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xBeastx
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Ok...so I'm 14 right now, it's might be a little early to think about this, but I need some advice. I will be purchasing a Honda (of course) shortly after I turn 16 (which will be in January of 2014).
First of all: new or used?
I plan to keep this car for a loooooong time...hopefully reach 1,000,000 miles =D. But you get my point, I'm not one of those people that switch their car every year. I would like something more personal. For this reason, I kind of want to buy a new car.
Here are my choices:
2014 Honda Fit
2014 Honda Civic
The Civic will be refreshed for 2013, so there is no question about that. However, we are not quite as sure for the Fit. It went through an MMC this year. Based on my calculations, there is good chance that a new model will be introduced for Fall of 2013 as a 2014 MY. However, there is also a chance that the design will run for 3 years, which means I will have a choice of buying the last of the 2nd Gen Fits.
Trim Level
As mentioned before, I will use this car for as long as I can. This means I will not be upgrading to a more luxurious car even if I have the money. Because of this, I narrowed it down to this:
2014 Honda Civic EX Sedan
The EX trim gives me an amazing combo of features and value. While my family isn't rich, I can still afford the ~$20,000.
What are your thoughts on my decision? =D
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TonyEX
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Get a Honda Fit MT5.
Learn how to drive first..... best car to do so.
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atomiclightbulb
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I'm not sure anyone here can offer you good advice, because we don't know what the refreshed Civic and FMC Honda Fit will have in terms of powertrains, features, and overall design.
My advice is actually not to buy a brand new vehicle. Buy a beater that will get you through high school, college, and maybe grad school... 6-8 years of ownership.
My advice is actually to buy a Model Year 2009+ Honda Civic Si sedan (FA5) in 2014. Here's why:
+ This type of car will be about 5 years old in January 2014, and therefore not too costly.
+ It is a safe car. Front, side, and side curtain airbags. ACE body structure. Stability Control. Traction Control. ABS. Etc. Even though you would be getting a used car, you would sacrifice little in the way of modern safety features.
+ Engine. The K-series uses proven, reliable technology that should last a long time. The K20Z3 is the last of the high-revving Honda engines. There are tons of aftermarket parts if you decide you want to try modding.
+ Practicality of a sedan.
+ Transmission. A manual is much more engaging than an automatic.
+ 8G Civic Si is an icon of the Honda heritage.
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TonyEX
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atomiclightbulb wrote:
I'm not sure anyone here can offer you good advice, because we don't know what the refreshed Civic and FMC Honda Fit will have in terms of powertrains, features, and overall design.
My advice is actually not to buy a brand new vehicle. Buy a beater that will get you through high school, college, and maybe grad school... 6-8 years of ownership.
My advice is actually to buy a Model Year 2009+ Honda Civic Si sedan (FA5) in 2014. Here's why:
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16 year old.
Honda Civic Si.
Have you given a thought about the insurance?
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ClementZ
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TonyE wrote:
atomiclightbulb wrote:
I'm not sure anyone here can offer you good advice, because we don't know what the refreshed Civic and FMC Honda Fit will have in terms of powertrains, features, and overall design.
My advice is actually not to buy a brand new vehicle. Buy a beater that will get you through high school, college, and maybe grad school... 6-8 years of ownership.
My advice is actually to buy a Model Year 2009+ Honda Civic Si sedan (FA5) in 2014. Here's why:
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16 year old.
Honda Civic Si.
Have you given a thought about the insurance?
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This. Engine and transmission are good and all,
But as a 16 year old, insurance will be fairly high.
Perhaps a Civic EX of the same gen would be more...practical.
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TonyEX
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ClementZ wrote:
TonyE wrote:
atomiclightbulb wrote:
I'm not sure anyone here can offer you good advice, because we don't know what the refreshed Civic and FMC Honda Fit will have in terms of powertrains, features, and overall design.
My advice is actually not to buy a brand new vehicle. Buy a beater that will get you through high school, college, and maybe grad school... 6-8 years of ownership.
