New Civic VTI or Used Euro Luxury

[hsonthalia]

Hi All

I am just confused between buying a new civic vti for 21-22K or getting a used Euro (base or luxury) for bit cheaper, perhaps a 2006 Euro for 20-22K.

Have been in the market for a couple of months now - have missed a couple of good deals and mostly others have been dodgy sellers with either inaccurate informations or unrealistic prices.

Any thoughts are more than welcome.

Thanks in advance!!!

[djpro1]

Depends what you prefer.. I would personally go for the Euro since I love the way it looks and drives (due to more torque). But if you like a more economic car,go for the VTI. Also, I wouldn't buy a new car if I wasn't intending to keep it for more than 5+ years since the depreciation on cars every year is exponential.. However, if you buy a used car, it would've depreciated enough so that you could sell the car at a much "less depreciated" price.

+1 for the Euro

Go for the luxury 2006+ facelift model. I'm sure you can find a 06+ lux model for around 20K ish mark

[BeddyTear]

I would personally go for the euro as well. Has more road presence and looks more mature i guess. The interior, IMO, looks better too.
Depends what you're after, but asking on the euro thread will get you a pretty biased sway of opinions since we all chose to get the euro :p

[hsonthalia]

I wish I could buy a 2006 luxury for 20K - at this stage there are none. In fact I have been in the market for a couple of month and have not been able to find a nice one with less than 80,000 Km for a decent price. You get 2004 luxury for that price, 2006 is more around 22-23ish.

Also would you recommend buying one from a private sale or is it worth paying 1500 or so more for getting one from a honda deale with a 3 year warranty.

I am highly unlikely to keep the car for more than 2 years as I might go back overseas.

[d_evilz]

+ 1 for the euro!

[djpro1]

I wish I could buy a 2006 luxury for 20K - at this stage there are none. In fact I have been in the market for a couple of month and have not been able to find a nice one with less than 80,000 Km for a decent price. You get 2004 luxury for that price, 2006 is more around 22-23ish.

Also would you recommend buying one from a private sale or is it worth paying 1500 or so more for getting one from a honda deale with a 3 year warranty.

I am highly unlikely to keep the car for more than 2 years as I might go back overseas.

If you're going overseas in two years, get a 2nd hand VTI then? It's so much cheaper? Also, warranty doesnt cover a LOT of things... Car dealerships provide you with 5yrs unlimited warranty but the fineprint will trick you!

As long as you know how to maintain your car and get it serviced every so often, you'll have no problems for 2 yrs for sure..

Also, have you tried viewing the cars and tried to bargain it down? I've seen luxury 06 + versions on carsales for 22K ish. I'm sure you can bargain at least 2K down the marked price if you can find things to criticise the car about. ie. paint wear, seat wear, list goes on and on..

Keep looking and you'll find one for sure!


See: http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=8916428&YearFromShort=1650&__Qpb=true&Cr=5&__Ns=pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|0||pCar_RankSort_Int32 |1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&keywords=&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282%204294965322% 204294965100%20898%204294927482%20%201650&SearchAction=N&silo=1011&seot=1&tsrc=allcarhome&__Nne=15&trecs=123&__sid=12917BB2EB1D

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=8790685&YearFromShort=1650&__Qpb=true&Cr=3&__Ns=pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|0||pCar_RankSort_Int32 |1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&keywords=&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282%204294965322% 204294965100%20898%204294927482%20%201650&SearchAction=N&silo=1011&seot=1&tsrc=allcarhome&__Nne=15&trecs=123&__sid=12917BB2EB1D

There are so many out there?

[hsonthalia]

Thanks heaps! Unfortunately I am based out of Victoria - I do realise that NSW the prices are cheaper - not sure why; probably to an extent may be because of roadworth certificate requirement in VIC.

I am not getting a used VTI because the pre-2009 models do not come with side airbags, curtain airbags or ESC. Hence thought a used Euro Luxury or a new VTI would be a sensible option. Guess it makes sense to buy a car with 5 star ANCAP Safety Ratings.

So does it mean I should look for a private sale or dealer used - and also would you suggest any need to get RACV/NRMA pre-inspection checks before buying a dealer sold car?

Thanks!!

[buddah51au]

Having owned an O6 FD1 Auto, & now a CU2 Base Auto I can say that a Euro is twice the car the Civic is. However, in saying that you will find very little difference in interior space between an 06 Euro and an FD1. The Euro will have more power obviously, but given that both vehicles are driven in the same manner you will find there is very little difference in economy. My CU2 Auto uses about 0.4L/100km more than my FD1 Auto, so that is hardly a consideration..

All I can add is I was very happy with my FD1, but it is not in the same class as a Euro.

Personally I would only by from a dealer, although you would pay a little more. the 2 reasons are that a dealer must guarantee clear title and mostly dealerships only keep the better vehicles.

As for an NRMA/RACV inspection, it can help, but given you would have a warranty on a used car it is a tough call. I guess it comes down to your mechanical knowledge & the milage on the car your buying.

If i had to make a personal call, I would get the new car every time. As for depreciation, i lost 6K on my FD1 after 2 1/2 yrs and almost 70,000kms.

[eurogo]

+1 for the euro, i also had the same problem with finding an 06 for under 24grand in decent condition. i ended up getting a 05 luxury but still payed 23 as was from a dealer- sold ad serviced there then traded in there. when buying the dealer car u have to pay for the warranty, i only got the remainder of the new car 5 year warranty as i wasnt prepared to pay another 2k for the basic warranty. most dealers have an automatic 3 month warranty but yea the optional warranty is very limited as djpro1 said.
i'd recommend a dealer car, if not make sure the cars logbooks are all upto date and u cant go wrong. cheers

[Type R Positive]

I loved my cl9, but there is nothing like a new car!

