My Si was appraised by Carmax

perkidddoh

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As the title states, I got an appraisal from Carmax for my 2019 PWP Civic Si sedan for $20k over the weekend. It has just under 28k miles. I paid 26K OTD for my Civic, not bad for 25 months of depreciation.

Here's the story:

I came into Carmax to test drive a Civic hatchback sport. I, like many in this forum, would love a hatchback Si, some went with the hatchback sport while most went with the Si. I've also seen some go from hatchback sport to Si after a year or so and it looks like they are very happy with it.

Having experienced the Si for what it is and wanting to get into a hatchback again (past cars were 2005 Civic Si and 2013 Fit Sport manual), I decided to give it a try. I cross shopped the hatchback Sport and the Si two years ago and wasn't feeling the hatchback sport then, to me, my Fit was more fun. And at the time, I thought the Si was more engaging so I went with it.

Fast forward to two years and I still find myself wanting the hatchback body style. So I found a manual hatchback sport at Carmax and went for a test drive. The best part was the Carmax rep don't go on test drives due to Covid19 so I test drove it the way I would drive it for fun and also as a daily for about 30-40 min. My thoughts were, and it still stands, the sport is a good daily driver but not as engaging as the Si. Anyone can go and do upgrades to the hatchback sport and make it more engaging in terms of engine performance but I like to keep the engine and the bolt on parts stock, the most upgrades I would with be suspension, exhaust, shifter, and wheels.

For now, I'm staying with the Si and will look out for what the future holds in terms of the 11th gen platform, Toyota Corolla GR, and the new gen Subaru WRX.

I want things I don't have, and that probably goes for a lot of people, and unless I've experienced it myself, then I'll continue to ponder over it.

Do you guys have any cars you've considered to replace the Si but decided that the Si is a better car overall for your current situation?
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Byron Sexton

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You aren't interested in the Type R? Just curious as that wasn't on your list. The 11th Gen Type R might be a beast!
 
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perkidddoh

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@Byron Sexton I forgot to mention that I would have considered it but the hype is real and realistically, I won't be able to afford it. Even if I was to sell my car private party and say I get $21k-23k for it, used or new, I'd still be looking at finding a way to cough up $15k or so.

My main focus is to sell my car and get a hatchback that's around or lower than the amount I'm getting back from my car.

On a different note, I test drove a 2021 GTI S last night just for the sole purpose of experiencing how it drives. I was eyeing used GTI S from 2018-2019 and they are around the low $20k's in my area. The new GTI was a perfect candidate to simulate a used GTI as not much really changed for the entire generation of the S trim. The test drive wasn't wow-ing and it was stiff, I can easily be at peace with my Si especially with reliability concerns in the long term, which I could be wrong at this point, the MK7.5 platform has been pretty reliable according to VW and reports.
 

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As the title states, I got an appraisal from Carmax for my 2019 PWP Civic Si sedan for $20k over the weekend. It has just under 28k miles. I paid 26K OTD for my Civic, not bad for 25 months of depreciation.

Here's the story:

I came into Carmax to test drive a Civic hatchback sport. I, like many in this forum, would love a hatchback Si, some went with the hatchback sport while most went with the Si. I've also seen some go from hatchback sport to Si after a year or so and it looks like they are very happy with it.

Having experienced the Si for what it is and wanting to get into a hatchback again (past cars were 2005 Civic Si and 2013 Fit Sport manual), I decided to give it a try. I cross shopped the hatchback Sport and the Si two years ago and wasn't feeling the hatchback sport then, to me, my Fit was more fun. And at the time, I thought the Si was more engaging so I went with it.

Fast forward to two years and I still find myself wanting the hatchback body style. So I found a manual hatchback sport at Carmax and went for a test drive. The best part was the Carmax rep don't go on test drives due to Covid19 so I test drove it the way I would drive it for fun and also as a daily for about 30-40 min. My thoughts were, and it still stands, the sport is a good daily driver but not as engaging as the Si. Anyone can go and do upgrades to the hatchback sport and make it more engaging in terms of engine performance but I like to keep the engine and the bolt on parts stock, the most upgrades I would with be suspension, exhaust, shifter, and wheels.