My advice is actually to buy a Model Year 2009+ Honda Civic Si sedan (FA5) in 2014. Here's why:
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16 year old.
Honda Civic Si.
Have you given a thought about the insurance?
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This. Engine and transmission are good and all,
But as a 16 year old, insurance will be fairly high.
Perhaps a Civic EX of the same gen would be more...practical.
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Fit will be cheaper. We have one of each.. OK.. the Si is still not here but my son will only be allowed to drive it occasionally and he's almost 20 years old (gulp!)... You ought to see the price of insurance on the Fit, it's sky high to begin with.. with the Si I could not afford him on it.
For a 16 year old, the best thing is to buy a used car that doesn't cost too much and if possible get only liability and uninsured motorist insurance.
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BachelorFrog
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OP is 14.
[meme]
Not sure if he is kidding or being serious....
[/meme]
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atomiclightbulb
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TonyE wrote:
atomiclightbulb wrote:
My advice is actually to buy a Model Year 2009+ Honda Civic Si sedan (FA5) in 2014. Here's why:
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16 year old.
Honda Civic Si.
Have you given a thought about the insurance?
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Insurance costs are a valid consideration.
Here are my thoughts with regards to the Si Sedan. It may not be as expensive to insure as one might expect. I don't know about the Si Coupe, since I never got quotes for one.
A few years ago, I got quotes from my insurance carrier for different kinds of Civics and Accords. To my surprise, the insurance rate for the Si Sedan was only marginally higher than a normal Civic Sedan. When I looked at the breakdown of costs for the coverage sub-types (collision, property damage, etc.), I noticed that the total premium was higher only because it cost more to insure the Si for collision (potential damage to the Si) and property damage coverage. There was virtually no difference in the insurance cost for liability, bodily injury, comprehensive, etc.
The quote for the Accord, the car I ultimately purchased, came in the lowest.
My insurance company apparently does not make much of a distinction between an Si sedan and EX sedan. To them, both cars look like similar 4-door Civics.
I think that for xAbSoLuTexZeRo, insurance will likely be high regardless of whether the purchase is a new 9G Civic EX or a new Honda Fit. A younger driver in a smaller car is usually expensive to cover.
As a general rule of thumb, smaller cars sustain much more damage in accidents than larger cars. The collision coverage for a smaller car like the Fit is going to be generally higher than an Accord. Also, the occupants of smaller cars like the Fit are more likely to sustain injuries than the occupants of something like an Accord.
If xAbSoLuTexZeRo is buying a brand new car, that car is going to have much more market value than a 5-year-old used car. It is generally more expensive to insure a higher cost item than a lower cost one.
There are so many variables at play that it's impossible to make a prediction exactly what the insurance will cost. In his geographic region, Si Sedans may not be very accident prone at all... or they could be terrors that cause lots of accidents.
But yes, insurance is again something that xAbSoLuTexZeRo should a good bit of research into before making a purchase.
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TonyEX
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BachelorFrog wrote:
OP is 14.
[meme]
Not sure if he is kidding or being serious....
[/meme]
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Regardless, the topic is interesting.
I just insured my 17 year old daughter.... trust me, we had to rearrange cars and drivers..... even so, my son went up 400 bucks a year and he's almost 20!
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atomiclightbulb
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ClementZ wrote:
This. Engine and transmission are good and all,
But as a 16 year old, insurance will be fairly high.
Perhaps a Civic EX of the same gen would be more...practical. |
Actually, now that I think about it even more, avoiding any kind of Civic or Fit might be the wisest move... depending on where xAbSoLuTexZeRo lives.
Accords and Camrys are dirt cheap to insure, because as a total fleet, the average age of drivers is much older. Plus the cars are bigger and generally protect their passengers a bit better.
Maybe a used 7G Accord with a 5MT? The K24 is as reliable as engines get, and paired with the 5MT, it's a good drive. I may be biased, seeing as this is what I bought :-D
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ClementZ
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atomiclightbulb wrote:
ClementZ wrote:
This. Engine and transmission are good and all,
But as a 16 year old, insurance will be fairly high.
