as you could probably figure out by the title of the post i'm a volvo guy but, i have a honda question so i thought i could find the answer here.

my question is; my little brother is thinking about buying a 98 civic vtec turbo, do they come with a turbo?147k, he said it's real clean inside and out, said it shifts good,(but he doesn't know how to drive stick so i don't know the validity of that statement) it sounds real clean to me. can any one tell me about the dependability of the car, problems with that model, anything to look out for, and what you guys or girls would expect to pay for it.

and by the way when i ask about the dependability of the car i don't want to read 150 responses about how hondas are made to last forever and how they will out last any p.o.s. volvo, bla bla bla.

i just want to get some HELPFUL information.

thanks in advance,
-Tom

 

civics do not come stock with a turbo. he would be buying someone elses install. would i want that? probably not. there are no real problems with the particular model (unless someone knows something i dont) besides that fact that it is tb'd, and who knows how reliably.

 

Hondas are made to last forever and will out last a p.o.s. volvo, bla bla bla.

Okay, on a serious note, welcome to the forums. As you're already aware, hondas are extremely reliable cars when maintained (the same goes for any other car). Civics have not come from the factory with a turbo to date, so if it is in fact turbocharged, it's an aftermarket kit. Now, if it's a good kit, the car should be as reliable as any factory turbocharged car. There are two things that would raise concern for me, personally. The first is that while there are plenty of people that know how to build a reliable turbo setup, there are just as many, if not more, that don't really know what they're doing and buy cheap parts that tend to fail prematurely. The second issue is that it's a civic that's been turbocharged. I honestly don't know anyone that will spend the money to build a car and not abuse the car at least every once in a while, so there's that. As far as the car itself, I haven't heard of any problems with the EK chassis to date; the EG (92-95) chassis had rust problems on the rear quarter panels, but they seem to have been taken care of with the introduction of the '96 model year. Try to find out what's been done as far as maintenance (how old the water pump and timing belt are, oil change history, etc). Ideally, the timing belt should be changed every 90k miles, and most people change the water pump at the same time.

Personally, I'd go check the car out, drive it, and see if you can find any obvious problems with the engine, transmission, brakes, suspension, etc (ie, noises, hesitation, grinding gears, etc). If there aren't any problems that you or your brother can find, I'd look a little deeper into buying it.

And with almost 150k on the clock, I'd expect to pay around $3500 for it in good condition with a bare-bones turbo setup. If it's fully built with good components, you're looking at probably $5k+.

 

I doubt I would buy an already turbo charged car unless the person has a lot of rep.

 

reaper, thanks for the advise, the guy wanted 4500 and told him not to pay more than 3800. nothing is final yet so maybe i'll go look at it soon. what should i be looking for as far as if the turbo setup is legitimate?

and "cronic" what the f*ck is rep and how do i get me a lot of it.
haha

 

A quarter-mile drag race with four cars. You lose, winner takes your car clean and clear. But if you win, you take the cash and you take the respect. To some people, that's more important.


For the turbo setup, just check out the brands they used; GReddy, HKS, Turbonetics, Tial, etc. If they're brands you've heard of, they're probably pretty decent.

 

ok sounds simple enough, thanks

 

No im talking about rep as in you know the person has experience with turbo charging civics or had it done by a professional. There are a lot of things you can do wrong that cause problems and sometimes people do something wrong and just try to sell their problem rather than fix it, so be careful about turbo charged/swapped civics.

 

If it hasn't been clarified yet, rep=reputation.

I'll agree with everything that Reaper said, but I will add a little more as I would be extremely cautious with something like this. If you dont know the guy, the only way you'll know he knows what he is talking about is for you to do a **** ton of research and really understand what's going on with the car...then pick his brain. Kinda like a test if you would.

For example, I would ask what kind of tuning software is being run, who tuned it, and then call that person (if it's a shop) and see if you can get any information. Ask the car owner about air/fuel ratios, wastegate springs, EGTs, injector sizes, if it's a cast manifold or not, etc etc etc. Make sure you know what you are talking about before asking those questions.

Good luck with everything! Be sure to visit the turbo, supercharger, nitrous section. There are a bunch of stickies that will get you going in the right direction to learning about it all.

 

Rep=reputation. I wouldn't buy a car that wasn't turboed stock. Even then, people mod them beyond comfort for a future buyer (IE big turbo SRTs, etc...). I'd be wary. It sounds like you've got more of a level head than your brother (no offense. He's likely anxious to get it) so go check it out yourself or take a buddy with you and look it over. For $10, my local mechanic will check out any car I test-drive to him.