Honda Civic EX Coupe vs Nissan SE-R Spec V vs Acura RSX (base)

hey guys im going to get a new car soon.. n i really need help with deciding..
I don't really care much for speed.. thats why the civic is in there.. The civic .. well its a civic and its one of the most common cars in the world.. its the easiest car next the the rsx to mod (im not guna rice it) and its refined.. it'll also last forever (something that i need) the nissan has lots of torque.. more hp than the rsx and the civic.. but it looks disgusting.. other than the looks it beats the rsx n the civic in almost every category.. then the rsx.. i think it looks friggin crazy.. if i slap on some jdm headlights i'll be done with the car.. but its missing a center console.. and alot of people say it makes shifting tiresome because ur arm is always in the air.. and insurance will be high on that car.. well i duno.. im torn between these cars.. help me out guys
(i'll also take suggestions.. ($20,000 is my limit)
and i've also thrown out the new legacy gt that is on the way.. because it cost wayy too much for me.. and i've also thrown out the 92-95 civic hatch because its getting old.. and i've tried n failed looking for a good one anyways thx

how about the fastest car by far for 20K the srt4

nah.. i need this car to last me forever.. so im sticking with japanese cars.. mostly toyota honda nissan.. the rest of the japanese brands + domestic brands dont last that long

nah.. i need this car to last me forever.. so im sticking with japanese cars.. mostly toyota honda nissan.. the rest of the japanese brands + domestic brands dont last that long

the srt4's engine is build like a tank. It will last a very long time if treated apropriately for a turbo engine

here is the proof:

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/projectcars/0310scc_projneon/

Hey Neutrino, how much are they paying to promote this car? :D

aznxthuggie> test drive the 3 cars and see which one you prefer

Hey Neutrino, how much are they paying to promote this car? :D

aznxthuggie> test drive the 3 cars and see which one you prefer



I would like to officially decline any involvement with Daimler/Chrysler. All the money I receive in my offshore acounts from them are just pure coincidence. :uhoh:

Where do you guys get the idea that because a car belong to a Japanese brand, it is going to "last forever"? I live in Los Angeles, it arguably has the densest population of imports in the US, yet I don't see that many old Japanese cars on the road, aside from the old Datsun Zs...

Where do you guys get the idea that because a car belong to a Japanese brand, it is going to "last forever"?
Experience. Relatives and friends run old Hondas, Toyotas, and Nissans with very few problems.

My girlfriend has a 92 Civic EX and my brother has a 97 Civic LX. I can testify they are both mechanically reliable, but at the same time they aren't really as well-built or ever-lasting as they are portrayed to be. I have had my share of really reliable and well built American vehicles, from vans to a Taurus to Dodge K-bodies. I can't really relate when someone says that one general group of cars "lasts forever" and the other general group doesn't.

get the Spec-V! it doesnt look bad with the kit, drop, and the rims!

Where do you guys get the idea that because a car belong to a Japanese brand, it is going to "last forever"? I live in Los Angeles, it arguably has the densest population of imports in the US, yet I don't see that many old Japanese cars on the road, aside from the old Datsun Zs...

i've had 5 nissans. 4 are maximas. i sold my 95 max at 168,000 miles, my 93 at 157,000, i had a 200sx se-r that i crashed but it was a bit over 100K. and note that i sold the cars at such high mileages, they didn't die. my friend joe has a 90-something civic with well over 120K.


AZN get the nissan. Nismo parts are becoming availabe and are now warranteed through the dealership. i'd get the one prior to the styling that resembles the new maxima's. y'know without the toothy thing in the front grill. the ex civic and RSX are both very basic cars and are more or less base models. the spec-v is as good as a sentra gets.

Where do you guys get the idea that because a car belong to a Japanese brand, it is going to "last forever"? I live in Los Angeles, it arguably has the densest population of imports in the US, yet I don't see that many old Japanese cars on the road, aside from the old Datsun Zs...

i never said it will last forever.. i said i need a car that WILL last me forever.. n its a well known fact that honda toyota n nissan last long.. i didnt even say just a japanese brand.. i said 3 of them.. i want a subaru but i know for a fact they aren't as reliable at toyotas.. and its also a fact that american cars devalue alot faster than japanese cars.. look it up
n thx crayzayjay i'll take ur advice.. i was planning to test drive them.. but i dont have time right now.. all i do now is work n school

n the srt4 isn't all that bad.. i'll do more research on it.. the engine.. yea its pretty great.. they use it in the turbo pt cruiser no? well i'll check up on that thx Neutrino

well for me.. this is the last car my parents are helpign me with.. and then im on my own.. and i dont think i can come up with another few thousand outta nowhere.. so im just looking for.. "the car for me" i know for alot of my friends.. their parents just bought them a civic or a corolla.. and its gotta last them til they buy their own as well

Well I can tell you this. Ive had two civics and they arent as well built as people say, the plastics are not that high quality but everything is good enough. Way better than the americans, cavalier sunfire neon, those materials suck ass. But a jetta is better in interior materials. Some ammenities such as electric windows and cd player malfunction in civics very oftenly. But take this for granted, both of my civics, the engines are BULLLETPROOF, i drive em like crazy, i mean like crazy, very oftenly taking my civic to 8200 RPMS and the engine is perfect.

trust me, everyone in here know the nissan engine will last more...

