bad choices... wannabies are not the same. rant rant rant...
Originally Posted by 2perCooper
just do the best thing...E46 M3! like me! 
the 06civic isn't a bad choice for a commuter. it's the motor
mount supplier that just can't seem to get it right. October06
i heard. Honda is planning to have resigned motor mounts.
As you know, i dont want to spend premium gas on a daily driver
and it has to be an all-season car. the character i was looking for
in a commuter: regular gas with great milage, nice sound system
(low cost mods ok which i did), AT, FWD, quality interior, and
must be reliable through all seasons.
remove that rattle/clunk noise over bumps and i got a good deal.
Neutral
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by C4
Welcome to the world of automotive cost cutting and poor quality control
This is affecting nearly everyone in this cut throat industry.
The "J" live off a past reputation for bulletproof reliability, Truth is, everyone sources the parts to build cars from the same A and B suppliers. Manufacturers are under pressure to maintain quality and lower costs. It is a never ending battle, but in the end the product and reputation suffers.
My sister has a very basic '05 Accord sedan VP (2.3L 4 cyl 160HP, 4 speed auto) and that car literally takes a BEATING everyday, yet it has been rock solid in the year since she bought it. All she has done to it is change the oil, rotate the tires and put gas. It is an amazingly solid albeit boring and mundane car. Brought to you by the Honda assembly plant in Marysville, Ohio. I think the car is well over 11K miles.
My '05 MCS has not seen the dealer's service bay for anything other than the 10K mile oil service in 15.5K miles and 16 months since I first took delivery. That car is ROCK SOLID, period
My wife's '02 MC CVT with 38K miles ticks like the finest Swiss wrist watch. Hard working daily driver that delivers smooth buttery performance and reliability.
Also remember that your '06 Civic is a FIRST YEAR CAR
And you are bound to have issues not matter how you cut it and slice it. You should have gone for the '06 MC CVT instead 
I have never owned a Subaru, but in my 12 year stint with Honda and Acura products, I generally find their service depts to be crowded, over worked and arrogant. They think they are doing you a favor by looking at your car, like if it were an act of charity and not a job to be done with professionalism
Toyota dealerships are even worse IMHO.I am personally over "J" cars from a long time ago. These days cars are the luck of the draw. You can either get a good apple or a bad apple, regardless of manufacturer, price range and point of origin.
Best of luck getting your issues resolved.
My brother has a accord VP also, and it has not given him any problems at all. I had an 89' prelude back when i first got my license, sucker had 150k miles on it, ran like a champ would run with 150k miles. not one problem and never let me down. Where as a family friend of ours had both motor and transmission problems with his honda S2000. with the first needing to be replaced if i remember correctly.
after the prelude i jumped over to nissan, first the frontier, 02' i believe it was...only had 2 tiny problems or so... then upgraded to 04' titan (which is what i have now)...and i can not wait to dump it.. Horrible quality, everything from the brakes being fixed 4x, to the a/c vents not working, rear diff. problems, to the stereo flippin out on my to noises galore. It is just a bad quality car. True it is a first year car, as you might be able to relate to KenChan with your civic, that is why i didn't trade in the titan for the new SI when it came out in november (that and ridiculous dealer mark ups and waiting lists), didn't want to get burned with first year production problems like i had been with the titan.
although, only a few problems (rear diff., brakes to some extent, few noises) were fixed, there are still plenty of problems i read on the forums, about the 05+ titans...
This is really making me reconsider the 06' cooper vs. 07' cooper debate i'm having.
so, round#2 for repair on the civic's rattling coming from the front-right will
take place this friday. Honda has a TSB out for something that
looks exactly like my case, so hopefully this will cure it.
then it's mod-time.
most-likely will lower it about 1.5" and get 17's.
which reminds me... i need to get my A/C fixed on the MCS before the
warranty is up.
(the A/C that i never use in the MCS. )
take place this friday.
Honda has a TSB out for something thatlooks exactly like my case, so hopefully this will cure it.
then it's mod-time.
most-likely will lower it about 1.5" and get 17's.which reminds me... i need to get my A/C fixed on the MCS before the
warranty is up.
