2006 Honda Civic

[MrsPete]

I'm car shopping, and the 2006 Honda Civic is at the top of my list. Any experience with this car? The salesman told me he's getting 42 MPG in the city instead of the 30 city/40 highway MPG that's listed on the sticker, but I suspect he's full of crap. Can anyone share what type of mileage you're actually getting?

Anyone bought an EX 4-door model (that's the nicer-without-being-over-the-top version, some upgrades and a moonroof)? If so, I'd love to know what price you were able to negotiate. I have cash, but I want to hold onto as much of it as I can. I have a trade too, but I don't think it's worth much.

We're the buy-a-good-car-take-good-care-of-it-and-drive-it-forever type.

When do the 2007s come out? I don't have to have this car immediately -- would I be better off to wait until the new models come out?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

 

[jillyjoey]

In response to gas mileage :I don't have a Honda but I bought a new car last year and found out I get better gas mileage than was listed on the sticker. When I took the car in for an oil change, I told the salesman that I was getting better gas mileage on the hwy than the sticker showed. He told me that every car has a "sweet spot" usually around 60-61 mph that you will get ultimate gas mileage. Anyway, I totally test this theory out and I will set my cruise at 61 and I can get up to 6 miles more per gallon than advertised.

 

[Skatermom23]

I don't know about the gas mileage on the 2006 but we are on our second Honda Civic EX 4 door and just love this model! It gets good mileage (DH drives a ton each day) and holds up nice with little maintenance. I suggest going to Edmunds.com and pull up the model and put in your zip code and it will tell you what the price is that others in your area are paying for this car. The nice thing about the Civic EX is there are no options etc, so you don't get into confusing price issues. You can also use this as your base and just email several Honda dealers in the area and see who gives you the best rate on the color you want. I love to buy Hondas, it is so straight forward!

 

[arminnie]

In response to gas mileage :I don't have a Honda but I bought a new car last year and found out I get better gas mileage than was listed on the sticker.

Me too but only by a mile or two on a Vibe. My sister has an '05 Accord and gets in the mid to high 30s so I would expect the Civic to do a little better.

It's hard to go wrong with a Honda - you can keep them forever. The EX is a good choice.

I would go to http://www.edmunds.com/ and http://www.kbb.com/ to see what cars are going for in your area.

As for the '05 vs '06 I guess it depends on whether they are making any major changes to the model. The '05 Odyssey was a major change and dealers were rarely coming down off of sticker sometimes even adding a premium because the cars were in such demand. I just bought my dad an '06 Odyssey and we got a couple of thousand off the sticker price plus an offer for 3.9 financing.

 

[robinb]

I am also car shopping and had a salesman tell me that the SUV he was trying to push got much better gas mileage than the sticker. I think I said "Oh, come on!" and he replied "It depends how you drive it". While that is true, I am not a granny driver, LOL. It would kill me to do 61 MPH which is under the speed limit when I could drive my usual 74 MPH. I don't care if I get 4 MPH more. I would be a few cents richer, but a few cans short of a six-pack when I got to my destination.

The only way that you can compare gas mileage is to compare the sticker averages. If you are a granny driver you are likely to get better gas mileage no matter which care you drive. If you're an agressive driver, you will get worse gas mileage no matter which car you drive. Don't let the sales-critter bamboozle you.

ETA: The Honda CR-V is on my short list .

 

[spiceycat]

I drive fast - my Honda Civic Lx is 2000 model - he gets 28 mph in town and yes I do a ton of short stops - I live 2.5 miles from work up hill both ways (which is why I don't walk it).

on the highway (when I go to WDW) he gets 32 to 38 mph. I don't go under 70 most of the trip and I stop at reststop (very bad on gas mileage not to mention time) - fairly often. I travel with my 84 mother and my 20 year old cat - both of which need rest stops.... I set the cruise control at 76mph - but I probably do 80 to 85 much more than I should....

go I get my much better gas mileage if I put the car on cruise control and leave it there....I don't - but if I could I would probably be getting 40 mph.

