2010 Honda Civic: What Warranties To Get?

[Steve (5)]

Hi;

I'm thinking about shopping for a new 2010 Honda Civic in about a month.

A free online "how to buy a car" book I'm reading suggests buying a warranty, sometimes from someone other than the the dealer.

I'm not eager about tacking on another $1000 to my budget for buying the car.

Do new Civics come with a warranty?

If so, do they fall short and would I be served by buying an extra warranty? If so, a warranty for what? What kind? What sort of things are worth getting covered?

Thanks in advance for any info

Steve

 

[jim beam]

Hi;

I'm thinking about shopping for a new 2010 Honda Civic in about a month.

A free online "how to buy a car" book I'm reading suggests buying a warranty, sometimes from someone other than the the dealer.

I'm not eager about tacking on another $1000 to my budget for buying the car.

Do new Civics come with a warranty?

you're joking, right?

 

[Tegger (2)]

Hi;

I'm thinking about shopping for a new 2010 Honda Civic in about a month.

A free online "how to buy a car" book I'm reading suggests buying a warranty, sometimes from someone other than the the dealer.

I'm not eager about tacking on another $1000 to my budget for buying the car.

Then don't. You might need one of those if you had a whiz-bang BMW with all sorts of electrical stuff that will break once the car's past 3-years-old, but a Civic won't need much outside of the standard factory warranty.

Do new Civics come with a warranty?

Sure do.

See here:
<http://automobiles.honda.com/search-results.aspx?question=warranty>

Click on your intended car to see what it comes with.

If so, do they fall short and would I be served by buying an extra warranty? If so, a warranty for what? What kind? What sort of things are worth getting covered?

Thanks in advance for any info

Stick with the factory warranty that comes with the car, it's more than adequate.

 

[Steve (archive)]

Stick with the factory warranty that comes with the car, it's more than adequate.

Thanks Tegger!

 

[JRE]

Tegger wrote:

Then don't. You might need one of those if you had a whiz-bang BMW with all sorts of electrical stuff that will break once the car's past 3-years-old, but a Civic won't need much outside of the standard factory warranty.

While the long-term jury is still out, thus far our two BMWs have been every bit as reliable as any of our Hondas. The older of the two is a 2002 325i with about 120K on it. It's had significantly less work done on it than my Accord did at its age (and, I might add, at less expense despite the higher parts cost).

<snip>

 

[Tony Harding]

Hi;

I'm thinking about shopping for a new 2010 Honda Civic in about a month.

A free online "how to buy a car" book I'm reading suggests buying a warranty, sometimes from someone other than the the dealer.

I'm not eager about tacking on another $1000 to my budget for buying the car.

I wouldn't, and didn't when I bought my 2003 Accord (new).

Good luck with your new car.

 

[tww1491]

Tegger wrote:

While the long-term jury is still out, thus far our two BMWs have been every bit as reliable as any of our Hondas. The older of the two is a 2002 325i with about 120K on it. It's had significantly less work done on it than my Accord did at its age (and, I might add, at less expense despite the higher parts cost).

<snip>

I guess it depends on who you talk to. My assistant has a 2002 3 series with about the same miles. It has cost her an arm and a leg -- brake problems, radiator and so forth.

 

[jim beam]

I guess it depends on who you talk to. My assistant has a 2002 3 series with about the same miles. It has cost her an arm and a leg -- brake problems, radiator and so forth.

i did a double-take on this one too. my friend's 2005 330i has munched through very expensive brake disks, radiator, coolant sensor housing, etc. not a cheap or reliable vehicle.

 

[JRE]

i did a double-take on this one too. my friend's 2005 330i has munched through very expensive brake disks, radiator, coolant sensor housing, etc. not a cheap or reliable vehicle.

Wasn't 2005 the first year for the E90 330i? It remains true even today that buying a first year model is not always the best idea. The E46 325i we have was the fourth year of that car's production (the same car was first sold as the 323i and later rebadged). I know others who own the same year of the same car and none have had the experience tww1491's friend has had. I know people who bought 1999 and early 2000 model year E46's and had problems, though.

So far as the brakes go, there are two things at work your friend should be aware of. First, if you use the brakes too gently (what would be "normally" in a Honda), you will not keep the rotors clear of surface rust and the pads will wear quickly. A vigorous stop once or twice a day will make the brakes last much longer.

Second, BMW rotors are notoriously soft. Aftermarket rotors are far less expensive and work fine for street use. Also, aftermarket pads are available that don't make the horrible brake dust the BMW pads generate.

 

[jim beam]

Wasn't 2005 the first year for the E90 330i? It remains true even today that buying a first year model is not always the best idea.

no matter what the year/stage in the product cycle, radiators are mature technology. there's no reason to have one fail like this one did.

