Author Topic: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?  (Read 23985 times)

Kwill

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #50 on: February 22, 2016, 03:39:22 PM »
I'm 28 ...I've basically wanted a Civic since I was 16.

If you get a 2004 Civic in good condition with low mileage, your inner 16-year-old should be happy, and you can keep driving it until your 2016 Civic is ready for you. Problem solved. ;-)

dess1313

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #51 on: February 22, 2016, 04:16:17 PM »
I'm 28 and have had only two cars in my life: a 2001 Nissan Maxima (which I drove from about 2004 to 2007) and a 2008 Ford Focus (2007 to present). I paid off the Focus three years ago which is obviously great. It has about 86,000 miles, but unfortunately is already requiring a little bit of money in repairs each year. I paid probably a total of $3,000 for repairs in the past two years. I'm 90% certain I'm going to have to get new breaks and other expensive parts within the next year or so.

i'm sorry but replacing brakes is just PART OF OWNING A CAR!  if you're just worried the brakes are worn out a new car will do the same thing in 4-8 years
$3k in two years....what were the repairs?  no car will last forever without repairs.

I had a 1998 corolla.  i put about $800-1000 in it each year and it was still running fantastic till last month when i sold it. That was a 18 year old car!!!  the one you are talking about is only 9 years old.  i did brakes 3 or 4 times over that period

Your $3k over 2 years is only $125 a month.  that is WAY LESS than any car payment on a new vehicle.  That sounds like NORMAL MAINTENANCE.  It doesn't matter if its a BMW, a FORD or a TOYOTA, they all will need some maintenance over the years of owning them.  no car will last forever with out maintenance

are you saving your former car payment or are you spending it?  you should be saving that right now and pretending you have that car payment as a way to save for repairs or a used/new vehicle in a while

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I'm hoping my car lasts for another couple years, but I'm not sure I'm willing to pony up for another huge engine/parts repair any time soon.

There have been some bad models of cars out recently and fords are one of them.  have you researched to see if this is a general trend among your model year?
and if it keeps on coming back are you sure they're actually fixing it right?  have you gone to another garage?  are they using new parts or refurbished parts?  you didn't give details of what they repaired, so its hard to judge what is actually going on. 

are you doing routine maintenance on it or are you letting it fall apart until you can't ignore it any longer?  if you don't take care of problems when they crop up, then YES the repair bill WILL be higher when you do have to repair it, but that's because you did not intervene early on

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I have a a high enough credit score that I think I'd get 0% financing (or close), which is basically free money. I'd intend to keep the car for at least ten years, so I think it would be good value for my money.

This isn't 'free' money.  its been figured into the price of the car somewhere.  you're still paying for it even though you think you aren't

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Now, why a 2016 model? Well, Honda basically completely re-did the Civic's exterior and interior this year (not that I pay any attention to cars on a year to year basis, but I just found out from this review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFYevVhC5sg) and it looks very, very sharp. The LX retails for about $19,000.

What other research have you done?  what other models have you looked into?  have you test driven other models?  have you looked at consumer reports for reliability statistics on that model and others? have you looked at the car lemon report available at your nearest book store?

you also don't want to ever buy the first year of a totally new rebuilt model.  that's when the problems usually crop up.  I was dead set on wanting a nissan rogue until i drove it and compared it to other models.  ended up realizing it had several horrible design factors that ended up taking it completely off my list of possible cars.  you need to step back and take some of the emotion out of this.  honestly take a look at some of the subaru vehicles out there.  they're known for their reliability.

desertadapted

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #52 on: February 22, 2016, 07:56:55 PM »
I drive a 2003 Civic that I bought new (sorry!).  It's been over 13 years and has been repair free other than routine maintenance (timing belt, brakes, etc.). Leaving aside fuel and insurance, my monthly cost of use (including the amortization of the car price), is about $130, and declining. I expect to get another 10 years out of it, and to teach the offspring how to drive stick when the time comes, as is just, true and proper.   

Since first being exposed to MMM a couple years back, from time to time I've searched Craigslist and Kelley BB for a newer manual Civic in my area, testing this idea that I should only buy used in the future.  I've been stunned at how nominal the off-the-lot markdown is on Civics.  I prefer the idea of a car that still is under 50,000 miles so I have a better appreciation of what's been done to it by another driver.  And in that space, I'm just not seeing prices that are a steep enough discount off of retail.  I get that part of the answer is "find the grandmother who loved but never drove the car."  But that's not me.  Here's what I'm getting at:  (1) there is a discrete number of cars (Civics historically) that retain value over time -- I read about a discount off the lot, but don't a substantial markdown; (2) I have no mechanical aptitude, and while my mechanic might say "this 50,000k used car looks fine" he's not fixing to drive the thing or make any guaranties about what shape it will be in five/ten years from now; (3) what's the evidence on the downside of buying one of those cars new if you know you're one of those folks who will buy and hold, and you want to have confidence that you know exactly what has been done to the car mechanically since it rolled off the lot, on the theory that the car is more likely to last a long time?

