Hey guys, I'm new to his forum and I would like to ask you guys since you all should know a lot about your civics.

I recently got my 07 350z totaled (not at fault), and I'm looking for a car for college (I'm 18).

The insurance company of the person that hit me is giving me a check of $20,000. and I've narrowed my decisions down to:

an 08 BMW 328i and an 08 civic si.

They are both around 15k and both have
less than 35,000 miles. I got quotes from my insurance company and the BMW is about 60 dollars cheaper for 6 months than the Si.

Now my friends tell me that the BMW is a much nicer/smoother ride and will be better in the long run, but some have also told me that they are unreliable and expensive to maintain in contrast to the Si.

I don't plan on really upgrading my cars for parts, so if I got the civic I don't intend to really "supe it up"

For mileage, the BMW gets 18/28 while the civic gets about 21/32.

Right now I'm leaning towards the BMW because of quality, but I'm afraid that the expenses of having this car will add up to be greater than the insurance of the Civic.

If you guys could shed some light on this I would really be thankful!

 

I just got back from a small ride my civic si averaged 35 mpg I have no problem getting 30 in town.(on regular gas)

I think the civic will outlast the beemer and it will be cheaper to repair and the car will last for years.

I might add my si has 100K on it and runs fantastic, the only problem you need to be aware of is the 3 gear problem with the si, make sure the warranty you get with the car covers the trans.

I would run the vin number and see if the trans was repaired if it has you have a good one.

My car has the problem with 3rd but I'm not big on slamming the gears, I think it will last me forever, if not I will cough up the 1200 they want to repair it later on if I keep the car which is highly unlikely for me.

I was looking at a new one today if they gave me what I wanted for mine I would be driving a 2011 now.

 

BMW stands for one thing "Bust my wallet!". Get the civic and you'll have it forever. At 18 a BMW is not what you want if your still going through school. Get a luxury car after you start a career and can afford to fix it when it breaks.

 

I thought only the 06/07 Si civics had the third gear problem?

 

this is y i love my si!


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I love my civic but Im selling mine. Im just about done parting it out. The civic is a nice car and will last a long time. Im only selling mine bc of my size and my needs. If it wasnt for that I would keep the civic. Im not able to have both and keeping the civic would mean that I would spend a lot of money of mods and not get to ride my atv as much as I want to.

 

Civic Si.

Your bank account will thank you!

 

06-07 all are affected. 08 you have to compare your VIN to the range on the TSB.

Chalk mine up for the Si as well.

 

si will probably be more fun to drive than a 328

 

get an SI cause you want to not cause someone tells you too

 

You're on a Honda forum. Everyone will tell you to get an Si. You probably went on a BMW forum as well. They probably told you to get a BMW. Go with what YOU really want. Not what other people think you should get.

 

Being a college student do you really feel like paying $100 bucks for an oil change in the beemer?

You'll find most will say si, maintenace wise it's less than the bmw too!

 

my 06 si was one of the first in pittsburgh. the third gear was replaced by shadyside honda, no charge. ive driven both (my boss has a 3-series) and my *** tells me the si is the better car, not to mention, better resale value. if you add honda's longevity, you cant loose. nuf-said

 

im currently looking at an 07 si, i hope its not plauged withthe tranny issue.

the price is pretty good too, ill be in here more often

 

Most (on here) will say get the SI.

My 08 Si Sedan gets 26 mpg city driving (in the winter) and 29 mpg city driving (in the summer).

Here is the real question, which will help you choose...

Will you be attending a Private College (= BMW) or will you be attending a State College (= SI)?

 

lol get a s2000 its better than both of them

 

lol agreed, good luck with insurance though

 

Unless you have extra cash laying around, I would get the Si. It is reliable. I used to have a 04 M3 coupe and that killed my wallet. I realized never have a german car as your daily driver and only get one if you can afford to have it as a secondary because they're expensive to maintain. Not to mention, all sorts of stuff went wrong in the BMW. If you still decide to get the BMW, I highly advise to get a CPO or a warranty of some kind. I can pretty much promise you that you will have triple as many or more issues with the BMW than with a Honda. After you've driven it for a while, the Si will depreciate less, won't age as much, and be easier to sell. Just trying to help.

 

i just bought a 08 si sedan it walks all over my buddys sentra specV.... its got 33000 miles on it can anyone tell me more about the 3rd gear problem?

 

06 SI here

OP did you check prices for maintenence before compairing the two? Anything broken on a BMW will cost you at LEAST 2x as much as on the civic... That is the exact reason I didnt buy a 330xi when I totalled my lancer last summer. BMWs look great, perform well and its a Bimmer, people notice that which is nice. The SI on the other hand I can almost gaurentee walk all over ever BMW under the X30's (ei 320, 325).

The SI is great fun, "vtec goes bwahhhhhh" is a legit quote from the car. SI's have their problems too, like zimmsx17 3rd gear question.

3rd gear syncro is garbage... check out 8th gen forum (google it) they have problems, always have. From what I have heard it has to do with making the 6speed tranny lighter it added problems on reliability... If you are really concerned about 3rd- set aside 2g's as a just incase, best case scenario you have 2's for your next car, worst case - you need to get a new tranny...

Check out 8th gen civic forum it has loads of info on these cars... same user name over there for me

 

BTW dont factor gas in to your choice here... I get 350km to tank on 94 octane pump gas... the SI is not great on gas if you drive it like an SI... GL with the new car bro!

 

From my understanding cuz i bought an 08. anything thts a late 08 si model and higher had the tranny recoil fixed

 

If you get a used BMW....make sure you have existing warranty or extended warranty.

If anything fails its gonna break your wallet (considering your a college student)

BMW are great cars. I've owned '04 E46 M3 and currently own '10 Z4 35i and '06 X5 3.0i

Be prepaid to shell out money on maintenance once your free maintanance is over (4yrs, 50k miles). Reliablity on BMW's its a hit or miss. So far i've been lucky that i've had no major problems. *Knock on wood* I have a piece of mind that my BMW's are all covered under factory warranty and extended warranties.

Honda's on the other hand....cheap to maintain, gas saver, insurance is much cheaper to insure, and more reliable. In your case the 328i is cheaper for you.

If money isn't a problem and you care about image and what people see you driving in then get the BMW. You probably get more chicks too "its a BMW". If you dont care about any of all that then I'd say get the civic si and say f*** what people think. You will save money if u get the Honda.

I have a 2010 civic lx and i love the car. I use the civic mainly for longer drives to save gas. The X5 is my local grocery getter or out of town car. (Safer car for the family on long vacation trip) and the Z4 as weekend car/going to the club car.

I used to own quite a few honda's in the past and loved them all! I had a Acura RSX Type S, same engine as the civic si. It is a very quick car and you will love it. Great on gas its faster then the 328i.

I would say get the CIVIC SI!!

 

i got a 07 si sedan black 46500 for sale. just had the 3rd gear set replaced at honda under warranty back in october . great car all stock $14,000 located in north alabama

 

15k for either an 08 BMW 328, or an 08 Civic Si, both with 30k miles on them?

Considering the fact that a new 328 costs about 36g's and a new Si cost about 22 I'd say the Si since it'll hold its value better.