2006 civic; MPG seeing and amount paid.

OK here is the deal, I am about to start commuting about 240 miles a
day so I'm looking to buy a new car. My top choice is a 2006 civic LX.
I also need to stay south of the 20 grand mark- so no hybrids. Used
isn't out of the question but civics hold too much value. 15k for an
04 w/ 35k ... Buying new seems to be a better option. What I am
curious to know is:
1) What kind of gas mileage are you really seeing with your civic? I'm
especially interested in the LX. I typically drive 75 to 80 on the
interstate ( a little more if I'm running late ). Pleas let me know
what you are getting and give a clue as to how you drive. I became
concerned when I sam people complaining they were only getting 26 to 28
mpg, hence the question.
2) What did you have to pay for your civic and where did you buy it?
Here in Alabama they will not come off the price. Best deal I know of
was 17,100 out the door for an LX at Honda of Decatur.
3) Any other cars any of you think I shold consider? This would be the
4th Honda for my family. We are quite used to them. I am replacing a
94 accord with 200k.

Any advice or help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Paul

 

Quite a few who experienced that type of mileage early on later reported
improvement after it was broken in. Keep in mind that at the speeds you
travel, you will likely not get the peak mileage that is claimed by EPA (I
think they claimed in the high 30s on the highway).

In this class there is also the Toyota Corolla, which costs about the same
as a comparably equipped Civic, although you'd have to get a higher end
model to get ABS and 6 airbags if that is important (all Civics have those
as standard). Gas mileage is also about the same.

 

Get used instead. You're going to tear up a car pretty quickly, so why
do it with a new one that you'll be upside down on within a month?

Get a beater, put good tunes in it, make sure the AC runs cold, get AAA
Gold, and take the other $15,000 to the bank.

 

I concur. A new car depreciates drastically the second you drive it off
the lot. And to add to that depreciation, 1250 miles a week is a LOT of
mileage to be putting on a new car. I just bought a 2002 Civic EX
w/VTEC last Feb that some guy had for 4 years and put 100,000 miles on
it. I gave $7.5K because it was in supurb condition, upholstry looks
like new throughout, and it had a clean carfax report; no rental,
lease, wrecks, one owner, etc. Engine purrs like a kitten. I would
search high and low for a quality used civic and pounce on it. Get the
carfax report and have it checked by an independant mechanic you trust.
If the seller won't agree to that, move on to the next one.

By the way, I average 32- 36 on the highway and 26-28 in town.

And don't forget to deduct all that mileage on your taxes!

 

My mpg is inching up with each tank. I'm up to about 38 mpg now in
mixed driving with a 5-speed. On a recent trip where I burned through
most of a tank doing about 75 mph on the freeway -- AC blasting -- it
was still in the high thirties.

I'm baffled how someone could drive a new Civic and get mileage only
in the 20s.

--nb

 

You cannot deduct commuter expenses off your taxes.

 

Indeed, Civics hold their value. I leased an 03 LX 5 spd for 170 per month
three years from Honda primarily for my son to drive. Three years later
with 36k on the clock and a buyout of a little under 10k, I just bought it
out. I drive it to and from work 52 miles a day -- splitting the driving
with my Accord. At 37-42 mpg it has come close to and exceeded the EPA
estimate. The resale value for the car is around 13-14k and the dealer
would love to buy it from me.

 

1999 Honda Civic HX, 5 speed. 40 mpg in the mountains, 45 on the flat
parts. The HX was a special model, that sported reduced emissions and
increased economy, according to the advertisements. According to the Nevada
State Patrol, it is capable of 123 mph too. If you can find one, that is
what you want. I drive pretty fast, but not as fast as the daughter did
when she went through Nevada. ;^)

That commute is way too long. Can't you take the train, or rent an
efficiency apartment near the job?

Earle

*** ***

 

I'm driving mom's 90 civic with 25K 1.5L, no A/C or power anything, 4
speed manual transmission. It sees some hard city driving and a little
time at 75-80. I am getting about 28 mpg. Might be the 4 speed or my
heavy foot. Just passed emissions. Idle is sometimes a little low
and flaky (down to zero sometimes) but once the revs come up it runs
fine.

What do you think? I usually get about 23 in my GS-R, but that's a
different matter ;-]

 

Great advice!

But I've learned over the years that someone who is set on a new car
will hardly ever be talked out of it for rational reasons. New cars can
often break down nearly as often as "beaters."

JT

(Who's top price for a car ever was $5K and that was for a 1931
Studebaker President Coupe project...)

 

People lose money when they decide based on emotion. It's business,
baby, pure and simple. And next year, a one year old Civic with 60K
miles on the clock will be worth much less than one might think.

For example, today a 2005 Civic LX with auto trans and decent stereo and
60K on the clock is worth $10,600 in trade in.

New, it was probably $16K.

Man, oh man. Depreciation alone for 60,000 miles is $6K--when it
happens in the first year of the car's life.

Now, take a 60K mile 5 year old Civic, and put 60K more on it.
Depreciation: MUCH less than $6K.

Or, even better: take a 120K mile 10 year old Civic and put 60K miles
on it. Depreciation: about zero.

I guess I'm a poor bastard, if I don't have $6K to throw around. I
don't--not for a car, anyway.

 

Yessir... All that $$$$ spent on a "new" car could have bought a lot of
gas... And them some..

