Civic Si against the competition?

From what I've seen here in DFW, they tend to be about 3-5K more for the base.
 
Strange, considering starting MSRP is only about a $1500 difference. A lot depends on when you're buying the car. Right after the new models release, you'll be likely paying above MSRP. Waiting until the end of the year when they're about to release the new models and you'll pay less than MSRP.
 
Newer VWs do not share all of the same reliability woes as VWs of the past did. They have gotten A LOT better. Mk6 GTIs are very nice cars and can be made quick for relatively cheap. Couple that with the best interior in its class and you really can't go wrong.

Just curious, but what features did the Si you get have that the base GTI didn't? My friend has a base 2012 GTI and it has a lot more features than my base Si has (granted, it is an 07 lol)

I don't know. I've heard that line for almost 20 years, now, about plenty of car makes, "they are getting better," "those stories are just from the past," "what applied then doesn't apply now." 20 years later, the story is still the same. Japanese are still more reliable than the Europeans and Detroit 3. Nissan is marginal (IMO), since they went bankrupt a while back and were taken over by a French company.
 
I don't know. I've heard that line for almost 20 years, now, about plenty of car makes, "they are getting better," "those stories are just from the past," "what applied then doesn't apply now." 20 years later, the story is still the same. Japanese are still more reliable than the Europeans and Detroit 3. Nissan is marginal (IMO), since they went bankrupt a while back and were taken over by a French company.

Company is Renault :)
 
I don't know. I've heard that line for almost 20 years, now, about plenty of car makes, "they are getting better," "those stories are just from the past," "what applied then doesn't apply now." 20 years later, the story is still the same. Japanese are still more reliable than the Europeans and Detroit 3. Nissan is marginal (IMO), since they went bankrupt a while back and were taken over by a French company.


It's not something that's really disputable. Cars ARE getting better, from just about all manufacturers. You can look at any reliability reports and see that on average cars these days are seeing less and less problems. Ford has drastically improved. GM has drastically improved. Mercedes has drastically improved. And yes, VW has drastically improved. Now I do agree that Honda and Toyota are still among the most reliable automakers. However, the days where you choose a Honda or Toyota solely because other makers aren't reliable, are over.

My grandfather always said, "Never buy a turbo vehicle". He was a mechanic, and this was in the mid 80s when turbo cars were extremely unreliable. The same can't be held true today, where turbo cars can be just as reliable as their N/A counterparts.

When I bought my Si back in 07, reliability concerns were one of the main things that kept me away from the Mk5 GTI. Those same concerns would not keep me away from the Mk6. Other things, like the goofy plaid interior and giant gaudy wheels likely would :giggle:
 
I would argue Chevy being on that list. But Ford, yes.
 
So when I was in the market for a new car, I had told myself "not another Honda." I test drove the WRX, the GTI, the Focus ST, and the Mazdaspeed 3.

Believe it or not, I was sold on the GTI. It has a lot of cool features, feels really fast, and turns heads. When I sat down to negotiate, they wanted over 200 more a month for the performance package GTI. This consisted of new rims, sunroof, touch screen stereo, and steering wheel controls. They wouldn't budge and wanted to get me the base GTI with none of that for $375 /mo.

I ended up getting the Si because it was only $329 a month and I got all the amenities I wanted.

I'm glad I went this route. A lot of people say the VWs have really bad and expensive reliability issues.

With all that said, how does the Civic fair against the competition when comparing reliability, practicality, ect.?

I can't speak for the new GTI but my GF has an 08 GTI 4 door automatic. I can say without a doubt it is a piece of junk. These are the things that have gone wrong with it to date:

PCV Valve failed @ 50k miles
Diverter Valve failed @ 65k miles
Battery Failed @ 60k miles
Rear Strut failed @65k miles
Air Conditioning Blend Gear Failed @80k miles

Currently the car has 80k miles and I got most of the replacement parts from ECS Tuning if I would have had the dealership fix it would have probably cost near $7,000. Most of the parts were made with paper/plastic which caused them to fail. The replacement parts have metal now. Car also makes a loud coffee grinding noise near the front passenger wheel, dealership doesn't know what that could be. To me it looks like a minivan and the seats are uncomfortable.
 
