Honda civic ... ideal first car?

baalad

Hi guys. I have left it late but at 30 yrs of age i have finally decided to learn to drive and as iam currently able to afford a car/insurance i have decided now is the time.

Anyways i have been looking into some cars recently to try decide which i would like to buy as a beginner and although initially i had plans to just go with something small , I have since fallen in love Honda civics which i believe are supposed to be a great car reliability wise! The one i have in mind is a 1.4 hatchback (underpowered some say but no biggie for a first timer i imagine) Iam also told that my insurance (although expensive) will not go up much from a 1.2 to a 1.4 which is tempting me even more but my main concern is wether or not this is an ideal car for a beginner in terms of size etc?

Is the civic a big car? making it hard to maneuver/reverse etc ?

Atlantic Dawn

Worst first car ever from an insurance point of view, one of the best though in terms of reliability and running costs.

baalad

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Worst first car ever from an insurance point of view, one of the best though in terms of reliability and running costs.

Well The cheapest qoute i had got was 2,300 for a 1.4 focus and the civic is only 200 euro more to insure (not that bad considering i only have a learners permit at this present moment) and i have yet to ring another few brokers so hoping to get the price done another notch!

Really my question was in terms of size , visability etc as it seems to be a reasonably big-ish car and the rear windows in them seem like they make reversing a nightmare ?

Jesus.

baalad wrote: »

Is the civic a big car? making it hard to maneuver/reverse etc ?

No its a small car. Easy to maneuver. I pity you regarding insurance in this Country. Anything more powerful than a hairdryer & they'll tear you to pieces price wise.

baalad

Jesus. wrote: »

No its a small car. Easy to maneuver. I pity you regarding insurance in this Country. Anything more powerful than a hairdryer & they'll tear you to pieces price wise.

Yeah it sucks man. I was expecting to pay a minimum of 2,000 for insurance and that was when i was considering a 1lt so to be honest iam kinda ok with paying there abouts for a 1.4 civic (or maybe a focus)

Fingers crossed a few more calls and i can save another few quid

Skylinehead

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Worst first car ever from an insurance point of view, one of the best though in terms of reliability and running costs.

The Mk7s downward maybe, but the Mk8 isn't a boy racer car.

I have a Mk8 as my first car, I like it. Insurance for me was expensive enough to begin with, but I think that would have been the same for any car. It gets better after 12 months, much better.

Reliability, it's been good. I've had a few brake problems on one wheel but I don't think that's the cars fault, more the previous owner. Engine has been a dream since day 1. I don't think it's particularly underpowered for what it is.

Space is good. Can fold the back seats down entirely, or even up if you want to fit a bike in or something. Cockpit is nice and spacious.

You might struggle a bit at first with rear visibility on the Mk8 due to the spoiler, but it's nothing major and you get used to it after a few days.

I'm not even sure that's the car you're looking at (06-12) :pac:

That one is much bigger than the preceding model, but it's still not "big".

baalad

Skylinehead wrote: »

The Mk7s downward maybe, but the Mk8 isn't a boy racer car.

I have a Mk8 as my first car, I like it. Insurance for me was expensive enough to begin with, but I think that would have been the same for any car. It gets better after 12 months, much better.

Reliability, it's been good. I've had a few brake problems on one wheel but I don't think that's the cars fault, more the previous owner. Engine has been a dream since day 1. I don't think it's particularly underpowered for what it is.

Space is good. Can fold the back seats down entirely, or even up if you want to fit a bike in or something. Cockpit is nice and spacious.

You might struggle a bit at first with rear visibility on the Mk8 due to the spoiler, but it's nothing major and you get used to it after a few days.

I'm not even sure that's the car you're looking at (06-12) :pac:

That one is much bigger than the preceding model, but it's still not "big".

The one i was looking at on donedeal was a 06 actually yes

Skylinehead

baalad wrote: »

The one i was looking at on donedeal was a 06 actually yes

Yeah mine is a 06 1.4 as well. Think first year insurance was 1900 (I was 22), second year 900, third premium is around the corner.

baalad

Skylinehead wrote: »

The Mk7s downward maybe, but the Mk8 isn't a boy racer car.

I have a Mk8 as my first car, I like it. Insurance for me was expensive enough to begin with, but I think that would have been the same for any car. It gets better after 12 months, much better.

Reliability, it's been good. I've had a few brake problems on one wheel but I don't think that's the cars fault, more the previous owner. Engine has been a dream since day 1. I don't think it's particularly underpowered for what it is.

