Hi There!
I am purchasing a used Honda Civic Hybrid today. I have done research for days, and I have identified and test driven two cars. If there are any Civic Hybrid experts, I would be so grateful to hear your opinion.

Car 1: 2005, 33K miles, $15,500 (private seller, garage kept, meticulously maintained, 2 or 3+ dings and scratches on exterior; graphite color)

Car 2: 2006, 63K miles, $14,500 (broker who offers optional $1,750 extended warranty, no known info on owner or maintenance, 1 small scratch on exterior; bronze color)

Both have the hard to find HOV decal, which is a primary feature on my wish list, (allows use of car pool lane, although only for the next two years until the decals expire.)

I would normally think Car 1 is the better one due to low mileage, but last night when I did some late breaking web research, I discovered that there was a "next gen" upgrade to the hybrid technology in 2006, and these models have purportedly better fuel efficiency and other features.Therefore I am wondering if Car 2 is the better purchase, even though it has more miles.

The 2006 supposedly offers the following benefits over the 2005 according to the various sources:

(excerpts from internet articles)
*2006 has 63%/27% better efficiency freeway/city than the 2005...
*2006 Honda Civic won motor trend car of the year for significant technology upgrades...
*In redesigning the Civic Hybrid, Honda has increasd both power and torque by almost 20 percent (gas engine + electric motor combined)....
*There is also a 10% improvement in energy recovery through braking and battery output is 30% higher than the previous generation...
*...the vehicle solely on electric power in certain driving situations*for the first time...
*Curtain side airbags are new to Civic, and are standard on all '06 models...
*etc.

Here is my question. I originally picked the Honda Civic because the back seat has the best configuration for three young children!

Now as I look at all these other variables, I really am out of my element in terms of which is the better decision.

I would be very grateful for the opinion of someone who knows about whether the 05 with low mileage or the 06 with high mileage is a better purchase.

I am leaning towards getting the 06 because of all the technology enhancements.

Comments and opinions are very welcomed. Today if possible. Now would be perfect.

Thank you so much!
Cindy :}

ps I spent two days of searching to find these two cars within my max price, so its not like I can just keep looking for a 2006 with low miles. The few that I did find did not have the sticker. And they were about $3K more.

 

If they are both CVT [Auto] trans. then I would go with the Gen.11 model. It seems to me that the HCH2 is a very trouble free car! I own one and have watched the forums for a couple years and the gen2 is very reliable. Another reason I like the 2006 it has a built in maintanance minder that informs you when maintanance items are needed, I.E. oil and filter, valve adjustment, CVT oil change and more. This is a very good feature. We go along time between oil changes with this system. Very handy for people not into looking after thier auto's. We also don't get taken advantage of as well. Hope this helps you, Hal

 

The thing that makes me have reservations about the '06 is this...was "bronze" one of the colors offered that year?

http://automobiles.honda.com/certifi...id/photos.aspx

 

You are very thorough! thank you so much. The dealer listed "bronze" in the ad, but I am guessing it is the "Galaxy Gray Metallic." Here is the actual car listing, in case you have time to review further and weigh in.
http://www.carsmithmotors.com/detail...n|4D&ID=181737

I am going to verify the color with the dealer, now that you've brought it to my attention. :} Just to make sure its a 2006.

 

I clicked on the link to your car listing, but it's not showing up for me.
But, yeah...Galaxy Gray Metallic would be the closest thing to "bronze".
I'd ask the seller if they can provide a Carfax.

http://www.carfax.com/

If they can't, I would check the VIN number and see if it shows up on Carfax or the following website:

https://www.nicb.org/cps/rde/xchg/ni.../vincheck.html

 

New URL. http://www.carsmithmotors.com/detail...n|4D&ID=181737

(The seller removed the other listing)

 

That is amazing. thank you!

I checked your VIN check site, and the car had no issues. I called the dealer and they have a "Car Fax report," which they purchased before buying the car. The "Car Fax" report is also clean, i.e. no issues showing up.

Thank you thank you thank you!

Last question: should I be worried about 20K miles per year put on this? My dad says yes. My hybrid friends say no problem.

 

Okay, I can see it now.
The car looks nice. That must be the Galaxy Gray. It says in the ad that there was one owner, and it's Carfax certified, so they must have some records they can show you to give you an idea of the car's history. Don't be afraid to ask to see it, especially since it's stated in the ad.
The VIN number is there in the ad. You can copy and paste it into the link for the nicb database, and it comes up clean. I tried it in the Carfax site, but it isn't coming up as a "freebie" Carfax. So just ask the seller to show it to you, since they seem to have it available.

And take it for a test drive.
Good luck!

Edit: ahh, you beat me to the post! Good checking on the links there.
As for the miles on it, I don't know. I bought mine with pretty low miles, less than 30,000. Some folks have had no problems with higher mileage buys. Tough call. Maybe test-drive both cars if you have the time to do it. You might find that you prefer one over the other for one reason or another.

 

I think you should go for the '06 if everything checks out on it--unless the '05 is a manual transmision and you like sticks. I understand that they made some improvements to the CVT in the '06s which had a few problems in the older model. The '06 is also a lot more asthetically pleasing in my opinion.

If you pop for the extended warranty, make sure that it has full coverage of all hybrid components--I've heard internet rumors that some non-Honda warranties do not cover the hybrid stuff. Since the CVT fluid should be changed every 25-30k miles, I would suggest having it changed as well as your oil (make sure to use 0-20w) just in case the previous owner didn't perform their second change already. That way you know all of your maintenance is up to date.

If you haven't driven the HCH yet, just a note about the "...the vehicle solely on electric power in certain driving situations for the first time...", since it's a frequent question here. Unlike the Prius or the Escape, the Civic cannot move without the gas engine spinning. However, you can easily enter an "EV-glide mode" where your engine valves are closed, you are not burning ANY gas, and you are moving forward on electricity. On flat ground, you can do this about 35mph, and you can go downhill as fast as 75+mph in EV-glide.

 

I am *so* grateful for the replies. I just faxed in my signed purchase order for the '06. Thank you to everyone for the very gracious sharing of info.