civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Exactly why Im not even considering it (along with most Acura products).

03bl AC k CL

quick question... ive been reading about the civic si's transmission problems... im coming from an 02 tl-s so i am pretty much sick of tranny issues. does anybody know if it has been resolved or not for the 09 model year?

iTimmy

It is claimed to have been resolved, but the 09's are too new to know if that is confirmed. There is a TSB about the 3rd gear grind on earlier models, and dealers are fixing it, so I suspect the problem has been remedied.

While we are talking other details - anyone here do a HID retrofit? It's the one thing I wish this car had.

03bl AC k CL

i met a kid last night with an 07 si coupe who has already done it. it looks good and doesnt blind other people he says

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Yea, the 3rd gear grind/pop out issue should be fixed. I believe it required a new 3rd gear set, which for the 09s should be installed at the factory.

iTimmy

Did he just do a PnP kit or retrofit? I'm told a regular PnP is not worth the time/effort, though a retrofit is, but cost 5 times as much, it just doesn't seem worth the cost for a civic... Probably the reason it's not like that from the factory.

Gilgamesh

It should be a option, as it is on other cars in the Civic's class though.

03bl AC k CL

sorry, its most likely a pnp. im interested in doing a bulb upgrade as soon as i get the car (still an if somewhat though).

i received an out the door quote of 21665.02 from a honda dealer near me. how does that number sound? i believe he wanted ~19,166 for the car before ttl. thanks.

iTimmy

Keep me posted about your headlamp upgrades if/when you do them. My last 3 cars have had HID's and it's the one thing I do wish was on this car - I'm not opposed to a retrofit kit, I just don't want to dump $1k+ into headlights.

That's a pretty good price for a sedan, all season tires, non-nav. some people claim you can beat them up on the price a little more, but I'm not sure I buy it. In this area, used 07's and 08's were going from 18k-19.5k, it made buying new a no brainer, I could have found one cheaper else where, but when you factor in plane ticket/traveling, potential 3rd gear problems, etc... The 09 is a slick package, in particular with the sedan. Minor face lift, foglights standard, USB port, no 3rd gear problems.

03bl AC k CL

ill let you know about the headlights for sure.... however that price was for a coupe.

however i have been told by the dealers that the sedan is a few hundred cheaper (i thought it was the other way around)

i am interested in the coupe, b/c ive owned family sedans since i started driving (2000 maxima se, 2002 tl-s)

i agree that the si sedan is a really nice car, but why does it seem like everyone is especially in love with the sedan rather than the coupe? haha i guess i just want to weigh all my options, as i do not want to feel any buyers remorse whatsoever.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

I just picked up all the parts for a retrofit using TSX projectors, Phillips bulbs and the shrouds for just under $300. I was quoted $800 from a retrofit company a few months ago, but I decided to do this myself.

The reason that used Sis are so expensive is because the new ones have gone up in price. When the 06 Si came out it was $19k, now it starts at $21k, so the value of the used ones goes up.

Its entirely possibly to get a Navi model w/o summer tires for $23k otd.

iTimmy

The coupe is a couple hundred less then the sedan, certainly not a BIG deal, but when pinching penny's it's best to know all the details.

Ironically, I came from a S2000 and wanted a sedan, I was sick of the coupe, human nature

From my limited experience the 8th gen civic people are a touch extreme. They tend to make very big ordeals over very small issues - I've always liked the 8th gen civic coupe and the changes have NOT been significant over it's short life span so far. But one extra crease or vent and the civic fan boi's go crazy! Across the board the 09's are the best 8th gen civic, though the wheels had to grow on me. You can't lose with the current Si's they are reliable, cheap and fun to drive.

On 3 fill ups I am averaging close to 31mpg. It has decent power, is fun to drive and is surprisingly smooth and refined. My only real complaints are the lack of HID's as even an option and it would be nice to have a little more torque down low, but that it is certainly not unmanageable.

iTimmy

Let me know how the retro fit goes! If you have luck I am willing to spend $300 on parts and apply a little effort. I was the first person to take there second Gen. G35 headlights apart and "joey mod" them, now it is a popular mod. Though I am less wild then I was only a few short years ago.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Yum.

iTimmy

Have you done yours yet? is that where you got the parts?

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Yea I got my parts there. I spoke with Matt (site owner) a few months ago. If you are looking for a complete kit he'll work with you to get you exactly what you want/need. I got TSX projectors, crossfire shrouds, and Phillips DS2 4300k bulbs. I should have them tuesday. Ordered them last night. Ill be posting a DIY in the CL section once I start it, probably within a month or so (Ive got other projects that need tending to). The DIY would be pretty much universal though, remove headlights, open them, measure, cut, bolt up, install.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Also, I picked up a set of used Phillips bulbs that they have on the site. They are $25 cheaper then new, and they still have the warranty.

agranado

yeah... im pretty sure that this tranny will not fall apart like the auto did on your model TL... lol.

