Used Honda Civic (2012) vs Honda City (2014 / 2015)

[sugar]

Hello everyone,

I am here to buy a USED car as an upgrade from Maruti Swift to a sedan.
My budget is flexible and i only want a petrol car.
I want a fuss free car so i have settled for HONDA.
However, my confusion lies between the newly launched (previous year) Honda City vs the good old discontinued Honda Civic.

The new city is as fast as honda civic (0-100 9.5secs) and both are proven workhorses. It also has better FE. Both are high revving natured.
The civic has better looks, lower FE.

What else are the pros and cons of each car ? While the pre owned civic is available for 4-5 lacs, the new city costs 9-10 Lacs for a pre-owned specimen.

Please fish me out of this soup experts.

Thanks !!

 

[ice_wise]

2012 Civic vs 2014/2015 City

A used Civic I would say. The 4th generation of the City has come out as a very troublsome launch with lots of minor and constant niggles. And thay may be one reason why you would be able to find one very easily.

Civic is a proven workhorse (unlike current generation City, which is different from previous City generations and was launched last year only) and is a bang for the buck for second hand car buyers. You must check spare parts price list from Honda ASS and local garages to get an idea of what level of maintenance the car will demand. Civic looks way better and elegant than the 2014 City, is from a segment above actually and is spacious (except boot). Try finding a pristine condition 2012 model with less miles on the odometer. Check the complete service history and do consider upcoming maintenance charges before finalising a deal. Check for underbody and running boards as GC was a common problem with Civic and it would have had a few underbody hits for sure. Stay away from modified cars, alloys and lights are fine but anything with performance and overdone mods should be avoided. You will enjoy the high revving nature in this car, and it is very refined even in front of current offerings. Check for boot/underbody rusting also, although no specific cases related to this problem have come out but many buyers often overlook this.

 

[sugar]

Re: 2012 Civic vs 2014/2015 City

A used Civic I would say. The 4th generation of the City has come out as a very troublsome launch with lots of minor and constant niggles. And thay may be one reason why you would be able to find one very easily.

Civic is a proven workhorse (unlike current generation City, which is different from previous City generations and was launched last year only) and is a bang for the buck for second hand car buyers. You must check spare parts price list from Honda ASS and local garages to get an idea of what level of maintenance the car will demand. Civic looks way better and elegant than the 2014 City, is from a segment above actually and is spacious (except boot). Try finding a pristine condition 2012 model with less miles on the odometer. Check the complete service history and do consider upcoming maintenance charges before finalising a deal. Check for underbody and running boards as GC was a common problem with Civic and it would have had a few underbody hits for sure. Stay away from modified cars, alloys and lights are fine but anything with performance and overdone mods should be avoided. You will enjoy the high revving nature in this car, and it is very refined even in front of current offerings. Check for boot/underbody rusting also, although no specific cases related to this problem have come out but many buyers often overlook this.

Thanks for the quick reply but what kind of niggles/problems in the latest city avatar? please elaborate.
thanks.

 

[allhyundaicars]

Re: 2012 Civic vs 2014/2015 City

. dashboard rattle , uneven panel gaps , alternator grinding noise etc were reported but city owners said these have been rectified.

the only thing that i dont like is people blindly going in for the city.

honda is not the same as it used to be.

coming back to the topic. if you have the budget go for a new car between city / ciaz / verna.
i'd have included rapid but don't know about the petrol's engine performance.

i too love the civic but the only thing that will keep me away is the costly parts that will need replacing in the near future.

if you bùy a new car you don't have to think about replacing any part atleast for 2 years.

you will get the civic at less than half its actual price but the part's cost will remain the same.

 

[TSIVipul]

Re: 2012 Civic vs 2014/2015 City

If the fuss free car is the main criterion then why shouldn't be a used Toyota Corolla Altis in the list? The car is a proven workhorse, dirt low maintenance, good and reliable underpinnings, an engine that is well tunes for overall drivability and brilliant seating comfort with a higher ground clearance.
Civic is good but since it's discontinued for now, that drags me away from it.
City has ridiculously high resale value for what this new Honda costs.

 

[ice_wise]

Thanks for the quick reply but what kind of niggles/problems in the latest city avatar? please elaborate.
thanks.

