Hello, all!
I am new to this site so please bare with me as I learn the features and navigation of this site.
Currently, I drive a 2014 Honda Civic, which is leased, and will be turned into the Honda dealer in a couple months time. I have found, and have decided to buy, a 2003 Honda Civic to replace my 2014 due to me being in college and no longer wanting payments while in school. The car has 107,000 miles on it currently, with an automatic transmission, and I have no knowledge of past maintenance done on the vehicle other than a current oil sticker in the windshield, newer battery, alternator, and we were also informed that the timing belt and water pump have already been done on it.
I would like to do an oil change and a transmission drain and fill/flush at the very least right away. I am asking for opinions on which type of motor oil I should use. I would really like to stay within Honda's specs and use 5w-20 oil, if possible. Furthermore, I am a little hesitant, although I love it, to throw synthetic oil into it for fear that conventional oil may have been used for the majority of its life. I don't want any extra detergents in the synthetic oils to cause any deposits to break loose and cause leaks or burning oil.
In the past, before my lease, I had a 2002 Saturn SL2 and it burned oil so terribly that I had to add oil 2-3 times between oil changes (which I change every 3 months/3000 miles!) I do NOT want to run into the same issue with this Civic.
I was looking at some oil the other day at Walmart and was looking at the Valvoline MaxLife High-Mileage 5w-20 oil, as well as the Castrol GTX MAGNATEC oil. The problem I found with the Castrol GTX oil, though, is that the 5w-20 is full synthetic so I would have to use 5w-30 to get the synthetic blend (I am okay with using a syn-blend or conventional). I also saw here on this site that people like the brand Havoline. I don't know much about this brand so if someone could shed some light on that for me that would be GREATLY appreciated!
As far as my commute, I would use the car for work and school and the occasional out of town endeavor. Work is 10-12 miles one way, and school is about 2 miles one way. I also live in Northern Ohio so we see pretty significant temperature and weather swings. (Last week we had a 61 degree day and currently it's 11 degrees). All advice and recommendations are GREATLY appreciated!
ALSO: As far as filters go, I am thinking of either using a WIX filter or a genuine Honda filter from the dealership.
Thank you, everyone!
Chase
I am new to this site so please bare with me as I learn the features and navigation of this site.
Currently, I drive a 2014 Honda Civic, which is leased, and will be turned into the Honda dealer in a couple months time. I have found, and have decided to buy, a 2003 Honda Civic to replace my 2014 due to me being in college and no longer wanting payments while in school. The car has 107,000 miles on it currently, with an automatic transmission, and I have no knowledge of past maintenance done on the vehicle other than a current oil sticker in the windshield, newer battery, alternator, and we were also informed that the timing belt and water pump have already been done on it.
I would like to do an oil change and a transmission drain and fill/flush at the very least right away. I am asking for opinions on which type of motor oil I should use. I would really like to stay within Honda's specs and use 5w-20 oil, if possible. Furthermore, I am a little hesitant, although I love it, to throw synthetic oil into it for fear that conventional oil may have been used for the majority of its life. I don't want any extra detergents in the synthetic oils to cause any deposits to break loose and cause leaks or burning oil.
In the past, before my lease, I had a 2002 Saturn SL2 and it burned oil so terribly that I had to add oil 2-3 times between oil changes (which I change every 3 months/3000 miles!) I do NOT want to run into the same issue with this Civic.
I was looking at some oil the other day at Walmart and was looking at the Valvoline MaxLife High-Mileage 5w-20 oil, as well as the Castrol GTX MAGNATEC oil. The problem I found with the Castrol GTX oil, though, is that the 5w-20 is full synthetic so I would have to use 5w-30 to get the synthetic blend (I am okay with using a syn-blend or conventional). I also saw here on this site that people like the brand Havoline. I don't know much about this brand so if someone could shed some light on that for me that would be GREATLY appreciated!
As far as my commute, I would use the car for work and school and the occasional out of town endeavor. Work is 10-12 miles one way, and school is about 2 miles one way. I also live in Northern Ohio so we see pretty significant temperature and weather swings. (Last week we had a 61 degree day and currently it's 11 degrees). All advice and recommendations are GREATLY appreciated!
ALSO: As far as filters go, I am thinking of either using a WIX filter or a genuine Honda filter from the dealership.
Thank you, everyone!
Chase
