Delivery time delivery times

[ahooks]

Hi, yeah I've just joined the site too. Tested out a new Civic 1.8 ES on Sat 20th May, decided to buy the 1.8 Sport in Alabaster Silver and got a plesant surprise that it could be with me on Tuesday 30th May. Pickup at 2:30!! I'll post pics when we get a day with nice sunshine (although this is the UK and I may be waiting a while!!)

According to the saleman (and the report I saw on his PC), there are so few Civics being distributed to dealers at the moment, less than 10 per dealership per month in some cases. He also said that at the end of May, the production plant is stopping 2 of their production lines so that they can start to build the 3-door versions, whilst the other one carries on with the 5 door.

The longest waiting time I saw was for an EX model. The expected due date was mid September!!! Most other models were July/August times. I only had the choice of black or silver for end of May delivery (which was ok as I wanted silver anyway), the rest you had to wait for. I'm swapping from a 2004 (new) 1.8 renault laguna. Never had any bother with it, and only had it 2 years, but had just started to cost me too much petrol money with it's 70litre tank! Plus it's far heavier and slower than the civic.

Oh well, only 4 more days to go!

Adrian

[Fedorov]

Nice one Adrian and welcome to the site - I thought 3 weeks was good going for getting my new Civic, if yours is on schedule it must be a new record!

[ahooks]

Apparently the car is at the garage now! They are just prepping it and fitting the parking sensors. Even if it was available this weekend, I'm away so couldn't pick it up. I just hope it hasn't got anything wrong with it. I'll be using the guides on this site when I pick it up. I'll probably be on the forecourt for an hour before I drive away!!!

[Fedorov]

Seriously Adrian and I know I've said it a few times on this site over the last couple of days, as well as that checklist, make sure you check all that iPod easy-scratch perspex dashboard from every angle you can for scratches!!!

You can understand any dealership using the checklist you've signed as an excuse for not sorting things out after you drive away that's why it's there to cover them.

My point to the Service Manager yesterday is sometimes it doesn't matter how long you spend looking over the car you are going to miss something - I didn't see the scratches on both front door armrests till my wife noticed on the evening after bringing it home, I then saw the paint defect/chip on my pillar with only 20 miles on the clock etc.. etc...

The Civic makes this checklist even harder because there is so much to take in visually when you sit inside especially - it can take a good few daysI find before your eyes get used to everything around you, hard to explain!

[Copycat]

Congratulations on your new car then, Adrian.

I've waited for my 1.8 for four months now and still two more to go.

[elfa7]

If you have a delivery date from Honda, and you then sign the order,

if you put "Time is of the Essence", on the order form , then they have a

legal duty to deliver on time.

If they don't, you can have your deposit back and walk away.

[Copycat]

Originally Posted by elfa7

If they don't, you can have your deposit back and walk away.

Who in their right mind would do that?

Say no to a delay? And buy some other car?

Stupid stevedores in Germany have been on strike for two weeks a while ago , and now deliveries have been delayed. Propably won't affect my delivery date, but you never know.

[elfa7]

Its just a Legal device we have here in England, for the buying public. Not just cars, but anything you sign an order for.
Its protection against, shall we say, silly promises made by the seller.

[ahooks]

Had a call on Saturday from the dealer to say that I can't have the car on Tuesday and will have to wait till Wed pm or Thurs am. The reason....wait for it....some muppet in the garage left the car running idle for a few hours....what a complete fool for a start (I've toned down my real thoughts in order to put them here!!!). They have had to order a new part (didn't catch what it was, but will find out tomorrow) due to the possibility of it breaking sooner than it should....all related to leaving the car idling for such a length of time. I want to get it in writing what they've had to replace and why, just so that in the event of something happening at some point down the line, I have some form of comeback to say that it could be related to what they've done. Although I'm sure Honda engines are robust enough these days to cope with the odd idiot leaving them idle for hours! Plus I know if anything happened it should be covered be the warranty. Whether I can get anything in writing from them or not remains to be seen.

I'll post another update once I know what part it is they've replaced. Those mechanical guru's of you out there might be able to tell me if I should be overly concerned or not!

Cheers

Adrian

[basegreen]

Originally Posted by ahooks

Had a call on Saturday from the dealer to say that I can't have the car on Tuesday and will have to wait till Wed pm or Thurs am. The reason....wait for it....some muppet in the garage left the car running idle for a few hours....what a complete fool for a start (I've toned down my real thoughts in order to put them here!!!). They have had to order a new part (didn't catch what it was, but will find out tomorrow) due to the possibility of it breaking sooner than it should....all related to leaving the car idling for such a length of time. I want to get it in writing what they've had to replace and why, just so that in the event of something happening at some point down the line, I have some form of comeback to say that it could be related to what they've done. Although I'm sure Honda engines are robust enough these days to cope with the odd idiot leaving them idle for hours! Plus I know if anything happened it should be covered be the warranty. Whether I can get anything in writing from them or not remains to be seen.

