Interested in purchasing a 97 or 98 civic..

[Kraya]

Im in the market to buy a car to replace my crapalier.... Ive heard alot of good things about civics (hondas in general). What are some things I should look out for when checking these cars out? I want a 2dr 5speed si.... I test drove one today and when I was gearing down, the engine sounded horrible.

Another thing, Alot of them have over 170,000km (106,000miles) How long do these cars last? I dont want to get a car at 180k and it dies at 230k or 250k.

Any information I can get would be really helpful, Thanks.