What do you think of this car??

[Marinski]

thinking about getting a car for around $1000 w a stick shift. Originally I planned on buying a truck but since I already have a truck I may just get a little car that I can use to learn a stick and save a little on gas. Heres one i looked at, civic some pics 1, 2, 3, 4.
What do you think. Any suggestions?

 

[evident]

test drive it... if you can get record of all his recent maintenance... but for $1000 a 92 civic is def worth it, even if you have to fix some things themself (minor, hopefully)

don't rice it up

 

[desy]

It can't be a Civic cause its already needed a transmission and we all know they last at least till 200K without turning a screw 😉

/sarcasm off

I had a 95 hatch, get the boots checked out cause they were prone to cracking.
Other than that, it was awesome on gas and I exceeded estimated MPG on good days.
Also supposed to be some distributor problems with that year I beleive but if its running good, no problem.

 

[cardiac]

With the trans (And hopefully the clutch) replaced and the timing belt, it should be good for another 80-100k miles. But, it can nickel and dime you to death. At 157k miles, it could need brakes, exhaust, struts, cv joints/axles, etc. And I don't think you want to put a lot of cash into a $1000 car...... Check it out pretty good. If everything is pretty solid, or if a lot of the above has been replaced already, it seems like a decent deal.....

Bob

 

[DougK62]

Check it really well for rust. Civics from that time were very prone to really bad rusting.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I had a 94 civic lx and it was easy to drive as a stick...but maybe because the previous owner really screwed with the pressure plates, im not sure.

there was zero pressure when you pushed the clutch in, but it still allowed me to turn gears, oh well.

get it, 1k for a decent looking gas saver. check that undercarriage for really bad rust though.

 

[exdeath]

Just remember with stick, if you have never driven stick before, don't be surprised if you get worse mileage than an auto. Beginners tend to 'forget' to shift or let the tach wind out too much (cruising around in 4th at 3000 RPM and 'forgetting' to shift when you could get by with 5th at 2200 RPM, etc).

It goes both ways, you can willfully get worse mileage or better mileage (than the same car with auto) once you know how to drive it.

 

[milesl]

Be sure the recent work was done at a reputable mechanic and that they did NOT use after market parts,or you will be looking at problems in the very shot term.Also be sure they replaced the water pump and changed the coolant with the timing belt(pump is timing belt driven) or it may seize and and destroy the timing belt and damage the motor.If you can,have someone who knows how to drive a stick drive it to be sure there are no clutch or shifting problems that you may not notice.Defiantly have a good look underneath,the front sub frames and the rear suspension areas can be prone to rot.Be sure to give em a poke with a screwdriver so the paint and undercoating is not hiding structural rot.
They are great little cars for sure though.Good Luck.

 

[M2008S]

like milesl says ask if timing belt/water pump has been replaced. if not, get it done asap unless you want the belt to snap and yay new engine. other than that when you get started in 1st gear run it out to like 4 grand then shift directly to 4th gear and floor it. if you feel the car jerk as if its slipping in and out of gear the clutch is yucky. if it just boggs way down... but tugs along, you're good

-- lol sry didnt read ad

 

[MetalMat]

I would get it, but expect to put a little work into it. But a little work in these cars goes a long way.