Goodbye Type R

[x Dr Vodka x]

fool ..... sorry i mean good luck

[DeanFYoung]

Originally Posted by Old StageR

Thanks for all the comments.

In response to ChillTypeR the paint finish was my only problem.

It's a shame that Honda engineering is spoilt by the lack of attention to the paint quality.

If I had experienced some of the other well known faults I would have been really annoyed.

Please be courteous if you see a Black Pirelli Golf in your mirrors and let me past.

Only if you promise not to throw up stones from your tyres

Sorry to hear you not impressed with your Civic's paint.

The way I see it, is that any car is going to get stone chips, especially if driven hard and fast. If I want to do something about it then I'll put some armourfend on it.

[Old StageR]

It's not just the stone chips. In fact the car only has a few which to be fair I would expect given the state of the roads.

What I can't live with is the soft paint and the swirl marks that really show up in sunlight.

The car is not good enough for the price.

For NEEMSTAR the Golf is DSG and yet another black car. Am I mad?

[3rd Honda]

Once again - the issue is consistency. Some cars are no worse than the average, whereas others seem to chip really easily. Perhaps the paint or the drying process is not sufficiently consistent?

I was lucky and at 19,000 miles, my car (Galaxy Grey) only had a very few chips despite normal mixed driving, but I have seen others that have been badly chipped at lower mileages.

[dextergregor]

Goodluck with the GTI. Golfs in general are put together pretty well, so I guess as you're getting rid of the CTR, you couldn't have made a better choice. I've owned my galaxy grey civic since august, and I've notched up just over 2000km. I drive it hard, on french autoroutes as well as in the suburbs. Strange thing is, I have ABSOLUTELY ZERO paint chips! I don't even get the swirl marks people complain about. And I've washed and/or waxed the car at least 4 times since I got it. Its got to be one of 2 things, either french roads are better than those in the UK, or the quality of the paint they put on the cars destined for France is better. Or perhaps I've just been lucky. I still check the car's bonnet every week to see if the chipping has started

[NEEMSTAR]

Originally Posted by Old StageR

What I can't live with is the soft paint and the swirl marks that really show up in sunlight.

completely agree . I was looking at my dads car that gets washed EVERY week at a hand car wash place and he had minimal swirls - then I looked at mine that has been washed once at the same place and i started too feel sick because of the swirls

Originally Posted by Old StageR

For NEEMSTAR the Golf is DSG and yet another black car. Am I mad?

at least you got the DSG

[Honcho]

When one looks at the performance, quality and economy of the latest 1.4 TFSI Audi A3 (with DSG), I can see some real opposition for the Civic.

The prices aren't that different to the Civic 1.8 (with i-Shift)

[Orschild]

I wonder what cars you have owned before that has been better if the paint is the only thing that has caused you problems. Sure the paint is remarkably soft, but there are another thousand problems that can occur .

So if this is the only thing that puts you off the Civic your previous cars must have been remarkably free from faults.

[Old StageR]

That's a fair point and I am not denying the great engineering that Honda has put into the FN2.
I don't want a car that is 9 months old looking like it has spent 5 years of going through car washes.
My cleaning regime is in line with the methods advised on the detailing forums. I suspect that if you followed the handbook guidance the problem would be even worse.
I am appalled at the offhand treatment from the dealer and Honda UK and am not prepared to engage in a war that I cannot win trying to get satisfaction.
Everyone has their own point of view and my decision to move on is because of my sub-standard car and not the FN2 model in general.

[Wheelchair]

Originally Posted by Old StageR

Everyone has their own point of view and my decision to move on is because of my sub-standard car and not the FN2 model in general.

Fair enough.

[Mr JP]

Good luck with the golf mate, although the paint is probably no better, it's pug nose shape only out done by Ricky Gervais will no doubt stop them hitting the bonnet.

Each to their own and all but the golf is probably the second to last hot hatch I would want to own apart from the ST. Although the DSG is redeeming, I found the Leon Cupra to be a better car and nicer to look at.

[Robbieee]

Originally Posted by Mr JP

Good luck with the golf mate, although the paint is probably no better, it's pug nose shape only out done by Ricky Gervais will no doubt stop them hitting the bonnet.

Each to their own and all but the golf is probably the second to last hot hatch I would want to own apart from the ST. Although the DSG is redeeming, I found the Leon Cupra to be a better car and nicer to look at.

Didnt you find the Leon really boring inside? I found it so cheap and nasty looking inside. I suppose design wise, the civic is the best out there...

[R-2]

The CTR is such a great car to drive i can easily live with the paint problems.

I think that most recently manufactured cars are prone to stone chips. I have looked at the bonnets of various Mercs and BMWs recently and found that most of them have lots of obvious chips.
I also think a lot depends on where you live as to how badly your car gets damaged. Rural areas are not good

[robbo51]

Originally Posted by Mr JP

Good luck with the golf mate, although the paint is probably no better, it's pug nose shape only out done by Ricky Gervais will no doubt stop them hitting the bonnet.

Each to their own and all but the golf is probably the second to last hot hatch I would want to own apart from the ST. Although the DSG is redeeming, I found the Leon Cupra to be a better car and nicer to look at.

Sorry but VAG paint IS better...my last car was from VAG..no paint chips, the one before was a Renault, again no paint chips ...CTS, around 50..same route every day.
Make your own mind up JP..but here is the evidence.

[Mr JP]

Still a golf, I'd rather be stripped of all my paint than own one.

[Wheelchair]

I hope Honda are taking note, all this stonechipping talk does not paint a pretty picture!

[3rd Honda]

Originally Posted by Orschild

So if this is the only thing that puts you off the Civic your previous cars must have been remarkably free from faults.

My previous car to the 06 Civic was an 03 Civic - and yes - it was TOTALLY fault free - Great car - reinforced my high opinion of Honda as a brand after .........

Before that was a second hand Accord Aerodeck I had for over 10 years - and that only had about 3 faults in 120000miles and 13 years old - Great (and much loved and respected) car - sold me on the Honda brand

By comparison the 06 Civic was a disaster - total disaster! Shattered my high opinion of the Honda quality (for that model anyway).

Now left the Honda brand, and won't return without some convincing, though I did think the new Accord was nice, wasn't prepared to take the risk on a newly released model again