Bought a car. Brand new. Honda Civic VTi-S 2013 5-door Hatch. Silver. Here’s a picture.
I like that all the specs that used to be high end additions are now just standard. Such as alloy wheels; bluetooth; cruise control; air-conditioning; usb ports and decent sound systems; stabilising/supporting/super dooper clever driving assistance thingies; reverse parking camera; power windows and side mirrors; highest possible 5 star ANCAP safety rating. Our basic model 6 speed manual Civic hatch, which with our trade-in came in at under $AU19,000, is brilliant. Reviews on the 2012 model weren’t too polite because the car was competing against a lot of very good cars at the same price point but offering a lot less, so Honda gave themselves a head plant and upped the specs for the 2013 model. It’s a thing of beauty, even if the engine lacks torque and is a bit “old lady” to drive. So what. I am an old lady.
The interior is very comfortable and high spec, and as I said to the DH, as we spend time inside the car when we are using it, it makes sense for us to be in an attractive, well made interior, which was very roomy compared with the other cars we tried.
We had been looking at new cars for a few months and the guys at Honda knew us from the last time, so they also knew we were potential buyers of their product. There was a very gentle sales pitch from our very good sales person. He knew the product was very good and that if we wanted to buy we would. It didn’t stop him calling us the following morning to see if we had made a decision, but his approach was so understated we felt comfortable in his presence.
On the other hand, Mazda, your sales people are not good. At all. They may make a lot of sales but, frankly, I wanted to punch them in the neck. Hubby and I had nearly come to blows with one super aggressive agent on the Friday, when we just wanted to find out what deal we could get and what payment plans were on offer. Slippery. Then, when I took the kids for a test drive the following day, the sales agents basically just held us in lock down trying to get me to sign for a Mazda3 even though the kids were hungry, DH was at work, and I had given no assurances that we would even take the car. 2 and a half hours later I had to leave the premises because the sales strategy was one of highly skilled torture. Trying to wear a teacher down is not a good idea. We deal with this all day every day, and frankly, I can outlast any sales agent, especially the sociopaths. I am nearly entirely certain the sales manager there was a sociopath. The finance dude was more clever, but even then I wasn’t given clear figures – no idea of the interest we would pay, or whether the terms included a deposit. Nothing. Anyhoo. Mazda, your product is awesome, but I hated your sales pitch and aggressive, slightly hysterical approach. DH couldn’t believe how exhausted I looked. I’m still in recovery mode, although that may be the effects of the Moet from last night.
So, we may have paid $1500 more for a car with more or less the same stuff as Mazda, but we get 5 year extended warranty and roadside assist, so that’s cool. And we got free floor mats. Onya Honda.
Now to pay for it. There goes my cleaner!
I'm no superwoman. 