Had My Car 2 Years Now.

[Tracer]

I was renewing my insurance this afternoon when it struck me:

Two years ago tomorrow (March 6th) I picked up my brand new car, a neutron blue LX Coupe 5 spd. And fulfilled a dream. How many people here remember that moment in their lives when they hop in behind the wheel and drive it off the lot.. sweet, eh.

At the end of January I had been wanting to find a neutron blue EX coupe 5spd and I tasked 4 dealerships in finding me one without success. I could have had it in a sedan 5 spd, or a coupe automatic, but NO I wanted a coupe 5 spd. After 2 weeks I finally went back and asked if I went down one model (I really wanted that sunroof) if that would improve my chances. Yep, 48 hrs later I get the call and they said that they can get one: in approx 5 weeks. No prob and waited.

On March 6th a guy at work called me and said my car was at the dealership! It came in that morning and they had just finished prepping it and hadn't called me yet and he beat them to it. heh! He mentioned he wanted to buy it but the sales guy said it was sold (to me) and when he mentioned it was to someone from the same company he worked for, he said he knew me and whipped out his cell phone right there and dialed me up. I was there in a flash!

What a sight... this is the first new car I have ever owned, and after several years of blood sweat and beers --I mean tears, of school followed by almost 2 years of bicycles and beaters I finally got into the position to be able to buy a new car. How sweet it is. And to think originally I was looking at an excellent condition but high mileage 2000 Civic Coupe when the sales guy pointed out the new 8th generation model.

I still had about 3 hours of work left before I could book off and come back. Longest 3 hours of my life... But I did and signed all the papers, did the delivery inspection and got some plates and insurance on it on site. The sales guy said they intercepted this car before it was off the assembly line. Apparently it was destined for a dealership in Ontario. Build date on the sticker reads: "02/06".

I can still remember sliding into the drivers seat and inhaling the new car smell and marvelling at the blue dash display and all those zero's on the odometer. You know, I bought this car without ever test driving one. Heheh!

The drive home on a wide open and empty highway was exhilirating.

Only 24 payments to go...

[Rpm2]

my two year is coming up this month as well. It's awesome that you love your civic so much.

[Tracer]

Yeah it's the best ride I have ever had... funny thing, during the 1990's I drove my ex's '94 Sunbird and whenever we were hit by senior drivers (an annual occurance believe it or not) the body shop we used to take it to gave out nearly new Honda's as courtesy cars. So each time we went in I would ask for a different year and model to get as much experience with them as I could. I used to pester her with dreams of owning one. She said it's just a car. That was in 2002 and we divorced shortly there after but remained good friends.

2 weeks before I bought my Civic she bought a brand new Pontiac Pursuit as her Sunbird finally bit the bullet, I think she paid $18K before everything, and she called me a fool for paying $4K more for my car.

That is until she got a ride in it. She marvelled at how smooth and comfortable the interior was, the sound of the stereo, quietness in the ride, she even commented on the size of the trunk (a woman thing i'm sure.. ) and how easy it was to get into. On her Pursuit the trunk opening is very small. She found the drink holders between the seats a very nice touch (she has none). I told her the safety features (my standard 8 airbags vs. her 1), seat belt restrainers, flexing seats, carbody, etc.. in short: superior engineering.

And on the first hot sunny day she regretted not getting the A/C option in her car too! Whenever we went on road trips she insisted we take my car (as if I was going to complain.. hahah!). And she said she wished her car had cruise control as her legs got sore during long distance driving. In short, she said a lot of "wished I had's.." when looking at my Civic.

Never had a problem with my car, however she initially had some small issues with hers relating to quality of construction etc and then last summer the main computer in hers failed.

Yeah... the Civic was well worth the extra expense.

[ErichPryde]

4,000 more for AC, superior SRS, more cupholders, a better dash, better sound system, better trunk, better brakes, and cruise control.

sounds about right.

[07mugencivic]

how many mile do you have???

[ErichPryde]

Pontiac Pursuit = G5 (canada only, built on cobalt platform)


I didn't recognize the pursuit, so I googled it. funny how car companies are...

[csxian]

Tracer, +1 rep for loving your car so much.. Doesn't mean that I don't love mine tho.. I believe Japan makes much better car than American brand. $4000 for those extras are way worth buying.

Thanks for sharing your experience in this forum. Love it!

