Shopping tips for a '96-'00 Civic?

[brucepick]

I'll be shopping for a Civic in 2nd half of September. Probably '96-2000 vintage in order to support a Scan Gauge.

Edit:
Definitely a 5-speed.
HX is only available as coupe, SFAIK.
I'm leaning towards coupe anyway for its better aero.
End Edit.

I'm pretty much settled on getting an HX for its MPG but could get a Del Sol if I find one I like.

What should I look for when inspecting one of these? I'm new to Civics. I've done lots of the work on our several Volvos so I'm no stranger to inspecting a car.

If the seller can't say when the timing belt was last changed should I try to look at it? Or just assume it has to be done now?

I drive 52 mi. each way to work, mostly highway. Currently car pooling 4 days/week, going solo on Fridays. When car pooling I can't drive 50-55, 60-70 is more usual.

[jdub]

Here are my personal suggestions on a few things to keep in mind when shopping for a used car from a 3rd party:

1.) given the current state of fuel prices and popularity of these older, highly fuel efficient cars, there has been a resurgence in demand which has driven prices up significantly, even for less than reliable versions of the cars. This may mean that at thier current price point you could get into one of the newer civics which will be more reliable and have readily available repair parts for cheaper (dealerships only supply repair parts for 10 years after a vehicle is released, after that repair part availability falls solely on the aftermarket). So, don't just consider the initial cost of the vehicle, think about what its going to cost to service it over its useful life as well.

2.) If you are buying a used car and its not from a dealership who can certify the vehicle, ask the seller for a maintenence log. Having one of these shows you that the seller was meticulous about maintaining the vehicle and has performed all the service at the proper intervals.

3.) Get a carfax.com/autocheck.com history report off the VIN. It will tell you if the car has been crashed/totalled/flooded and repaired.

4.) There are companies that will come out and do a full mechanical inspection on a car for you for a fee when buying a used car. They will check all the normal wear items like CV joints, transmission, engine, brakes, etc as well as take fluid from all the major components and run tests on it to see whether there are signs of bearing failures, trace materials that indicate lack of servicing or impending failures. You should most definitly use this service if you are buying from a 3rd party and want to make sure you are not getting scammed. A good example of a mail in oil test can be found here:

Titan Laboratories: Oil, Coolant, Fuel & Industrial Fluids Analysis

An example of the mobile used car inspection companies:

http://www.autopi.com/

[Will]

I would look for one that says Metro on the back.

Seriously, it would be hard for me to assume anything when looking at a car. I don't know anything about Givics, but personally I would make sure to buy it at a price that makes it worthwhile to me to go through everything in the engine compartment replacing what needs it.

[thebrad]

Timing belt is covered, so there would be some work involved in inspecting that. Not sure if the owner would necessarily trust you with such a task. Might just want to take it to a dealer/independent to have the vehicle inspected pre-purchase for any flaws.

Del Sol is a 2 seater, don't know how that fits into your carpooling equation.

My Civic came from the CA coastline and has quite a bit of surface rust, I would imagine this would be even worse where it is prone to snow.

Rust was found in the rear hatch area and on the bottoms of the doors.

[hondaworkshop]

Just mainly look for rust in the rear fenders and on the lower rocker arms, if the car is from a rust-prone area. I would recommend an HX manual.

[RH77]

I can't imagine brucepick without a trusty Volvo! Going with a Civic is a good move though...

I had a '97 and a '99 Civic (the latter of which is tied for first in the "best cars I've owned" category).

Follow jdubs' advice -- lots of the good ones have been bought, leaving the "leftovers". Regarding the timing belt, I'm not sure if this an "inspectable" item -- others can probably help more with that -- but for cars with interference engines, I've replaced the belt immediately when buying used. There has to be solid evidence otherwise.

The biggest thing to look for is evidence of power "tuner" mods. Many of these cars had the living daylights run out of them. Otherwise, surface rust from salt is all I've heard of.

The HX may be extremely difficult to find. In this generation of Civics, the CX, DX, and LX have the 106 hp 1.6L. (The EX had the more powerful engine, with the Si at 160 hp) Mine was the DX Coupe and later the Si. With the 5-speed, the DX had plenty of power and was easy to get ~30 MPG with my lead foot at the time. Are you looking at hatch, coupe, sedan, or any?

IMO, working on these cars is much less complicated than other models. The engine bay has plenty of room to work. More simplicity in other areas. Not sure about the Del Sol -- again, probably hard to find with the engine you want.

Have fun looking! Let us know what you find...

RH77

[MetroMPG]

Don't pass up a good pre-96 if one presents itself. You can use an MPGuino for fuel economy instrumentation if it's not ScanGauge compatible.

[Vince-HX]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Don't pass up a good pre-96 if one presents itself. You can use an MPGuino for fuel economy instrumentation if it's not ScanGauge compatible.

