I like a comfortable ride. My Bonneville is okay, but handling isn’t quite as good as the firmer ride in the Grand Prix, which is also okay. I’ll tell you that more than the “ride” I appreciate a comfortable seat and driving position.
I’m a young 70 year-old. I don’t worry too much about ride comfort, ha, ha…
I just got back from my daily bicycle ride, 22.41 miles of island and key hopping and it was 75 degrees and sun when I left and 81 and no clouds when I got back. The bike is a Giant Transend EX commuter bike with fairly hard, skinny tires running about 70 PSI and no rear suspension (hard-tail). I maintained a pretty good average speed and was soaking wet with perspiration, but felt terrific, even with some bone jarring on that little bike seat.
Why am I telling this story? No car in the world is as uncomfortable as my bicycle. I think we are only as old or as uncomfortable as we allow ourselves to be. If I paid any attention to different aches and pains and babied myself I would miss all the fun. If I’m not sweating like crazy every day then I don’t feel right. I told my wife that if I start acting like a complaining old person that she should shoot me, ha, ha. I tell myself to “Suck it up, Buttercup.” CSA
@old_mopar_guy. I want to live as long as possible because there are a lot more people in this world I want to irritate. The last thing I want to do is croak, because I know where the hell I will be going.
I will have to admit that it is harder for me to keep up with new technology. I still wish that they hadn’t moved the starter from a pedal on the floor to the dashboard. I really don’t listen to the radio in the car very often. There are days when I wish I didn’t have a Smartphone.
I have become involved in too many activities since I retired. In fact, I am thinking about getting a job to retire from retirement.
Mrs. Triedaq is 9 years younger than I am, but we are so involved in so many things that we couldn’t get along without two vehicles.
What I find difficult is losing friends who are my age or younger. I have had to make too many trips to the funeral home this past year.
What is really great is to see the younger generations taking over. My son is a college professor as I was. My grand daughter, who is not yet 17, is an outstanding musician and has been on a concert tour with a group in Europe and then in China.
When I see the younger generations making their contributions, it keeps me young just watching them.
I really don’t want to go back to yesterday’s cars and old technology.
I know it won’t change the vehicle’s “ride,” but it can change a driver’s “ride” by trying different seating and steering wheel positions. I don’t know how many adjustments are on one of these little Hondas (I’ve never been in one), but try some different configurations with whatever is available.
Do you have seat height adjustment? Lumbar support adjustment? Can you tilt the seat cushion, independently from tilting the seat back? Does the steering wheel adjust?
Do you have an Owner Manual? Take a look through and find where they discuss driver positioning and see if there are any new discoveries there. CSA
My mother once went through something similar, except she went on an extended test drive and later discovered the vehicle was not a good fit for her for physical reasons. There is simply no way to make the dealership do what you want them to do (negate the sale).
You can fight all you want, but you signed the paperwork, which is a binding contract. There is no getting out of this without taking a sizable financial hit.
The BBB is not a government agency, and they don’t force car dealerships to negate contracts.
Yes, lots of Hondas need new CV axles, but it’s not a major repair job or a defect.
I recommend you go to a different dealership and trade it in. That way you won’t be paying the dealership you don’t like twice, but you will take a loss to trade in the car and give someone the profit on the sale of your next car, so it might as well be someone you like instead of someone you don’t like.
When I bought my Honda Civic 20 years ago, I also only went on a short test drive around the neighborhood. The first time I took it out on the highway, I didn’t like all the road noise, but by then it was too late to do anything about it, so I got used to it. Maybe you should do the same and trade the car in next year, or the year after that. That way you’ll get something for what you paid. You can bet I won’t buy another car without driving it on the highway first.
@OliviaVerde Sorry you have a car you find uncomfortable. Unfortunately, few states allow a brief “buyer’s remorse” time of one to three days in which to undo a purchase. So no matter how unhappy you are, it sounds like you are stuck. Rather than waste more time and anger at the dealer, why not, as others have suggested, sell the car to someone other than that dealer and find a different car to buy you are comfortable with?!
As a senior lady, like I also am, I imagine you value your independence. But there come times when we need to ask help from family or friends. If you have anyone you can ask for assistance, perhaps he or she can assist you in selling this car and finding a different one you are comfortable with. I know you stated you have limited income to work with. So perhaps it is time to request help from those you know and trust to get the most from selling this car and to help keep you from being pressured into buying anything else you aren’t comfortable or certain about.