 

[shades]

I'm a loyal customer to Honda and have owned 2 Accords and 1 Civic and I wouldn't own another Civic just because of lack of power and no solid feeling (the car sounded like a tin can when I closed the very light weight doors). I'm referring to the 2005 models - maybe they have changed since then...however...here's my story:

Last year, we were in the market for 2 new cars and I had decided I wanted the Honda Civic EX/Special Edition. The special edition model added fancier wheels, a spoiler, an in-dash 6-cd stereo, and a leather wrapped steering wheel - all for a price that was much less than adding the spoiler alone to the regular EX model. Everything else on the car was exactly the same as the standard EX and it ran the price up about another $1000. I owned this brand new car for about 3 weeks and decided the car didn't have enough power (get up and go) and began shopping for a car with a bigger engine. I like to have a car that I feel confident can enter traffic on a highway at a speed fast enough that I don't get run into. The civic seemed to struggle at this a bit, IMHO. I also didn't like that the doors were so lightweight and sounded hollow like a tin can - the door handles also weren't attached very well. I did trade my Civic in for another car with a Honda motor and am very pleased with it. My previous Honda cars were an older 1985 Accord and a 2001 Accord coupe.

As far as buying and dealing - what works for us is to do some research on the internet and find the actual dealer's invoice cost of each model of car you are considering. Do the same for any extras you may want to add on (spoiler, fog lights, mudflaps, etc.) The dealer will not deal much on the add ons because there is still installation involved - so, you will have to really work hard for these discounts. As far as the car is concerned, we offer $500 above dealer's invoice and we stick to it. That's top we will pay for the car. Tell the salesperson that everybody knows what a dealer pays for a car and understand they need to make a profit - but, $500 (or, where ever you want to start the bargaining at - the Honda dealer took our offer immediately - so, next time I'm going to start lower and be sure to be there on the last day of the month 'cause all sales run by the month) is all that you are willing to pay. There may be a couple of obvious fees you will have to pay - I can't recall at the moment - but - it shouldn't be much. Definitely, do not pay for the dealer prep or at least tell them to split it. If they get insistant, ask them what "dealer prep" is for - washing the car, inspecting it?? We never pay dealer's prep on our cars. Just be sure to have a couple of copies printed out on the dealer's "actual" invoice (not the price on the sticker on the car windows;o).

The other thing I'd suggest is that you test drive one of each models of Civics. The cheaper (more basic) the Civic, the less engine/power you will be driving. The hybrid Civic has the least amount of get up and go and I didn't even drive it after driving the $14,000 regular civic. If you drive an automatic and a manual-stick of the same model, the one with the stick-shift will feel peppier because of the additional control you will have over acceleration.

Good luck and have fun car shopping!!

 

[tinaluis]

We generally average about 37 mpg/hwy on our 2005 Civic LX (and the sticker said 29 city/39 hwy). I agree with others about internet shopping for the car. Once you decide on the model you want, use the internet to your advantage. We got several "rock bottom" quotes from dealers and it was amazing how they varied from dealer to dealer. I was very honest with them up front -- I told them I was shopping around for the best price and the best price would get it. We were paying cash so we weren't swayed by finance offers or anything like that. We'd spent a lot of time with a particular dealer, but another dealer was able to beat their price by $250. In fairness, DH called the first dealer and asked if he could match the lower price but he said he couldn't. He called back about a week later and asked if we were ready to come in to pick up our car. We told him we already had our car. He seemed taken aback and asked why we didn't allow him to at least match the price when I reminded him that DH had, in fact, called and he said "no go". All in all, we're very happy with our Civic. It's not the fastest car on the road, but it is plenty fast for us. It is, after all, a 4 cylinder motor. Of course, a 6 cyl. can smoke it, but we wanted a 4 cyl for the fuel efficiency. Good luck with your decision. You can never go wrong with a Honda!

