New car buying dilemma: Get a new 2023 Honda City or used Civic

The Civic has much better presence but not really exciting to drive. Also it lacks some features like 6 airbags.

BHPian Revention recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi all,

While searching for new car I had shortlisted the 2023 City VX (yet to decide MT or AT). But also came across a not much used Civic VX from CARS24. So now am confused between the two.

The Civic has much better presence but not really exciting to drive (would have loved MT). Also it lacks some features like 6 airbags which even City VX has but it has 4. Its NCAP rating is higher but no lane watch, no ADAS (and no sunroof, kid’s gonna hate me).

Also there are some practical concerns:

• There is large gap between mfg and reg date around 9 months.
• Cars24 says the Honda service guys are not giving pdf of service records or warranty details.
• I called the service centre but they not willing to commit anything. I will still try to visit them with the used car.

I would like to know if others have faced such issues while buying used Honda cars and any good solution for getting the car checked from Honda service centre.

Thanks.

Here’s what BHPian Cyborg had to say on the matter:

I would go for a brand new 2023 Honda City since it’s within your reach any day. It’s a superb car and being brand new comes with complete peace of mind for at least 5 years. Between the latest, brand new City and a used/old Civic it’s not too much of a segment gap to consider second hand either.

With no service or warranty records available (could be any car) why would you want to take a risk, waste time, money and complicate life. Keep it simple, buy the new City and enjoy a peaceful life.

Cheers.

Here’s what BHPian ToThePoint had to say on the matter:

The CIVIC, while a great car to drive (except soft rear suspension issues) and a head turner; with no service history and being a old discontinued car, it could turn out to be a money pit. And it doesn’t have all the features you are looking for anyways.

So, go with the freshly baked 2023 CITY!

Here’s what BHPian AJ56 had to say on the matter:

Get the Civic anyday over the tin can City. It’s built much better, with proper NCAP safety ratings, makes more power and has more space. 9 month gap is not reason enough to cancel the deal, Civic wasn’t a fast seller and chances are it sat in the dealer lot for a few months before finally getting sold.

Honda service is generally very cooperative (that they are incompetent is another issue), I don’t understand why they are refusing to provide service history assuming the owner has given approval (history cannot be shared without permission from owner). Take the car to them and pay for a full inspection, get a copy of that report. Now take it to your trusted mechanic and have him do a full inspection.

If both the service centre and your guy ok the car, use the points in each report to negotiate the price down and finally close the deal if you’re happy. Don’t forget to extensively test drive it and look for erratic behaviour/sounds.

Here’s what BHPian MotorDev had to say on the matter:

Go for the brand new city eyes closed. The new facelifted City in vx variant gets ADAS, lane watch camera etc too. Its VFM too. The Civic though is an awesome car, I personally don’t like and recommend used cars to anyone. I also follow a principle that if one is buying a costly car, let it be a new one.

The new City looks good, has loads of space, boot is larger than the Civic too. If there are elderly people who sit in the car, they will find ingress and egress better in the City than the Civic. The City is a safe car too. I don’t find any reason as to why you shouldn’t buy the new City.

Here’s what BHPian ags82 had to say on the matter:

I would say avoid a used car when you can get a new car without any hassles and can drive around with peace of mind. I was in a similar dilemma when I had to choose between a new S-Cross and a used XUV500 (bs4) from a used car dealer with slightly extra budget. Used car fantasy some times stops when you actually see the car in person and no matter how good it sounds on paper or the pics you see, it will have some issues internal or external or both. You should be really really lucky to get a very nice used car. Go for a used car if you need a luxury car, it will save you money and give better value than spending a lot on a new car. Well , I went for S-Cross and am happy with my decision with 12k kms in one year and 3 months. I believe you should go for a new Honda City and not used Civic.

Keyword: New car buying dilemma: Get a new 2023 Honda City or used Civic