The question is more philosophical than practical (I plan on it being practical in another 10 years when my glorious Civic makes its final drive into the sunset).  The point is, I come from a long line of folks who bought new and then drove the car into the ground.  The last car was a family M626 that was bought new and had 302K on it when the engine died (for good).  With anecdotal support and no real data, my preference is to have a car that I know through and through, and that no one has done the rental car shuffle with.  Now, feel free to punch me in the face.

dess1313

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #53 on: February 22, 2016, 08:19:32 PM »
i have to agree with you desertadapted

my family bought our 98 corolla new and with good maintenance kept it running almost perfectly till the day i sold it this year. 
we have the mechanical ability to do a few basics at home.  might not be much but its something

used cars in my market is horrible.  lots of hail damage, salt belt and accident crashed vehicles.  its hard hard hard to pick up anything even half decent to bother looking at

there is a place for buying new vehicles.  I have done the same thing.  but i sat down, made a list of my necessary features, my future needs, checked consumer reports of reliability, checked out the lemon book, and spoke to previous owners of said brand.  also checking out invoice pricing sites for information on bartering down the cost.  I just got a new subaru for some of the listed above reasons.  and i will hang onto it for as many years as it will drive for me!

The poster's comments about the brakes going is almost like saying oh the tires are worn out, time to trade it in!  its hard when the original poster does not elaborate on what the mechanical issues are.  maybe he has a lemon but maybe its something from lack of maintenance, ignoring issues, or just getting a bad mechanic who doesn't know jack squat(sorry to any mechanics out there but there are a few less knowledgeable people pretending to be a mechanic out there)

ReadySetMillionaire

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #54 on: February 23, 2016, 07:01:31 AM »
i have to agree with you desertadapted

my family bought our 98 corolla new and with good maintenance kept it running almost perfectly till the day i sold it this year. 
we have the mechanical ability to do a few basics at home.  might not be much but its something

used cars in my market is horrible.  lots of hail damage, salt belt and accident crashed vehicles.  its hard hard hard to pick up anything even half decent to bother looking at

there is a place for buying new vehicles.  I have done the same thing.  but i sat down, made a list of my necessary features, my future needs, checked consumer reports of reliability, checked out the lemon book, and spoke to previous owners of said brand.  also checking out invoice pricing sites for information on bartering down the cost.  I just got a new subaru for some of the listed above reasons.  and i will hang onto it for as many years as it will drive for me!

The poster's comments about the brakes going is almost like saying oh the tires are worn out, time to trade it in!  its hard when the original poster does not elaborate on what the mechanical issues are.  maybe he has a lemon but maybe its something from lack of maintenance, ignoring issues, or just getting a bad mechanic who doesn't know jack squat(sorry to any mechanics out there but there are a few less knowledgeable people pretending to be a mechanic out there)

Scroll back to the last page to see a discussion between me and another Ford Focus owner who has the same problem as mine. Keeps reoccurring for me even after a friend, the dealership, and a mechanic tried to repair it.

Cassie

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #55 on: February 23, 2016, 09:50:44 AM »
WE buy our cars 3-4 yo and then keep them until we are spending a ton of $ to maintain. For example my Volvo was 14 yo and I was spending 1k/year and sometimes 2/k but still kept it. Then at 178k miles it needed 6k of repairs so bye-bye.  Then we bought a 4 yo Honda Accord and a Toyota Corolla that was 7 yo but only had 27k miles on it. We will drive both until repairs become ridiculous.   

boarder42

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #56 on: February 23, 2016, 12:19:37 PM »
jeeze you guys spend tons maintaining cars. gotta do some research on the cars you purchase and then buy ones with very low maintenance.  or constantly churn cars. it works well for me.  by em cheap on CL drive em for a 3-4 years and sell for more than you paid. 

ReadySetMillionaire

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #57 on: February 23, 2016, 12:21:58 PM »
jeeze you guys spend tons maintaining cars. gotta do some research on the cars you purchase and then buy ones with very low maintenance.  or constantly churn cars. it works well for me.  by em cheap on CL drive em for a 3-4 years and sell for more than you paid.

Mine was unfortunately a hand-me-down from my older brother and I was dumb enough in college to assume the note on the car. I think I am going to take you up on your advice and start learning a bit about cars, though, because if I can keep my car for another five years, that's a huge amount of savings.