It does have an issue with the 3rd gear in alot of people's cars on 8thcivic, and I've noticed once or twice I try and pop in 3rd and it pops right back out again, but its not a consistent thing. You wont be stranded on the side of the road with a car that only drives in first... lol.

agranado

That is the cleanest retro ive seen to date. I would totally rock those on my ASM Si.

03bl AC k CL

i want to thank everyone contributing in this thread, because not only am i now ok with getting into a civic si, but i actually cant wait to get into one! haha. i will throw out the latest quote i got out the door that the dealers seem to be pretty firm with around here... 21,665.02 i posted it before, but it doesnt seem like any dealer around here is interested in going lower than that. what is the general consensus of this price?

iTimmy

I think that is a fair price, for ttl, OTD, no bull shit. Like I mentioned before, the people claiming less then $19k OTD I have a hard time believing. One poster on 8thcivic claimed something like $18k OTD, BUT he got duped into buying an extended warranty for something like $1700 that he wasn't including and he wouldn't post a full picture of his receipt. Not to mention people like attention and tend to lie just to get it, when called out they are typically incapable of supporting their claims. With all that said, and what I see on the used market, I think that is a good deal - you can't expect a dealer to lose money selling you a car, it's just not fair to them.

iTimmy

If it happens any more, bring it in and get it taken care of. As I understand the TSB it is an intermittent problem and a certain VIN range is effect, if you fall in that VIN range I think it's a no brainer to have it taken care of sooner rather then later. Another comforting fact is that it is only a certain VIN range, which leads me to believe they truly did fix the problem.

03bl AC k CL

the vin range doesnt necessarily mean anything as all 99-03 tl's had the trans issue, but certain 03 models (depending on vin) were not covered, because acura claimed to have fixed the problem. but i have faith in the honda MT's and see how reliable they are so hopefully they got this one right.

just to add also, this will be my first MT and im really excited for it. i have driven manual a handful of times, but i will need to perfect it once i get the car. any tips on how to not abuse my brand new car when learning? i understand i might not be great at first, but im also not trying to ruin it haha.


and i will take your word for it on price itimmy. youve done a great deal to help me make my decisions on here so i appreciate the time you put in . everyone else on here too that had their inputs were awesome. hopefully ill be able to report back in a few days with pics of my new car.

iTimmy

I don't spend a lot of time on 8thcivic.com but I don't recall hearing anyone have further troubles after the TSB was performed and I have yet to hear anyone with a 09 have the problem. My fingers are crossed they took care of this

This is a pretty good car to learn to drive MT on, it would be better if it had a bit more torque, but ultimately it will make you better/smoother at driving manual by learning on a car like this. Outside of the extreme fundamentals of driving manual the only advice I have is to take it slow. Much like learning to drive, learn to drive, then learn to drive fast and the subtleties. Don't plan on ripping through gears and rev matching downshifts right away, you can grow in to that. It's much easier to learn a somewhat basic task and as you master said task feather in some new material, it also keeps driving fun. The only real caution I will offer is to be careful when down shifting from 6th to 5th, it is easy to catch 3rd or even 1st if you panic. The same can be said of going from 4th to 5th, you could hit 3rd or 1st if you are not paying attention. Plan on stalling it a bit at first, but a few hours in an empty parking lot and you should have starts and stops nailed. Until you are extremely comfortable just don't push it, let the synchro's do their job and focus on driving. As it become second nature, and it will, then you can get into the more advanced driving techniques. I would also recommend keeping it under 6k RPM's until you are more comfortable, when VTEC engages the car is noticeably faster, noticeably louder and thus is more of a handful. After you are comfortable with driving the car it will unlock a completely new experience!

Don't mention it, forums are all about helping each other make informed decisions, I hope you enjoy the car!

Gilgamesh

The 3rd gear issue is fixed. I had the TSB done on my car and have been trouble free for the 10k miles since I had the work done.

As for HID's if you do a PNP kit, your cutoff is going to be messy and you'll be blinding other drivers all the time. Its retro or no go for the HID conversion.

iTimmy

That's the impression I was under. For $300(or even a touch more) I'd be wiling to do a diy retrofit, it's just so hard to separate the fact from fiction.