(the A/C that i never use in the MCS. )
6th Gear
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,995
Likes: 1
From: NC
I've owned too many cars for my 36 years, I really should be less fickle. Of all the cars I've owned the two that have given me the most problems were Honda's. These were big failures too, transmission that ate itself at 40K(89 Accord coupe) and a blown head that resulted in engine seizure and a total rebuild at 32K (03 Odyssey). All these were very well maintained and gave no warning of the problem. I also had a 95 Civic that went through brakes WAY too quickly-it could warp a rotor in no time. I have also noticed that they do not hold up over time and NC has good roads so it's just plain old cost cutting. Now my 81 Datsun 280ZX was a great car and was much more solid than the Honda's I've owned. It seems that Toyota's hold up better but I've noticed many of their interiors look cheap but I think they have worked on that recently.
Moderator :: Performance Mods
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,427
Likes: 8
From: A Den in Maryland
I have this image in my head of kenchan driving at night in his Subie projecting this giant shadow of a spider everywhere.
Quality is hit or miss no matter what you get these days. My MINI is not perfect, but it's held up better than most if some of these trouble threads are any indication. Hell, I still have my original '03 windshield.
My other daily car is a '00 Dodge Stratus ES. Car is loaded with options. Total problems with that car? One. A minor trans fluid leak that cost all of six dollars to fix. I've replaced brakes due to normal wear, a couple burned-out lamps, that sort of thing. I replaced the battery a couple months ago simply because it was over 7 years old. It was still going strong. It got the Optima Red Top I had in the MINI so I could stuff a bigger Yellow Top in instead!). I treated the car to a nice set of 17" wheels and tires last year. We deserved it.
I wish I could buy another vehicle that has been so trouble free. Same with my big old Dodge truck. Sadly, the new equivalents seem not to enjoy the record I had with these.
Quality is hit or miss no matter what you get these days. My MINI is not perfect, but it's held up better than most if some of these trouble threads are any indication. Hell, I still have my original '03 windshield.
My other daily car is a '00 Dodge Stratus ES. Car is loaded with options. Total problems with that car? One. A minor trans fluid leak that cost all of six dollars to fix. I've replaced brakes due to normal wear, a couple burned-out lamps, that sort of thing. I replaced the battery a couple months ago simply because it was over 7 years old. It was still going strong. It got the Optima Red Top I had in the MINI so I could stuff a bigger Yellow Top in instead!). I treated the car to a nice set of 17" wheels and tires last year. We deserved it.
I wish I could buy another vehicle that has been so trouble free. Same with my big old Dodge truck. Sadly, the new equivalents seem not to enjoy the record I had with these.
if they can fix this rattle and I throw in there a better battery, i thinkim set for now.
the Legacy was never that great with hvac. it drives nice and has a nice
upscale ride, but these minor design flaws and problems are wat makes a
subaru a subaru, i suppose. i doubt ill be getting another one. the AWD
is real nice thing to have in the winter.
i might turn into a chows and get a new Rav4 later on. still undecided vs
the A4 wagon.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,395
Likes: 0
From: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Ken, you can't have any of them, they're all MINE!!!! <plans 4000 car garage in head>
I love that car....
Both the MCSC and the 335 will go if necessary.....
<plans 4000 car garage in head>I love that car....
Both the MCSC and the 335 will go if necessary.....
i already gotz that horizontalstep ladder thingie to do detailing on SUV's.
i dont know, im not really into convertibles. that 335i coupe is next in line
as my hobby car.
Reverse Gear
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,472
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I drove a Z4M Coupe recently.
I am this close (holds fingers less then 1mm apart) from placing an order for one and have been for a couple of weeks.
There are only two things stopping me at the moment.....
1) I adore my MR2 Spyder on a sunny day with the roof back and my wife in the passenger seat.
2) I adore the relative stealth of my MCS.
