NandoKommando
New Member
I'm looking for a good commuter car so naturally I thought Honda Civic. I narrowed it down the the 5th Generation of Civics. I've done a little research, but thought it best to come here for some experienced advice. I've read that the Civic VX is generally the rare vehicle because their owners hold on to them as if they were gold. Their MPG is amazing so naturally I would love to get my hands on one. I found this one for $1500, but it has some problems, here's the description:
"The vehicle speed sensor is out so the speedometer doesn't work. The odometer reads close to 190k but with the speedo out I have no clue what the actual mileage is. There is substantial rust in both rear quarter panels, it's bad enough that it's probably not worth fixing. One of the rear seats will not fold down because the knob to do so is missing, might be able to just put a new one on, haven't checked into it. The trim on the exterior of the passenger door is loose and broken a bit. There is a check engine light sometimes when it goes into vtec. There is a little "blow by", (sends a little oil from the engine head into the air intake), goes through a quart of oil every 2-4 tanks of gas.
Now for the good, I have tracked every mile over the course of a few tanks with sprint gps, it is averaging 43 mpg on regular pump gas. It has an acura cd player. I replaced the head gasket when I bought it this summer. It does not need timing belt or water pump. It has a new valve cover gasket. It is a 5 speed."
Honestly cosmetics isn't too much of a concern at this point. I have heard that this generation of civics has a big problem with leaking oil. Is this a concern; is it easy/worth it to fix? I'm an EE Student so I'm pretty sure I can work around the Speedometer problem by making my own. I think its safe to say it has passed the 200K miles mark; this makes me a little nervous. Long story short, is this worth the price or will I need to put thousands more into this vehicle just to keep it going?
"The vehicle speed sensor is out so the speedometer doesn't work. The odometer reads close to 190k but with the speedo out I have no clue what the actual mileage is. There is substantial rust in both rear quarter panels, it's bad enough that it's probably not worth fixing. One of the rear seats will not fold down because the knob to do so is missing, might be able to just put a new one on, haven't checked into it. The trim on the exterior of the passenger door is loose and broken a bit. There is a check engine light sometimes when it goes into vtec. There is a little "blow by", (sends a little oil from the engine head into the air intake), goes through a quart of oil every 2-4 tanks of gas.
Now for the good, I have tracked every mile over the course of a few tanks with sprint gps, it is averaging 43 mpg on regular pump gas. It has an acura cd player. I replaced the head gasket when I bought it this summer. It does not need timing belt or water pump. It has a new valve cover gasket. It is a 5 speed."
Honestly cosmetics isn't too much of a concern at this point. I have heard that this generation of civics has a big problem with leaking oil. Is this a concern; is it easy/worth it to fix? I'm an EE Student so I'm pretty sure I can work around the Speedometer problem by making my own. I think its safe to say it has passed the 200K miles mark; this makes me a little nervous. Long story short, is this worth the price or will I need to put thousands more into this vehicle just to keep it going?