You are very nice to buy your daughter a new car for college, its your hard earned money, I won't comment on the purchase.
I'm getting one for my wife soon. Personally i couldn't drive one after having 300hp cars for the past 5 years but i think she'll be very happy with it. lol
Pulled the trigger on a new car....
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Dysfunctional Veteran
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 8,101
Likes: 317
From: Van Alstyne, TX
Personally, if I was his daughter, I would be insanely happy that he wanted to buy me a car and wouldnt ask for shat. Just sayin'.
I worked my *** off for my cars, all of them. I would have given nearly anything to have a brand new car in the driveway and I could have cared less what it was. I still have never had a brand-new car or truck to this day and I have been buying cars for over a decade. His daughter should be, (and most likely is) elated and grateful.
I will say it again, great pick Dad! I am sure your daughter loves it. I know I would
I worked my *** off for my cars, all of them. I would have given nearly anything to have a brand new car in the driveway and I could have cared less what it was. I still have never had a brand-new car or truck to this day and I have been buying cars for over a decade. His daughter should be, (and most likely is) elated and grateful.
I will say it again, great pick Dad! I am sure your daughter loves it. I know I would
Thread Starter
Pole Position
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,376
Likes: 219
From: Silicon Valley
Personally, if I was his daughter, I would be insanely happy that he wanted to buy me a car and wouldnt ask for shat. Just sayin'.
I worked my *** off for my cars, all of them. I would have given nearly anything to have a brand new car in the driveway and I could have cared less what it was. I still have never had a brand-new car or truck to this day and I have been buying cars for over a decade. His daughter should be, (and most likely is) elated and grateful.
I will say it again, great pick Dad! I am sure your daughter loves it. I know I would
I worked my *** off for my cars, all of them. I would have given nearly anything to have a brand new car in the driveway and I could have cared less what it was. I still have never had a brand-new car or truck to this day and I have been buying cars for over a decade. His daughter should be, (and most likely is) elated and grateful.
I will say it again, great pick Dad! I am sure your daughter loves it. I know I would
And thanks to all for the kind comments. I think as enthusiasts, we can sometimes be emotional in car choices, but if we sit back and look at the all the (bland) choices, it makes sense for 99% of the population. Having just helped a friend get a Hyundai Elantra and now my daughter a Civic, I can say confidently that 1) consumers have a lot of good choices and value in the marketplace and 2) I don't think I will buy a "mainstream" car again anytime soon. Sad is the state of affairs for us old timers that grew up during the Japanese golden years of Supras, Z's, NSXs, and the like....
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 8,364
Likes: 346
From: Las Vegas
My parents helped me with my first car when I was 16. They asked me what car I wanted(knowing I had a thing for Firebirds).....I told them that if they were helping, I wasn't picky. Ended up with a $1200 Pontiac Firebird(with an anemic 125 hp v6). Loved the hell out of the car. I paid for most of it and learned to take care of it and fix it when it broke....sold it eventually and bought my 92 LS400 for college.
I would **** myself if my parents told me they were going to buy me a brand new car, lol.
I would **** myself if my parents told me they were going to buy me a brand new car, lol.
Not for me per se, but for my daughter who is going off to college. I deliberated between a) Toyco Corolla 2) Nissan Sentra / Versa 3) Huyndai Elantra 4) Scion xD / xA / iQ, and the 4) Honda Civic. In general, I didn't like any of the choices as they were either old in the tooth (Corolla), somewhat cheap and not appealing (Nissan), too funky for her conservative tastes (Scions), or priced to high due to market demand (Elantra). Fortunately, there's a 4th of July special running so I picked up:
Honda Civic LX Sedan
Yes, it's not the most appealing car for enthusiasts like myself (the acceleration is anemic especially in ECON mode), but I wanted something ultra safe / conservative that will last a while for her throughout college and then some (she presently drives an 2000 Integra and didn't really like it). Add to that the specials running this week and we were sold!
