Glad its gone

[Jack The Lad.]

Well Said Sir.

[Brodick]

Originally Posted by Jack The Lad.

Well Said Sir.

Likewise

[geoff]

Maybe my cars boring but not as boring as somebody on this forum
(only joking brodrick I miss you and TC)


We are off with the Touran and our Caravan To Southern Spain for 6 weeks

Its nice to have Climate control that works

And when I come back in December I expect my wifes car to start and not have a flat battery (and thats a boring old vauxhall corsa)


Anyway nice to read all the comments

Best wishes to everyone

[Topcat]

Originally Posted by geoff

We are off with the Touran and our Caravan To Southern Spain for 6 weeks

Have a really great time Geoff

[spile]

This is a generalisation but it seems to me that those with more than the odd problem are those folk who have pre-2007 cars. Early adopters are taking the hit which is not a new phenomena.

[geoff]

Never again will I buy a car so early in its production

Its my fault I loved the way the civic drove

I loved it even more when it went apart from the six thousand pound loss

Thanks TC you miss some people more than others

[jayt43]

Broders, you're a one man PR machine for Honda. I think they should give you a job!

But seriously, even if you think the Touran is boring, it's probably preferable to being frustrated all the time with your new purchase. Which Geoff clearly was!

And, to be fair, I think the Touran is an honest, comfortable and able piece of machinery. Yes, it's not that interesting to look at, but drives well and seems ideal for Geoff's purposes.

So I wish you the very best of luck with it Geoff!

Having been a member of this board since its inception, I do think the tide is turning in how people regard the Civic. And it's not in a positive way either. I still like mine, but really don't feel that it's a proper Honda worthy of the marque (build wise).

Niggles here and there do zap your enthusiasm, whereas even bigger problems just push loyal Honda customers towards the forecourts of rival manufacturers. So I think the Civic may well turn out to be an own goal for Honda Europe.

Will certainly be interesting to see how Honda fare in next year's reliability surveys anyway!

[Badger]

Interesting points being raised on which my view is somewhat different, I think Honda do have some problems with the Civic which they are sorting out as soon as they can, however how many people would have not noticed some of these faults if it were not for reading the forums??

I know there are 1 or 2 at least I would have not even thought about without reading this forum and you read some replies and it almost feels like people are looking for problems before the car is even delivered. I am on my 2nd Civic already and love the car and this forum yes there are some small problems but nothing like the problems other manufactures, I remember many years ago working for Volvo when they launched the all new 440 / 480 what a pile of rubbish that was repair manual even before the launch was about 1000 pages.

Don’t get me wrong I think Honda should be repairing the cars right first time but I also think that the dealer network are not helping them its to easy for them to just palm the problem off to customer relations so they don’t have to deal with an angry customer. The dealers have the tools to make sure any car is repaired right first time but any warrenty repair work does jnot pay the same as retail to the mechanic of dealer so they just want it out as soon as possible to get the more profitable retail work through the workshop!!. All of this ends up with a customer who does not feel the dealer / Honda are doing all they can to give him the service he deserves!

Bit of a long rant but finished now and it is only my opinion i kow not everyone will agree but be interesting to see what you all think

[Type S Bournemouth]

Originally Posted by Brodick

I could go off on long rant about how good the civic is (but I won't because I don't need to

The build could be better - but it is still one of the best
small hatchbacks on the market today - there are far far far worse cars out there

have to agree with everything Brodick says. My civic has been fantastic and had no problems whatsoever. Runs like a dream. Everything I expected a Honda car to be.

In the same league of cars in its price range its way above any other make. The thought of even driving a VW or BMW 1 series just makes me want to fall asleep with boredom.

[Type S Bournemouth]

Originally Posted by geoff

Maybe my cars boring but not as boring as somebody on this forum
(only joking brodrick I miss you and TC)


We are off with the Touran and our Caravan To Southern Spain for 6 weeks

Its nice to have Climate control that works

And when I come back in December I expect my wifes car to start and not have a flat battery (and thats a boring old vauxhall corsa)


Anyway nice to read all the comments

Best wishes to everyone

My climate control works perfectly and also after being away for a few weeks the car started first time with no probs at all

[Cad]

Of course it's a great car... except for those for which it isn't!

I want to read about problems, as well as how great the car is.

What I don't want to read is people, with problems, being shouted down by people who've had the 'perfect' experience.

[Type S Bournemouth]

Originally Posted by Cad

Of course it's a great car... except for those for which it isn't!

I want to read about problems, as well as how great the car is.

What I don't want to read is people, with problems, being shouted down by people who've had the 'perfect' experience.

Yeah but then can turn it around and say i dont want to read people slagging off the civic generalising that all civics are faulty and rubbish when there not. Plus this is a civic forum not a VW forum.

[Cad]

I don't believe anyone has said that all Civics are rubbish. The comparison with a VW is fair enough, and relevant, even if it's not something you want to read.

The Civic is just a car for goodness sake, not an affirmation of your manliness!

[jayt43]

Granted it's not a VW forum, but certainly Geoff or anyone else should be given the chance to compare the Civic against other marques (favourably or otherwise).