If I get the Z4M Coupe, I will sell both the MCS and the MR2 Spyder, which would mean that my wife would be forced to trade her 325i in for a new 330i Cabrio - after all you gotta have a cabrio in SoCal...
So my $65K Z4M purcahse would actually be a $100K+ hit to my savings account...
Or I try to persuade my wife that I need the MCS for commuting, the MR2 for sunny days and the Z4M 'just because'.
It is fathers day soon though.........
I am this close (holds fingers less then 1mm apart) from placing an order for one and have been for a couple of weeks.
There are only two things stopping me at the moment.....
1) I adore my MR2 Spyder on a sunny day with the roof back and my wife in the passenger seat.
2) I adore the relative stealth of my MCS.
If I get the Z4M Coupe, I will sell both the MCS and the MR2 Spyder, which would mean that my wife would be forced to trade her 325i in for a new 330i Cabrio - after all you gotta have a cabrio in SoCal...
So my $65K Z4M purcahse would actually be a $100K+ hit to my savings account...
Or I try to persuade my wife that I need the MCS for commuting, the MR2 for sunny days and the Z4M 'just because'.
It is fathers day soon though.........
Banned
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,673
Likes: 2
06 Legacy (built in Indy)-
Dead spider inside the sealed projector headlight that the dealer
can't get out, and dealer reluctant to replace with a loaner's
headlight. I told them that's a defect ...im not asking for a
brand new headlight, but something equivalent...ITS A BRAND
NEW CAR I BOUGHT for crying out loud! help me out... the
swap takes no more than 30min.. no, they won't do it. :impatient
Dead spider inside the sealed projector headlight that the dealer
can't get out, and dealer reluctant to replace with a loaner's
headlight. I told them that's a defect ...im not asking for a
brand new headlight, but something equivalent...ITS A BRAND
NEW CAR I BOUGHT for crying out loud! help me out... the
swap takes no more than 30min.. no, they won't do it. :impatient
6th Gear
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,478
Likes: 2
Then again ... it won't have that fancy 3 years of free maintenaince (that you pay up front)
I worked for a Subaru dealer for a while and had to replace a headlight on a new Legacy. Not fun. Bumper cover, grille, turn signal, fender liner all had to be removed. Then the freakin light is held in by about 6 little screws you can't get to without slicing your arms on plastic. Took me about an hour and 15 minutes. Exp. Tech should take maybe 50-60. Warranty labor time i think pays 30 minutes.
understand why i hate subaru's for the most part. i got gauges on
the bumper where it meets the headlight and also a slightly bent fender
with cracked paint by the top of the headlight. i told the dealer about
it and they said bring it in. told the wife about it. wife was like, but i
need the car, no time for down time... so subaru got away with it for
this one. but i wont be buying another one so the hell with them.
another reason why i dont feel like bringing in the legacy to get the
lower vent actuator fixed. they'll probably bring out their prybar again
and pry all the dash bits off.
just terrible experience.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,395
Likes: 0
From: Virginia Beach, Virginia
I drove a Z4M Coupe recently.
I am this close (holds fingers less then 1mm apart) from placing an order for one and have been for a couple of weeks.
There are only two things stopping me at the moment.....
1) I adore my MR2 Spyder on a sunny day with the roof back and my wife in the passenger seat.
2) I adore the relative stealth of my MCS.
If I get the Z4M Coupe, I will sell both the MCS and the MR2 Spyder, which would mean that my wife would be forced to trade her 325i in for a new 330i Cabrio - after all you gotta have a cabrio in SoCal...
So my $65K Z4M purcahse would actually be a $100K+ hit to my savings account...
Or I try to persuade my wife that I need the MCS for commuting, the MR2 for sunny days and the Z4M 'just because'.
It is fathers day soon though.........
I am this close (holds fingers less then 1mm apart) from placing an order for one and have been for a couple of weeks.
There are only two things stopping me at the moment.....
1) I adore my MR2 Spyder on a sunny day with the roof back and my wife in the passenger seat.
2) I adore the relative stealth of my MCS.