As for me, still contemplating between FR-S, NSX, 328i, or another Supra....hmmmm.
P.S. Sorry, but i did not consider any domestic vehicles as our family always buys Toycos or Honduhs (and some Nissans too).
Honda Civic LX Sedan
Yes, it's not the most appealing car for enthusiasts like myself (the acceleration is anemic especially in ECON mode), but I wanted something ultra safe / conservative that will last a while for her throughout college and then some (she presently drives an 2000 Integra and didn't really like it). Add to that the specials running this week and we were sold!
As for me, still contemplating between FR-S, NSX, 328i, or another Supra....hmmmm.
P.S. Sorry, but i did not consider any domestic vehicles as our family always buys Toycos or Honduhs (and some Nissans too).
Good choice.
I bought a new '08 LX for my son to commute to college and work.
104K miles and the car has been bulletproof and he's hard on a car.Would buy another Civic in a heartbeat.
Personally, if I was his daughter, I would be insanely happy that he wanted to buy me a car and wouldnt ask for shat. Just sayin'.
I worked my *** off for my cars, all of them. I would have given nearly anything to have a brand new car in the driveway and I could have cared less what it was. I still have never had a brand-new car or truck to this day and I have been buying cars for over a decade. His daughter should be, (and most likely is) elated and grateful.
I will say it again, great pick Dad! I am sure your daughter loves it. I know I would
I worked my *** off for my cars, all of them. I would have given nearly anything to have a brand new car in the driveway and I could have cared less what it was. I still have never had a brand-new car or truck to this day and I have been buying cars for over a decade. His daughter should be, (and most likely is) elated and grateful.
I will say it again, great pick Dad! I am sure your daughter loves it. I know I would
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,328
Likes: 236
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
A good choice for a college-girl. 
Civic and Corolla generally rule the small-car world in terms of reliability/longevity.......you don't want something that will break down and (maybe) put her at risk somewhere. Honda has cheapened some of the materials on its latest Civic, particularly inside and on the dash, but that's something your daughter probably won't notice....or care about. And no other manufacturer, IMO (even Toyota), assembles a new-car at the factory better than Honda or Acura.
Did the dealership go over the break-in rules with either you or your daughter? The traditional feather-footing for the first 1000 miles is less-critical now than it once was, due to newer manufacturing techniques, but it's still a good idea, for the first 500-1000 miles, to keep a new engine under 4000 RPM, vary the engine speed, not do full-throttle starts, and not use the brakes full-force. With most vehicles, an oil and filter-change soon after break-in is also a good idea, but Honda formerly used a special break-in oil that they wanted kept in for the first 3000 miles...I'm not sure if that is still the case or not. Check with your service department.
Civic and Corolla generally rule the small-car world in terms of reliability/longevity.......you don't want something that will break down and (maybe) put her at risk somewhere. Honda has cheapened some of the materials on its latest Civic, particularly inside and on the dash, but that's something your daughter probably won't notice....or care about. And no other manufacturer, IMO (even Toyota), assembles a new-car at the factory better than Honda or Acura.Did the dealership go over the break-in rules with either you or your daughter? The traditional feather-footing for the first 1000 miles is less-critical now than it once was, due to newer manufacturing techniques, but it's still a good idea, for the first 500-1000 miles, to keep a new engine under 4000 RPM, vary the engine speed, not do full-throttle starts, and not use the brakes full-force. With most vehicles, an oil and filter-change soon after break-in is also a good idea, but Honda formerly used a special break-in oil that they wanted kept in for the first 3000 miles...I'm not sure if that is still the case or not. Check with your service department.
Last edited by mmarshall; Jul 6, 2012 at 07:23 PM.
Dysfunctional Veteran
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 8,101
Likes: 317
From: Van Alstyne, TX
I am wondering if they fixed the engine block cracking problems of 2006+ models. It wasnt many, probably less than 10% had the issue, but when you think about it, 10% of Civic's sold in a 5 year period...thats a staggering number...tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands.
