Civic as a first car?
 

Hi guys,

I was looking for first cars, and something that really takes my fancy is the old civic. There are plenty of them around that I can see, and maybe in a few years when I have some No Claims and a little more driving ability I can perform a few upgrades. I'd hate to have to sell the car and get something else to work on and drive after I'm 21 (as the insurance should tumble by then.. I hope)

I'd be after the '94 5th generation kind of model. I'm not too bothered about coupe or hatchback variety, I'll probably go for which ever is cheapest on insurance.

I also have one final question regarding insurance:
If I insure myself under a provisional license on a 1.5 lsi civic, it would set me back £1200, or thereabouts, yet if I insure myself on one with a full Uk manual license, that rockets to £3200. My questions are one; why so? And two, if I do get the car nowish, and I do get insurance on it before I pass my test, must I pay the extra when I do pass?

I'm open to suggestions on what car, model etc.. Please, fire away.

Thanks,

Ed

RE: Civic as a first car?
 

I do like the 5th generation ones. It's a very well designed, simple car with decent performance and great mileage.

RE: Civic as a first car?
 

civics are the best

RE: Civic as a first car?
 

Great Car for a first Car, And last as far as I'm concerned. I wont own anything else...well maybe a newer model but I'm keeping my 93 coupe.

RE: Civic as a first car?
 

It's an excellent first car. I started off with a 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier and it was decent for my needs, but I wanted something else. On Tuesday, I purchased a 2008 Honda Civic EX Coupe and I have no regrets at all. The quality behind Honda' is one of the major things that made me switch. It doesn't matter if you end up with an older one either as they're all made with quality in mind. But until 2006, I didn't care for the Civic body style too much.

RE: Civic as a first car?
 

You can't go wrong with a Honda, but don't get sucked into the illusion you can soup your Civic up and still get 35+ mpg. The more speed parts, engine mods, and hi-perf tweaks you do to the car, the less mileageand driveability you'll get. And there's nothing worse than taking a reliable and economical car and making ita headache to keep running and a pig on gas.

Geno

RE: Civic as a first car?
 

^^ thats not all necesarily true. For instnace getting a short ram intake on your car actually will improve gas mileage not hurt it. The car is still going to be a 1.6L, unless you swap your engine to something different or run a big turbo and need higher cc injectors.The problem is after people put these mods on they tend to stay in the VTEC rpm range more often thus using up more gas. And as far as reliabilty goes aslong as you go with name brand parts and use OEM honda parts, fluids aswell mixed in there, Theres no reason that the car will become less reliable.

RE: Civic as a first car?
 

I should have been more specific- bolt-on performance enhancers will help, true, but alot of the extreme mods I've seen (done by inexperienced novices not doing enough research on their mods) trade driveability and economy for power.The beauty ofthose higher quality aftermarket honda parts is that the R and D is done, and it does work.Butthere is no free lunch, evenfor Hondas- if you want more power you give up some mpg.

Geno