Space is good. Can fold the back seats down entirely, or even up if you want to fit a bike in or something. Cockpit is nice and spacious.

You might struggle a bit at first with rear visibility on the Mk8 due to the spoiler, but it's nothing major and you get used to it after a few days.

I'm not even sure that's the car you're looking at (06-12) :pac:

That one is much bigger than the preceding model, but it's still not "big".

Skylinehead wrote: »

Yeah mine is a 06 1.4 as well. Think first year insurance was 1900 (I was 22), second year 900, third premium is around the corner.

Who are you with? Was that with you on your own as the primary driver or did you have someone else down as a named driver also? I assume you only had a provisional licence?

baalad

Also.... I hear alot of people have issues with the break pads on civics? Any issues with your own or perhaps you might know something about it?

the_syco

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Worst first car ever from an insurance point of view, one of the best though in terms of reliability and running costs.

At 28 years old, on a provisional, it cost me €1200 for the first year. It was a 2002 year old Honda Civic saloon, and insurance was with Asgard insurance, with the underwriters being Lloyds, I think? That was fully comp, with only me on the insurance.

All things considered, it didn't cost me that much for running costs. And at the time, it was classed as a boy racer car, purely because it was a Honda Civic.

baalad

the_syco wrote: »

At 28 years old, on a provisional, it cost me €1200 for the first year. It was a 2002 year old Honda Civic saloon, and insurance was with Asgard insurance, with the underwriters being Lloyds, I think? That was fully comp, with only me on the insurance.

All things considered, it didn't cost me that much for running costs. And at the time, it was classed as a boy racer car, purely because it was a Honda Civic.

Thats really good, when was that? My quote of 2,500 is only for third party fire and theft and includes a reduction of almost 500 for including someone else on the insurance as a named driver

kerten

Unless you are confident with your driving skills or in need space/comfort, I would start with a smaller car with good visibility.

- It will be relatively cheaper to insure and run them
- Smaller size can compensate earlier mistakes you may make

Probably sticking with japanese brands is a good idea from reliability perspective as well especially if you are buying a 10 years old car.

kerten

Unless you are confident with your driving skills or in need space/comfort, I would start with a smaller car with good visibility.

- It will be relatively cheaper to insure and run them
- Smaller size can compensate earlier mistakes you may make

Probably sticking with japanese brands is a good idea from reliability perspective as well especially if you are buying a 10 years old car.

Jesus.

kerten wrote: »

Unless you are confident with your driving skills or in need space/comfort, I would start with a smaller car

Like what, a Peel P50?

Its a Civic not a Hummer

kerten

baalad wrote: »

Thats really good, when was that? My quote of 2,500 is only for third party fire and theft and includes a reduction of almost 500 for including someone else on the insurance as a named driver

Motor insurance premiums went up a lot recently so anything below 2k would be a very good quote IMHO.

If you are an expat living in Ireland,try https://www.clements.com/resources/expat-resources/insurance-guide.

the_syco

baalad wrote: »

Thats really good, when was that? My quote of 2,500 is only for third party fire and theft and includes a reduction of almost 500 for including someone else on the insurance as a named driver

I'm guessing around 2008-2010? My excess was €300 - anything less than €300 I could fix out of my own pocket, and €300 excess made the insurance cheaper.

IMO, go via a broker. If you use a credit union, ask for the details of their car insurance broker.

kerten

Jesus. wrote: »

Like what, a Peel P50?

Its a Civic not a Hummer

Ha ha. I sense a driver who forgot his first days in front of the wheel

Are you saying making a U turn during test in Civic is easier than a yaris ?:D

I dealt with my OH's learning period and changed my car twice due to size. A mk1 yaris was a godsend

Nothing wrong with the Civic other than being relatively bigger car than yaris, jazz, fiesta,corsa, etc.

It is all about OP's expectations and confidence in himself at the end of the day

baalad

the_syco wrote: »

I'm guessing around 2008-2010? My excess was €300 - anything less than €300 I could fix out of my own pocket, and €300 excess made the insurance cheaper.

IMO, go via a broker. If you use a credit union, ask for the details of their car insurance broker.

Ironically i saw a leaflet on the floor in the credit union the other day which mentioned summit about 10% off car insurance with axa for credit union members

baalad

kerten wrote: »

Ha ha. I sense a driver who forgot his first days in front of the wheel

Are you saying making a U turn during test in Civic is easier than a yaris ?:D

I dealt with my OH's learning period and changed my car twice due to size. A mk1 yaris was a godsend

Nothing wrong with the Civic other than being relatively bigger car than yaris, jazz, fiesta,corsa, etc.