ETA: I think the 2007 models come out near the middle of the summer. Deals on the 2007 models may be a little harder to come by, though, because they're more anxious to move the older models. We considered the 2005 EX "special" edition but nixed that idea when the only one on the dealer's lot was up on blocks becuase someone had come in and stolen the rims.

 

[shades]

We generally average about 37 mpg/hwy on our 2005 Civic LX (and the sticker said 29 city/39 hwy). I agree with others about internet shopping for the car. Once you decide on the model you want, use the internet to your advantage. We got several "rock bottom" quotes from dealers and it was amazing how they varied from dealer to dealer. I was very honest with them up front -- I told them I was shopping around for the best price and the best price would get it. We were paying cash so we weren't swayed by finance offers or anything like that. We'd spent a lot of time with a particular dealer, but another dealer was able to beat their price by $250. In fairness, DH called the first dealer and asked if he could match the lower price but he said he couldn't. He called back about a week later and asked if we were ready to come in to pick up our car. We told him we already had our car. He seemed taken aback and asked why we didn't allow him to at least match the price when I reminded him that DH had, in fact, called and he said "no go". All in all, we're very happy with our Civic. It's not the fastest car on the road, but it is plenty fast for us. It is, after all, a 4 cylinder motor. Of course, a 6 cyl. can smoke it, but we wanted a 4 cyl for the fuel efficiency. Good luck with your decision. You can never go wrong with a Honda!

ETA: I think the 2007 models come out near the middle of the summer. Deals on the 2007 models may be a little harder to come by, though, because they're more anxious to move the older models. We considered the 2005 EX "special" edition but nixed that idea when the only one on the dealer's lot was up on blocks becuase someone had come in and stolen the rims.

The rims were nice on the special edition Civic I had. We had just returned to the states from living overseas and had done all of our car research online. There weren't many salespeople who knew very much about the special ed Civics because they didn't have any on their lots. I guess Honda didn't make very many special ed models?? We just happened to walk to lot where the dealer put their new arrivals that hadn't been through "dealer prep" yet and found the only SE Civic in the state and it was in the color I wanted - dark grey. I drove it and bought it right then and there. I do like the style of the 2006 Civics - reminds me of the Accord Coupe I used to have.

 

[rcpae]

I don't know if I can be much help...but I think my hubby could. I will ask him some of these questions when he gets home from work tonight. He works at the Honda manufacturing plant in Marysville, OH.

Good luck! I HATE dealing with car dealerships and salesman. My DH actually prefers me to handle to negotiations since I am a little tighter than he is. As a female I go in expecting to have to play tough.

 

[kandeebunny]

I have a 96 Honda civic and I love that car! It is still running well (mind you it is 10 years old) and has 150 thousand miles on it! I am 22 and drive like it yet I get 30-35 mpg (really good considdering the extra parts I have in it) It requires very little maintence (oil/fluid/belt/plug changes) mostly routiene stuff!!! I wish I could afford a new one, because I would so buy one, but it isn't really needed as my car is still running great (it is an ex 2 door model) I had a toyota Rav-4 before this...my alternator went after 60k miles, this car is still on the original!!!

 

[MrsPete]

I would go to http://www.edmunds.com/ and http://www.kbb.com/ to see what cars are going for in your area.

Hmmm . . . lots of people suggesting this edmunds place -- I don't know anything about that, but I'll check it out.

Does Consumer Reports still sell invoice information? I don't really believe anything the car dealers tell me.

 

[MrsPete]

Once you decide on the model you want, use the internet to your advantage. We got several "rock bottom" quotes from dealers and it was amazing how they varied from dealer to dealer. I was very honest with them up front -- I told them I was shopping around for the best price and the best price would get it . . .

ETA: I think the 2007 models come out near the middle of the summer. Deals on the 2007 models may be a little harder to come by, though, because they're more anxious to move the older models.