For now, I'm staying with the Si and will look out for what the future holds in terms of the 11th gen platform, Toyota Corolla GR, and the new gen Subaru WRX.

I want things I don't have, and that probably goes for a lot of people, and unless I've experienced it myself, then I'll continue to ponder over it.

Do you guys have any cars you've considered to replace the Si but decided that the Si is a better car overall for your current situation?
Do you have any mods to your Si? Curious how those might affect estimates.
 
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perkidddoh

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@djlythium I have a 27won exhaust and RPF1's. That's the only visual, I also have the Type R shifter and the Acuity Stage 1 setup, that probably wasn't accounted for.

The exhaust and the rpf1's will be removed and stock parts will be thrown back onto the car.

According to Carmax, aftermarket parts don't really inflate the appraisal but I can't be too sure. I'd only know if I was to throw the stock parts and go back to Carmax to get it appraised again.
 


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@djlythium I have a 27won exhaust and RPF1's. That's the only visual, I also have the Type R shifter and the Acuity Stage 1 setup, that probably wasn't accounted for.

The exhaust and the rpf1's will be removed and stock parts will be thrown back onto the car.

According to Carmax, aftermarket parts don't really inflate the appraisal but I can't be too sure. I'd only know if I was to throw the stock parts and go back to Carmax to get it appraised again.
Ah, interesting! I have no plans on getting rid of my Si, though I always wonder how mods affect resale. I think if I raised it back to stock height (or close thereto) with the TEINs, they'd just see the rims, and miles (2019 @ 9,500), and give me appropriate money for it. I'm at even equity, or positive, at this point, depending on the offer. I'd take $21K for it.
 

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Wait til we see what power upgrades they are doing to the 22's. Just read they are expecting a power bump on new gen.
 

SDAlexander8

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Yeah, absolutely wait for the 11th gen Si to be announced before trading in the 2019.
 

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. . .Do you guys have any cars you've considered to replace the Si but decided that the Si is a better car overall for your current situation?
Have been in my Si since November 2020. Not long. But it's just awesome.
Test drove a Z, and an 86 before I came to the Si.

I mean, the Si is simply an incredible value.

A stupid high level of balance and performance, combined with comfort and utility.
It drove just as good as the 86 and the Z, but also gave me 4-doors, a big trunk, 40 mpg, and an unbeatable price. I had the hookup, and got mine for $18k, with 16k miles on it.

How the hell was I supposed to find a better car for what I paid?

The Si with some tuning, can get some modest and respectable numbers, that don't make me miss the Z's performance.

I'm very happy with this car.
The Little 1.5T That Could.
 

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@Byron Sexton I forgot to mention that I would have considered it but the hype is real and realistically, I won't be able to afford it. Even if I was to sell my car private party and say I get $21k-23k for it, used or new, I'd still be looking at finding a way to cough up $15k or so.

My main focus is to sell my car and get a hatchback that's around or lower than the amount I'm getting back from my car.

On a different note, I test drove a 2021 GTI S last night just for the sole purpose of experiencing how it drives. I was eyeing used GTI S from 2018-2019 and they are around the low $20k's in my area. The new GTI was a perfect candidate to simulate a used GTI as not much really changed for the entire generation of the S trim. The test drive wasn't wow-ing and it was stiff, I can easily be at peace with my Si especially with reliability concerns in the long term, which I could be wrong at this point, the MK7.5 platform has been pretty reliable according to VW and reports.
I traded my 6mT Sport hatch (90k miles) for my Si, and like the Si a lot more, but I obviously liked the Sport, driving it 90k miles. If they make an Si hatch next gen I'll buy that. I don't really need the Type R for $11k more, since the Si is so good.

