High mileage Civic reliable?

Hurley6969

Hi all,

Looking to buy a Civic 1.4 hatchback model around the 98/99 year mark.
Was just wondering if anyone has this type of car or could they tell me how reliable one is with high mileage, I'm talking in and around about 90000 miles/144840 km.
I probably would not buy one wit 90000 miles if I can help it but I'm just wondering if anyone can give me an indication of the Civics reliability when the mileage does get high on the car.

Cheers.

colm_mcm

as long as it has had timing belt/regular oil changes and hasn't been driven to within an inch of its life by some youngfella you should be ok.

Tigger

Hurley6969 wrote: »

Hi all,

Looking to buy a Civic 1.4 hatchback model around the 98/99 year mark.
Was just wondering if anyone has this type of car or could they tell me how reliable one is with high mileage, I'm talking in and around about 90000 miles/144840 km.
I probably would not buy one wit 90000 miles if I can help it but I'm just wondering if anyone can give me an indication of the Civics reliability when the mileage does get high on the car.

Cheers.

in england these are driven by old men in flat caps who service them and love them

buy one of those and it'lllast forever and a day

in ireland they are driven by my mate anto

do not but a car off anto he's mad

coolbeans

Agreed. As long as it hasn't been driven by some young hooligan you'll be grand. I would therefore avoid cars with aftermarket exhausts and engine modifications. They're as tough as nails and the engines are strong. Just make sure the t-belt and oil has been changed and you'll have a car good for another 100k miles at least. The only thing that went wrong with my '96 1.4 saloon was the catalytic converter. They tend to burn out (if that's the correct term) anyway after around 130k miles but it's a big outlay at around E400. Good luck anyway.

P.S: They're ten a penny so you can afford to be choosy.

Hurley6969

Ive seen a few around that have half of Halfords stuck on to them, so the look of it and the previous owner are something I'm going to be looking at because getting one from England is too time consuming.

Darragh29

Hurley6969 wrote: »

Hi all,

Looking to buy a Civic 1.4 hatchback model around the 98/99 year mark.
Was just wondering if anyone has this type of car or could they tell me how reliable one is with high mileage, I'm talking in and around about 90000 miles/144840 km.
I probably would not buy one wit 90000 miles if I can help it but I'm just wondering if anyone can give me an indication of the Civics reliability when the mileage does get high on the car.

Cheers.

Get someone to check it out before you buy. They don't cause hassle though...

2qk4u

Thats not high milage for a jap car, theres plenty more left in it.

mc01a

i had a 96 honda civic 1.4

it had 210,000 k on it!! was perfect. very smooth runnung engin

just keep the timing good. honda engine last for a long time

Green Hornet

That model was bulletproof. I bought one new in '97 and kept it until 2006 by which time I'd racked up 230,000 miles on it. The only things I ever changed were the brakepads and of course timing belts every 60,000 miles. Never even had to change the battery believe it or not.

Its still going too. Although it now has a few, ahem, additions to the bodywork......................makes me sad to see her now.

Mycroft H

As long as its has been well cared for and will be in the future theres about 100+k miles still in her

mc01a

Green Hornet wrote: »

which time I'd racked up 230,000 miles on it..

Fu*king hell!!

i think that answers it all!!:)

Gael23

I know someone who traded in a 98 civic with 110k on it, absolutely nothing wrong with it, he got €3k for it!

Green Hornet

mc01a wrote: »

Fu*king hell!!

i think that answers it all!!:)

Got 3,500 for it at the time too! Great little car. Not convinced the new ones are as well built though, although mechanically still excellent.

goodladdy

Hurley6969 wrote: »

Hi all,

Looking to buy a Civic 1.4 hatchback model around the 98/99 year mark.
Was just wondering if anyone has this type of car or could they tell me how reliable one is with high mileage, I'm talking in and around about 90000 miles/144840 km.
I probably would not buy one wit 90000 miles if I can help it but I'm just wondering if anyone can give me an indication of the Civics reliability when the mileage does get high on the car.

Cheers.

1.4 civic is fairly bullet proof even after bein drove to the moon and back by anto, all his friends and cousins aswell, they'll last for ever and ever! only thing i'd say is the 1.4 is a li'l bit underpowered if you ever planned on carrying more than yourself around in it!

Volvoboy

goodladdy wrote: »

1.4 civic is fairly bullet proof even after bein drove to the moon and back by anto, all his friends and cousins aswell

''Wha ya bleadin' sayin'??!!'' /knackman

CyberGhost

Civic 99' hatch is an AK-47 of cars.

Biro

goodladdy wrote: »

1.4 civic is fairly bullet proof even after bein drove to the moon and back by anto, all his friends and cousins aswell, they'll last for ever and ever! only thing i'd say is the 1.4 is a li'l bit underpowered if you ever planned on carrying more than yourself around in it!

The 1.4 is 89bhp in that model, you couldn't get any more power in any 1.4 back then. The Golf was a pathetic 75bhp till recently.

Ginger83

I had an older model, '95 3dr hatch, lovely car and never had an once of trouble with it. Had it during 2 nct's and flew both times. Got the idea of getting a van but I'd get one again for sure, bullet-proof but I did always think the rear of the hatch model was very light on the corners

david

90k is absolutely nothing on these cars.

I've an '02 one, the later 3dr one. To be honest I paid over the odds for it in July '08 @ €3,850 albeit from a main Toyota dealer (no trade in). As far as I know it's 1.4 lump is only a slightly revised version of that found in the <00 model (89bhp).

It's not at all underpowered unless you have 5 heavy passengers/luggage. It's a nippy enough little thing. Anyway I bought it with 100k miles and @115k it's still perfect. The only thing ever changed was the timing belt/ARB bushes/Oil/Filters/wiper blades/tyres.

It feels/drives/looks like new as mine was well taken care of (MSL Ireland mechanic was the original owner, lives down the road from me)

I'd say go for it. I'd avoid Anto Special's. Try and find a nice clean example. Condition/history is far more important than odometer readings.

I'm planning on driving mine til it dies so i'll get back to you in a good few years (hopefully) time!

Gael23

Be sure to check timing belt, tyres etc

david

+1 make sure everything has been changed at the correct intervals. 72k for timing belt in this case IIRC (very rare they go before this). Although you will hear noises before the timing belt gives up.

Hurley6969

Cheers everyone for all the info, it helped me big time, who needs wikipedia anymore.

bazz26

90k miles is not high mileage on a 10 year old car. I'd find how the car was maintained by it's owners more important than what the odometer reads.

I think people can be too focused on judging a car by what the odometer reads which is not an accurate measurment of useage or wear and tear.