JT

 

Used is definitely not out of the question. I have never bought a new
car and with my experiences with the new car salesmen... i probably
never will. I just got tired of seeing 14 to 15k used civics and
figured maybe it might be worth paying a little more up front. Also
with the mileage I'm looking at, a 100k warranty caused me to think a
little. The more I think about it the more I'm leaning towards used.
It's just a pain finding one that is in great shape and a value. I
can't tell you how many I've called on only to find out they were
already sold. (Thanks to the gas prices) Or to find what appears to
be a steal only to see that the car was registered in Louisiana. I am
tennacious though.

The commute is going to be for the next 4 years. Not looking forward
to it, but at this time I can't see reason to uproot the family. I
wish they had trains here. I do have friends and family to stay
with so the commute will not have to be every day. However, I do plan
to be home as much as possible.... baseball, soccer... and plenty of
other honey do lists : )

I just want to hear a few opinions and maybe hear from some who
currently have a long commute.

BTW: I really liked the rec of good tunes and cold ac. The later
beeing a must since it was 95 here today.

Thanks again,
Paul

Keep the posts comming

 

I was looking over 2006 Hondas (Civic and Fit) and Toyotas
(Corolla and Yaris) at Edmunds.com the other day. The Yaris
leaped out at me as having the best combination of fuel
mileage and low initial purchase cost.

I'd price the Yaris and Civic, then test drive each, then
make a decision.

We had a great post the other week here about using email to
get price quotations. See
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/browse_frm/thread/886cf3e984157cab/92ad0894697304f3?lnk=st&q=excellent+group%3Arec.autos.makers.honda+author%3Aelle&rnum=2#92ad0894697304f3

 

ive found the yaris hatch is good ONLY for people who want the cheapest
possible 2-door stripped rollerskate toyota makes.

optioned out the way i want, with power locks/windows/AC/mp3 capable
stereo/15" wheels, etc... it comes out about the same price as a scion
xA, which has 2 more doors and all that stuff standard.

then theres the xB, with all that stuff plus remote keyless entry and a
ton of headroom and useable space in back for a grand (or so) more

all are on the same platform and have the same drivetrain. im leaning
toward the xA myself. the xB is nice, but seems to be the hot ride for
the trendy kids.

the salesman showed me a yaris hatch that they "hooked up" with a
leather kit and aftermarket 18" wheels. turned that lil skate into a
$16k skate. ugh.

 

And grandmothers.

Don't be suckered in by the marketing. Look at the people actually
driving it.

 

Well, you buy Hondas so that you don't have to worry about buying 100K
mile warranties.

Take the cash and put it away toward repairs, if that's what you're
worried about. But I can tell you--you probably won't need it.

Yeah, no question. But it's worth the journey.

I bought a 92 Si new; it's still going strong, at 145K or so. My nephew
just sold it.

You need to crunch some numbers, then. That's 240K of driving, just for
the commute. That doesn't even count weekends.

I work in an industry that involves driving. When I first got there, a
colleague was driving a shitbox old 4 door beater Chevy. Looking at the
guy, and given his position, I really wondered about that. Then he
explained it to me: the company paid a flat monthly rate to cover
driving expenses. He'd pay $1200 or so for this kind of car, drive it
until it dropped (three years or so), then go get another one. Then I
went home with him one day. Beautiful house, and brand new full size
conversion van--that was his wife's car and their weekend car.

For work? He didn't care what he looked like. He just needed to get
there at minimum cost. And minor repairs to that beat up RWD Chevy were
cheap.

2.5 years ago my brother gave me his 125K mile Lexus ES. Good tunes,
cold air, nice seats, comfy ride. I put 20K on it the first year (I
covered a territory 2 hours away), and it now has 163K on it. In
addition to oil changes and tires, let's see: I've put a starter in it,
rebuilt axle (it threw a CV boot), couple of headlights, I went ahead
and spent a grand on some stupid emissions parts that caused nothing
more than the check engine light to come on (we don't test for emissions
here), and last week I put a new window regulator in.

I figure I'm putting $750 or so/year into it in repairs. $60/month in
repairs vs. $400/month in car payment...as much of a Honda man as I am,
I am seriously thinking the next time will be a high mile Lexus...

 

Well, since you asked...while I think the Civic is a fine car your high
miles will make it a poor value. Right now Nissan dealers are selling
new base Sentras for well under $11K (to make way for the 2007s). Base
Corollas are cheap but hard to find (in my area).

Another way to go is to gather other used Accords of the same vintage
as your '94 and keep 2 or 3 on hand for parts or as alternates.
Generally, this is not a "family friendly" solution.

My experience with Toyota A/C is better than with Honda A/C so I'd
probably shop used Corollas and Camrys. I'd also have a chat with my
insurance agent. When I was doing lots of miles/year I found
significantly lower premiums for mid-sized sedans than for compacts,
pretty much offsetting the difference in mpg.

 

Regarding its effectiveness, absolutely. Historically, Honda AC has
been weak. They finally fixed it with the 98 Accord and up, but for the
longest time it just sucked.

My 93 Previa, on the other hand, had AC such that you could hang meat in
there.

On the flip side, we replaced just about every part of that AC system in
the Toyota during the few years we owned it. (I got it used.) The
valve that handled the rear AC broke, we put in a new condensor, a new
compressor, and so on. Everything but the evaporator, it seems.
Hardware-wise, it seemed a weak piece.

 

I've spent $0 on the A/C of my Toyotas. Only owned the '99 Corolla for
a few years but my '98 Sienna's A/C still blows cold. Even in the
hottest weather the A/C works great.

My '89 Legend's A/C was so bad I simply gave up on it. My daughter's
'99 Accord has had a minor repair and recharge. The Accord's A/C is
better than the old Legend's but in really hot, humid weather it has a
hard time keeping the car cool.

YMMV