A friend of mine had a P Reg Honda Civic that she bought brand new and kept for 10 years. She traded it in for a new Civic, 56 plate, which she has kept for 6 years and is now looking to change.
No prizes for guessing what car is on her shopping list and she won't entertain the notion of any other type of car!
Anyway, been doing some research for her, these new ones came out at the beginning of this year and there are not many reaching the secondhand market yet, although a few demonstrators now are.
However Honda have a cracking deal on just now - buy a new Civic, put down 35% deposit, Honda will put £1500 towards it and you get 3 years 0% interest. Also included is some sort of service plan for 2 or 3 years as well.
Looking at the figures last night, assuming she is going to pay the car up, it is working out probably cheaper, or as cheap, to buy the brand new car rather than going ex demonstrator and paying an interest rate. If you were a cash buyer then the used is definitely the route to go.
Am going to approach a few dealers who have demonstrators to see if there are deals to be done on these but failing that , then it may well be the new car route.
However, it won't be from the dealer who she went into yesterday - brought me round the quote that she had been given and it was loaded up with every possible warranty / insurance / GAP etc etc. Thats fair enough I suppose but also included was a dealer servicing pre payment plan - the Honda deal includes 3 years free servicing so thats him struck off the list already in my eyes!
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Might be some bargains to be had towards the end of August as they clear out the 12 plates to make way for the 62s.
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It was announced on the local TV news last night that the Honda factory in Swindon will be going on to short time working in September due to oversupply.
Could explain their competitive pricing.
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Went to three Honda dealers with my friend yesterday witht he sole purpose of having ordered a new car by the end of the day.
Dealer 1 gave her a test drive and gave her their best deal possible. This included upping the part-ex figure from £3500 (which they quoted her on Thurs) to £4300.
Dealer 2 could not give her a better price as the Manager was not in today and they would need his approval to alter the figures (believe it or not this was the same manager who said that he wanted her trade in for his father and would definitely give her the best deal)
Dealer 3 - gave the best price but was furthest away (although only 25 miles or so) but friend felt that she wanted to give the business to the first dealer. However he then improved his offer and also threw in Honda mats (RRP £75). So she signed there and then.
We did not tell any of the dealers what the other dealers were offering as we felt it fair to let them give their best price.
Interesting, maybe just a Honda thing, but we were the only customers in the 3 showrooms when we were in.
As far as the deal is concerned, from Wed to yesterday, she got a deal which in cash terms, was overall £1000 better AND the new deal was on a higher specced car! I have no doubt if she had wanted to sign for the first car she saw on Wed the dealer would gladly have accepted her order!
Mission accomplished...........
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>>Interesting, maybe just a Honda thing, but we were the only customers in the 3 showrooms when we were in.
Honda showroom, quiet, few staff and less than a few customers (motorbikes was the exception!)
3 weeks ago I was in 2 x Honda and 1 x supermarket.
last franchised dealer messed us around, kept us waiting then made up a price to change which was £1200 more than previous Honda dealer and nearly £3,500 more than the supermarket.
Local and last dealer called 3 days later - "have you made up your mind?" -
Me "You were £1200 more than Glasgow Honda dealer" -
Sales "We could have matched the deal!"
Me "Too late the order is placed, and you had the same info and your sales manager blew his chance!. the same chance as the other 2 had.
Waiting for a 62 Reg 1st September.
PS Servicing repairs part - empty - 2 x cars and 2/3 x mechanics..........5 years ago lots of staff throughout building. But with the poor service at buying - little wonder!
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Interweb sites (eg. drivethedeal.com) are doing Civics at a tad over 15% off list - 1.8 ES was £16,126 down from £19,379 on that site.
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Lygonos, I saw that yesterday and phoned them and left a voicemail. They called back today so assume they don't work Sundays and by then it was too late so I did't even ask them if they would have honoured the Honda finance deal etc
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Have never used DTD but haven't read anything bad about them either - it appears that 'their' cars come with all dealer incentives as they simply put you in contact with a dealer who will sell retail cars at minimal margins.
I have bought with another online broker and had no problem, although I believe the dealers they use sell cars to retail customers that are intended for 'fleet sales' which the manufacturers/UK importers aren't too keen on.
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>>However, it won't be from the dealer who she went into yesterday - brought me round the >>quote that she had been given and it was loaded up with every possible warranty / >>insurance / GAP etc etc. Thats fair enough I suppose but also included was a dealer >>servicing pre payment plan - the Honda deal includes 3 years free servicing so thats him >>struck off the list already in my eyes!