If you do buy a different car, be sure to take a long test drive, preferably without the car salesman along distracting you and pressuring you to only drive around the block. Also, remember that there are always other cars for sale. Don’t let anyone pressure you to buy in a hurry with the old line that if you don’t buy this very minute the car will be gone. So what, there are other cars!!!
Good luck. I hope you are able to resolve your situation either by adjusting the seat and/or getting used to the car, or by selling it and getting a different car more to your taste.
+1
It always amuses me when ill-informed people say something along the lines of… I’ll report them to the BBB!.
In reality, the Better FOR Business Bureau is essentially an “old boys’ club” for companies that have paid dues to that profit-making private organization. Because it is not a government agency, the BBB has neither regulatory nor punitive powers.
… and those folks would be wrong, but… if you believe that they are correct, why did you buy the car in the first place? If you are going to tell us that you checked into this model’s reputation after you purchased it, then I have to tell you that you have the process reversed.
Sorry about your situation but you came looking for advice. Based on the information in your post, you clearly were responsible, not any shenanigans from the dealer. Your response to the dealer was, well I won’t use the term I think best applies, but less than charitable.
I and others have given this same advice as a solution.
'The GM is the one who said drive shafts have to be replaced about
27les. It was replaced at 17k mi.and why was it replaced?
The used car manager to ld me when first looking at it, asked him
about history, he replied 99.9% sure lease return. It certainly
Was NOT, and he KNEW it.
I saw truth on carfax, and I questioned re drive shaft being
replaced, and they made some excuse about it, natch, and 4 days
later, I met with GM, and he said that about having DSs replaced
every 27k miles. (and it only had 17k on it when it wa.s replaced!
If you go here, and read some complaints about the car (2014) you
will see why I am afraid to drive the car.
and
I am scared to drive this car. I've also read about ride being
too stiff. I will check the tires. This car year had oodles of
problem, several Big Recalls, not this specific car, have to check
more i went to the nhtsa put in VIN, it said 0. Does someone know
could that also mean it had one, and work was done?
Thank you all so much. I need to figure this out. Lying is Fraud,
You’re scared to drive this car because it is “too stiff”?
Please explain for us how a perception of a stiff ride is equivalent to an actual safety issue.
It seems like you are depending on the car salesman for actual car information. They often know next to nothing about cars, but will tell you anything.
Good maybe Changing to larger tires. Do you know how much they
cost, I mean more or less?
I'm on very ltd. income. I didn't buy a car, to have to spend
more money on it, this was a huge purchase
for me. I'm already going to lose my taxes 1342$ if I don't keep
this car. Sigh. Going to another honda driver to drive a civic,
and see if it’s as stiff, and steering So Sensitive, Thank you so
much for the tips. I can’t find tire size on paperwork, and they
could have changed from the stock tires, so I need to find on info
for this specific car.
thanks again, for your kind help! it's exactly the kind of
@OliviaVerde. If you know someone who is a little familiar with cars, have the person read the tire size from the tire and then compare that with the tire size posted on the pillar just inside the front door.
Also, have this person use a tire pressure gauge to see if the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. This is also stated on the placard on the left door pillar. You can buy a tire gauge for $5 or so at Walmart.
Your problem sounds to me like tires that have been over-inflated. The last time I had my minivan serviced, it road more harshly and the steering was more sensitive. I think the technician got carried away with the air hose.
Ride is a subjective quality. I like a firm ride.
I have friends that own Hondas and they really like them.
@OliviaVerde. One more thing: I think you made a reasonable choice in the Honda. One friend of mine went from a Cadillac to a Honda Civic and after a couple of weeks didn’t miss the Cadillac. She had had a stroke and wanted something easier to manage in city traffic.
yes, Los Angeles roads, you'd think would be better, but they're
not great. Yes, and I needed to test drive 1/2 hr, not 10 minutes.
And I think the route we went on, they tried to take me smoother
roads, and I didn’t notice the bumps like I did diving through a
‘city’ with seams in road and etc. going through ‘town’ to get to
dealer, noticed big time.
You don’t know how much research I did. However, I missed some
important points to buying a car! Sigh.
I'm more resigned to it now, I'm getting lots of good feedback on
this forum. which is Great! so thanks for yours!
The worst is the stiff suspension (for me) , hit every little
bump and FEEL iit. Finding there could be things to try and make
ride a bit softer. Also am looking up tire size change, this comes
with 15" tires.
