HI,
I have a 2003 accord and am thinking of down-sizing. So, help needed. what years should I be looking for (want a used, not new). Mileage and how is the civic as far as fuel efficiency? help greatly appreciated!!!

 

As a now retired Police Officer , I had the occasion to pull over many cars. The two brands that consistently had very high miles were Subaru , Toyota and Honda.

I have had my 01 Civic for 2 years and only had to have the front brakes redone. I don't really know of a bad year for a Honda but if I were buying today , be aware of ......

1. Either a loud exhaust and or an aftermarket intake. Certainly more likely to be driven hard.

2. Look in the newspaper , not just Craigslist. Older folks who are not computer savvy will sell their one owner cars in the paper only. Some will only put a sign in the window of their car in their driveway. Run through 55 plus communities looking for these gently driven cars.

3. Man trans cars tend to be " wrung out " to higher Rpm's than automatics. Also easier to do burn outs etc.

4. If your state has annual inspection , be wary of a car for sale that has a soon expiring sticker. Or the now infamous " ___________ doesn't work but it is an easy fix". Unless YOU know how to fix it , it will rarely be easy or cheap.

5. If you know any new car salesman , ask them to call you if " grandma" trades in her old Civic. My sister recently traded in her one owner 99 Accord Cp with not even 100 k on it. The car she bought had to be brought in some two states away. They were so eager to get her old car that they gave her a loaner until her new one arrived. They told her that her old car was sold as soon as she agreed to trade it.

6. Look for mismatched tires. Not an absolute but another potential indicator of either hard driving or less than stellar maintenance.

7. Craigslist IS a decent place to buy a car as I have done very well there. But you have to be on guard and su****ious of any and all claims made. I bought a H3 Hummer in 2009 that was 2 years old and had 27 k on it. For what I paid for it then ....I see the same year and now 50 k on it for the SAME MONEY.

My 01 LX auto gets 32 /38 summer. And 26/ 34 winter. And I drive gently.

 

Hello all im a newbie on this site...

I just bought a 2008 Civic 5 speed and Love the way it runs and it gets
good gas mileage too. very pleased with my Honda Civic.

 

actually the 01-03 civic had faulty automatic transmissions they upgraded the late model 04-05 with a larger internal transmission filter which was the cause of the problem. there were massive failures some cars didn't make it past 50,000 miles before needing a new transmission. this major problem should have caused a recall but it never happened. if your looking to down size and still have fun driving i would recommend the honda FIT.

 

welcome on the board mate and wishes a long stay of your on the forums by keep discussing over the topics





Tevida

 

I don't know if I'm posting this the right way. I have access to a 1989 Civic LX. It's been garaged, had only one owner who became ill years ago and just left it in the garage. What's amazing is that the car has only 25,000 miles on it! I noticed in another post that the timing belt needs to be changed at 7 years. This car hasn't been run much in the past 10 years and it's never had a timing belt change. It runs great and is perfect in and out. The owner wants $6,000.00 which seems high to me, especially with the need to change out the belt and as you'd expect the exhaust system, but with that mileage this car isn't even broken in yet.

Has anyone seen anything similar?

 

Well the mass production is soon going to be closed as far as the reports suggest. So i think if you are gonna buy a new one, you might wanna take the decision faster.

 

Buy an 88 - 91 civic with no power options. Less to go wrong and very reliable. Very light and more fun to drive with simple modifications. Do the usual used car look overs and dont pay 6000! wow