If I get the Z4M Coupe, I will sell both the MCS and the MR2 Spyder, which would mean that my wife would be forced to trade her 325i in for a new 330i Cabrio - after all you gotta have a cabrio in SoCal...
So my $65K Z4M purcahse would actually be a $100K+ hit to my savings account...
Or I try to persuade my wife that I need the MCS for commuting, the MR2 for sunny days and the Z4M 'just because'.
It is fathers day soon though.........
it's a looker and a doer tho
Last edited by BartMack; May 16, 2007 at 03:34 PM.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,395
Likes: 0
From: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Max dude ... don't do it. For that kind of money you can get a Porsche. Every mag review will tell you which is better sports car. Am I bias? Maybe but you got to drive one first ... then decide. They are not even close. Just take a look at the lates Motor Trend test of the best handling car in the world.
Then again ... it won't have that fancy 3 years of free maintenaince (that you pay up front)
Then again ... it won't have that fancy 3 years of free maintenaince (that you pay up front)
But YES, they are droolworthy
[edit: especially the Cayman S IMO!!!... guards red or P silver, ooooooooooooo.....]
Last edited by BartMack; May 16, 2007 at 03:50 PM.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,478
Likes: 2
but Chows, Porkers are the absolute worst for taking your bank account to the dry cleaners.... maintenance costs are horrendous, and we now all know they make 6-7x more profit margin on every car sold than any other mainline make- (like $24k isn't it?) -and the closest runner up is BMW at $3-4k! .. and BMW is 4 years total maint. & warranty now, BTW.
But YES, they are droolworthy [edit: especially the Cayman S IMO!!!... guards red or P silver, ooooooooooooo.....]
But YES, they are droolworthy
[edit: especially the Cayman S IMO!!!... guards red or P silver, ooooooooooooo.....]Yes, Porsche AG is rolling in the $$. I don't know their profit margin but I've read its from the GT3/TT cars the most, not so much from the 987 cars. And, they just increased prices TODAY 0.5% on the 987 line, 1.5% on the 997 line and 2.2% for the TT effective 1 Aug.
Maintenance? Actually they are doing something about it. You think MINI's 10K miles between oil changes is too long? Porsche recommends 20K miles
Obviously most owners probably dont wait that long but they do wait a year mostly. There is actually very little maintenance to do. BUT, your right about repairs. You think RFs are expensive? You don't want to know how much a new tire is and you can't "patch" them, you MUST replace them. Thank the almighty I bought the Tire Insurance and wheels The worst are the Yellow Brakes ... $24K for new rotors ... way out of my league. I think most owners just view it as the price of ownership.The biggest thing is the ripoff, IMO, on options. PPL think MINI got a lot of options ... they have no clue as to "what a lot of options" truely is. You can basically get any customization you want (but no Ipod, sat radio, etc ... funny). But I agree ... they make money and are the best at it right now.
I probably sound like an advertisement:impatient I had a BMW 320IS years ago, liked it fine
... we are still looking to get a second generation MINI convertable when they come out ... the timing should be about right
Last edited by chows4us; May 16, 2007 at 04:19 PM.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,478
Likes: 2
Last edited by chows4us; May 17, 2007 at 12:34 PM.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,395
Likes: 0
From: Virginia Beach, Virginia
BTW Ken- we're not hijacking your thread, we're just trying to get your mind off of those aggravating dealer experiences!
Chows, that's nice.. I dig the silver. I honestly didn't know you had one (the Cayman)- but now that you mention the RAV4, I think I did hear that mentioned a few times in various & sundry threads
Chows, that's nice.. I dig the silver.
I honestly didn't know you had one (the Cayman)- but now that you mention the RAV4, I think I did hear that mentioned a few times in various & sundry threads
6th Gear
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,478
Likes: 2
Last edited by chows4us; May 24, 2007 at 03:12 PM.
Bart- considering that I need to get up at 6:30am to drop off my civic, (a nuesance) please hi-jack more about fun cars like porsches and bimmers.
And I'm still out of the country... Hope I get home tonight.
And I'm still out of the country... Hope I get home tonight.