The E46 325i
we have was the fourth year of that car's production (the same car was first sold as the 323i and later rebadged). I know others who own the same year of the same car and none have had the experience tww1491's friend has had. I know people who bought 1999 and early 2000 model year E46's and had problems, though.

So far as the brakes go, there are two things at work your friend should be aware of. First, if you use the brakes too gently (what would be "normally" in a Honda), you will not keep the rotors clear of surface rust and the pads will wear quickly. A vigorous stop once or twice a day will make the brakes last much longer.

don't buy that. doesn't happen on other vehicles so it shouldn't happen here.

Second, BMW rotors are notoriously soft.

they're not soft, it's the oem pads. very high silica content means they're very abrasive. you can run bmw disks and akebono ceramic pads and get great braking without the high rate of disk wear - just like a normal car.

Aftermarket rotors are far less
expensive and work fine for street use. Also, aftermarket pads are available that don't make the horrible brake dust the BMW pads generate.

yup. see above.

 

[Zorro_2K]

Hi;

I'm thinking about shopping for a new 2010 Honda Civic in about a month.

A free online "how to buy a car"  book I'm reading suggests buying a warranty,  sometimes from someone other than the the dealer.

I'm not eager about tacking on another $1000 to my budget for buying the car.

Do new Civics come with a warranty?

If so, do they fall short and would I be served by buying an extra warranty?   If so, a warranty for what?  What kind?   What sort of things are worth getting covered?

Thanks in advance for any info

Steve

Of course they come with a warranty...do you know of ANY automobile that does not ? For the Honda CR-V, it's 3 years/36000 miles. You will likely hit the 36K miles much sooner than you will the 3 years (I hit my 36K in my 2001 Civic commuter-car in 12 months !). Save your money; forget the extended warranty and use the money to get the regular recommended maintenance actions done.

 

[JRE]

no matter what the year/stage in the product cycle, radiators are mature technology. there's no reason to have one fail like this one did.

Nearly all the technology that goes into cars is mature technology. But new designs using mature technologies still get screwed up on a regular basis, and cars are complex machines. Caveat emptor.

(Why do solder joints on Honda main relays go cold? Surely, soldering relays to a circuit board is a mature technology! It happened because some combination of materials choice and process did not create a part that would stand up under extended use in the field.)

don't buy that. doesn't happen on other vehicles so it shouldn't happen here.

If you have a late-model 3-series BMW, try it, and see for yourself. I don't know why it works.

I suspect it's because they have more pad surface area for the car's weight than most (they have more pad area than some 1-ton pickup trucks with 3-ton gross weights!), and one needs to generate enough pad/disk pressure to keep them cleaned up, but I have not measured a bunch of brake pad surface areas or otherwise tried to prove or disprove that.

they're not soft, it's the oem pads. very high silica content means they're very abrasive. you can run bmw disks and akebono ceramic pads and get great braking without the high rate of disk wear - just like a normal car.

That's the first I've heard of high silica content in the pads. Clearly, either material or both could be the cause of the relatively fast wear. I'll have to check into that.

 

[jim beam]

Nearly all the technology that goes into cars is mature technology. But new designs using mature technologies still get screwed up on a regular basis, and cars are complex machines. Caveat emptor.

a radiator is not a "complex machine".

(Why do solder joints on Honda main relays go cold? Surely, soldering relays to a circuit board is a mature technology! It happened because some combination of materials choice and process did not create a part that would stand up under extended use in the field.)

that is a price/vendor incompetence issue. yes, it is mature technology. and anyone who has been around electronics long enough knows you shouldn't have mechanical load on a solder joint, especially one that gets warm. which is precisely what mitsuba do wrong with that relay - they didn't take the job seriously and gave it to a greenhorn it would seem.

If you have a late-model 3-series BMW, try it, and see for yourself. I don't know why it works.

that's because it doesn't. the pads are high silica. they're naturally abrasive - any application short of "zero" will "clean" the disk.

besides, if the disks are not "cleaning" in normal operation, you should always check the calipers and sliders for smooth operation. disassemble, lube and reassemble if necessary.

I suspect it's because they have more pad surface area for the car's weight than most (they have more pad area than some 1-ton pickup trucks with 3-ton gross weights!), and one needs to generate enough pad/disk pressure to keep them cleaned up, but I have not measured a bunch of brake pad surface areas or otherwise tried to prove or disprove that.

so it would seem.

That's the first I've heard of high silica content in the pads. Clearly, either material or both could be the cause of the relatively fast wear.
I'll have to check into that.

the akebono's don't wear the disks at anywhere near the rate that oem pads do because they're not as abrasive. if you used oem pads on after-market disks, you'd see them wear too.