It's not something that's really disputable. Cars ARE getting better, from just about all manufacturers. You can look at any reliability reports and see that on average cars these days are seeing less and less problems. Ford has drastically improved. GM has drastically improved. Mercedes has drastically improved. And yes, VW has drastically improved. Now I do agree that Honda and Toyota are still among the most reliable automakers. However, the days where you choose a Honda or Toyota solely because other makers aren't reliable, are over.

My grandfather always said, "Never buy a turbo vehicle". He was a mechanic, and this was in the mid 80s when turbo cars were extremely unreliable. The same can't be held true today, where turbo cars can be just as reliable as their N/A counterparts.

When I bought my Si back in 07, reliability concerns were one of the main things that kept me away from the Mk5 GTI. Those same concerns would not keep me away from the Mk6. Other things, like the goofy plaid interior and giant gaudy wheels likely would :giggle:

I know, I've simply heard that exact same story since I have been buying cars. Yet, to this day, the story remains the same. Early turbo cars were indeed junk, however, that doesn't have any relation to reliability of certain auto makes.
 
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I can't speak for the new GTI but my GF has an 08 GTI 4 door automatic. I can say without a doubt it is a piece of junk. These are the things that have gone wrong with it to date:

PCV Valve failed @ 50k miles
Diverter Valve failed @ 65k miles
Battery Failed @ 60k miles
Rear Strut failed @65k miles
Air Conditioning Blend Gear Failed @80k miles

Currently the car has 80k miles and I got most of the replacement parts from ECS Tuning if I would have had the dealership fix it would have probably cost near $7,000. Most of the parts were made with paper/plastic which caused them to fail. The replacement parts have metal now. Car also makes a loud coffee grinding noise near the front passenger wheel, dealership doesn't know what that could be. To me it looks like a minivan and the seats are uncomfortable.
Jesus... Makes me feel like I dodged a bullet, lol. However, I have to say the rattling sometimes when I'm cruising is pretty damn annoying. I think all of my Honda's have had some form of rattling noises when I'm driving. Hate it.
 
Think about this though
Brand new Si :$23000
Brand new WRX: $28000
Si stock: 201 hp
WRX stock: 265 hp
Turbo kit for Si: $5000 @ 100 hp safely gained

Suddenly it's 300 vs. 265 for the same price

That's what influenced my decision

Move that turbo kit price up a little more to 7k and you'll be at 400hp :giggle:

But yeah, definitely. I don't think there's any competitor that can make 400hp cheaper/safer/easier than the Si. The old T/C SS is the only car that comes to mind in the last few years and it's obviously out of production.
 
The sr20 was better then the QR25DE
Lol, I went and checked out the new Sentra and wow. Just horrible. The engine, in a brand new Sentra, started messing up and wouldn't shift properly. We had to be picked up from the dealership since we were a couple exits away during the test drive. He tried to tell me it was a fluke, and I'm sure it was, but still. And their line up is pretty funny. 3 different tiers, but all have only 130hp.
 
Jesus... Makes me feel like I dodged a bullet, lol. However, I have to say the rattling sometimes when I'm cruising is pretty damn annoying. I think all of my Honda's have had some form of rattling noises when I'm driving. Hate it.
I have never had rattling noises in my Hondas, but yeah you dodged a bullet for sure on the 08. What I found funny is that when I would go to GTI forums to get help with fixing my gf's car. whenever I complained about the problems the GTI guys get really defensive. It's like they know the car is a piece of junk but they will defend it till the death. Since writing my post the drivers side foglight & passenger side brake light have gone out...lol
 
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