Perhaps a Civic EX of the same gen would be more...practical. |
Actually, now that I think about it even more, avoiding any kind of Civic or Fit might be the wisest move... depending on where xAbSoLuTexZeRo lives.
Accords and Camrys are dirt cheap to insure, because as a total fleet, the average age of drivers is much older. Plus the cars are bigger and generally protect their passengers a bit better.
Maybe a used 7G Accord with a 5MT? The K24 is as reliable as engines get, and paired with the 5MT, it's a good drive. I may be biased, seeing as this is what I bought :-D
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Is the Civic seriously that much more expensive to insure than the Accord?
I'm turning 17, and if my dad gets the 9th gen Accord (and if I get a job), I'll be getting his old 7th gen Accord. But I was wanting something smaller.
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JimmyEats
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I'm with TonyE. A manual transmission is a must and the Fit will be fun to drive with a MT5.
My first car was a manual tranny Corolla and I'll never regret it. All the time I hear people say they don't know how to drive a manual transmission car. That's lame.
You'll always enjoy the memories and never regret learning. I'm not talking driving to 7-Eleven and back learning, but driving one everyday. You'll learn to drive and enjoy the interaction with your car.
One of the perks, if you own it for a long time, is you'll never have to jump start it. Just push it and once you're going, push the clutch in, pop it into 2nd gear, and the engine starts up. (It also starts in 1st, but then you'll have to upshift wicked fast. 2nd gear is smarter.) If you have starting problems, always aim it down hill when you park, and you're off without a push.
See what I mean, you'll learn to drive, not get between white lines and commute, but drive!!! Which is why you want a Honda afterall.
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TonyEX
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True.... the cost of insurance for an EX and Si SEDAN is not that much different.
We were planning to get an EX NAVI sedan but when I checked on the insurance it was like $1000 for the EX vs $1100 for the SI per year... with either wife and I as primary drivers. Hence we popped for the Si.
The price for the much more expensive TSX wagon Tech is roughly 100 bucks less a year.
Now then... if I put my son or daughter as primary drivers on either, the insurance was going to be way above 2500...
As it now stands, my son is running me $1800 on the Fit.. which is a 2009 Navi MT6 and is insured for $11K. Which sucks since he's putiing less than 7000 miles per year but the insurance's lowest tier is 12K miles.
My daughter, 17, is a lot cheaper, in the Civic Hybrid, at 12K miles, is $800 bucks.. but that's only liability and uninsured motorist. The hybrids are very expensive for comprehensive and collision insurance... even for older folks.
So, pay off your car, go with a reasonable coverage for liability and insured motorist and then spring for an umbrella policy.
If you crash the car... then you lose it... if they crash into you then you are insured.
That's way I think that any car over $20K is too expensive.... that's a lot of money to kiss off.
(If you were keeping track, my cost for car insurance has gone up to over $4400 per year...)
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rationull
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xAbSoLuTexZeRo wrote:... I'm not one of those people that switch their car every year. I would like something more personal. For this reason, I kind of want to buy a new car.
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(emphasis added)
Technically, you don't know that yet. I didn't think I was one of those people either, but I ended up keeping my first car for 3 years or so, then I had another for only about a year (older sports car, too much hassle for a daily driver), and then I ended up keeping my Civic for just a hair under 5 years. I love my current car since it blends together basically everything I want from a car with minimal compromise, but my wife doesn't quite believe that I'm going to keep it until the wheels fall off, and I have to admit based on my history it's too early for me to know that too.
I would recommend starting with a cheapish MT used car (the reasons for MT have been outlined by previous posters). Something that relies on "character" to be fun, not power. Something that won't endlessly bother you if it gets a little dinged up. Even if you can "afford" 20k, you might be better off saving some of that up front until you have been driving for a few years and have a better idea what you want out of a car. *Then* spend the money on something that you're more likely to actually want to hold on to for a while.
