I am thinking about getting a 1997 Honda Civic HX that has the continuously variable transmission and was wondering if anyone could give me any information on it. Do they hold up? This car has 127,000 miles on it and the guy I talked to on the phone said the trans is slipping a bit. Is slipping common with it because the belts that run it break down fast? Any idea on how much they cost to fix? Not really concerned with the price, I'll offer minus what it costs to fix and if they don't want to take it they can fix it themselves... Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I would personally not buy a car with a CVT unless the car was brand new. CVTs are still an emerging technology (i didn't know that 97s came with them). I don't know any place that can fix them. The problem with CVTs is that the belts have to be very strong in order to take the 100+ HP that the engine puts out. This is one of the reasons why CVTs aren't widely used right now. I would guess that the belts get weaker over time and that car already has a good amount of miles on it.