I'm thinking of buying a used Honda Civic

Status
Not open for further replies.

pbm

Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
10,206
Location
New York
A friend of mine informed me that his wifes company will be selling their used Honda Civics soon and the prices will be good. The cars range from 00' to 03' with mileages up to 60K. All have been driven by conservative salesmen and have been reasonably maintained. As I look at Edmunds I notice that some of these have issues. Can any of you fellow BITOGers tell me what I should be aware of before buying one of these. Thanks
 
All cars have issues. Civic is recognized as being a really good small car. Great engine , trans, and milage.
Best advice is get off of here, and get into a Honda Civic Forum and ask the same question.

This is for oil not car reviews.
 
Fred: I realize that I posted in the wrong forum but I think your last, curt sentence is a little off base considering that there are many forums (even humor) on BITOG. And while I know that the Civic is a good small car (hence my interest in buying one) you are off base again when you state "great trans" because apparently certain years have automatic transmission issues.
 
My work car is an 00 Civic (not owned by me). I got it in summer of 2000 and now has over 70k. It has been a good reliable car. It has a sloped windshield that lets in a lot of heat but the air conditioner is powerful and keeps the car cool in Texas heat. The auto has not been a problem so far. I would purchase one if in the market for a reliable and economical small car.
 
My wife had a 1989 CRX and a 1995 Civic VX. Based on that experience I fully believe these were the finest cars we have ever owned. Other than normal maintenance like tires, brakes and periodic maintenance like timing belts nothing was ever a problem. They were terrific cars and I should point out that the CRX was a High Fuel model that got 50 + MPG in 1989 and so was the VX which got nearly 50 MPG in town. She'd be driving the 1995 today if we hadn't totaled it in April in a head-on.
 
I owned a 2000 civic before my current '03 civic, and my sister owned a 98 civic in the past. I've liked all 3 very much and would highly recommend a civic to anyone.
 
Hi. I have an '03 Civic EX 4-door sedan that I bought new. It now has 22K miles. It has been a good car for us and is fun to drive. We mostly drive it around town, but have also taken 1000 mile round trips. I usually get 28-29MPG in the city and have recorded 42MPG on the highway, keeping up with all the traffic, passing trucks, etc.

There was a 'generation change' to the 7th Generation Civics in 2001. The 7th Generation Civic was 2001-2005. There were indeed issues with the '01 and '02 models. My research on this made me glad that I had an '03. Knowing what I know today, I would not purchase an '01 or '02 Civic.

There is a web site that may interest you:
http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/
I don't know much about it, but you might find some useful data.

Best Wishes as you Motor Along!
 
Well, if you believe autos.msn.com,recent years of civics do have major problems in trannies and/or engines. So better be careful.

Anyway, used civic will be the last car I would buy. It's just too expensive for what you get. For a new one, it would not be a bad choice if you care about resale value. It just never depreciates much.
 
I bought my wife a new 06' Civic EX, but we kept her old 98' Civic Ex with 145K miles as a spare car.

The 98' Civic has been like a combination of the Energizer Bunny and a Timex watch. SUPER reliable and great gas mileage. Even with 145K miles, it is still getting 38 miles per gallon.

I did the timing belt at 97K miles, but other than that.......its just had basic maintenance done. If you are looking for a good cheap car that won't give you any problems, buy a Civic.

My mom has a 2001 Civic LX and its been very reliable.
 
I have an 04 Civic VP (base model) coupe. Almost 20k and two years with no problems. Only complaints are road noise, weak a/c, hard to change oil filter and the expected lack of acceleration from an economy car. I usually get 29-31 mpg when driving around town. But I haven't got a highway mileage higher than 35 mpg.
 
Thanks for all the responses. I know that Hondas have been generally good cars over the years with some years being excellent. I still kick myself for not buying my brothers 91 Accord SE with 140K when he got rid of it a few years back. That was one of the better vintage Accords. I purchased a new 01' Accord 4 cylinder for my wife and while it has been a good, trouble-free car (with 55K miles to date) it has the trouble-prone A/T which isn't to reassuring. This is one of the reasons I'm thinking of getting her a Civic and selling the Accord. Now I find out that some years of Civics (and Oddyseys too) also have A/T issues.
This tells me that even the great Honda Motor Co.(and probably Toyota too) are not perfect. I'm just trying to find out which years to avoid before I buy one of these. Thanks for all the replys and SWS thanks for the link.
 
the '00-'05 civics are know as the 7thgens (7th generation of civics), if you want to know a little about them go to 7thgencivic.com (I'm a mod of the "fix it" section). Anyway, the most common problem is the auto tranny; if you can, get one with a manual tarnny. The 3-4 clutch in the clutch pak (or whatever you want to call it) is KNOWN to be weak. Many people have had their replaced and quite a few tranny shops carry the rebuild kit for that tranny in stock it so bad! To top that, the early years('00-'03) commonly had strut problems. I guess they put to small of ones on because half way through the '03 production year they switched from a 53mm strut to a 55mm strut and they stopped having the issues. Quite a few people have fitted the 55mm strut to their 53mm strut car.

Other than the tranny and early struts, it really just odd ball problems that are not that common.
 
BTW: If you want more info on this model, PM, I can show you threads that describe these problems and what some people have done.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Jrfish007:
the '00-'05 civics are know as the 7thgens (7th generation of civics), if you want to know a little about them go to 7thgencivic.com (I'm a mod of the "fix it" section).

I thought the 7th gens started with the 2001 model year?
dunno.gif
 
My issue with Hondas is that the parts seem to be pricey---even for the routine stuff, like air and fuel filters, O2 sensors, and brake pads.

This may or may not be an issue for you. But, if you're used to buying parts for a Ford Taurus or a Nissan Sentra, then expect to be shocked.
 
They did start in 2001. I own one of those. LX trim, auto trans. I run all synthetics and other than some fabric coming off the inside of the front doors and a couple rattles, I have no complaints or problems. I never will buy a first-year model again, but this was my wife's car originally and she had to have it vs. the 2000 we looked at with 40k. Whatever, it's paid off and still worth $7200 @ 'good' condition on kbb.com. I travel for business via this car and I'm about to do a whole slew of preventative maintenance on it to assure 200k, hopefully trouble-free. Valve adjustment, timing belt/water pump, belts/hoses. I've already done the coolant and auto trans myself, along with plugs and new tires. I also do my own brakes. Car drives perfect right now. Don't fear these cars, just do your homework
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top