My perspective could be a little biased because I got a later start, while you're clearly already into cars. But IMO you won't really know what you're going to want until you've lived with something for a while, and a first car at 16 years old is not the best place to blow the $$ overhead on a new car.
More specifically, an older 5MT Fit would probably be a good car if you're predisposed to a Honda (which it sounds like you are, and given we're on ToV :)). Hatchbacks rule. *Do* pay attention to the advice on insurance in this thread. Differences can be quite arbitrary. IIRC the Fit is OK, but the insurance on my 07 Civic EX coupe was beyond unreasonable, IMO, and would've changed my mind at purchase time if I'd looked into it beforehand. This is another area where a used car will be superior in general.
Maybe after you've driven an older Fit (or whatever) for a few years you'll decide to switch to something a little different (nicer, sportier, bigger, whatever) for a change. It'll be a lot easier to do that if you spent $10k less on the car up front. Or, if you still love it, you have a great car to keep and extra money in the bank.
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Grace141
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I think the important considerations are what a new driver will be doing during the first five years of owning his/her first car. Picture the perfect car and then picture it again in a few years parked for days on end in college campus parking lots, along city street curbs, on driveways where "fun-loving" friends can decorate it. Living on campus means you can go for several days without seeing your car in the lot.
The perfect "get me to campus" school kid, outback, outdoors, bike rack, canoe rack, tote my friends and their dogs anywhere, "carry all of my belongings" Honda is a five-to-ten year old CRV. Reasonable maintenance, massive cargo room, cheap to run, great resale value and can handle some abuse.
How about an '05 or '06 CRV SE RT4WD with average miles modified to do what you want to do? End of the 2nd gen so the bugs were all worked out. Still common so colors are available. Most of the original owners took very good care of them as well.
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xBeastx
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BachelorFrog wrote:
OP is 14.
[meme]
Not sure if he is kidding or being serious....
[/meme]
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xBeastx
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I would love to get a MT, but my mother would say it's too much of a distraction.
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TonyEX
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xAbSoLuTexZeRo wrote:
I would love to get a MT, but my mother would say it's too much of a distraction.
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Hmm.. most mothers ALWAYS say that... except my wife to my son and then she ordered him the Fit Sport NAVI MT5 (which AHM soon withdrew).
Of course, it was ME who had to teach him how to shift, but now he's gotten quite good at it.
In essence, your mother is right. My son learnt how to drive in the Odyssey and got his driver's license in the van.
Then, and only then, we got him the Fit.
So, if your parents are willing, get yourself a low mileage Fit AT and drive it around. Then in a couple of years, go for a new Fit MT. Who knows, by then it may have an ED engine in it.
And, don't discount the utility of the Fit. It's all over the Civic and the CRV.
Hint- it's also the most fun. But don't tell your mom that.
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TLinTX
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Ha! If anything having a MT results in less of a distraction from texting, since your right hand will be (usually) occupied with the shifter.
I made my son get a 5-speed MT for his first car in part for that reason... the other reason being that no man should go through life not knowing how to drive a stick. When your buddy is too drunk to drive and he hands you the keys to his stick shift car/pickup/Jeep/whatever, you won't have any worries getting him home safely.
Plus a stick car is 100% more fun to drive. :-D
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atomiclightbulb
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xAbSoLuTexZeRo wrote:
I would love to get a MT, but my mother would say it's too much of a distraction. |
Exactly the opposite.
Manual transmissions prevent distraction, because they force the driver to concentrate on driving. You have to pay attention to your speed and engine RPMs. You have to look at the road ahead to anticipate when shifts may be needed. Forget about taking phone calls unless you have hands-free bluetooth. Texting or doing any non-driving task that requires manual dexterity is all but impossible.
Someone driving a manual IMO is generally much safer than someone driving an automatic. Automatics have their merits. Some people have physical disabilities that might preclude them from operating a clutch pedal, and other people might face traffic conditions that make a manual very tiresome. However, I think that anyone who likes to drive should at least try owning a manual transmission car, even if they don't blast through corners or go to the track to compete.
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