Honda Civic

[RyanbabZ71]

Ok guys just wondering if anyone has a honda civic? Reason? 1. MPG 2. Gfs car is starting to get unreliable (ford haha). Ill keep the story short but next yr I will be building a house and it is about a 60-70 mile trip to and from work eveyday. I dont want to put my truck through that and gas would kill me. The honda civic coupe gets about 44 mpg highway (its all highway driving) and this would be great. I am looking at used. What are some things to look for? What would you consider high miles for this car?

 

I found one so far (4 door though) with 58K miles and its like 8K

 

Dont worry there are no plans to get rid of the truck

[99silveradoz71]

Granny had a 91 that she traded in with 54k on the clock in Feb 01...probably put less than $1500-2000 into repairs on it in that time. She replaced it with another 01 and has had no problems with it yet. I'm 6'5 and 235 and don't mind driving it from time to time if needed.

[R Dogg 56]

Yeah, after the Nissan Skyline, the Honda Civic is my #2 fav. import. Very reliable, fuel efficient, and the Si model with the 160hp I-4 and six-speed (?) will be fun to drive. But that's just IMHO.

 

Oh... the fart pipe, NOX, body kit, and monkey wing aren't needed.

[pacodiablo]

They are slow, fugly and expensive...but they are not too bad on gas. You will have to get used to getting in and out of it though. I like stepping up into a vehicle, not crouching and bending over to get in and out. Once you are inside they are reasonably comfortable though and well built.

 

Stay away from the hybrids though. My dad's hybrid makes my truck look fast (and fast it is not). They are overly expensive and don't do much better on gas than the gas only ones.

[The SPEEDY]

On 94-older models the cam carrier seals were real bad about going bad. To check just pull the spark plug wires out and see if there is any oil on them. On all the year models the exhaust manifolds are bad about cracking around the #1 o2 sensor (covered by a sheild and is hard to see, but you can usually hear it). Look for leaks around the power steering pump and the distributor, most will leak eventually). Newer civics are coil-on-plug so on those you don't have to worry about a distributor seal. Turn the AC on and make sure both fans work.

 

If it has 98k miles or over it will be needing a timing belt if it hasn't had one. Transmission services are really important on Hondas as they have no filter, I recomend it be done every 30k miles.

 

Of course check for broken CV boots. It's easy to tell on the outers as the inside of the wheels will be covered with grease, the inner boots are harder to see, but I rarely see them break.

 

Hey, working at a Honda dealership has come in handy for once.

[HillHound]

Ryan,

 

Don't know much about Hondas (unless we're talking ATVs). If you want to stick with a GM vehicle and need good mileage and comfortable ride take a look at a Pontiac Vibe. They're rated for up to about 35mpg and they are fairly cheap. I think you can get one arond $15K.

[RyanbabZ71]

Oh... the fart pipe, NOX, body kit, and monkey wing aren't needed

 

no major mods dont worry Only gas, oil, maintenance items (maybe some 22 spinners hahahaha j/k)

 

They're rated for up to about 35mpg and they are fairly cheap

 

The accord coupe is rated for like 44mpg highway and are only like 13K brand new thats why I am leaning towards that. Trust me if i wasnt looking for fuel economy and something not to expensive car wise I probably would be getting a gto.

 

They are slow, fugly and expensive

 

slow? Who cares it it goes 65 thats good enough for me. Expensive??? HMM $13K plus they hold their value really well. Plus for me

[pacodiablo]

Oh... the fart pipe, NOX, body kit, and monkey wing aren't needed

 

no major mods dont worry Only gas, oil, maintenance items (maybe some 22 spinners hahahaha j/k)

 

They're rated for up to about 35mpg and they are fairly cheap

 

The accord coupe is rated for like 44mpg highway and are only like 13K brand new thats why I am leaning towards that. Trust me if i wasnt looking for fuel economy and something not to expensive car wise I probably would be getting a gto.

 

They are slow, fugly and expensive

 

slow? Who cares it it goes 65 thats good enough for me. Expensive??? HMM $13K plus they hold their value really well. Plus for me

$13K for a used compact car? That is a lot of money. You could buy a Mazda 3 new for about that much and have an all around better and more interesting vehicle (IMO). Around here new Civics often run $16K or more. I think the sticker on my dad's POS was in the $24K range. Mainly because it is a hybrid, but still far more than it is or ever will be worth. Yes, it can make it to 65, but if you get behind someone going under that and you want to pass, have fun. It's not how fast it can go, more of how long it takes it to get to that speed. This is just my experience with the hybrid, so plain gasser Civics may be a little different, but I have grown to hate Civics by having time behind the wheel in one.

[GMC_DUDE]

If you can, get the Civic HX. They are rare, but have the best gas mileage and pretty good performance. I had a 1999 model with the 5-speed, and consistently got 41 MPG, even better on long highway trips. The HX engine uses VTEC-E technology, which is a 2-stage design. Below about 3500 rpm, fuel economy is great but power is modest. Above that, the power increases sharply with some drop in fuel economy. No, you won't win any drag races with it, but I had no trouble keeping up with the 70 MPH traffic here, and with minimal effort could easily merge into the same on our 1964 vintage 10 foot long entrance ramps.

 

Peace and Coolness

 

GMC_DUDE

[RyanbabZ71]

$13K for a used compact car? That is a lot of money

 

 

sorry I am also looking at new ones. I talked to a friend who suggested going new since they are only slightly higher in price and hold their value

[SnakeEyeSS]

yeah, if you get a Civic, you8 could probably throw in a K&N and get some lighter weight, better looking wheels and tires with lower rolling resistance and gain another 2 MPG on top of that.

[pacodiablo]

$13K for a used compact car? That is a lot of money

 

 

sorry I am also looking at new ones. I talked to a friend who suggested going new since they are only slightly higher in price and hold their value

If you can get new for $13K, jump on it. Around here there isn't a chance in hell of getting a new one for $13K.

[General Lee 01]

Around here there isn't a chance in hell of getting a new one for $13K.

Your state sucks, remember?

 

 

 

Ryan, You can't go wrong with Civics (Nothing against GM ). We had an '81 that lasted 300k miles. I say go for it.

[RyanbabZ71]

MSRP is like $13K something are they going for over msrp??? Wow

[Z71GUY]

Ryan...they are great cars for what you've listed. Reliable and cheap transportation... I'd go for it without thinking twice. And no, they are NOT going for over MSRP... who knows what Paco is talking about....

 

also Paco... when you say a new Civic has a hard time passing on the highway, I suggest you drive one (not a hybrid).... I bet its faster than your 2.5 ranger.