I've test driven four GTIs and yeah, they just don't wow me, not sure why. I know from 15 years of BMW ownership that you shouldn't buy a car cause it has a nice interior, you stop looking at it after a year.

After owning the Si, I am sure my cars must have either an LSD (w/ FWD or RWD) or AWD. The Sport's open diff was a major negative.

I'm also eyeing the Kona N, but lack of manual will probably rule it out. But it's practical with the hatch, and possibly could look good. I hate the new Elantra design unfortunately. If the Toyota GR Corolla gets a 6mT and front LSD or AWD I'll consider it, but only if it's as fun to drive as my Si.

If my job changes and no longer need a practical car with high MPG, I'll get a Mustang Mach 1. :)
 


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As the title states, I got an appraisal from Carmax for my 2019 PWP Civic Si sedan for $20k over the weekend. It has just under 28k miles. I paid 26K OTD for my Civic, not bad for 25 months of depreciation.

Here's the story:

I came into Carmax to test drive a Civic hatchback sport. I, like many in this forum, would love a hatchback Si, some went with the hatchback sport while most went with the Si. I've also seen some go from hatchback sport to Si after a year or so and it looks like they are very happy with it.

Having experienced the Si for what it is and wanting to get into a hatchback again (past cars were 2005 Civic Si and 2013 Fit Sport manual), I decided to give it a try. I cross shopped the hatchback Sport and the Si two years ago and wasn't feeling the hatchback sport then, to me, my Fit was more fun. And at the time, I thought the Si was more engaging so I went with it.

Fast forward to two years and I still find myself wanting the hatchback body style. So I found a manual hatchback sport at Carmax and went for a test drive. The best part was the Carmax rep don't go on test drives due to Covid19 so I test drove it the way I would drive it for fun and also as a daily for about 30-40 min. My thoughts were, and it still stands, the sport is a good daily driver but not as engaging as the Si. Anyone can go and do upgrades to the hatchback sport and make it more engaging in terms of engine performance but I like to keep the engine and the bolt on parts stock, the most upgrades I would with be suspension, exhaust, shifter, and wheels.

For now, I'm staying with the Si and will look out for what the future holds in terms of the 11th gen platform, Toyota Corolla GR, and the new gen Subaru WRX.

I want things I don't have, and that probably goes for a lot of people, and unless I've experienced it myself, then I'll continue to ponder over it.

Do you guys have any cars you've considered to replace the Si but decided that the Si is a better car overall for your current situation?

Good post, OP. I own a 2018 Sport Hatch, and now that I've upgraded the head unit and some other things... I love it so much. At this time, there are only 2 cars that might make me want to replace the Civic. The Veloster N and a C8. Both are too expensive right now, and one is really impractical and would be a tough sell to my family. (Different story in 5 years, tho)

But speaking of the N, my Civic is paid off and there is NO WAY the Veloster is worth dropping $30k on. So I feel you, the desire is there to upgrade to what you don't have, but I just have to keep reminding myself that the N is not $500 a month (!) better than my sport hatch. I can't imagine any car being that much better than the Civic.

I'm curious though. If you have a Sedan...why the strong desire for a Hatch? They're not that much more functional than the sedan. I might understand if you had an Si Coupe and needed more room. (BTW, as a hatch owner, I've always lusted over the Si Coupe because it's the best looking Civic.... haha, we all have our vices.)
 
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perkidddoh

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I mean, the Si is simply an incredible value.

A stupid high level of balance and performance, combined with comfort and utility.
I agree with all your points and what you wrote perfect summarizes how I feel about the Si. Interesting how you were considering two completely different platforms but ended with the Si instead, was it a specific price point?
 
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perkidddoh

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@VarmintCong I don't think I've driven my Si to the limits of seeing what I would be missing without an LSD, from your observation having driven both, what situation did it make you feel like "yeap, this is exactly why I got the Si and traded my hatch."?
 