BobbyG
That wouldn't be a dealer sitting in the shadow of M9, would it?
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FB, no, it was Park's Hamilton, also went to Phoenix in Glasgow and then finally bought from Arnold in Kilmarnock.
Had forgotten that Henry's don't open on Sundays!
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FB, who did you buy from? what you get?
You not usually buy from Motorpoint?
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>> FB, who did you buy from? what you get?
>> You not usually buy from Motorpoint?
>>
1995 Dicksons Honda - Civic Coupe new
1998 John Clark -Prelude (2ndhand)
2001 Helensbugh Honda Civic estate new
2007 Motorpoint Nissan Xtrail new
2012 Motorpoint Honda CRV new
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Sat in a few CRVs yesterday - liked them!!
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What did you think of the new Civic (both BG andFB if possible)? I'm pondering a 1.8 petrol, but note that the Haymarket mags Autocar and What Car have divergent views on the new offering:) What Car quite strong in their condemnation of ride and "refinement" I feel. I wonder if they tried the same car?
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>> What did you think of the new Civic ?
I cannot comment on new Civic as I have only sat in showroom.
My DiL had one (new shape) in 2006-2008 and they suffered from hard suspension - moved to Toyota RAV4 as the local Honda dealer was "not the best" and compounded rather than fixed their concerns.
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Can't really comment as I was only a rear passenger on the test drive.
The base spec is called SE and my friend went for the ES as this had bluetooth, folding mirrors and rear reversing camera, cruise control etc.
I know its a brand new car but I just can't get my head around why all new cars do not come with reversing sensors - can't be more than £50. You can buy a new car at £6 or £7k or thereabouts that have bluetooth and reversing sensors, but an 18k car isn't?
Personally I think the view out the rear is awful, with a split window, vertical and sloping and then a wiper mounted vertical on the sloping screen. Looks awful.
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>> Looks awful.
Indeed the car does look awful.
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>> >> Looks awful.
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>> Indeed the car does look awful.
>>
As an owner of the previous generation FN3 Civic I think they look rather nice (old and new models), but that car rode like a cart and I'd need an extended test drive in the new one to be convinced that Honda had paid some attention to the suspension. IIRC it's not 'independent' at the rear, unlike most competitive offerings in that segment - gives a huge boot but at quite a 'price' on the outgoing model.
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>> I know its a brand new car but I just can't get my head around
>> why all new cars do not come with reversing sensors - can't be more than
>> £50. You can buy a new car at £6 or £7k or thereabouts that have
>> bluetooth and reversing sensors, but an 18k car isn't?
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>> Personally I think the view out the rear is awful, with a split window, vertical
>> and sloping and then a wiper mounted vertical on the sloping screen. Looks awful.
>>
My new Volvo was 27k with no Bluetooth and no parking sensors! I only compromised as it was a short term lease
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>>parking sensors
Mirrors are usually available. Quite effective too. You just sort of look in them and there's what's behind you. My last two cars have had the beepy things. Mainly I ignore them. They panic far too early.There's almost always at least 6 more inches to spare. I can see the point of the beepy things for someone driving a truck or who's disabled or something but turning round or looking in a mirror would seem to be more than enough information for anyone entitled to hold a driving licence.
:-)
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Have to admit I've got used to not having them quite quickly, but the squared off shape of the Volvo makes it easy to place.
On the C5 you could not place any of the corners very well
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When I parked a friend's previous shape (2009) Civic (no parking sensors), the only satisfactory means of either seeing clearly behind me, or judging distance to the car behind was to open the drivers door and hang out of it as I reversed.
I have never driven another car with such appalling rear visibility. Which is a shame, as in other respects, it's a nice motor. Love the funky dashboard, and it fair zips along with the 2.2 CDTi under the bonnet as well.
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I was given some tips for "blind parking" years ago by a guy who was the on site mechanic and chaffeur for a company I worked for. Especially useful ( in the days before beepy things ) when parking a van with no back windows or an estate car laden to the gunwhales which amounts to the same.
First thing he advised was to "memorise" the size of the vehicle from the outside. Look from the outside at where your head would normally be. Remember how much of the vehicle is in front of that point and how much behind. A good way of imprinting that and a reason to stare at your car for an extended period is to wash it by hand. Get to know it.
Find the halfway point between its axles. Note where that is in your line of sight from the driver's seat. it might be roughly where a door handle is or something but knowing where that mid point is will give you a huge advantage because that's the point about which you will pivot the car or van in a parking move.