1. Grinding noise from alternator in the petrol version
2. Water entry in light housings
3. Water leaks in cabin
4. Car changes direction at speeds
5. Rattles from dashboard and other plastic trims
6. Uneven panel gaps
7. Grinding noise from clutch
8. Vibrations felt in pedals when horn is used
9. Extremely poor illumination of stock headlamps, poor backseat support
10. Piano black finish peeling off
11. Dead pedal, ORVM, door beading, licence plate light cover (lens) falling off during normal use
12. Clicking sound from the tranny and hard gear shifts
13. Wrong MIC positioning leading the BT feature useless
14. Power window and remote key working issues
15. Poor paint quality for a 10 Lac rupee car, paint has orange peel effect on new cars

I hope these were enough for you to stay away. I am still voting for the Civic.

 

[Sarath01]

@ice_wise

Since you are very new to the forum, Drive my car and if you find a single issue above posted, I'll quit this forum. Do you think civic has no issues at all ?

@sugar(name?)

As you said, Honda have a good history of Asc,low maintanence in the long run,spares availability etc next to Maruti I should add!! Regarding civic , it is a segment above City so is the parts and service cost !! Yes it will be high !! You ll have to find a very well maintained car for the peace of mind avoiding any surprises. I don't think believe what others say !! Do watch out for GC, as its a major setback in civic when loaded with passengers and luggage. Altis is also good as a car but cannot match civic's 1.8 .

 

[ice_wise]

@ice_wise

Since you are very new to the forum, Drive my car and if you find a single issue above posted, I'll quit this forum. Do you think civic has no issues at all ?

No brother no need of quitting the forum. My view is that many 4th gen City cars (yours is an exception I believe and I congratulate you for that) from Honda were having these problems and if a 2014 car is up for sale in 2015, I would safely assume that the owner would have faced more than one of the above problems to incur that huge loss of selling a new car. The fact that you own a trouble free 4th Gen City doesn't mean that all the City cars are trouble freem I have posted these issues after reading about it on various ownership threads all over the internet. I am generalising and not exactly pointing out that City is a car to totally avoid, but in the second hand market, I would ignore it any time. For instance, Safari's are generally taken as having constant niggles but it is not the case with every Safari, there are some exceptions. I mean no offence.

Civic, I had mentioned in my post, is bad for underbody hits, maintenance, spare part availability. Just that a used Civic at 4 Lacs more appealing to me personally over a "USED" 2014 City at 8-9 Lacs.

 

[Sarath01]

Civic, I had mentioned in my post, is bad for underbody hits, maintenance, spare part availability. Just that a used Civic at 4 Lacs more appealing to me personally over a "USED" 2014 City at 8-9 Lacs.

None taken. True, civic would tempt me too but should consider its a stopped model !! You will never know what will happen in a used car. Also FE will be in single digit when you revv hard ☺.

 

[Akash1886]

4. Car changes direction at speeds

I am assuming from your words above that 4th gen CITY has some issue of driving at high speed. I do hope you don't mean your above words in literal sense. Of-course if you can elaborate, it would be nice.

Regards

Akash

 

[ice_wise]

I am assuming from your words above that 4th gen CITY has some issue of driving at high speed. I do hope you don't mean your above words in literal sense. Of-course if you can elaborate, it would be nice.

Regards

Akash

I had driven my friend's Diesel City some time back. He was fed up of the car as there had been a water leakage issue and brake pads had to be changed, in an 8k km run car. I was on the driver's seat when this direction change (swaying) happened, at speeds of 80 kmph constant (no acceleration). The direction did not literally changed but the car was moving to one direction which needed to be constantly corrected. The steering felt to be pushing towards the left when held loose and the car was moving towards the left (even with straight steering). Honda ASS suspected the culprit to be tie rod ends but it was not. They got the alignment done (free of cost) at their workshop twice but it didn't help. Later my friend upgraded the tyre size and the issue is solved now, after a couple of alignment sessions from outside FNGs.

The change in direction was really less (sorry but I couldn't find a better word than "Swaying" or "Shimmying" due to my limited English knowledge) but definitely noticeable by the driver. It is similar to the torque steer we have in Bolero's and some other SUVs but in the City's case, the steering vibrations were without any hard acceleration input.

 

[Akash1886]

I had driven my friend's Diesel City some time back. He was fed up of the car as there had been a water leakage issue and brake pads had to be changed, in an 8k km run car.

Oh! he has the diesel 4th gen CITY. Water leakage was from which area? About brake pads being worn out, I believe that could have occurred due to poor alignment may be. What's his driving like? As in like, primarily on highway or city roads too?

