Hey all, totally new to the site and brand new to Honda's. I'm looking at a few different Civic's between '96-'99 with 100-130K miles. People seem to be asking $3000-$4300.
I'm hoping to get high 20's to low 30's MPGin town (sound right?). I was told to look for manual transmission cars, as they tend to have less issues than the automatics.
What do I need to look for when shopping for these cars? What are the problem areas? How much do these problems cost? If the person hasn't replace the timing belts and water pumps and stuff how much should I plan to spend on the whole thing?
I REALLY appreciate everyone's help. Hook me up with the info!

Thanks.

 

I have a 1997 Civic EX that gets 30 MPG in town and 36 MPG on the highway. It has a 5 speed manual and it belonged to my wife who passed away in January 2007. Besides being a practical and paid for daily driver, I kept it for sentimental value too.

ETA: Make sure the timing belt has been changed or make plans to do so when shopping for a Civic in the range you are looking for!

 

Look for rust. manual is the way to go, depnding on how you drive it you can get better gas milage. I wouldnt worry about how many miles the Civic has.

 

Yea, don't get an auto. I get around 24 MPG in town with a stock d16y7. In the winter it gets close to 20

 

I wouldn't worry about miles to much either. My girlfriend has a 97 ex auto and she still averages around low to mid 30's with mixed driving.

Look for the honda cancer which is the rust by the wheel wells.

The timing belt is supposed to be changed at 90k and I just got mine changed when i hit and i gave the the shop the timing belts, water pump and all the gaskets and he changed it for 130, I got the full kit for 100 online so total about 230 to get the timing belt changed.

Good luck buying a civic is always a good car to buy you will be happy.

 

Look out for corrosion, bent unibody, electrical issues, a timing belt that hasn't been changed, leaking/filthy fluids, bad compression, poor running, bad noises, smoke, etc.

How mechanically inclined (or ready and willing to learn) are you? Do you have a place to work on it?

I've got a '00 w/150K miles on it. I just had to replace the original exhaust because of roadsalt rust. I did it myself in a couple hours for about $200. It was a piece of cake compared to most vehicles. I replaced the dead original battery last yr with a higher capacity one. It cost about $50 and took a few minutes. Changing the front brake rotors and pads cost about $80 and took about an hour of EASY work.

The car runs pretty well. It doesn't burn any oil, but it has a slight leak by the pan that is going to get fixed next change. It gets 30-40MPG mixed, depending on how hard I drive it.