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perkidddoh

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Good post, OP. I own a 2018 Sport Hatch, and now that I've upgraded the head unit and some other things... I love it so much. At this time, there are only 2 cars that might make me want to replace the Civic. The Veloster N and a C8. Both are too expensive right now, and one is really impractical and would be a tough sell to my family. (Different story in 5 years, tho)

But speaking of the N, my Civic is paid off and there is NO WAY the Veloster is worth dropping $30k on. So I feel you, the desire is there to upgrade to what you don't have, but I just have to keep reminding myself that the N is not $500 a month (!) better than my sport hatch. I can't imagine any car being that much better than the Civic.

I'm curious though. If you have a Sedan...why the strong desire for a Hatch? They're not that much more functional than the sedan. I might understand if you had an Si Coupe and needed more room. (BTW, as a hatch owner, I've always lusted over the Si Coupe because it's the best looking Civic.... haha, we all have our vices.)
I'm curious what have you updated that made your hatch enjoyable to your taste aside from the head unit? One of the main things I thought of if I was to get the hatchback and considering that I came from an Si would likely be the shifter, exhaust, springs, and lighter wheel/grippier tire setup.

As for your question, I desire the hatch because of it's practicality of being a hatch. I came from a 2005 Civic Si and a Honda Fit Sport, both very fun hatchback cars in their own shiny ways and this is my first sedan. I also ride bikes and sometimes my fiancee would go along with me, I prefer to take two bikes inside the car than having a roof rack and this is where the hatchback's space and ease to stuff two bikes come into play. The sedan for being a sedan is really difficult with fitting two bikes with both front wheels of on both bikes. And also I like hatchbacks just in general.

I've also considered used VW MK7 2018+ but it's VW and there's beliefs about German cars not lasting very long, but based on what I've read from users, this platform is very reliable. The GTI has very clean lines and more mature image imo but less desirable mpg in comparison to the Si. My car is my only car, I use it to commute 20 miles away, use it for pleasure and on road trips, so MPG is always a big factor. I also do most basic maintenance on my car and Hondas in general are reliable and very cheap and easy to maintain. I guess for now, the body style checkbox will continue to be left unchecked unless the 11th gen hatch has an Si.
 

MLawrence

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I agree with all your points and what you wrote perfect summarizes how I feel about the Si. Interesting how you were considering two completely different platforms but ended with the Si instead, was it a specific price point?
Price point… and a little input from my wife.

You see… car seats fit comfortably in the Si sedan.
My wife drives a 2017 Fusion Hybrid. But when we have kids, Daddy will also have a fun car that he can carry his cubs around in. ❤?

Car seats in a Z, a 86, or an M2, would be a bit more trouble to work with. lol

Also I wanted a new or close to new car. My budget was actually quite wide, but pragmatism won out. A cheaper, but decent and reliable car that can still be fun makes more sense to spend money on.

Also, he couldn’t give me as good a deal on the CTR. lol

I mean sunroof, heated seats, carplay, xm radio, climate control… it felt like the most bang for my buck.
And I can still get this thing to approximate Z and CTR power without compromising reliability.

Maybe I’ll get a higher end car in the future… I’d been eyeing BMW for months.
But I also have to consider priorities.

Looking to get a house built this year, so I didn’t want to use up too much of the money I set aside for this. So if there is other things I need to do with the house, the money is already there.
I had a custom M2, with my name on it. But she talked me out of buying it, and she was right.

Ultimately I’m pleased with where I landed.

I can’t get the Si anywhere near the M2’s power, and that is disappointing, but ultimately it’s a Civic. It’s not MEANT to do that.

With a bunch of the money I saved with Si, I’ll be able to build a decent 2-car garage on my lot, install a lift and some other equipment, and put a small upstairs apartment in it.
Then I’ll finally be able to experiment (read: “break things”) on my car.

TLDR: I just thought about more than performance when it came to picking a new daily driver.
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