I was on the driver's seat when this direction change (swaying) happened, at speeds of 80 kmph constant (no acceleration). The direction did not literally changed but the car was moving to one direction which needed to be constantly corrected. The steering felt to be pushing towards the left when held loose and the car was moving towards the left (even with straight steering). Honda ASS suspected the culprit to be tie rod ends but it was not. They got the alignment done (free of cost) at their workshop twice but it didn't help. Later my friend upgraded the tyre size and the issue is solved now, after a couple of alignment sessions from outside FNGs.

To an extent I agree with the Tyre under-size of CITY. Being an owner of 3rd gen CITY. Is the car having 175 section tyre? What size upgrade did your friend do? Also, while driving did the car ever went over a big pothole or bump?

The change in direction was really less (sorry but I couldn't find a better word than "Swaying" or "Shimmying" due to my limited English knowledge) but definitely noticeable by the driver.

No issues but swaying is certainly a good word. Deviation would have been a better word though.

Regards

Akash

 

[ice_wise]

Oh! he has the diesel 4th gen CITY. Water leakage was from which area? About brake pads being worn out, I believe that could have occurred due to poor alignment may be. What's his driving like? As in like, primarily on highway or city roads too?

To an extent I agree with the Tyre under-size of CITY. Being an owner of 3rd gen CITY. Is the car having 175 section tyre? What size upgrade did your friend do? Also, while driving did the car ever went over a big pothole or bump?

Water leakage was from the lower part of the B pillar (below seatbelt area on the co-driver's side) and guys at Honda ASS blamed the ICE install (aftermarket speakers) to have caused damage to the body, resulting in water seepage. Later it was found that the door beading was loose and it resulted in water seepage during rains, due to which the carpet became wet everytime. My friend had to incur the labour charges of getting the wiring and speaker placement redone (new spacers, laying wires again and checking for any damage) from his own pocket as he blindly believed Honda ASS at that time (first encounter). A month later, at around 7k on the odometer, he started hearing a sound from the front discs while braking. He showed it to the ASS and they recommended changing brake liners (IIRC), surprisingly for the rear brakes and nothing for the front! It was not covered under warranty (wear and tear part, I assume) and the problem still existed. Showed it to an FNG at ~8k kms on the odometer and they were very surprised when they came to know that brake pads needed replacement. We decided to approach Honda for the replacement as the car was fairly new and giving to an FNG for brake work was a risky thing. He was charged for the brake pads and the guys at ASS were like "This is normal. We have done other cars also at even lesser odometer readings".

His driving style is sedate, doesn't like hard braking or hard acceleration but drives fast (50-70 kph average in city and 100+ on highways). Driving is mostly on highways on well-paved roads.

The car was on stock tyres when this "swaying" issue occured. Now he changed to Continental 195/55 on same alloys. Stock tyres were Bridgestone I think. About the car hitting a pothole, I cannot say anything as this is my friend's car.

 

[TSIVipul]

@Sugar:
I would still suggest you looking for a Corolla Altis given that your requirement is a fuss free car with decent comfort. Civic, no matter how good was or what gem of engine it had, it's still a discontinued car and used car means you never know when a spare goes kaput. No doubt the engine is great but the FE will never be higher than 13-14 kpl and will easily fell down to 7-8 kpl for both City as well as Civic whenever you will drive that 0-100 in 9.5 second style.
Corolla, although not as fun filled as Civic (I won't even bother to talk about City) but still offers a decent compromise of everything. The engine is better tuned for overall drivability and hence lower as well as mid range is quite responsive. Maintenance is dirt cheap and you can easily find a good example in used car market for 6-7 lac.

 

[harry10]

I have a Idtec June 2014 model.
It's at 28000 km right now with 30k service approaching soon.
None of the mentioned issues have been experienced by me.

No water leakage.
No swaying at any speed (last month on panipat Highway it touched 155kmpl)
Brake pads when checked at 20k service were doing fine though I may get them changed at 30k service just for my peace of mind.
No Plano black finish peeling off.. Few scratches but that's my drivers mistake.
Power windows and remote key have been working fine.
No rattling from dashboard till now.

Few things I don't like-
Headlamps aren't as powerful as they should be. Seems to be a trend with all manufacturers these days with inadequate Headlamps.
Gears are harder than they should be which needs to be corrected in next service.

All in all I'm quite satisfied till now with my purchase.
Also, Mileage is awesome and so is the ACC