Help me out here

Hello everyone, no I am not lost haha. Upon my return from Iraq I will be looking for another vehical to fill the 2nd vehical niche that my 91 cavalier is filling now. The cavalier is has a carb and its not all that reliable in the winter, not to mention that every part on the car is worn out. It drives but thats about it. Unfortunately a second car is what keeps my insurance about 700 dollars a year cheaper, not to mention saves wear and tear on my primary vehical. I am really looking for a honda to replace the Cavalier. The hondas have proven them selves to stand the test of time, at least since the early 90's. What I really want is a manual civic thats fuel injected and reliable. This does not need to be fast at all. What kind of problems should I be looking for on these cars (what are common problems)? What years are preferable? I am looking to spend no more than 2500 really, so I realize it will be high mileage. Thanks for any information you guys can offer.

$2500?? that could get you a decent 5th gen (92-95). At least it did with me.

Common problems... KIDS THAT DONT TAKE CARE OF THEM! seriously, dont buy from a kid...

other than that, mileage shouldnt matter too much if the previous owner took care of it and you take care of it also.

Yeah I was thinking that too, thanks. I just have to look out for modifications, thats almost a dead giveaway of a kid driving it around.

not really, some mods help reliability, a kid can be mature and take care of his car, but others think its ok to go race it everywhere. id just be on the look out for immature kids because they most likely beat the hell outta the car.

Exactly, never buy a car with mods done to it already. And I agree that the '92-'95 should definently be in your price range. Since this will be a point A to point B car, I'd say look into the CX or VX hatchbacks, LX Sedan, or DX (2dr, 4dr, or hb). The LX and the DX's all have the same engine (102hp). But with the CX and VX, they are the best on gas. Both have really long gears so you can stay at low rpms. But they are also slow as hell (CX = 70hp, VX = 92hp). Of course there are the EX's and the Si hb, they're not bad by any means. But the EX's and Si will be a little more expensive than the others. I'm just assuming you're looking for a reliable car that is really good on gas, so I thought I'd throw that info out for you.
I'll try to think of some common problems. Distributors seem to go, thermostats or fan switches, ball joints. That's all I can think of right now, and those aren't really constant problems or anything but you have to expect it from a 10 yr old car. Routine maintenance should cover all the other problems people have (spark plugs, t-belt, fuel filter, oil changes, head gasket, blah blah blah).

So, coming to the dark side, eh? :evillol:

Yes the 5th gens are very reliable cars indeed. When I first purchased my Civic EX (stock) I was getting well over 350 miles on a full tank of gas, which only cost me about $16 to fill it up. Like it has been said, go for the lower based models.

I'm sure you've heard it numerous times, but they are extremely easy to work with as well. Parts are very cheap, and very many auto shops carry their parts because they are so common. Maintenance is a breeze, and they are very reliable as stated.

If you happen to find yourself a completely stock Civic, some things such as an intake and exhaust can improve your has mileage as well. As long as you don't floor it all the time.

Seems like theres nothing major that goes on them. I don't mind fixing a few things here and there, thats to be expected from any car. I personally would take any of those models though, they will all do well enough on gas for me, considering I am looking at used so I can't be too picky right. Manual transmissions have a long life expectancy under normal conditions right? Another question would be, how difficult are these cars to work on? Is everything hard to get to or is it pretty easy. How difficult is it to change the timing belts? Thanks for the help anyway.

timing belt is not hard at all, just time consuming because you need to take off the crank pulley. everything else is a breeze.... except the water pump which involves taking the timing belt off.. lol

put it this way, ive rebuilt an entire motor in two day just in my spare time (we're talking COMPLETE, everything from assembiling the block, putting the head on, the intake and exhaust mani..belts.. all toqued to spec.. etc etc) ive also done a head gasket in less than 2 hours (and it was my first time)

Seems like theres nothing major that goes on them. I don't mind fixing a few things here and there, thats to be expected from any car. I personally would take any of those models though, they will all do well enough on gas for me, considering I am looking at used so I can't be too picky right. Manual transmissions have a long life expectancy under normal conditions right? Another question would be, how difficult are these cars to work on? Is everything hard to get to or is it pretty easy. How difficult is it to change the timing belts? Thanks for the help anyway.

You'll find that there is surprisingly a lot of engine space under the hood. I mean, comparing to my old TA, there is a lot of "free" space. Nothing is extremely hard to get to at all. Changing the timing belts as well isn't difficult either. If you don't have a timing gun, you may find yourself going to another mechanic to have it timed, but other than that, they are a breeze. You will find many useful sites on the internet that will even show you how. Honda-tech.com will be an extremely useful website for all your needs.

As for the manual trannys, they are very durable, just don't beat the hell out of them to test their durability :). But they can last you quite a long time. I changed my old clutch long ago with my last motor after over 125K miles. Never had any problems before that at all.

Haha yeah nothing wrong with the dark side. I like the sound of 350 miles on a 16 dollar tank of gas. Thats good that the maintenence is easy, I like to do everything myself and its a pain when I have to take a car somewhere to have something done. Everything sounds good then, this has only confirmed what I wanted to hear. In a month and a half I should be posting back here about my new old civic haha. Thanks guys.

No prob :thumbsup:. Hope everything works out. Can't wait to see what you end up with either.

I DEMAND PICS! (when you get it)

You got it. I will post them as soon as its purchased.