I'll post another update once I know what part it is they've replaced. Those mechanical guru's of you out there might be able to tell me if I should be overly concerned or not!

Cheers

Adrian

that smells like BS to me

[Pottsy]

Adrian,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, and feel free to ignore me or hate me, but have a good read of this, especially the bits about leaving an engine at idle and the breaking in technique:

http://www.thedieselstop.com/content...iesel%20Engine

There's more here too:

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
(Look at the "What about running it in the garage ???" section)

I know you've got a petrol, but there's no difference.

I once bought a new Golf that the dealer had left the windows open and it had got wet inside. They left it to idle for about 18 hours (the onboard computer was the giveaway) - this car never performed right and was the only car I've had that used a lot of oil.

I would ask exactly how long it has been left idling - what part has broken and what the last 6 digits of the VIN are. Once you have the VIN, then reject the car on the grounds of abuse (citing glazed bores).

Uneless of course you're not that bothered, or the part they're replacing is the engine.

[elfa7]

Pottsey, they are very interesting articles, re. running in, or breaking in. I asked one of the salesmen about "running in", and he said "oh you don't have to bother with that on modern engines". I told him that I would be very careful for the first four hundred miles, and that he was talking a load of baloney.

[ahooks]

ok....I rang the garage to find out exactly what had happend (again!) and it seems I got the wrong end of the stick. The car had not been left idling (thank god!) but had been left with the ignition left on but without the engine running. This he said damages the ignitor block and it's this part they are replacing. So I can stop worrying a bit about it being the engine that's damaged. The sales man did appologise using the description "the car had been left idle for 3-4 hours". He has said catagorically that the car was not left running as it was in the workshop at the time and they would have noticed any car running that length of time! So I am slightly relieved that it wasn't left to idle and at least they are replacing this part. Will look up on google to see what the part's all about (mechanical knowledge is not my forte!!). Mean time, I await another call from the garage to dot the i's and cross the t's on the finance, then only one more sleep! (to coin a phrase!!)

Adrian

[pikkumies]

Heh, i didnt even bother to open the manual before i drove 800 kilometers It says that dont brake hard before you've driven 300 km, and dont push the pedal to the floor during the first 1000 km's.

[Copycat]

Already done both several times then, eh?

[elfa7]

Originally Posted by pikkumies

Heh, i didnt even bother to open the manual before i drove 800 kilometers It says that dont brake hard before you've driven 300 km, and dont push the pedal to the floor during the first 1000 km's.

You should ALWAYS run new brakes in(pads or shoes) just like the engine.

[Pottsy]

Originally Posted by elfa7

You should ALWAYS run new brakes in(pads or shoes) just like the engine.

And tyres too...



Adrian - phew! Haven't heard of burning a coil for years now. An ignition coil is designed to have switched current sent to it (switching on and off very quickly, in the old days by points) and this changing current causes the coil to make a high voltage. If you leave a continuous current on a coil (ie ignition on but engine off and points closed) then the coil will slowly warm up, then get hot, then burn out.

Obv the Civic is a high tech version of this low tech problem. A lucky escape and nothing to worry about.

[ahooks]

Finally got it at 4:30 today after an nearly an hour of paperwork!! Anyway I'll be posting some pics within the next week or so. One thing it hasn't got which I did find useful in other cars is lumbar support on the drivers side.....but hey, I'll get over it!

I went over the top gear new car check list and the one from this site and I'm glad to say that everything was fine....with the exception of a tiny (almost not worth bothering with) pin head scratch by the boot door. Got them to touch it up and you couldn't tell where it was unless someone pointed it out. Got a full tank of fuel with it too which I was please with. Oh, I ordered mats last week but they didn't arrive so they'll be here next week. Very happy at the moment anyway....long may that continue!

Cheers for all the advice folks!

Adrian

[Fedorov]

Congrats on your new Civic Adrian! - one thing... I have NEVER paid for the mats on my last 5 new cars, it's an absolute disgrace if a dealership can't throw them in with your purchase, my salesman even admitted how stupid it looks giving a new car to a customer and it having no mats in it

[sonicsteve]

So 1 hour and 45 minutes to go before I pick up my shiny new Civic. Look forward to joining the club.