, it is not unusual to see ads for Civic LX 4-dr Automatics for $14,400. [In Edmunds case, don't you have to add destination charge to their so-called TMV? I haven't paid much attention to their numbers, preferring to simply find the best prices in the region the old-fashioned way - pick up the newspaper and the telephone.] In So. Calif, the price tends to be even a slice lower than that - the four-doors are commodities and sell at commodity prices.
  • f6bikerf6biker Member Posts: 33
    In response to the frozen topic of fuel economy, here are my numbers. I have kept track of every tank for 2600 miles and I get 32 mpg. This is with 75% city driving and an aggressive driving style. I always bottom out on the EPA numbers no matter what car I drive.

    I measure from full tank to full tank using the trip odometer as it should be done too.
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