My car New Owner (Well Almost!)

[Minkster]

Put a deposit down on a Milano Red Type-S GT 2.2 diesel today. With a fair wind, and all the finance paperwork getting sorted in time, I should be picking up in just over a weeks time!

The strange thing is....I wasn't at all interested in buying a Civic even a week ago. I was all up for an ex-demo Audi A3 or a Volvo C30 but was stalling because the spec Audi I wanted could end up costing me a bit too much and the C30 (which I think is a great looking car) was going to cost waaaay too much to service at Volvo (I do 30k a year-ish).

It was raining all last weekend so decided to just pop around a few local dealers - for a free coffee more than anything, and had my first close look at a Type-S. Wow. Then had my first test drive in one and whilst it was a little firm ride-wise, and a bit noiser in the cabin than I expected, it drove well and I loved the futuristic cabin. Checking out the diesel performance figures was the final straw which moved the Civic up into serious contention.

After mulling it over for a few days, I went back up to the dealer today and had another little drive and then thrashed out a deal. Essentially, I will be paying £16,995 for it + mats + the Lincolnshire Honda extended warranty thingy (which I need to refresh my memory about, but I know has warranty up to six years for exhaust, shocks, battery and free MOTs once the car is 3yrs old). They also gave me a fair trade in price for my old T reg Ford Cougar 2.0, which brings down the amount I am financing to just over £15k.

Still a bit nervy as I've never spent this much on a car, nor bought a new one before. Hoping I've made the right decision!!!!

Have a question about some paint guarding I have been offered but will check that something hasn't already been posted first.

Oh, and hello by the way!

[TTDegs]

Originally Posted by Minkster

Put a deposit down on a Milano Red Type-S GT 2.2 diesel today.
...
Hoping I've made the right decision!!!!

most definately you have!

Originally Posted by Minkster

Have a question about some paint guarding I have been offered but will check that something hasn't already been posted first.

lots of stuff about paint guard in the cleaning section
basically, if you want an easier life with a fairly good result, it can be a fairly good choice.
If however, you are prepared to spend time and effort to get a great result - ditch the supa guard and spend the money on some decent cleaning kit instead

Originally Posted by Minkster

Oh, and hello by the way!

indeed LOL - hello and welcome to you too

[czechplastik]

Hi Minkster! I really can't add much more than TT hasn't mentioned already. Welcome and no doubt you've made a good choice. Audi's are very expensive when you start adding thigs to the spec, they're also quite dull

[Minkster]

Must admit, after reading a lot of posts on the site I'm now scared stiff about thin paintwork, smashing foglights, door dings and scratched instrument binacles! I really want to enjoy my car and not feel I have to treat it like a fragile piece of china! Not saying I won't keep it looking nice, but I am a bit worried at the longevity of it after reading the forums....

BTW, had a day trip to the Cotswolds today and saw my first Red Civic. I know theres plenty around, but I just haven't seen them! Looking forward to picking mine up and hoping the finance/insurance people don't screw the paperwork up in some way which delays anything

[Minkster]

Confirmed with my dealer that I'm picking up on Saturday morning. He was keen to ask if it would be fairly early on the day as they are traditionally a bit rushed off their feet on Sats. Thats no problem at all - I won't want to be hanging around much when I have a new car waiting for me!

Incidently, after discussion with various people and reading this board, have decided to decline the offer for them to 'Safeguard' (ie. Supaguard) the car. Its just too expensive and I'm not convinced from the leaflet I was given that it gives any significant long-term benefit over good care with quality off-the-shelf products anyway. Yes, all the 'x years guarantee' looked impressive but what did it actually mean??? The paintwork is already warranted and I can't see how you can have a 10yr guarantee on an 'invisible layer' of protection. In balance, it looked like a bit of a rip-off. Sure, if it was £100 I may have considered it, but not £300!

[Foggy69]

Originally Posted by Minkster

Confirmed with my dealer that I'm picking up on Saturday morning. He was keen to ask if it would be fairly early on the day as they are traditionally a bit rushed off their feet on Sats. Thats no problem at all - I won't want to be hanging around much when I have a new car waiting for me!