I second that, the scangauge will also not be able to calculate for leanburn in the vtec-e system and the MPGuino doesnt have a problem with it.

I'm waiting for my MPGuino to come in the mail because i'm converting my HX to OBD1


As far as inspecting goes make sure to do @ least a compression test and maybe a leakdown if you can. Avoid the CVT variety and make sure the 5 speed sounds ok, no grinds, no bearing noises. Oh, make sure you dont have any o2 related CELS because the sensor is $$$$ to replace.

If the HX doesnt have the original wheels (11.5 lbs apeice) you should haggle to price down a bit.



happy hunting

and 60+ mpg will be waiting

[hondaguy72]

As an ecomodder you will probably not see much improvement in mileage from an hx to a dx or lx model in the years you are considering. I'd expand your search to include these models. 40+mpg is very achievable with any of these three. The EX model is the one to avoid due to much lower gear ratios.

[KJSatz]

The EX has a more powerful engine in this generation of Civics, so avoid that. I wouldn't automatically scratch any DX or LX from the list, though an HX would be preferable. Also keep an open mind for any post-2000 Civic HX LX or DX that might pop up (2001 HX EPA rating is actually a tick higher than the 1999 HX).

[Youngster]

I own a 96 Civic CX and it gets 40 to 42 mpg without me doing anything special to it. The cx have a taller gear so it will cruise at a lower rpm. Personally I would consider a 90 to 95 Civic VX but they are hard to find. Good Luck!

[brucepick]

Yes - I'm starting to think you guys are right. Consider them all. That should make shopping much easier.

I did some research on the oxy sensor and cat converter for the HX. Yikes. The wide band Oxy sensor is well over $300, and the front cat is sold complete with manifold for about $700. So a non-HX, modded as below, is starting to look like a good idea. If/when those goodies need replacing, it's pricey. Any other version of the car could be more economical in the long run.

I do believe the coupe has the best aero of the 3 body styles so I think that will be my preferred body.

I've revised my thinking - any version including EX can be a candidate. Within my budget I may be able to buy one and cover the cost to swap in a '92-'95 CX/VX standard transmission. I'm pretty sure that would give probably lower rpm's than any USA-stock '96 - 2000 Civic.

If I do that I wouldn't worry about being hurt by the extra hp of the EX engine. As I understand that's due to VTEC, which doesn't really kick into high output till the higher rpms. With the taller transmission and hypermiling the car I'd rarely be using those hp. Instead it would "live" in the lower rpms where I'm guessing the VTEC will help by being better optimized for the low rpms when using them.

A Gen 6 EX with a '92-05 CX/VX tranny might be a nice combination of HX-like economy, power when wanted (but ya gotta downshift), and whatever nice trim features are in the EX. I think I could go for that if I find a nice one available for my price.

[Vince-HX]

The NTK sensors that honda uses last a super long time though, mine has past 180,000 miles and its the original, still working fine. Also I'm currently using only the second cat and its running great without any issues or CELS.

Ha, my engine/tranny setup is the opposite. I'm rocking the Hx engine with a Ex tranny and still getting great results.

Oh, also keep in mind that the weight penalty of the Ex, those "trim" features add up really fast. In 1996 the Ex is almost 170lbs fatter that the Hx. And if you look @ the numbers the hatchbacks look a little better. As the models get newer the weight increases also, the first year, 1996, has the lightest chassis in the "ek" category.

ek chassis weights -

1996 Honda Civic CX HB MT 2222
1996 Honda Civic CX HB AT 2298
1996 Honda Civic DX HB MT 2242
1996 Honda Civic DX HB AT 2317
1996 Honda Civic DX CPE MT 2262
1996 Honda Civic DX CPE AT 2339
1996 Honda Civic EX CPE MT 2483
1996 Honda Civic EX CPE AT 2513
1996 Honda Civic HX CPE MT 2313

[brucepick]

Omygosh - I bought an HX on 9/25, brought it home on Sunday 9/28, and didn't tell you guys here in this thread - my apologies!

It's a standard trans, gray, power windows and locks, no cruise control, and had just under 150K miles when I got it.

I'm getting mostly low 40's mpg and want more!

[BlackDeuceCoupe]

Originally Posted by brucepick

I'm getting mostly low 40's mpg and want more!

You might try resetting the ECU...

My D16Y5 was very sensitive to changes, so I reset it a few times a year - when the seasons changed, when I installed new spark plugs, when the gas stations switched from winter blend to summer blend, and so forth, and so on - and it always made an improvement!

I drove my HX with a stock motor for 7 years, and it got 44-52 mpg, for the most part. I got 38 mpg a couple of times, like when I drove it off the car lot (brand new) and when I burned in some brake pads. I got 62 mpg once - and 50-60 mpg several times, although it was NOT the norm.

45-ish mpg would be what I would expect - haven driven HXs for years...