Having owned E90 BMWs (335i & 328i) & currently a W203 C230 Mercedes, your maintenance costs will be significantly lower with the Civic than the Bimmers. Yes, my Euro rides have the edge in performance & quality but when they do break, you better have a trust fund or an extended warranty at the very least. Case in point: my W203, which has been maintained meticulously, both dealer & independent service, took a dump last week - EIS/ESL failure. Initial quote is $1,500 for parts, labor = TBD. Have an extended warranty which covered the tow to the dealer & my rental car. Mind you, it had been running trouble-free for 60K miles at this point.My first post. I'm curious about anyone's real life experience with the new Civic compared to entry-level German cars from around five years ago. In terms of performance, quality, etc, what are your thoughts?
2017 Subaru BRZ with Performance Package option. If you need more power, Jackson Racing makes a nice supercharger package for it.I think one of my biggest concerns is the feel of RWD vs FWD. I've always leaned toward RWD cars in terms of 'fun to drive'.
I had a GSR too, a sedan. It improved a lot with summer tires. I enjoy the Civic more cause it has so much more torque, it also feels more premium. I like driving my 330i more, but not by a large margin.Thank you everyone for the replies. I think one of my biggest concerns is the feel of RWD vs FWD. I've always leaned toward RWD cars in terms of 'fun to drive'. I owned an Acura Integra GSR years ago with that fantastic engine, but I was just underwhelmed by the driving experience. I just need to get out and test-drive more cars!
You think that's bad? My friend has a newer RAM 3500, the turbo let go at 40K miles. The total bill for repairs was $6500 out of his pocket (out of warranty by time). And this truck was $65K slightly used a few years ago.Having owned E90 BMWs (335i & 328i) & currently a W203 C230 Mercedes, your maintenance costs will be significantly lower with the Civic than the Bimmers. Yes, my Euro rides have the edge in performance & quality but when they do break, you better have a trust fund or an extended warranty at the very least. Case in point: my W203, which has been maintained meticulously, both dealer & independent service, took a dump last week - EIS/ESL failure. Initial quote is $1,500 for parts, labor = TBD. Have an extended warranty which covered the tow to the dealer & my rental car. Mind you, it had been running trouble-free for 60K miles at this point.
I strongly contemplated a BRZ/GT86 with the Edelbrock supercharger. I really like the BRZ/GT86, kinda reminds me of the 4th gen Prelude, but RWD. Such a simple car too.2017 Subaru BRZ with Performance Package option. If you need more power, Jackson Racing makes a nice supercharger package for it.
Agreed. My E90 335i ran like a beast before the HPFP gave out & BMW settled when there was a class action lawsuit because of the HPFP failures for 2007-09 models. I probably had between $20-30K in mods on that car (I was able to recoup most of the cost when I returned her back to stock). One of the best cars I've owned, even with the HPFP issue.Not all German cars are so bad. I see tons of old hoopty BMW's and VW's on the road all the time. Something must be going right for those old cars.