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I picked up and drove a used '88 Accord for more than 160k, very few problems at all (the AC compressor went bad... I replaced it with a used one from a wrecking yard and converted the entire system over to the new R134a freon myself). By most accounts, the newer Civics are even more bullet-proof. Sounds like you did good!
My theory on driving older cars is this...
We depend on reliable transportaion to get to and from jobs, businesses, and school. Miss a few days, and it cost time, money, and then what is called 'missed opportunity cost'. Buy a new car and make monthly payments (and take a huge hit on yearly depreciation), or own two older cars outright for less money.
My old cars rarely break on the way home from work heading into a three day weekend, where I'd have time to perform repairs at my leisure. They seem to break on the way to a job interview, the first day of school, or Monday morning when I am already running 15 minutes late. If you drive older cars like I mostly have, IMO you need two reliable cars running at all times. When one has an issue, you fix it within one week, while driving car #2. You don't loan it out, you don't leave it sitting with a flat tire or a blown head gasket for more than a day or two, one week tops. You keep both running well, insured, registered, the whole enchilada. When one is getting a little 'long in the tooth' and two-hundred and five-hundred-dollaring you to death, you take your time in finding a deal on another little commuter to replace the tired one.
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