R.I.P. To The Civic, Is This The Replacement?
 

I love my '90 CX. But it is hurt. I have to add a liter or two of water a week as the headgasket is out of it. Lots of other issues as well, but that one is the most limiting on where I can take it. If I had to run up to my parents place tomorrow, I couldn't rely on it to get there. That's no good, I need at least one car around that I know will start, run, and get me somewhere if I need it. I thought about selling it cheap, but I've had that car for a while now, and I don't think I could get rid of it. I bought a rotted out Civic VX years ago with the idea of putting that drivetrain into a Civic wagon, but now I am thinking the CX is worthy of the lean burn goodness. Or it might show up on here in the classified section for cheap to someone that won't rice it out. I still can't decide. Did I mention that I love that car?

And then this happened. Wagons are kind of my thing, and so are Hondas.

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2 owners since new, from Oregon originally with 83k miles on it. But, it's an automatic. I want to love it, but it doesn't have a clutch! I looked over the garage stats for these cars and it seems like 25 MPG is about what an automatic will yield. Seriously? I drive a lot, and for a 4 cylinder car that seems way below par. It got traded in at a Honda dealership, and I got it dirt cheap, but what do y'all think? It's been a while since I have had something with a stereo, A/C, moon roof etc. But it seems lazy to drive it if that makes any sense.

Give it a whirl, see what you can do for mileage. You can always sell it and buy something else.

regards
mech

Agreed with mech. Doesn't hurt to try. After driving my CVT insight, I decided to stick with manual.

Stick with a manual

'Stick' with a manual ? I see what you did there :D

Nice car War-Wagon !

I love Hondas and Wagons too, but I couldn't love an automatic Accord!

Unfortnately i need at least one auto on my fleet of vehicles. As the wife due to a medical condition finds stick shift difficult. At the moment have a left and a right drive autos and two right hand drive stick shifts. Brain does get confused if i have to drive autos and stick in one day but generally prefer autos but hate the mpg. Wifes 3.0 subrau legacy auto returns 32mpg imperial which i think is reasonable.

A Prius would double that. ;)

Yes it would gasoline fumes but not much good at carrying building supplies and such like. Also a brillant cross country cruiser for me wife and dog. Horses for courses it what you need your vehicle to do for you. 4wd has proved itself in our part of highlands and islands in far north of scotland. Snow and subzero temps every winter a real battery killer and if cold enough oil freezes makes starting a real challange. Umm wonder how long a pirus battery pack would last up here.

From experience hypermiling an Auto is a pain - not impossible but very difficult depending on your driving profile. Hint - check out the towing instructions for the car - that will let you know if you can cruise in N with / without the engine running.

But if it is solid and reliable and buys you time for something else then why not. You may even be able to sell if for what you pay ?

Canadians buy Priuses so they do last in colder places than Scotland (love that Jetstream...). They just run the engine more maybe.

That North in Scotland is wild for here though ;)

Thanks for the input everyone. If it was a 5 speed it would be so cool. But even up here it's getting harder to find a decent, low mile, rust free 20+ year old Honda. It's not my first choice, but the last one I found was my '87 with a 1.3L and a five speed that I can't get a carb for, that was over a year ago, and my CX was the last one before that. And I probably see 1500 cars a week between all the auctions, so that gives you an idea of how rare this stuff is getting around here. Thrashed beaters are not uncommon, but the low mile stuff you'd really want to buy seems to have dried up. Most of the cars I see may have started out as a decent eco ride, but by the time they show up now you can tell they have been passed down to the kids of the family, and then got traded in after they learned to drive on them. I guess my Honda fanboyness just doesn't want to think that an early '90s Honda wagon is only good for 25 mpg haha.

The Accords of that generation do not get great mileage. 25 is what I would expect.

The first gen Odyssey ('95) is rated within a few mpg of that wagon, which for what it's worth, I to like. And with those you can carry more people and property. Even the big GM wagons of the mid 90s could squeeze out mpg in this range with the 260 hp lt1 and tall gears.

Since you have the Accord and it looks pretty decent, why not make it a game to see what you can squeeze out of it? For examples: Grill block, warm air intake, when it needs tires get LRR tires, remove the mud flaps, get a scan gauge or equivalent, and a vacuum gauge, find a way to channel the air over your windshield wipers, add some trip strips to the back side edges of the car, smooth off (cover) the underside of the car, run max air pressure in the tires. I'll bet that you can easily get it over 30 mpg and maybe much more. Best of luck!

Hey.

How's things?

Didn't those come with a Labrador Retriever as standard equipment?

Do you still have it. You may be able to freeze up the slushbox. I don't know if you can do that on a Honda but worth checking.

BTW, the spaceship is doing great.

My lil Space Ship!! I'm getting misty over here, glad it's still doing well. I had ended up driving a Miata for the summer, so the Accord has been sitting. But I hurt the Miata last night, so I just put my insurance back on - that's right, the Civic. The Accord needs a battery, and I needed something in 20 minutes or less kinda thing so I went to the one car I own that ALWAYS starts! The Festiva was supposed to be plan B but it has some weird electrical issues now so It's going to get sold for parts. I should take the battery out of it and put it in the Accord...hey, now that's a good idea!