Honda Civic got 290k miles in 6 years.

[M1Accord]

My former carpool guy just traded in his 6 years old Civic with 290k miles on it. He is not hard on car but not a car guy either. His approach to car ownership is to buy the lowest model with a manual and drive it until a first sign of trouble, then he times the trade in before he ends to put new tires, brakes, etc. Oil changes are always done at Walmart when he remembers, convenient, or special with the whatever Wally needs to put in. I don't know how often it was changed but he average about 50k miles a year doing 60 miles trips commuting to work.

The only problem he had was the timing chain started making noise. The A/C was damaged from road debris 3 miles into ownership and he never fixed it. The dealership gave 2000 dollars for it as the outside looks great but the inside was well worn.

I have always buy Honda when I buy new to keep forever. I am glad they are still well made. My Fit should go 300k miles no problem as I change oil often and do pay attention to the whole car. By the way, he never changed his ATF and the car still shifted smoothly. He doesn't like having car problem so he got a new Honda CRV since he wants more room and comfort to travel. I would have gotten an Accord but maybe he wanted a AWD option. K

 

[Burt]

120 miles per day x 5 days a week = 30,000 miles per year.

what's he do on weekends to drive the other 20,000 miles = 400 miles per weekend.

Too much windshield time!

and you say you car pooled?????

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: Burt

and you say you car pooled?????
and w\o ac! Thats a fast way to get booted out of the carpool here.

 

[M1Accord]

Originally Posted By: Burt
120 miles per day x 5 days a week = 30,000 miles per year.

what's he do on weekends to drive the other 20,000 miles = 400 miles per weekend.

Too much windshield time!

and you say you car pooled?????


Dropping his kid at the Ex 80 miles away on Saturday and picking up on Sunday.

I need to be at work by 7 and don't leave until 6 pm or 10 pm sometime. He is going 8 till 4.

 

[M1Accord]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: Burt

and you say you car pooled?????
and w\o ac! Thats a fast way to get booted out of the carpool here.

Pretty noisy ride home with windows down.

 

[Y_K]

That is what I get for 3 years in a towncar service, but we run more hours.

 

[bvance554]

If i put that many miles on a car i would also buy the cheapest most efficient car I could.

 

[Hokiefyd]

A co-worker of mine used to have a '97 Civic that he was hoping to see 333,333 miles with, but it got rear-ended bad at 331,xxx miles and written off. He bought a new 2012 Civic and he puts about 40,000 miles a year on it.

 

[Vikas]

why would he change ATF in his manual car?

 

[D189379]

Originally Posted By: bvance554
If i put that many miles on a car i would also buy the cheapest most efficient car I could.


I'd buy the nicest, most comfortable car I could find, personally.

 

[k24a4]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
why would he change ATF in his manual car?


Yes, why...

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: D189379
Originally Posted By: bvance554
If i put that many miles on a car i would also buy the cheapest most efficient car I could.


I'd buy the nicest, most comfortable car I could find, personally.

But which ones still get decent mileage? TDI Passat would be hard to beat I guess. Maybe a Prius?
I would still have trouble writing a cheque for a Passat knowing its going to be worth zero in 6 years.
Realistically though, I'd move closer to work. I do 55 miles a day on a stress free road in the country, but even that is far enough.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: D189379
Originally Posted By: bvance554
If i put that many miles on a car i would also buy the cheapest most efficient car I could.


I'd buy the nicest, most comfortable car I could find, personally.


+1 I go for comfort.

 

[surfstar]

Guessing 45mph average (which could still be high), he spent 268.5 (full 24 hour!) days in that car.

Ugh. I don't mind driving for weekend road trips (do it all the time), but man, spending 12% of your yearly life commuting must suck. Then think about an average 9 hr work day, 7 hr of sleep per day and BAM! - your life is gone right out from under you

 

[KrisZ]

I'm having a hard time coming up with another make or model that would not be able to do this amount of miles in that short amount of time.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: surfstar
Guessing 45mph average (which could still be high), he spent 268.5 (full 24 hour!) days in that car.

Ugh. I don't mind driving for weekend road trips (do it all the time), but man, spending 12% of your yearly life commuting must suck. Then think about an average 9 hr work day, 7 hr of sleep per day and BAM! - your life is gone right out from under you


How much would it cost to live closer? Back of the envelope calculations said I'd spend $100k more on the house (so that's what, $200k over the loan lifetime?) and 50% more on property taxes. And my kids would be in a larger school district, with more kids per classroom. The OP's friend is likely different, but not all long commutes would be easily "fixed" by shorter ones.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: D189379
Originally Posted By: bvance554
If i put that many miles on a car i would also buy the cheapest most efficient car I could.


I'd buy the nicest, most comfortable car I could find, personally.


Honestly...I would drive a Panther car!

 

[rjundi]

IMHO CRV is a poor choice for high mileage commutes. Lessor MPG compared to Accord with superior comfort & driving dynamics if in Honda family.

AWD is nice maybe once in a while but hardly a requirement. You pay in excess cost 97% of the drive time for it when not needed. This is coming from the owner of Subaru and Acura MDX.

This is coming from former Civic owner who did 230k/8 years as consultant. Civic's are the pits especially 150k+ as comfort degrades(seats, body rattles, bushings etc) very fast compared to a larger car (eg Accord).

 

[M1Accord]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
IMHO CRV is a poor choice for high mileage commutes. Lessor MPG compared to Accord with superior comfort & driving dynamics if in Honda family.

AWD is nice maybe once in a while but hardly a requirement. You pay in excess cost 97% of the drive time for it when not needed. This is coming from the owner of Subaru and Acura MDX.

This is coming from former Civic owner who did 230k/8 years as consultant. Civic's are the pits especially 150k+ as comfort degrades(seats, body rattles, bushings etc) very fast compared to a larger car (eg Accord).


My thought exactly. I would have gotten a 4-cylinder Accord of fog lights as that is a big plus around here. CRV is a lousy commuter car for one person. He makes good money but is very cheap on stuff so I figure he would get another car instead of an SUV.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: M1Accord
My thought exactly. I would have gotten a 4-cylinder Accord of fog lights as that is a big plus around here. CRV is a lousy commuter car for one person. He makes good money but is very cheap on stuff so I figure he would get another car instead of an SUV.


An Accord might be ideal for you, but it's presumptuous to say that he made the "wrong" decision based on what he bought. I'd take a CR-V over an Accord every day of the week. I "fought" with sedans for many years, and never could really find one that was truly comfortable for me. On a lark, I sat in a CR-V and was amazed at the difference just a little more step-in height and seat height did for my posture in the car. The configuration in many sedans makes a tall person like me more or less have to "lay back" in the seat to keep my head from scraping the ceiling. A taller body footprint like that of a CR-V is a perfect solution. It's still very economical to drive and to own because it's a Honda with easy-to-access DIY maintenance points and excellent K-series 4-cylinder engine. But it's far more comfortable (for me) because it's a taller body with a more upright seating position.

I wouldn't tell someone who bought an Accord that they made the wrong choice simply because I prefer something different. Your friend probably deserves the same benefit of the doubt.