Buying advice.. 2009 Civic DX-G

Hi All,

Been considering a purchase of 2009 Civic DX-G. I've never owned a Honda and
I'm getting mixed reviews from a few people I know that have owned or still
own a Civic of earlier vintages.

Looking for the groups opinion on:
- Brake maintenance... as this isn't really isn't covered very well in the
warrantee.
- Radio/equipment... also not covered.
- Other items that are not warranteed well that you have been personally
frustrated with at the service counter.

As well, though obviously personal preference, how soon does one get used to
the two level dash and "long front" feeling especially considering none of
the front bonnet is visible to driver?

Probably shouldn't talk about other models in this forum... but I'm trying
to
decide between this and a Mazda 3 similarly equipped. Mazda's warrantee is
all-inclusive, which I do like.

Please respond to the group. My email address is spoofed.

Tx
Any advice appreciated.
Lloyd

 

I have a 2006 Civic Si, just under 50,000 Miles. No work other than
standard scheduled maintenance.

Good luck with that... ;-)

Right. Consumables are not covered under warranty.

Sure they are. If the stereo stops working within your warranty, it
will be fixed.

I've never had a reason to be at the service counter, let alone be
disappointed there. I think this will depend mostly on your dealer,
though.

Didn't take long at all. After a short time, you just know where it
is. Though I don't think I'd call the front all that long.

I have no experience with the Mazda...

 

You don't mention what part of the country you live in, but here in
the Northeast I see many Mazda cars that are rust buckets after a very
few years. I always thought Dodge/Chrysler products had a lock on
"Best in Class Rust Bucket" but the Mazdas aren't far behind.

If you live in California this might not be an issue.

YMMV

 

Honda brakes are more prone to corrosion damage than say Toyota brakes
but brake wear is generally not covered by any new car warranty (BMW
excepted)

not true

personnally, I'm not a fan of either the 2-tier dash or the view
forward from the driver's seat. The dash is a poor attempt at placing
the speedo more in the driver's line of sight while looking down the
road. The new hood design (and high firewall) is due to the switch to
a strut suspension. So you no longer see the road immediately in front
of the car.

The Mazda 3 is sportier than the Civic. The boring Corolla is more
reliable. The Hyundai Elantra has been stealing sales from all other
cars in this market segment. If you live where it snows and mpg isn't
a big issue consider Subaru.

Frankly, I'd buy a used Accord rather than either the Civic or base
Mazda 3. Gotta make an exception for the Mazdaspeed.

Happy shopping

 

I recently rented an '09 Civic while my '04 Civic was being serviced. I
actually didn't mind the 2-tier cluster, but I was not impressed by the
multitude of buttons all over the place for audio and climate control.

Mazda3 is also a bit less reliable than the Civic and has considerably
higher maintenance costs, largely because the parts cost a lot more.

Sorry, but winter tires make a bigger difference in snow than AWD/4WD with
non-winter's. You wouldn't believe how many Subaru's and other AWD/4WD
vehicles I have seen sliding and running off the road in snow, and I bet
none of them had winter tires. My Civic with winter tires has been a champ
in the snow.

 

Thanks for the responses!

To answer one posters question, I am in Newfoundland, Canada. We get pretty
messy winters and lots of snow. I am in a coastal area where fog and precip
are also somewhat salty. In the province where I live it's common practice
to use salt to de-ice winter streets and highways. Salt as you know is a
great corrosive to autobodies.

Lloyd>> - Radio/equipment... also not covered.

ACAR>>not true
UR correct, I missed that point. Radio is only not covered in an extended
warrantee if so chosen, so three years max.

I've just lost my 2003 Mazda Protegé to a vehicle accident and it barely had
a paint blister as a sign of initial surface rusting. As far as warrantees
go, Mazda does cover everything, and I mean everything (pads/shoes,
rotors/drums etc.) bumper to bumper for 3 years, five years if you purchase
the extended warrantee which also adds all maintenance expenses (oil,
filters, plugs, etc. - anything that the scheduled maintenance documents)
for the full 5 years! (Extented warrantee + maintenance = $2000CAN up front,
of course)

Oh, and I always use winter tires - my wife insists on studded as well,
though I drove cars for years in all kinds of weather on only all-season
tires. I guess you learn to know how snow behaves and your limits while on
it. Ice is a different matter and is too unpredictable esp. when the temps
drop below around -25C (~ -12 F).

I'm still leaning towards the 2009 Mazda3, but looking for a compelling
reason to switch to Honda, besides a certain coolness factor that comes with
that new Civic two tier dash.

?

Tx,
Lloyd

 

Lloyd, the primary advantage of Honda over Mazda is reliability, and
that can be somewhat mitigated by excellent maintenance on your part.
Mazda apparently has a deal going on wherein they pay for normal
scheduled maintenance items (brake pads are in this category; they're
designed to wear out and be replaced), so I would give that cost
mitigation serious consideration.

To me, Honda means peace of mind, but that may be more personal than
practical.


RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen