What amount of miles makes a Honda civic start to show it's age? Also what is the most important info to ask for about?

[dullard]

I personally would avoid buying a used Civic. However, I just bought a new Civic. Why? Depreciation.

Since the value is retained for so long - it is quite cheap to own a new Civic. I paid about $14,000 for a 2002 Civic, and in 3 years I can reasonably expect to get $11,000 back ($11,000 is an low price, even $12,000 is common in newspapers around here). So that means it will cost me $83 per month to own this car for 3 years. It is great for me - but then there is a stupid person who got a 3 year old car for the price of a new car.

Now if you want a reliable used car with great gas mileage and similar to the Civic, get the Toyota Corolla. It should be about 20% less than the used Civic for the same features. I could have paid $14,000 for a 2002 Toyota Corolla and in 3 years sold it for $9000 (monthly cost is $139). Do you see the difference? The person buying the 3 year old Corolla gets about the same car for a whole lot less money.

In my newspaper, I see 1997 and 1998 Corollas for $6000. I also see 1994, 1995, and 1996 Civics for $6000. If I were in your shoes, I'd get a two year newer Corolla with less miles.

Important things to ask about: accidents, maintainence records (actually check to see if the oil was replaced regularly), and repair history.


Edit: My monthly costs do not take into account any interest you might have to pay (I paid cash).

 

[StageLeft]

As dullard said, a new civic depreciates so ridiculously slowly that in many cases it's worth buying a new one instead of a late model used one.

Anyway a guy at work has a 97 civic with 170,000 miles on it. His only repairs have been brakes and oil changes as far as I know. I was in it on a long trip and the thing drives extremely well. I'm rather in awe of it and believe me this guy does not take care of his car. He bought it new btw.

 

[Thegonagle]

Maybe you should just look at getting a new Civic DX or perhaps a Civic HX. Payments could be as low as $213 for the DX or $228 for the HX (assuming $1000 down and $1000 discount+trade allowance) if you qualify for their current special rate of 4.9%.

Now take good care of it and keep it clean, and the depreciation will be kept to a minimum.

 

[coolred]

And I wish I could afford one, but I don't have that kinda cash

 

[Eli]

Garfang - Cool, that it's V-Tec, that is.

In your opinion, did she get a good deal?

What are the specs of the 1.6L V-Tec engine?

 

[coolred]

Are those figures for a lease or a loan? I would consider buying one if i could get it for that price. But leasing seems like a waste of money to me.

 

[Thegonagle]

Eli: I think she did fine if the car is clean and nice, and she's happy . Condition is as important as mileage. She shouldn't need to do much to it for awhile. Read my posts in Vi_edit's thread.

Coolred: That's the payment to buy. I used Honda's payment estimator on their web site (under "Customize & Get a Quote" in the drop-down. It looks like there's a finance promo on Civics right now.

 

[coolred]

I am checking that now garfang. But what is that $1000.00 discount+trade allowance you are talking about

 

[Thegonagle]

Well, you said you had another car, a $1000 car, at best, as you described it, lets just say they decide to give you $500 to trade it in (trade is always less than retail). And nobody willingly pays full sticker, except those poor saps who buy new Saturns (I just nabbed a Saturn for $250, but that's a different story), so let's just say you get a $500 dollar discount on the new car. That's equals $1000. Since the payment estimator calculates based on full MSRP, I just put in $1000 in the trade-in line and called it a trade/discount.

 

[coolred]

I should have been more clear. the 1000.00 dollar car will be given to my girlfriend. it is the other car we are getting rid of, and as i said it's not worth much at all. I doubt it could even be used as trade in.

 

[Thegonagle]

Fine. Just put your numbers in (like MSRP minus Edmund's TMV, perhaps) and see what it comes up with for you. My numbers were only an example.

 

[TerryMathews]

As far as things to look for, tranny problems are number one, especially with auto hondas. Engines seem to last forever, auto trannys seem to need rebuild/repair depending on model, every 200k. The worst, by far, is Prelude (And of course I own one ). I've heard of Prelude owners with dead auto trannys after 30k miles. Yes, 30k not 300k.

At any rate, not trying to scare you off of Hondas. I've found them to be far less troublesome than Fords or Chevys, especially the cheap ones like Escorts and Malibus.

 

[Thegonagle]

Auto transmission fluid changes are very important in a Honda because they don't use a filter. AFAIK, they recommend a drain and refill type of fluid change every 15,000 miles (it might now be 30,000). It's easy to do, just like an oil change, so just do it. There is no need to have it flushed. The only things you need are a new aluminum press washer and a long funnel. If you really want to, drain and refill it two or three times in a row. I know it sounds crazy, like I'm some kind of Nazi about shopping almost exclusively at the dealership, but use Honda ATF, not generic Dexron/Mercon. (And don't use additives!) My 87 Accord transmission was still going strong after 247,000 miles of following this maintenance routine.

I bet the majority of transmission problems happened because they were not taken care of properly. The 30K Prelude should still be under warranty, and such an early failure is a definite anomaly.

 

[Eli]

Yep... People don't realize that you need to change your AT fluid, too..

Toyota recomends 30,000 miles.. in their Camrys, at least. They have a filter.

 

[coolred]

I know a lot of you don't think i can afford this, and to tell you the truth I won't know that for sure until the end of the month. So are you saying i look towards something else? Or what? I need to get another part time job, but then that ill cut into my studying time and thats not too good. I understand the toyotas might be cheaper and thats probablly what you will all recommend, but I don't really like the look of the toyotas, except for the tacoma. What other makes and models do you suggest. Or if you still think Honda is the way to go then what do you suggest in that route. I am working part time at UPS right now and as I said i usually have an extra 200.00 or so per month that I can do what i want with. I suppose I could either get another job or I can double shift(working both the twilight and midnight shifts) that will get me about an extra 30.00 bucks or so every night I do it. Maybe even more then that, I figured it on a 3 hour midnight shift and I'm not exactly sure if thats what they run right now. I mean in order for me to afford a brand new Civic I would basically have to get the crappiest one with no options and then still put mor emoney down then what i have. But what about a certified used honda. They are going at 5.9% right now, but like you said they hold there value so well that it might now be easy to find a good deal. i don't know what to do.

 

[vi edit]

A suggestion would be a used Chevy Prizm. It's just a toyota corolla with a geo badge on it. You could probably pick up a '99 or '00 for under 7k or 8k.

Very reliable and inexpensive to own.

 

[coolred]

I will take that under advisment, but only if I can't find something else

 

[neovan]

My 94 Civic has 125,000+ miles on it and its still running fine.

I've also missed a couple of oil changes too but still running like a charm.

 

[coolred]

How about chevy Cavaliers? Are they any good? What differances are there in the regular coupe and the Z24 coupe?

 

[coolred]

Are there any good places that talk about the reliability of cars? I have been reading consumerguide a lot lately, but they don't say much about reliability.

 

[Siddhartha]

My Civic's driver seat was really worn out after 200,000 miles. The mechanics were still is great shape when it was totalled at 240,000 miles

 

[spanky]

Also what is the most important info to ask for about?

how much room is there in the back seat?

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: coolred
How about chevy Cavaliers? Are they any good? What differances are there in the regular coupe and the Z24 coupe?

Avoid cavaliers/prizims like the plague. GM 4 cylinders = crap. Many, many problems with those cars. That, and I saw a cavelier get totoally demolished in a 35 MPH wreck with a minivan. The mini-van was going 30-35 MPH and the Cavalier was crossing an intersection. MV driver blew a stop sign and smashed into the cav's front right corner by the engine. The car was totaled, the driver was pretty banged up. There was fluid spilling out from all over the place. The steering wheel was buckled, ect. Not exactly a solid testement IMHO to the crash worthyness of those cars.

Imagine of they had both been going 50+ MPH! :Q I doubt the owner of the cavaleir would have made it through.

 

[Jerboy]

Miles doesn't mean a whole alot when you look at other factors.

50,000 miles of go there, shut off the engine, come back in two hours, start, put another mile on , shut off than 150,000 miles of highway driving.


I'd play it safe and won't push it too hard. Don't be a boyracer. Pulling out of school parking lot full-throttle is VERY hard on the car considering that engine was just started after it's been sitting for six or seven hours.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Jerboy
Miles doesn't mean a whole alot when you look at other factors.

50,000 miles of go there, shut off the engine, come back in two hours, start, put another mile on , shut off than 150,000 miles of highway driving.


I'd play it safe and won't push it too hard. Don't be a boyracer. Pulling out of school parking lot full-throttle is VERY hard on the car considering that engine was just started after it's been sitting for six or seven hours.

Exactly. That, and when you are the highway, you set the cruise at 65 and your RPM's are maybe sitting around 2000-2600 RPM's depending upon engine and gearing. At that engine speed, you aren't putting much abuse on it. Ultimately, the slower the parts are moving, the longer the longevity.