[marc-o-lishuz]

Originally Posted by Tracer

How many people here remember that moment in their lives when they hop in behind the wheel and drive it off the lot.. sweet, eh.

I remember... coz I stalled my Si 5 blocks away. Then my brother took over

Congrats on the 2-year mark. My car isn't that far off (picked up 4-05-06).

[Rpm2]

^haha my buddy bought an brand new 96 GTI VR6 and I drove it off teh lot for him and his wife if was the strangest thing I ever did.

[SiliconX]

My Si turns 2 on March 13

20962kms on it so far. Poor girl can't wait for winter to end so she can stretch her legs.

[csxian]

My CSX just turn 1 last January and reading 26,000+ on the odo now.. I travel a lot, I think

[christine253]

Originally Posted by Tracer

What a sight... this is the first new car I have ever owned, and after several years of blood sweat and beers --I mean tears, of school followed by almost 2 years of bicycles and beaters I finally got into the position to be able to buy a new car. How sweet it is.

ahhhh... exactly how I felt. I had spent years driving a beat up EG hatch while I was putting myself through post secondary. Its an unreal feeling, buying a new car with the first 'real' job i've ever had.... and I didn't even need a co-signer. I have sh!tty credit!

I sorta test drove the car before I bought it though...My younger brother bought a 07 lx coupe 4 months before I saved enough to buy a 07 lx sedan.

[Special Ringpop]

Nice write up. I'm assuming Neutron Blue is Atomic Blue in the U.S. market. I have a soft spot for Atomic Blue coupes for some reason. I think they are incredibly sharp.

The one thing that the Pursuit/G5 has over the Civic (and all Honda's, for that matter), that I really enjoy is the non-intrusive trunk hinges. I hate that Honda still uses the obtrusive arms.

I like the Cobalt/G5/Pursuit (even if I disagree with the G5 being brought here), but the interior is not nearly as nice compared to a top tier Civic. However if you're looking for a cheap, reliable, efficient vehicle BASE, the Cobalt is a tough beat. You get a lot for your money. It's when you start moving up the option list that the competition wins out.

[20strong]

It is nice to hear that you are still in love with your car. My baby turned 1 year on Dec 18th 07, only another year at most and she's all mine.

[Tracer]

Apparently the Pursuit uses a Toyota drive train and thus about $1800 more than the list price for the equivalent Cobalt. Other than the differences in the taillights they are pretty much identical. I shudder to think how close I came to buying one.
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One neat thing I miss since I got my Civic was that feeling of being the ONLY one in town with one. I remember the first 3 or 4 months people would stop and look at it and ask questions.. most were amazed at the styling and the dash display. As expected, the uniqueness fades away as more and more show up on the roads.

Periodically I still get other Gen-8 Civic owners with the same colour car as mine stopping me and asking if I have a 5 spd or automatic. It seems it is very difficult (at least here on the Island) to find an LX and EX coupe 5 spd in Neutron Blue, and I rarely see any and the ones I do are all automatics. I'd like to see production numbers for all the colours that were made available. Because to date I have had 3 offers by people who want to trade their '06 LX auto for my 5 spd standard.

[Special Ringpop]

That's not uncommon, Tracer: Honda sucks at certain color option combos.

I've yet to see an EX-L with navi in anything but silver, black, and gray. It was the same way with EX's with navi back in 2006.

I'd love an EX-L coupe in Atomic Blue with navi and a 5MT. I doubt I'll ever see one.

[Sleepy]

wow Tracer 90k I think u have the most KM's out of all of us

I will be hitting 60k sometime soon, my gurl will be 3 in Oct and fully paid off. Then I am going shopping for something nicer I am planning on keeping my civic but I am going to find a faster ride for my daily driver.

You love your car as much as all of us....

[HabaneroGuy]

My Si turned 2 years old on Feb 21 I think. It has between 58 and 59,000KM on it. And I am still glad I bought it. I am still collecting every Hot Wheels that comes out of the 8th gen civic.

[Tracer]

Hey, i've seen those too. Too bad they don't come out in lower models.

[Tracer]

Originally Posted by Sleepy

wow Tracer 90k I think u have the most KM's out of all of us

I just had an oil change done the other day and I asked the guys at Honda if I have the highest for an '06, they said no, but I am one of the highest. The highest ones they have seen are the fleet of sedans operated by Westguard Security, they are in the 200K range!