08 Civic

[vaff3]

Happy and Sad Day:

My wife and I bought my first new car; 08 Honda Civic LX.  Black; 5 spd.   I had it tinted, and would like to show the pics, but I'm not sure how.  Also I'm pretty sure the existing pics are too large.  Sorry for the stupid questions.

Sad day: Traded in my 92 Acura Vigor to get the Civic.  Great car, great engine, classic look.  But it was spending too much time at the garage; too expensive to drive A-B and getting too unreliable to drive on highway.

We loved the CSX, but Honda had a better financing rate and the Civic qualified for the gov't rebate.  We should be set for the next 5 years; and then it'll be time to sell the EL.  I guess I'm a sucker for Honda/Acura, but there are worse habits than that out there...

[Wolverine]

Go to www.imageshack.us, select the pics and choose to resize to 1024x768.

BTW, congrats on your new car. 

[vaff3]

The new.  This picture was taken at the tint shop.  Store's name is Darker Image.  If you are in any area between Saskatoon and Edmonton, get your work done here.  These guys are the best.

Vaughn

[vaff3]

The old.  Great car.

[2hondas1BMW]

Very nice. Congrats. Both cars look slick in black.

[Cortina]

  Pretty tasty. Are you keep the rims, modding or just keep it the Civic stock?

[dr_spock]

Congrats on the new ride.  And welcome to the Civic Nation.   

[vaff3]

Thanks.  My wife is like Henry Ford...any color as long as it's black.  There's no plans to modify it.  I like the stock wheel package at the LX level.  I was looking at the DX-G model, but did not like the standard wheel package at all that came with it.

Other forums have talked about thin paint and easy chips on the Civic.  I know it's subjective, but is Honda's paint any worse/better than other carmaker's?

The only thing I don't like about a new car is that every chip, swirl, stain is mine.  I never worried about it before as I bought used, so they came "broken in".

I'll have to go through the Detailing section and check up on my waxing technique. 

Questions:  Thoughts on the standard Goodyear Eagle tires.  I'll be getting snow tires, but overall how will these stand up for the rest of the year?  I'm not rally driving...been there done that.  Just hauling family a-b. They can't be any worse than the Michelin MX-4's on my EL, can they?

Are there any recommendations for the break-in period other than what's in the manual?  I'm surprised at how little is in there.  They say the break in is the first 1000 km.  That seems a little short.

Real world gas mileage?  3000 rpm shifts, city; 120 kph highway driving? Is 30 mpg city 45 mpg highway realistic?  Usually I take  10 off the official estimates.
The crazy thing is that's about twice what I got with the Vigor when you factor in the premium fuel the Vigor took.

Do the seats come Scotch-guarded, or should I be following up on that myself?

Any other new car tips would be appreciated.

[Julie]

Hey vaff, congrats!

I hope to become as attached to my Acura as you were to yours. So far, I love it, but it's still relatively young.

I was attached to a Toyota Corolla I had. To this day, I still want another Corolla one day... (makes... no... sense... for... someone... like... me... seeking... sporty... drives), but anyways, that's how it is!

As to a couple of your questions:
- My Acura's paint is fragile. How you thought about getting a clear bra?
- You'll see lots of swirls & scratches, yes. It'll drive you crazy in the beginning. Yes, wax your car regularly, but don't polish too much (to avoid thinning the clear coat too much).
- The gas consumption will be higher in the beginning; then it will become quite economical.

[articsteve]

Other forums have talked about thin paint and easy chips on the Civic.  I know it's subjective, but is Honda's paint any worse/better than other carmaker's?

I highly doubt it except for high end cars.

The only thing I don't like about a new car is that every chip, swirl, stain is mine.

Black is the very worst colour for those kind of things.

They can't be any worse than the Michelin MX-4's on my EL, can they?

No.  Those MX-4s are the absolute sh*ts.

Are there any recommendations for the break-in period other than what's in the manual?  I'm surprised at how little is in there.  They say the break in is the first 1000 km

1000 km is plenty.  Just change the oil the first time at 5000 km or 4 months.

Is 30 mpg city 45 mpg highway realistic?

I drove an 06 Civic coupe manual when they first came out for about 3 months.  I think 40 mpg highway at 100-120 km/h is more like it max.