Don't forget the Civinfo new car checklist.
And don't let the dealer rush you, check the car thoroughly.
And then you can enjoy the Civic

[Minkster]

Originally Posted by Foggy69

Don't forget the Civinfo new car checklist.
And don't let the dealer rush you, check the car thoroughly.
And then you can enjoy the Civic

I am thinking of letting them know about the checklist and some of the key items on it beforehand anyway, so they can do a quick check themselves too. At least that way - if something does need addressing theres a chance it may be addressed before I pick up!

[Charles_Harding]

Originally Posted by Minkster

I am thinking of letting them know about the checklist and some of the key items on it beforehand anyway, so they can do a quick check themselves too. At least that way - if something does need addressing theres a chance it may be addressed before I pick up!

Sounds a good idea.

Best of luck sunshine

"(A)bort, (R)etry, (G)et beer!"

Charles H.

[Minkster]

Bit panicky as the finance forms didn't come through today from Northern Rock as expected. Rang them up and they are re-sending, but if they don't arrive tomorrow its touch and go whether it will all clear in time for picking the car up on saturday

[Minkster]

Got home after work today at around 6.30 and saw the Northern Rock letter sitting there. Great, I thought....they said all I have to do is sign the form, send it back and the funds will be credited the day they receive the form back. If I make the 7.30 final collection it can go in tonights post and they'll get the form tomorrow...

Then I read the cover letter and to my horror it stipulated, along with signing the form, they needed photocopies of my last 3 months payslips and 2 of those 3 slips are in my desk at work!!! No way could I make it back to work, copy the slips and then make final post and seeing as it took them half a week to get the form to me I'm not convinced that if they get the form on Friday they will turn it all around promptly anyway, so I was in a quandry.

Anyway, to cut a long (and boring) story short, I called First Direct who I bank with and they did me the loan with instant access to the money by providing me with a temporary overdraft (for over £15k! Gulp!) so the good news is the car pickup this saturday is still on! The bad news is that the First Direct APR is slightly higher than Northern Rock, but it only equates to £3 a month and to be honest, the extra £150ish over 5 years is worth it to pick up my car asap!!! I'm sure a financial advisor would disagree though!

Insurance certificate came through today, so I can drop that off with Honda to tax the car.

Only two things I need to sort now is GAP cover and Payment protection (didn't take it out with the bank as too expensive), but they should be pretty much a formality

Onwards and upwards

[Charles_Harding]

Originally Posted by Minkster

I'm sure a financial advisor would disagree though!

You don't need a financial advisor.

You've already shown that you have got your head on straight.

You've proved that by ordering that Space Ship.

Got still wait two days tho'.

Hope you make it OK

"Do illiterate people get the full benefit of alphabet soup?"

Charles H.

[Minkster]

Just picked up the car!!!

Looks absolutely gorgeous (apart from close up when you spot the usual orange peel finish!). The garage had obviously tried to clean the dash as there were swirly patterns on it, but we've just gone over it with a microfibre cloth and seems a lot better. (but still relatively scratched, although it could be showing a lot because its a REALLY bright day today)

I'm just scared to drive it now! Its only got 15 miles on the clock!

[Minkster]

Arrrrgh! Drive from Grantham to Lincoln and back again and I have a stone chip on the bonnet! Really cheesed off about it (of course) especially as it happened within 2 hours of getting the car!

Rang the dealer today and thought it would be worth nipping it back to show him tomorrow and at least flagging up the chip, especially as the paint does look quite thin. If its only going to happen once in a blue moon then fine - you would expect that and I've just been unlucky, but if its going to happen every time I go on a 40 mile sprint up and down the A1 (which I do every day) then it will be a mess pretty quickly and I'll soon be raising questions about the paint batch. No harm in pointing it out to them at the beginning if theres a concern (I reckon)

The dash that looked quite scratched in the bright sunlight earlier today was also an issue, but I can't really see them at all now, so its another thing I will flag up with them.

To be fair, apart from the stone-chip and the dash, the car seems to be brilliant and that engine is magnificent and refined. And the seats are great too - I love the way they look so thick from the side....looks really classy

[Nighthaunt]

Blimey 1 weeks between ordering and picking up! Charles is going to have to swap to now call it a Tardis
Alex