03bl AC k CL

new dilemma, my cosigner (my father) does not want to cosign the loan for me, because he feels i should hold on to the tl until i graduate. i know honda was offering 3.9% financing for good credit. however, i do not have any credit as ive never owned a credit card. in these economic times do i even have any shot at a loan without a cosigner on it?

i keep getting more and more news about stuff my tl needs for repairs (cat converter, upper ball joints, struts, and just this morning it took more than 1 attempt to start it (4) for the first time in my 3 years of ownership)

i baby this car, but i feel like its turning more into a money pit than necessary.

i live in north carolina for school (650 miles away from home) and i fear that i am not going to have as honest of a mechanic with an upstanding relationship with me as i do in nj if new problems were to arise. not only that but a steady ~$250 a month to me is better than an unexpected thousand dollar job here and there, and piece of mind of having a new honda so far from home helps.

id like to say this car has never left me stranded, but it has in virgina on the side of I-95 when the tranny decided to blow and spill all of its fluid out (this was a post feb. 2005 tranny) i love the tl to death, but now i feel like its run its course and i should get out now before i am paying more to maintain the car than its worth.

this was merely a rant to get off my chest lol ... i hope i dont sound too irrational here with my complaining. but now that i am sold on the si itself if i can unload the TL, any advice from the wise older crowd would be nice to hear.

and for fun, here she is though this isnt the best picture at least she's clean 2002 aegean blue pearl tl-s with navi:

iTimmy

Apply for the credit through Honda and see if it goes through - sometimes no credit is better then bad credit. You have nothing to lose and if you are serious they are going to do anything they can to get you into the car.

sonnyboyacura

I had the TSB done on my 08 sedan and it's been great since.

Bdog

Do you have a long time family mechanic in Jersey? Honest and NJ mechanic made me laugh!

Just find a forum member around Wake Forest to point you in the right direction if needed, we're pretty easy and honest in the south.

03bl AC k CL

so, to update after a month away from this thread, my tl was sold this morning.

.... and after a strange turn of events i closed the deal on a 2009 nissan altima 2.5 SL. black on black leather. im picking her up tomorrow morning at 11. pics will follow.

thanks for all of the help in this thread. I really wanted the SI, but i ended up leasing and imo i got more for my money leasing the altima since from my research the civic si leases poorly.

iTimmy

The Altima is a great car with lots of cool features!

madrussian190

i know its a little late, and you got ur altima but check this out


http://truecar.com/release/report/20...&zipcode=27604

iTimmy

^^^ That's an interesting site, pretty good source of information

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

interesting site it is

Tennisjon2002

Not sure how much to trust that site. I just bought a 2009 Civic Si Coupe Non Navi last week for:

Price - $19,000 for the 09 Civic Coupe SI (Silver/Black)
Tax - $570
Tag fee - $88
Doc fee - $399

Total - $20,057 OTD

It tells me a good price is anything less than 19,952

I mean i know I got a good deal but not that good. There was also a $1000 dealer incentive so i don't know if that site included that.

That being said I love the new Altima's OP! so enjoy it.

iTimmy

They may not be using OTD numbers, for example tax can vary greatly and some times they will sell a car below dealer cost of the customer buys an expensive extended warranty, etc...

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

Altma is nice car! My brother had one and it lasted him a long time.

03bl AC k CL

i used that site as a reference for my car shopping... somebody on page of this thread posted a link to it. i would have bought the si had i purchased a car because they were giving great deals on them, but i was not interested in leasing the SI for close to $300 a month when i got my altima for that price. it didnt seem practical to me when all the value was in buying the civic.

fwiw i got my altima lease rate based on about $800 under invoice... with only TTL and first month payment up front i got it for 318 per month with 15k miles a yr.

and i got the roadside assistance with hotel and food reimbursement extended warranty. it also includes a $50 deductible for anything that goes wrong for the last year of my lease when the factory warranty runs out. (warranty was only $300) and they knocked an extra 5 bucks off my lease per month b/c i am on the lease and i am a student.

(this once again is the 2.5 SL which includes leather bose bluetooth sunroof auto headlights, etc. etc.)

i think i got a pretty good deal...

i didnt feel like i got nearly as much with the si with such similar lease prices.

oh and once again fwiw my best quote i received was about $20,600 otd on an SI sedan before i decided to lease. so i think youre right iTimmy that those are not otd prices.

SCS15

iTrader: (3)

My boy has an 08 SI sedan fiji blue. Great car, decent power and fun to drive. Doesn't compare at all to my 3rd gen TL but I've never been in a 2nd gen.

In all honesty, their nav sucks and isnt worth that extra price. You can buy the oem dash kit for the nav and purchase an aftermarket nav with dvd features for half the price of adding the factory nav to it.

Edit: Didnt see you picked up the Altima. Good purchase!