Yep, I'm definitely going to do this -- once I decide which vehicle I want. I was already fairly well sold on the Honda, and this thread is validating that opinion.

Thanks for the info on when the 2007s come out. I'm hoping to wait until they come out, then scoop up a 2006 at a good price, but since we don't really follow car prices, I'd forgotten what time of year that happens! We're not desperate for a car, so I can easily wait until the middle/end of summer.

 

[MrsPete]

My DH actually prefers me to handle to negotiations since I am a little tighter than he is. As a female I go in expecting to have to play tough.

Yeah, I'm a pretty good negotiator, whereas DH just wants to get it over with.

 

[FINFAN]

I thought that the '05 did not have the side airbags standard and the '06 do....just something to check into. Helps with insurance too.

Pam

 

[DMRick]

Maybe the salesman is driving a standard?

Our 2006 Corolla is getting about 4 miles a mile more than the sticker. I'm not as fond of this car as I have been past years. Wish I had paid more and got the Subaru.

We also use edmunds for all our car purchases. I can't say enouhg good about them.

 

[kfeuer]

We have an '04 Civic and haven't had any complaints about the power of it. We drive in heavy, stop and go traffic all the time and it still gets great gas mileage. I just love Hondas--my last Honda was an 89 model that we didn't replace until 2004. Even then, someone bought it who was going to replace the transmission and resell it (and I'm sure it had another 100,000 miles in it after the new transmission was put in, we were just ready to replace it). My parents have owned 3 different Hondas long-term and have never had a problem. I don't think we'll even look at another brand when it's time to get our next vehicle.

 

[shades]

Yep, I'm definitely going to do this -- once I decide which vehicle I want. I was already fairly well sold on the Honda, and this thread is validating that opinion.

Thanks for the info on when the 2007s come out. I'm hoping to wait until they come out, then scoop up a 2006 at a good price, but since we don't really follow car prices, I'd forgotten what time of year that happens! We're not desperate for a car, so I can easily wait until the middle/end of summer.

Here's a link with dealer's costs listed: http://www.automotive.com/2006/12/honda/civic/pricing/index.html

Trim MSRP Invoice Destination Internet Price
2006 DX FWD 2-Dr Coupe L4 $14,560 $13,134 $550 Get My Price!
2006 DX FWD 4-Dr Sedan L4 $14,760 $13,317 $550 Get My Price!
2006 EX FWD 2-Dr Coupe L4 $18,460 $16,692 $550 Get My Price!
2006 EX FWD 4-Dr Sedan L4 $18,460 $16,692 $550 Get My Price!
2006 Hybrid FWD 4-Dr Sedan L4 $22,150 $19,967 $550 Get My Price!
2006 LX FWD 2-Dr Coupe L4 $16,510 $14,913 $550 Get My Price!
2006 LX FWD 4-Dr Sedan L4 $16,710 $15,095 $550 Get My Price!
2006 SI FWD 2-Dr Hatchback L4 $20,290 $18,270 $550

If I'm remembering correctly, we did not pay the dealer's destination charge on the 1st car (we told the guy he can't sell something he doesn't have to sell;o) - but, dh wanted a model/color they didn't have on the lot and we paid about $450 shipping charge for the dealer to get the car for us from out of state.

Good luck!

 

[BananaButton]

Hi! I am mostly a lurker here, but I HAD to reply to your question. We bought a 2006 Civic EX 4 Door in Oct 2005. I think we paid around 19K for it total. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the car. I'm getting 34 MPG city driving routinely. The best I've gotten is 40 MPG which was highway driving. The car is wonderful, I love my sunroof (my first) and I would highly recommend it to you! This was our first Honda purchase, and I think I'll now be a Honda driver for life!!

 

[lajones81]

I have a 2004 Honda Civic EX. I absolutely LOVE my car! I have been so pleased with the gas mileage and service at my local dealership. The moonroof was an added bonus, as well! Good luck on your car search!