I honestly would imagine that the differences in quality/integrity i.e. longevity in mass-produced motor vehicles in the same bracket (low, 10K, 20K, 30K) are negligable. How much stronger, higher quality, better can one company manufacture simple metalic components than another for relativly the same cost (cheap!). If we wanted to pay 200K-300K for a normal family sedan, I'm sure the car company could build you one out of titanium and space-shuttle materials, and it would litterally last forever. I think any car that lasts longer than other has been treated better. Sports cars don't have stastics of reliability, but look how they are driven. If one was to drive a sports car in the same manner as my grandma in her econobox, I'm sure it would last just as long. All of the Honda racers I know blow parts just like the rest of us, they don't have some "super-car" that never breaks and lasts 100K-200K miles.
sorry for long post.

I honestly would imagine that the differences in quality/integrity i.e. longevity in mass-produced motor vehicles in the same bracket (low, 10K, 20K, 30K) are negligable. How much stronger, higher quality, better can one company manufacture simple metalic components than another for relativly the same cost (cheap!). If we wanted to pay 200K-300K for a normal family sedan, I'm sure the car company could build you one out of titanium and space-shuttle materials, and it would litterally last forever. I think any car that lasts longer than other has been treated better. Sports cars don't have stastics of reliability, but look how they are driven. If one was to drive a sports car in the same manner as my grandma in her econobox, I'm sure it would last just as long. All of the Honda racers I know blow parts just like the rest of us, they don't have some "super-car" that never breaks and lasts 100K-200K miles.
sorry for long post.


very good point

I honestly would imagine that the differences in quality/integrity i.e. longevity in mass-produced motor vehicles in the same bracket (low, 10K, 20K, 30K) are negligable. How much stronger, higher quality, better can one company manufacture simple metalic components than another for relativly the same cost (cheap!). If we wanted to pay 200K-300K for a normal family sedan, I'm sure the car company could build you one out of titanium and space-shuttle materials, and it would litterally last forever. I think any car that lasts longer than other has been treated better. Sports cars don't have stastics of reliability, but look how they are driven. If one was to drive a sports car in the same manner as my grandma in her econobox, I'm sure it would last just as long. All of the Honda racers I know blow parts just like the rest of us, they don't have some "super-car" that never breaks and lasts 100K-200K miles.
sorry for long post.
The way a car is driven and maintained is in the high majority of cases the determining factor as to how long the car and its mechanicals will last / remain in good running order. I'm with you on that.

But to say the difference in quality / integrity in mass produced motor vehicles is negligible isn't correct, imo. The gap between best and worse may have narrowed over the past decade but it still very much exists. Comparable cars may be sold around the same price level, but parts are sourced from all over the globe and are put together in different factories, by different workforces with a varying level of skill / best practice. Certain companies have greater resources and capabilities, (whether technological or human) than others, push the boundaries, and adhere to greater engineering standards to begin with (can anyone say Honda?). Why does it cost Honda a fraction of what it costs rival makers to develop a comparable new car? Resources & capabilities. This is evident in the end-product.

But from your point, i would imagine that GM, being the lagest corporation in the world, stastically larger than many nations, would have the most resources available at its disposal. I would guess differences in part quality etc could be existant due to materials use, R&D, workforce skill, etc... but i still have to imagine that all the big companies have generally the same standards.

GM may be the largest automotive corporation in the world but it isnt the most profitable and has phenomenal pension deficits. And having resources isnt enough, they must be deployed in the right way.

And standards will always differ, certain car companies put their cars and components through more stringent tests before selling them to the public, which is why you end up with certain cars constantly making the top of reliability surveys and others occupying the bottom.

i would go with the 2000 civic si, just because the new one doesnt look all that great and civics do last a very long time. MEXSIR, i would stay away from vdubs just because the company spends much money on making the car nice and expensive looking instead of reliable. because of this, very many golfs and jettas have very many problems. Neutrino, no one will know how long the srt4 lasts for about another 4 or 5 years when it wont get out of the shop. seriously though...

Vdub spends too much money making the car nice and expensive looking instead of reliable?

Funny, i thrash my Golf and it hasnt skipped a beat, neither did my neighbour's before he sold it... oh and our passat is faultless too...

alright crazayjay, i may be wrong but my buddy has a 2000 2.0 golf which is constantly in the shop from a pressure plate that was cracked in 3 places after only 45,000 miles, to a control arm falling off (randomly). also i have another friend with a brand new 2003 1.8t gti and after 7,000 he destroyed his 1st and 2nd gear synchros, but not being his fault because aparently volkswagen knew that this was defective, just didnt bother to tell anybody about it, funny huh? next, the same friend, while his gti was in the shop got a new jetta to drive and its passenger side door would not open, windows did not roll down, and passanger seat would not scoot back OR forth at all. next, neighbor had a brand new turbo beetle with a sunroof that just did not work since the day he picked it up from the dealership. just thought i would give you some background info.

jdm don't forget that jay is in England while you are in the US. The WV quality standards might be higher in Europe

heh.... i guess the US got the short end of the stick.... chins up! :grinno: