Buying Honda Civic 2nd hand - advice needed!!

Con9903

Aye there done for speeding because they actually stop when the police pursue them

jayok

Should I go for it? Can a full Honda service hostory be faked?

The 1.6 coupe is nice but if there's a full Honda Service history on it then you're sorted. Ask for the log book and ring the dealer(s) involved, they will tell you the cars service history - including any major work that was done.

If you're looking at the Coupe there's a number of things to be aware of:

1. The timing belt needs to have been done at 60k
2. At start-up from cold listen for "metal grinding" - shows an abused enging.
3. Check near the gear-box under the car for any oil leak. Was a possible problem on these American built cars
4. Check for worn shocks and CVT joints. The coupe's bigger body seems to put more strain than normal on these.
5. Finally the clutch, there a soft clutch on these (American market again). Check that is engaged smoothly and doesn't shudder (i.e. worn clutch)

I suppose these are checks for any car, but when looking at Civic Coupes these are key points that can expose the car's treatment.


Have fun,
J.

Dagon

Regarding service history; surely when you can ring up the garage and actually check that the stated service history is correct, then it is ok?

Will probably get the AA check to be on the safe side!

RicardoSmith

Con9903 wrote:

I was referring to Ireland in particular yes, but it does apply in other countries. See you have isolated 3 particular articles on this "information super highway", You expect these three articles to prove that the majority of BMW drivers are people that speed? I think not. If I could muster the interest I'm sure I could find a couple (thousand) of articles to "prove" (the way you did of course) that there are plenty of civic drivers that speed and drive wrecklessly.

Then whats the point of you comment about Ireland then? None!!!

I posted two high profile examples and a well known survey. What did you post, lazy sound bites that mean nothing and will just annoy people because they are complete nonsense.

Con9903 wrote:

Aye there done for speeding because they actually stop when the police pursue them

Heres another example. So people who drive civics (any other Honda included?) don't stop when the police pursue them? Whats next people who wear shoes don't watch TV? People with long hair don't buy enough fruit. :rolleyes: While their are alot of modded Honda theres also a lot of pimped BMW's out there. Usually some clapped out 316 with lurid green paint and dual exhausts the size of a drainpipe out the back. Classy or what :rolleyes:

RicardoSmith

Re: American built. How do you know these are US built? Does the saloon not use the same shocks etc, but is even heavier than the coupe?

jayok

All of the Irish Civic Coupe's were build in the US. You can check this from the birth cert of the car (Vechicle ID number - it contains the country of manufacture). American's go mad for Coupe's for us European's it the hatches.

FYI That's why the coupes where only imported by Honda Ireland from 96-98. The dollar became too strong against the punt and made the coupe's too expensive.

The suspension make up is a little different from the European equivalent body (i.e. the saloon [made in Japan]) it's a lot softer and there's more body roll when cornering as the American's don't believe in bends . Towards the end of the life of the coupe the UK maufactuered a VTi model which had a retuned suspension for Europe and anti-roll bars on the back. But these were never offically imported by Honda Ireland and are quite expensive to buy now even if importing.

RicardoSmith

Didn't know that. You don't see that many of them really.

bazz26

Just to clear a few things up.

The 95 - 00 Honda Civic:
4dr Saloon - built in Japan,
3dr hatch - built in Japan,
5dr hatch (similar to Rover 200/400) - built in UK
5dr estate (not sold in Ireland) - built in UK
2dr Coupe - built in US

Con9903

RicardoSmith wrote:

Then whats the point of you comment about Ireland then? None!!!

I live in Ireland.

RicardoSmith wrote:

I posted two high profile examples and a well known survey. What did you post, lazy sound bites that mean nothing and will just annoy people because they are complete nonsense.

Sound bites eh?

RicardoSmith wrote:

Heres another example. So people who drive civics (any other Honda included?) don't stop when the police pursue them? Whats next people who wear shoes don't watch TV? People with long hair don't buy enough fruit. :rolleyes:

Now you're taking advantage of something silly I deliberately said to try and get rid of the arguementative atmostphere. Can't blame you for trying :rolleyes:

RicardoSmith wrote:

: While their are alot of modded Honda theres also a lot of pimped BMW's out there. Usually some clapped out 316 with lurid green paint and dual exhausts the size of a drainpipe out the back. Classy or what :rolleyes:

Actually the majority of BMW's I have seen have subtle body kits, tasteful paint jobs and smart alloys. Wish I could say the same for civics

RicardoSmith wrote:

Didn't know that. You don't see that many of them really.

tsk tsk tsk

Ratchet

Con9903 wrote:

Actually the majority of BMW's I have seen have subtle body kits, tasteful paint jobs and smart alloys. Wish I could say the same for civics

I agree


high mileage, black windows , m3 mirrors , with no power to turn 17 inch wheels, plus halo lights on the front and stupid lexus lights on the rear---this is general image of modified 3 series driven by BMW wanna be's with strong right arms from rolling down the window every time they cross toll bridge

RicardoSmith

Making sweeping inane generalisations slagging off civics in a thread about civics has only one intention. Like a fool I fell for the baiting. Best to ignore. Sorry for dragging the thread OTT.

Is it hard to get import parts and servicing these days. When I looked a Honda imports a few years back no Irish dealer would touch them, and were a pain to deal with if you needed parts which is why I bought an Irish CRX at the time. Whats the situation now?

Ratchet

RicardoSmith wrote:

Making sweeping inane generalisations slagging off civics in a thread about civics has only one intention. Like a fool I fell for the baiting. Best to ignore. Sorry for dragging the thread OTT.

Is it hard to get import parts and servicing these days. When I looked a Honda imports a few years back no Irish dealer would touch them, and were a pain to deal with if you needed parts which is why I bought an Irish CRX at the time. Whats the situation now?

with amount of jap imports in Ireland i never had any problems with getting parts. Looks like there is more jap imports in the scrap yards then actually Irish models. Body panels maybe difficult to find and could be pricey. Dealer got better and was able to get me all the parts I needed for jap imports. Most serviceable parts you can buy of the shelve.

bazz26

Ratchet wrote:

I agree


high mileage, black windows , m3 mirrors , with no power to turn 17 inch wheels, plus halo lights on the front and stupid lexus lights on the rear---this is general image of modified 3 series driven by BMW wanna be's with strong right arms from rolling down the window every time they cross toll bridge

Don't forget that very important €40 "M" badge on the boot that adds another 50bhp.

RicardoSmith

Ratchet wrote:

with amount of jap imports in Ireland i never had any problems with getting parts. Looks like there is more jap imports in the scrap yards then actually Irish models. Body panels maybe difficult to find and could be pricey. Dealer got better and was able to get me all the parts I needed for jap imports. Most serviceable parts you can buy of the shelve.

The situation different now then. A few years back I couldn't get a ignition barrel housing and lock kit for love nor money from anywhere. Same with a steering column. All the ones I managed to source from scappers just didn't fit. The only way I could have got the parts was to pay the eye watering main dealer prices. 400 quid for a part of an exhaust etc. One of the reasons why I haven't bought a Honda since.

Ratchet

when i had irish crx and was looking for the parts i found 7 cars in Dublin scrap yards, all of them jap imports

RicardoSmith

Ratchet wrote:

when i had irish crx and was looking for the parts i found 7 cars in Dublin scrap yards, all of them jap imports

I found 4 columns all different. I can't see how that make economic sense to make so many different parts for essentially the same car.

Con9903

RicardoSmith wrote:

Making sweeping inane generalisations slagging off civics in a thread about civics has only one intention.

Con9903 wrote:

Still I won't condemn the civic, as its a car with lots of potential, be it track or car show.

RicardoSmith wrote:

Best to ignore. Sorry for dragging the thread OTT.

I agree

On topic: Whenever I mention japanese Import cars people tend to dismiss them as inferior quality to the Irish versions. I was always skeptical about this assessment. What is the quality like in comparison to Irish version?

Delta_ie

With the civic and other imports they were usually better quality. They came with a better spec as standard and were generally cared for better.
Also they got better audio equipment such as Gathers in hondas and other car makes use Bose aswell.

Torlac

Friends don't let friends buy civics.
Keep clear, but a celica

Dagon

Latest update: travelling from Sligo to Dublin tomorrow to view, and possibly (most probably) buy a basic 1998 1.4 Honda Civic, with 15,000 miles. Going for this model because I'm a student, and:
- Lower insurance (I'm 24)
- Lower tax
- Small engine = more mpg

Thanks loads to everyone who contributed to this thread, it helped me in thinking the whole thing though, and gave plenty of useful info. I think a 1.4 will do fine for now. I have to be realistic about things, and I have to think about going costs cause I don't want to end up in debt. Also, if you get the coolest car possible as your first buy, then where do you go from there?? If it's in any ways nippier or nicer to drive than my old 1990 Carina (with 278,000 miles on the clock!) then I will be one happy camper for a long time to come.

Will give a full report after tomorrow, including photos if I get it...

Cheeerz....

RicardoSmith

Torlac wrote:

Friends don't let friends buy civics.
Keep clear, but a celica

No problem, which one do you want me to butt?

Celicas are nice. But bigger engines, so insurance, tax and petrol is more expensive.

Zascar

Friends don't let friends buy civics.

rubbbish, I've recommended 3 people to but civics who have all been very happy with theor purchase. And no, they are no tracksuit/soverign/burberry cap wearing bla bla bla..

Dagon

"Get yourself a civic"

I took your advice, and I've bought it!! Here is the spec:
Silver 1998 Civic 1.4i (EK)
3-Doors
15,600 miles (checked it out, believe me, it's genuine)
No extras - so I will probably be investing in sound system, alloys, a few touch ups.
€7000

I would have liked to have gone for a 1.5VTEC alright, but after driving this car, and the fact that it is so hard to get a Civic in such good nick, I was really blown away, and was completely taken with it. The drive is lovely, very good road holding, and it feels like you're driving on air! It's so quiet, a few times I was checking that it hadn't cut out! Because of the low mileage, the car is like new (interior looks very unused, even steering, gearstick, etc), and the steering is ultra light. I don't want to be going OTT, but I haven't enjoyed driving a car as much as this since I drove a mates BMW 318 Coupe over a year ago, and I was only driving it for about 6 miles.

It's a little nippier than I thought it would be for a 1.4, and doesn't really feel sluggish to me (although some people here said they found this model sluggish), then again I previously had a 90 carina with 270,000 miles!! Also, the fuel, tax and insurance will be cheaper than VTEC, although make no mistake, in a few years I'll definitely be looking at those cars as well.

Because the car was driven so little, there are a few jobs that will need to be done on it. It's also due an NCT...

But overall, very happy with it, and thanks loads to everyone who contributed to the thread and gave advice - it really did help with my purchase, and I'm glad I went for a Civic (and yup, I'm now really popular with the local hoods)!!!

irlirishkev

Nice one. Well done on your choice. If it's a 1.4l, you probably don't have a rev counter, so I don't know if you've discovered this yet, but Honda's like to be revved. You'll find that if you put the boot down* and keep the revs up, the car will take off almost unexpectedly. Great for overtaking.

Kevin.

*Please drive carefully and remember that speed kills.

Duckjob

Hondas are fab. I drive a mk2 CRX, which is just about to celebrate its 100,000 mile anniversary. It never misses a beat no matter how badly it's treated and still puts a smile on my face when I drive it.

Was thinking of what car I'd buy when the time comes, and the thought of not buying Honda again scares me. You get used to having totally dependability with a Honda.

blastman

Hey, nice to see a couple of other CRX owners out there. I've had three Mk2 CRXs (still have two of them!) and they are great cars to drive. I'm not an expert on Civics by any means, but from what I know of the engines, they'll go forever. As the saying goes, miles don't kill Hondas, rust does!

The total dependability of a car this much fun to drive has spoiled me completely!

samo

congrats, nice car!

As I mentione earlier in this thread a 99 civic 1.4 3 door hatch was the 1st car I ever purchased from new and reading your description takes me back (6 years ago!) I can remember the steering being as light as a feather (especially compared to a '89 volvo 340!) and the wondering was the engine still running when stopped in traffic it was that quiet!

Enjoy

Our man in Havana

In this neck of the woods, rural Laois a civic=Boy racer=constant harrassment from the cops. I would avoid like the plague, as said earlier most are thrashed by baseball cap wearing gents.

RicardoSmith

blastman wrote:

Hey, nice to see a couple of other CRX owners out there. I've had three Mk2 CRXs (still have two of them!) and they are great cars to drive. I'm not an expert on Civics by any means, but from what I know of the engines, they'll go forever. As the saying goes, miles don't kill Hondas, rust does!

The total dependability of a car this much fun to drive has spoiled me completely!

The plonker who drove into the side of my CRX 2nd gen almost killed it. Then the morons who tried to steal it and wrecked the steering column and ignition finally did. The the 3K insurance renewal was the final nail. Still miss it though. The build quality was excellent. never let me down. Could never have a baby seat into it though.

I'm thinking of an old Prelude as a run about now. I wonder can you get a baby seat into that?

Zascar

Well done mate, I'm sure you'll be very happy. Yes Hondas are very rev happy, do a bit of reasearch and see what speeds it can do in each gear so you have an idea of what revs you can do to. I'm sure you don't want to pimp up your car nacker style, but whatever you want to do the guys at these sites are always very helpfull and won't slag you off for buying a civic:

www.jspeed.net
www.manic-motorz.com
www.racershaven.com