Cassie

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #58 on: February 23, 2016, 12:22:57 PM »
WE also had a lot of years that we spent basically nothing except for routine maintenance. My hubby's SAturn went to 14 yo and 140,000 miles with only one expensive repair of $2400.00.  My son basically buys junk cars and drives them a few years and throws them away. We like a reliable car to go out of town on trips so don't do that.

dess1313

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #59 on: February 23, 2016, 09:17:24 PM »
Scroll back to the last page to see a discussion between me and another Ford Focus owner who has the same problem as mine. Keeps reoccurring for me even after a friend, the dealership, and a mechanic tried to repair it.

then if you have a lemon its a lemon.  can still be cheaper for some repairs than brand new.  depends.  is it the clutch/brake?  i have a neighbor i think with similar problems.  there's some sort of huge lawsuit starting up if its the same problem you are having.  you might want to look into it more. if there's a big group of people having the same problems look for support and ideas on forums

this is also why i mentioned reading consumer reports, reading the lemon aide car book, checking forums, etc etc.  I was dead set on one model of car i would have hated long term for many of the same reasons i see others complaining about them.  subaru wasn't even high on my list till i started doing research, looking at the options in vehicles that fit my needs, eliminating models that didn't have features/size, and then started reading reviews/forums/lemon books.  it made subaru jump to the number 1 spot on my list for several reasons.  you might find you change your ideas a few times with more research

SwordGuy

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #60 on: February 23, 2016, 09:41:33 PM »
It has about 86,000 miles, but unfortunately is already requiring a little bit of money in repairs each year. I paid probably a total of $3,000 for repairs in the past two years. I'm 90% certain I'm going to have to get new breaks and other expensive parts within the next year or so.

So, your current car cost $3000 in repairs the last two years.  That's $1500 a year.   If you go with a new Civic (about $20,000 in my area), you'll be paying $333 per month for 5 years at 0% interest.

Those repair bills are 4.5 months of car payments, which means you get 7.5 FREE MONTHS if you keep the current car.

Let's say you hit that 100,000 mile mark and get hammered with $4,000 in repairs next year.   Well, you broke even next year.  And with all those new parts you'll likely go quite a few more years before you have more expensive repairs again.

Oh, actually, you won't have broken even on that $4,000 repair year.  That's because your taxes and insurance will be much higher with a new $20,000 car.

Sorry, getting a new car "because the old one will need some repairs" is bad logic.

(I know, I used to fall for that same thought process, too!)

HairyUpperLip

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #61 on: February 24, 2016, 07:14:37 AM »
I don't think Honda ever offers better than 0.9% even, do they?

JeffS

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #62 on: February 24, 2016, 10:24:32 PM »
If you think buying this new Civic is a good thing, are you aware that they already have a stop sale recall?

Kwill

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #63 on: February 25, 2016, 12:22:11 PM »
If you think buying this new Civic is a good thing, are you aware that they already have a stop sale recall?

Wow. You're right. http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1102477_2016-honda-civic-stop-sale-issued-recall-looms-engine-issue-to-blame

From the sound of the article, maybe a 2011 Civic from Craigslist would be best.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #64 on: February 25, 2016, 01:37:48 PM »
If you think buying this new Civic is a good thing, are you aware that they already have a stop sale recall?

Wow. You're right. http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1102477_2016-honda-civic-stop-sale-issued-recall-looms-engine-issue-to-blame

From the sound of the article, maybe a 2011 Civic from Craigslist would be best.
Holy smokes, here's what the recall is for:
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the company issued a stop-sale notice to dealers in January. The reason? Missing or misplaced piston rings, which could cause the Civic's engine to stall or fail entirely.
  How does an engine even start or run decently with missing piston rings!?  That's gonna be an expensive recall.

JeffS

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #65 on: February 25, 2016, 02:17:57 PM »
The service bulletin is for about 35,000 Civics if I recall correctly. Engines either don't have, or have had them installed incorrectly, snap rings. Honda is full of recalls right now. It's a huge headache

ReadySetMillionaire

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #66 on: February 25, 2016, 02:32:49 PM »
Other readers: this is what you call dodging a bullet.

Thanks for all the insight and advice. Taking my car in for service and new tires in the next couple weeks and planning to hold onto it for a minimum of three years now.

dess1313

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #67 on: February 25, 2016, 08:58:02 PM »
good choice!!!

this isn't what's happening to your car is it?

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http://fordpowershiftlawsuit.com/

or this?
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http://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2015/ford-lawsuit-engine-problems-2004-2008.shtml

clarkfan1979

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #68 on: February 27, 2016, 02:10:14 AM »
You are going to get killed on this forum asking when to buy a new car. The best time to buy a 2016 is in 2026. MMM even had a blog post about this. I think he claimed that 10 years and 100,000 miles was the sweet spot for buying cars because most cars today make it to 200,000 miles.

boarder42

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Re: Really, Really Want a 2016 Honda Civic...When's the Best Time to Buy?
« Reply #69 on: February 27, 2016, 07:20:46 AM »
Or just don't ask dumb questions to start with since there was no bullet to dodge other than not buying a brand new car