3rd Dec 2009, 09:06

I agree with the above comments. 2008 Honda Civic is a gem. Great car! Great gas mileage. Handles great and a smooth ride. Mechanically speaking it's perfect! The transmission is very smooth. Quiet for a smaller car. Good power for a 4cyl. Interior-Exterior very stylish.

Downsides...the interior is very soft and scratches easily, especially the inside doors. The exterior rusts where there are stones chips. And the car is average at best in the winter (even with winter tires).

3rd Dec 2009, 16:06

http://automobiles.honda.com/mile-makers/story.aspx?Story=783

Take a look at this webpage to get the story on a man with an Accord that has over 900,000 miles on it. It's completely original! I don't know where you domestic lovers come up with these stories of unreliable Honda's.

4th Dec 2009, 14:47

I love it! The guy in the article considers himself a "Patriotic American" too - just like the Fusion Guy!

4th Dec 2009, 20:44

"I don't know where you domestic lovers come up with these stories of unreliable Honda's."

Probably from having OWNED one. Our Honda was the most poorly built and unreliable car we have ever owned. Also, I take it that you are unaware of Honda's "Transmission of the Month" club. Check out all the Honda/Acura transmission nightmares on this and other sites.

5th Dec 2009, 11:56

I'm sorry to hear that you fell for the myth that Japanese cars need no maintenance. I always have my Honda's regularly serviced (which includes oil changes every 3,000, transmission fluid changes every 60,000, and brakes pads when necessary. I usually get about 100,000 out of my pads.) Those have been the only things I've had done to all my Honda's over the years. Well tires as well, but those will need replacing on any vehicle. All my Honda's have made over 250,000 miles with zero out of the ordinary repairs. Oh wait I take that back, my 3rd Honda required a new muffler at 200,000 miles because I bottomed it out over a speed bump.

5th Dec 2009, 18:08

Typical biased domestic lover comment, simply stating their Honda was the "most poorly built vehicle we've ever owned". Extremely overused, and of course it gives no information on what made their Honda so unreliable. Although the most likely cause is lack of maintenance. Other possibility is they are just so biased against them they feel the need to mud sling.

I'm not partial to any vehicle make myself, but out of all the cars I have owned (3 Honda's, 2 Dodge's, 3 Ford's, 1 Toyota and 1 Chevy) my Honda's have been the best by far. My worst vehicle was the 1 Chevrolet that I owned. I simply buy the best deal at the time. I drive all my vehicles to at least 150,000 miles (out of the original parts if I can.) Only vehicles that made even that mileage on original engine and trans. were all 3 of my Honda's and 1 of my Dodge's. My personal record for highest mileage is 506,000 miles on my first Honda (completely original, traded in on my first Chevy while it was still in perfect running condition.) Lowest mileage record is 43,000 miles on my Chevrolet (required new engine.)

6th Dec 2009, 10:19

"All my Honda's have made over 250,000 miles with zero out of the ordinary repairs"

Since "ordinary repairs" on our Honda included engine and transmission replacements, I guess we could say the same.

6th Dec 2009, 10:52

Once again I'll relate that to lack of maintenance. My ordinary repairs included oil changes (every 3,000) spark plugs (every 50,000) transmission fluid changes (every 60,000) timing belts (every 75,000) brake pads (usually every 100,000 or so) and tires (depended on the brand I bought, some lasted longer than others.)

As for my domestics, well I guess if replacing intake manifolds, alternators, transmissions and brakes every 30,000 miles, and renting a car at least twice a month while my car is in for repairs is normal, then I guess I was doing pretty darn good. Although I'll admit, I did get to rent some pretty nice vehicles.

6th Dec 2009, 11:19

I'm truly interested to know what these domestics were. Every American car I ever owned went past 200,000 miles on the original engine and transmission. I have not replaced an alternator or starter on any vehicle since model year 1985, at 205,000 miles (that was a Dodge truck that was still running at 260,000 miles). I have NEVER replaced an intake manifold. And brakes have only been replaced every 60,000-100,000 miles on any car I've owned since the 1964 model year. You certainly paint a sad tale of woe, but it's not a point of view that I can support from my own experiences.

6th Dec 2009, 19:35

I'm a senior citizen from a family of car enthusiasts. I was given my first car when I was 15. It was a Ford with well over 100,000 miles on it. I drove it until I graduated from high school. Never a single problem, and that with a kid driving it who dogged the living daylights out of it.

Since then we have owned over 40 cars (we own 3 to 5 at any given time). All but three were domestics (from all three U.S. companies and one vintage Studebaker Lark coupe).

None of these vehicles ever required any repairs. We drove several of each maker's products more than 200,000 miles. We have never had a single repair of ANY kind on ANY domestic vehicle before 100,000 miles (I guess that's one reason GM can easily afford to warranty their cars that long). My family currently owns a 55-year-old GM car with original engine and transmission. The engine HAS been rebuilt once in the time we've owned it. The 4-speed hydramatic transmission has never been touched. We also own a 40-year-old Dodge and a 43-year-old Dodge. Last year we sold a 33-year-old Buick LeSabre with 277,000 miles on it. it had never had ANY repairs except 3 brake jobs, hoses, belts and batteries. Our current GM and Ford vehicles are 9, 7 and 3 years old. Not a one of them has even had so much as brake pads replaced (and that includes one with well over 80,000 miles on it).

On the flip side, our 3 imports (1 German, 2 Japanese) never even LASTED 100,000 miles. The German VW blew up at just over 85,000 miles. The Mazda (a mid-80's built in Japan) was literally disintegrating, leaked oil, smoked, and had severe frame sagging (yes, FRAME SAGGING!!) when it was traded at 85,000 miles for a Ford with 139,000 miles. The Ford ran flawlessly for 3 years before we traded it. The Honda (A mid-80's Civic) was sold to a junk dealer with a blown engine at 99,000 miles. It had started falling apart at less than 40,000 miles and used a quart of oil every 500 miles at 50,000 miles.

Now ask me which I'd buy: Foreign or domestic?

7th Dec 2009, 12:00

It sounds like you are basing your opinion of imported cars on vehicles that were manufactured over two decades ago. I personally don't think that this is a good example of the reliability of imports on the market today. (Just as all domestic cars are not the poorly made vehicles that they were 25 and 30 years ago)

7th Dec 2009, 15:17

OH PLEASE!!! First import fans rant about how the imports were so much "better" than domestics years ago, then when someone gives a clear example to the contrary, all of a sudden it's "The NEW ones are better". Have you guys actually read about all the recalls Toyota is having and how their reliability has gone totally to pieces? Or about Honda/Acuras transmission issues? GIVE US A BREAK!!

The two top-rated cars in reliability in the world are made by Ford and GM.