[antony]

I would get the Euro,it feels like much more of a car than the Civic.

However,if you dont find a suitable one,buy the Civic...

[MiSloVic]

Well, if you are after side and curtain air bags, the 2006 sports edition have them too. And it has the euro r body kit, which i think suits the car well.

[raffyboy]

depends on your need - I like my CL9 good family and business car even with minor mods - Civic that you mentioned yeh its good too but small engine

[eurogo]

and the civics rather small if your a taller - or wider- guy. i was in a new civic sport the other day, was crammed in there haha. euro def has enough room for u and passengers

[djpro1]

Thanks heaps! Unfortunately I am based out of Victoria - I do realise that NSW the prices are cheaper - not sure why; probably to an extent may be because of roadworth certificate requirement in VIC.

I am not getting a used VTI because the pre-2009 models do not come with side airbags, curtain airbags or ESC. Hence thought a used Euro Luxury or a new VTI would be a sensible option. Guess it makes sense to buy a car with 5 star ANCAP Safety Ratings.

So does it mean I should look for a private sale or dealer used - and also would you suggest any need to get RACV/NRMA pre-inspection checks before buying a dealer sold car?

Thanks!!

If you want to buy a 2nd hand car from a private seller, go take a mechanic with you after you've done an inspection y ourself. A dealer will try and rip you off always! You can probably save AT LEAST $2000+ just for buying to a private. Then if there are any problems, get them fixed and there you have a good of a car that a dealer would've sold you. Also, dealers use cheap ass parts. They're trying to juice as much money out of you as they can! They will use the cheapest brake pads worth $10.00 (same ones from supercheap auto.. No joke!) and make the car look all shiny and clean (you can get it cleaned and waxed for $30). Whereas if you were to go and get it serviced and cleaned yourself, you can be assured that you're using genuine parts or well known after market parts. Personally, I would never buy from a dealer. I'm speaking from personal experience in hunting for the right Euro :)

[HunterZero]

Going to be very hard to find a Euro Lux MY06 for under $25k that doesn't have high K's or accident history. They're a desirable, popular car and people who buy them hang on to them, so 2nd hand prices are still high. These cars were around $45k when new all up. They are still too new to be really available in numbers 2nd hand, but I'd reckon in a year or two you will have more choice of this model.

You'd probably find a few used standard models around this price.

You should be able to get a 2005 or earlier pre-facelift Euro Lux for around $20k - $22k depending on kms travelled.

- HZ

[denot]

Same as buddah, having owned a FD2 civic sports 2006 and cu2 euro and few drives inside mate's cl9, I can tell you to go with the Euro. the FDs is a nice car, but you will forget about it after passing the "honeymoon" period. But all depends on your choice. sporty look --> FD, luxury n gentleman looks --> euro. but i think cl9 has almost same amount of mods available compare to the fd.

[d_evilz]

i got my 06 eauro for 21.5k std. with 60km on it

[hsonthalia]

Thanks everyone - really appreciate your comments. Looks like I should hang around and continue to look for a Euro.

Couple of quick ones - any response will be much appreciated!

- What do you reckon should be the price diff between the base and luxury of the same year - I understand that for a new car its about 6K and for a used car its about (3K from red book) - also is the difference worth it - most of the money looks to be on heated leather seats, curtain airbags, sun roof and electric seat levers.

- Is there much of a mechanic difference between the pre-2006 and post facelift version. I am not fussy about the looks - is it true that the gear box and clutch etc were more reformed in 2006 launch? Confused whether I should settle for 2003-2005 or limit myself to 2006?

Thanks so much!!!

[djpro1]

Thanks everyone - really appreciate your comments. Looks like I should hang around and continue to look for a Euro.

Couple of quick ones - any response will be much appreciated!

- What do you reckon should be the price diff between the base and luxury of the same year - I understand that for a new car its about 6K and for a used car its about (3K from red book) - also is the difference worth it - most of the money looks to be on heated leather seats, curtain airbags, sun roof and electric seat levers.

- Is there much of a mechanic difference between the pre-2006 and post facelift version. I am not fussy about the looks - is it true that the gear box and clutch etc were more reformed in 2006 launch? Confused whether I should settle for 2003-2005 or limit myself to 2006?

Thanks so much!!!

for 06+ models, the base and luxury models should differ anywhere between 3k-5k for something less than 100k km. Yes the main difference is the what you mentioned + fog lights + HID Low beams.

What I found when I drive my gf's car (Std 06 model) is that her car is a LOT heavier than my Std 03 Model. According to redbook, they're meant to be the same weight but on a straight line race, my car would fly by hers. If you're after that heavy feel of a luxury car, go for the 06 + model, if you like the light weight feeling, go for the pre 06 models. Personally, I prefer a lighter weight feel but nowadays, it's becoming more and more common to see the heavy rugged feel. Try going for a test drive on both 06+ and pre 06 models, you'll know what I mean.

[hsonthalia]

What do you think if the dealer sale is by a Honda dealer with a 3 year warranty on it - is it worth paying extra 1000-1500 bucks compared to a private sale?

[djpro1]

What do you think if the dealer sale is by a Honda dealer with a 3 year warranty on it - is it worth paying extra 1000-1500 bucks compared to a private sale?


You'll pay more than $1000-1500 from a dealer. At least a good 10% of the car sale price

[oneian]

1+ for the Euro - great car, looks, comfort, style, what else could you ask for? and reliability

[Type R Positive]

What do you think if the dealer sale is by a Honda dealer with a 3 year warranty on it - is it worth paying extra 1000-1500 bucks compared to a private sale?
Yes. Even if it is only for piece of mind. Don't forget you can still bargain them down!