It is all about OP's expectations and confidence in himself at the end of the day

Fair point. Hard to argue against that! Iam sure buying a yaris would make the whole learning experience a little easier maybe but will the civic be that difficult to warrant me going with a yaris that i would not be happy with ?

Hard to talk confidence yet when i have yet to take my first lesson so iam gonna presume iam gonna feel pretty dam nervous behind the wheel starting out

Jesus.

kerten wrote: »

Ha ha. I sense a driver who forgot his first days in front of the wheel :)Are you saying making a U turn during test in Civic is easier than a yaris ?:DI dealt with my OH's learning period and changed my car twice due to size. A mk1 yaris was a godsend Nothing wrong with the Civic other than being relatively bigger car than yaris, jazz, fiesta,corsa, etc. It is all about OP's expectations and confidence in himself at the end of the day

Fair points Kerten

JohnBoy26

kerten wrote: »

Ha ha. I sense a driver who forgot his first days in front of the wheel

Are you saying making a U turn during test in Civic is easier than a yaris ?:D

I dealt with my OH's learning period and changed my car twice due to size. A mk1 yaris was a godsend

Nothing wrong with the Civic other than being relatively bigger car than yaris, jazz, fiesta,corsa, etc.

It is all about OP's expectations and confidence in himself at the end of the day

A hatchback civic isn't really that much bigger than a Yaris or similar. Rear visibility in that model civic isn't the best though but it's easy to get used to.

kerten

baalad wrote: »

Fair point. Hard to argue against that! Iam sure buying a yaris would make the whole learning experience a little easier maybe but will the civic be that difficult to warrant me going with a yaris that i would not be happy with ?

Hard to talk confidence yet when i have yet to take my first lesson so iam gonna presume iam gonna feel pretty dam nervous behind the wheel starting out

Take couple of lessons in instructor's car and assess yourself. It is a learning process which takes time. Depends on your personality, it may be super smooth in a civic or nerve breaking in a yaris.

Only reason I suggest a smaller car is to eliminate a potential negative factor in process.

colm_mcm

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

A hatchback civic isn't really that much bigger than a Yaris or similar. Rear visibility in that model civic isn't the best though but it's easy to get used to.

We have a civic and a Yaris, and while the civic isn't huge, the difference in manoeuvrability and visibility is vast.
That said, its only a car. It's not a bus. people have learnt on much bigger.

Civics are going through a crazy period money wise though. They're pretty poor value for money currently.

Skylinehead

baalad wrote: »

Who are you with? Was that with you on your own as the primary driver or did you have someone else down as a named driver also? I assume you only had a provisional licence?

Primary driver, with Liberty via Chill. Insurance has gone a bit crazy since mind.

baalad wrote: »

Also.... I hear alot of people have issues with the break pads on civics? Any issues with your own or perhaps you might know something about it?

Yeah I've had a few brake issues on one wheel, but that was down to a seized caliper that was on the way out before I bought it. Others have been grand.

colm_mcm wrote: »

Civics are going through a crazy period money wise though. They're pretty poor value for money currently.

Yeah I forgot to mention this. I have mine two years nearly and looking at Carzone I could make a profit on it...

H3llR4iser

kerten wrote: »

If you are an expat living in Ireland,try https://www.clements.com/resources/expat-resources/insurance-guide.

I'm very curious about Clements - my renewal isn't up until October, so I have time on my side; However, every year I find myself fighting against being charged essentially as much as a learner driver because I have an EU license. From what I can tell from the Clements website, they actually just cater for American citizens living abroad, however...

kerten

H3llR4iser wrote: »

I'm very curious about Clements - my renewal isn't up until October, so I have time on my side; However, every year I find myself fighting against being charged essentially as much as a learner driver because I have an EU license. From what I can tell from the Clements website, they actually just cater for American citizens living abroad, however...

While they target US citizens living abroad, there is no problem on their side as long as you are an expat. My non-US citizen friends living ireland got their cover with them and policy is underwritten by AIG.

Their quote is pretty good if you have 0 NCB as they assume you have a driving experience somewhere else as an expat. Also they don't care how big your car's engine as much as other insurers.

It may not be so competitive for comprehensive cover if you have NCB built up though.