Do the seats come Scotch-guarded, or should I be following up on that myself?

No.  Remember to hold your breath.  

[dr_spock]

I have a 02 Civic LX and the paint does seem a bit thinner than my VW.  You could apply 3M clear protective film to places you think will get chip alot. 

For break-in, I would go with what's recommended by the manufacturer in the owner's manual. 

It doesn't hurt to apply extra Scotchgard to the fabric.  It needs to be re-done every 3 years any way according the instructions on the can. 

[ggweci]

Thanks.  My wife is like Henry Ford...any color as long as it's black.  There's no plans to modify it.  I like the stock wheel package at the LX level.  I was looking at the DX-G model, but did not like the standard wheel package at all that came with it.

Other forums have talked about thin paint and easy chips on the Civic.  I know it's subjective, but is Honda's paint any worse/better than other carmaker's?

The only thing I don't like about a new car is that every chip, swirl, stain is mine.  I never worried about it before as I bought used, so they came "broken in".

I'll have to go through the Detailing section and check up on my waxing technique. 

Questions:  Thoughts on the standard Goodyear Eagle tires.  I'll be getting snow tires, but overall how will these stand up for the rest of the year?  I'm not rally driving...been there done that.  Just hauling family a-b. They can't be any worse than the Michelin MX-4's on my EL, can they?

Are there any recommendations for the break-in period other than what's in the manual?  I'm surprised at how little is in there.  They say the break in is the first 1000 km.  That seems a little short.

Real world gas mileage?  3000 rpm shifts, city; 120 kph highway driving? Is 30 mpg city 45 mpg highway realistic?  Usually I take  10 off the official estimates.
The crazy thing is that's about twice what I got with the Vigor when you factor in the premium fuel the Vigor took.

Do the seats come Scotch-guarded, or should I be following up on that myself?

Any other new car tips would be appreciated.

Congrats on the purchase.  We have an '06 LX in the same colour.  We opted for the LX because of the alloy wheels and painted mirrors/door handles. 

So far, with ~33K, it's been flawless.  Car runs perfectly and get's great mileage...combined (approx 70% city/30% hiway), we get just over 8L/100km in the winter and around 6.8 - 7.2L/100km the rest of the year.

We got winter tires for ours (Gislaved NordFrost 5 on 15" steelies) and the car has little trouble getting through the white stuff.

The one thing I wish we had (which was added for '07 or '08) was a trunk release button on the key. 

[vaff3]

Thanks for the input guys!

ggweci: Glad to hear your story, especially since you got yours first production year.  For some reason we only hear the lemon stories on forums.

Julie:  You'll love Acura; but it seems a lot of one's car experience depends on the service (IMO).  I've had great service from my dealer, therefore, I've enjoyed driving Honda/Acura. I'm still suffering from some buyer's remorse about not getting the CSX, but I can use the difference in payments for other things my family needs.

ArcticSteve:  Would you change it according to km or do you trust the Maintenance Minder?

What kind of oil do you suggest?  The salesman said to use a semi-synthetic, but, you know, they are salesmen.  I'm leaning that way, as city driving is short mileage; stop-go.  In other words, the worst possible driving for a car.

[tpl]

I don't know about the Civic but the Fit's owners manual was quite firm about NOT changing the initial fill of oil until the maintenance minder said so.

[vaff3]

That was my understanding as well.

Stereo related questions: overall, not overly impressed.  I hope it livens up once it's broken in, but not as bad as the stock stereo in the EL.  I couldn't take it anymore and swapped it out two summers ago with Eclipse speakers and deck.  Much better. I may have to do the same with the Civic, but I'll wait and see.

I do like the ipod jack, though... I'm looking for a battery charger/jack for my shuffle that would run through the lighter, but there weren't any products under the Car Accessory section on the Apple site.  Does such an accessory even exist? What options are available other than finding the nearest computer in order to recharge the battery? 

[The Mighty Duck]

I've never seen anything for the Shuffle...  it uses the dock to charge normally, doesn't it?  There are lots of options for the iPods with dock connector, though.

Civic looks great in black.  There's one a few doors down from me here, looks gorgeous.