Of course, it's easy to be dismissive of owners who are experiencing problems by saying "well, mine's fantastic, it's a good company, so you must be unlucky. Live with it" or conversely "my one has been a whole heap of trouble, so Honda is rubbish".

And it's fair to say, from keeping my eye on the boards daily, that there's a fair bit of that!

However, I think the truth lies somewhere in between i.e. it's a nicely designed vehicle perhaps let down by quality control issues, some poorly produced parts and certain dealership problems (i.e. lack of communication with Honda UK, shoddy workmanship etc).

Moreover, as buying a car is a pretty substantial purchase, those without problems have to be careful not to be dismissive of those that do (especially after the umpteenth visit to the dealers).

And of course, whilst certain issues - such as paint chips/quality - seem to affect a fair number of owners, a blanket description of Honda paint being just rubbish is also inaccurate.

The whole point is that quality with Civic production seems variable which, almost certainly you'd expect from lessor manufacturers, but not from a company which is known for reliability and engineering excellence.

[Jack The Lad.]

I had a new Volvo 480 turbo and the bloody heater caught alight when I was doing about 50mph. The hole cabin was full of smoke.
Now, - That Was A Problem.
Had the power window motors replaced three times and after heavy rain, I kid you not, the rear nearside footwell would have over 75mm of water in it.
Was I glad to get shot of that one.

[3rd Honda]

Let me clarify my position;

I enjoy the Civic for what it is - nice design, nice to drive, reasonably comfortable, lovely powerful engine, great economy, good sat nav (mainly). I might also add in my case helpful dealer.

What I don't like is the poor quality 'imitation aluminium' plastic trim, poor quality/faulty suspension components that have needed replacement (now 2 sets of rear shockers have been replaced and one front strut), poor radio, misc rattles and software that informs me there are problems (when there aren't) that has to be reset by the dealer. I also can't use the voice control, the POI in the Sat nav are poor, and the hands free phone is only really usable at low speed due to poor intelligibility.

What really annoys me is Honda UK who for several visits wouldn't allow suspension parts to be changed by dealer, won't allow dealer to order parts needed under warranty in advance necessitating two visits for every problem, took 11 months to (not proven yet) sort a software problem, acknowledges (apparently) that the radio has deficiencies, but won't be 'taking any remedial action'. They also 'fiddled ' with several unsatisfactory fuel filler cap fixes

After 18 months with the car and 15,000 miles and 7 additional dealer visits (probably about 20-30 hours of my time in all) I still have suspension knocks, exhaust rattles, poor radio and further dealer visit booked for warranty work. I have never had this much trouble with any car before, and Honda UK's attitude has not helped.

Thats why I would really be rather glad to be shot of it at present

[Minkster]

Well mine is a 2007 Type-S, and since purchase in June I have done just shy of 9000 miles in it and I can honestly say it has been trouble-free and a pleasure.

Yes, the paint chips easily but this is the same on most new cars these days. Quality-wise, some of the internal plastics feel a little cheap but seem to be hanging together well so far. No rattles, or terminal squeaks either. The engine drives perfectly and the ride is great.

Honestly, my only two complaints are that the display on the radio could be a little better (or at least the font smaller) and the automatic headlights are a bit useless due to their trigger points seemingly being incorrect however I just get around that one by using lights as normal rather than on the auto setting (saves the battery dying too if you leave the car for a long period).

Honest, I think its great. Perhaps many of the reported problems were on 06 cars only?

When researching the car to buy, I heard absolute horror stories about the Mk V Golf in terms of build quality, rattles and so on. Also, Audi A3's are prone to engine glitches and garage visits when new. My father has a Focus and hates it due to poor ergonomic design inside, and i must admit when driving it recently the interior felt oppresive and old fashioned compared to the Civic.

I think the survey does show that the vast majority of Civic owners are happy with the car. Its just unfortunate that there are some unlucky ones out there who have had nothing but problems, but without wanting to sound dismissive as its a serious issue for these guys, I do think they are very much in the minority.

Internet forums, like review sites, have a tendancy to paint a negative picture of whatever the subject is, as the most vocal people are (rightly) the ones who have something to complain about. Its worth remembering this when looking at any website - often things look out of proportion.

[rhodgreen]

I think it's fair to summarise the following three points:
1. Us early adopters have had the majority of problems, some many and ongoing.
2. Newer cars would appear to be better with less problems.
3. We all seem agreed that Honda UK customer relations / service is very poor and sub standard (especially compared to what is expected).

I'm about to re-kindle my problem list as ongoing seems to be an understatement!!!

[geoff]

Being as my comments are not wanted

Goodbye

only posted because the forum asked me to

and because i was here when there were only 60 members I thought that might be allowed

At least my old mate Brodrick never told me to clear off
(told me a lot of other things Though)

[Cad]

Originally Posted by Jack The Lad.

I had a new Volvo 480 turbo and the bloody heater caught alight when I was doing about 50mph. The hole cabin was full of smoke.
Now, - That Was A Problem.
Had the power window motors replaced three times and after heavy rain, I kid you not, the rear nearside footwell would have over 75mm of water in it.
Was I glad to get shot of that one.

Well I've heard of damning with faint praise, but suggesting that the Civic is better than a burning Volvo isn't exactly the recommendation of the year .