For a foolproof parallel park with limited visibility. Line up alongside the vehicle you're going to park behind. As you reverse, just as your mid point passes the rear bumper of that vehicle full left lock. Just as your front wheel passes that same rear bumper ( you know where your front wheel is 'cos you've memorised that ) apply full right lock.
You'll go straight in. Try it, I promise it works. Every time. All you have to remember is how much car there is after the rear wheels, where the mid point between the axles is and where the front wheels are. Everthing else remains the same whether you're driving a Transit or a Ka. ( Or a Civic ) :-)
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I'm surprised the EU hasn't made reversing sensors mandatory to prevent small children from being squashed.
I've driven a couple of SUVs with reversing cameras which I thought would be a gimmick but I was very taken with them. Suprised how well they worked at night too.
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Much of my daytime parking, whether in car or van, is tight parking. Our works carpark is very tight - one space for instance if I am parking the van in it, I can be no more than 2 inches from a side wall and 2 inches from a rear wall or the van won't fit. I can use the mirror to get the side to within the proverbial hair's breadth from the wall, and I use the bumpers to gently go back until I touch the wall.
When using my car which has reversing sensors, I use the mirrors to get the car into the space, but use the sensors to get as close as I need to be. Again in the works car park, sometimes you need to leave no more than 1 inch between cars.
The Civic has a reversing camera which I don't like the look of. I can reverse using my eyes in the mirrors, and my ears on the sensors beeping. However with the cameras, you need to look down at the LCD screen and although it is laid out well with various marker lines etc, it doesn't allow you to use your eyes on other things like has another vehicle or person moved nearer the front of the car?
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When I test drove a Passat CC it had the reversing camera. I didn't like it. If I am reversing I want to be looking where the car is going not looking at the sat nav screen. It cleverly shows you where the car was going to go based on steering angle and where it ought to go etc. Not worth the extra money for me I'm afraid.
But a camera that is hidden in the pop out VW badge on the boot was sort of cool.
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The Octy has rear sensors, and the BMWs I have been chauffering people in have them front and rear. A bit like Bobby I get them lined up on the space using the mirrors then ease back until the park distance display on the stereo (Octy) or satnav (BMW) shows I have effectively hit the wall, which means there is about and inch to spare. I ignore the actual beepers - they panic too early.
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The X1 had them front and rear - alarms were going off from various corners driving down the lane. The ones on the CRV were front and rear but with an excellent LED graphic - which fell more or less into line of sight in the instrument cluster. They were very good, especially given the odd sticky out bits on the car. The 3 series has them rear only.
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Does the scooter have them????
Seriously, we often debate about nonsensical items on cars like revering sensors, electric handbrakes etc, but is there anything appearing on bikes now that you think, why?
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>> Seriously, we often debate about nonsensical items on cars like revering sensors, electric >> handbrakes etc, but is there anything appearing on bikes now that you think, why?
Last one I remember was Honda's DCBS linked braking system.
From Wikipedia:
In this system, the front brake lever applies pressure to four (in later models five) of the six front pistons. The rotational movement of the left caliper when engaged actuates a secondary master cylinder and applies pressure to one of the rear pistons. The rear brake pedal is directly attached to the remaining pistons (two in the rear, and one or two in the front).
An answer to a question nobody asked, IMHO, and an unnecessary complication of what is normally a simple, reliable hydraulic system. It has its fans, but there are plenty who are deeply sceptical.
Cheers
DP
Last edited by: DP on Wed 1 Aug 12 at 17:25
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The GS has linked brakes, it also has ABS and power brakes, none of which are strictly necessary, what they do do is give masses of confidence - the linked brakes are absolutely superb delivering balanced braking across its performance envelope in a controlled way that was unthinkable on a bike 10 years ago - this is genuine progress - the only problem is when you ride something not quite as sophisticated like a er....scooter !
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>> I have never driven another car with such appalling rear visibility. Which is a shame,
>> as in other respects, it's a nice motor. Love the funky dashboard, and it fair
>> zips along with the 2.2 CDTi under the bonnet as well.
>>
I have to agree DP, SWMBO had hers for 2 days when we booked it back in for the (dealer fit) Honda parking sensors. Corollary was a huge boot and you never need to 'dip' the mirror as following cars don't dazzle you (not sufficient compensation I'd admit).
The 2.2CTDi was(is) a gem of an engine and the car was both very fast and very economical, it handled OK and I found the dash design very effective (albeit with cheap materials). If only it rode better.....
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Honda - New Honda Civic - Dave_
