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First car I ever bought was a black '02 EM2. Love that car! Drove it to 174k miles and loved every one of them. Sadly, the tranny cut its life short. I still own the car, but it's been sitting outside for 2 years. The amount of reconditioning would be near equal in costs to buying a used '05 or '06. I never drove an 8th gen. I like the exterior looks, but not so much the interior. Wondering if I were to get another used civic, should I go 8th gen or try to find 05 EX? Thoughts?

TL : DR What are the biggest pros and cons of 7th vs 8th gen civics?

 
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7thgen
Pros:
1) You already know the car. You drove one for 174K miles, so you've undoubtedly learned your way around the car.
2) Easy to work on (granted, I'm not terribly familiar with the R18, despite working on my ex's FA1). However, take care of it, and it'll last a while. I beat the crap out of my 2002 and it lasted me 205K miles before I threw in the towel.
3) Since it's been around longer, you can find parts cheaper. You can also run into the problem of finding more discontinued parts, however. In the same vein, you can find a lot of used parts for cheap. There was also a good amount of aftermarket support for the D17, so you can find parts easily. And if you don't mind secondhand car parts, used prices are probably lower than those for R18 parts. Also, you have an '02 you can scrounge for parts since most are interchangeable.
4) Shameless plug: this forum used to be a 7thgen civic-specific forum, so the knowledge base available to you is massive (don't believe me? go to www.7thgencivic.com and see where it takes you. lol)

Cons:
1) Prone to head gasket failures
2) Kinda weak engine. D17A2 makes like 90whp with an AT, MT makes like 110whp. Not that the R18 makes that much more power, but.. yeah. lol.
3) If you go AT, those are prone to failure. Seems like you fell victim to that already, however.
4) Compared to the 8thgen, the interior doesn't have as many bells and whistles, but you did state that you didn't care much for the 8thgen's interior.

8thgen
Pros:
1) R18 > D17
2) More powerful (see #1)
3) Timing chain vs D17's timing belt
4) More likely to find a model with fewer miles due to its newer model nature

Cons:
1) Recalls/extended warranties due to block cracking
2) Exhaust mani is cast into the head (personal preference)
3) Small inconvenience of the driver's side sun visor needing replacement or ghetto rigging to stay up
4) Drive by wire (again, personal preference. It does have a dulled response compared to traditional cable throttles)
5) No matter what, I couldn't see the front end of the car. I assume it's a byproduct of the car's shape. Then again, I'm only 5'7". I sit low in my 10thgen, so I kinda have the same problem, but unlike the 8thgen, if I change my posture ever so slightly, I can see the front end of my car. Another personal preference thing.
6) Cramped as **** engine bay. lol. Seriously, half of the engine bay (okay, not half. But the valve cover sits like 3 inches from the hood cowling) is below the giant *** windshield.



I've personally driven both. My 2002 EM2 and my ex's 2008 FA1. While I loved my 2002, the 2008 did drive quite nicely. It is a bigger car than the EM2, but I notice things like that, especially considering I drove my EM2 for 15 years. I am, however, biased toward the 7thgen due to my history.

 
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You are right, I do know the EM2 like the back of my hand. I did enjoy the heck out of that car and was sad she went before her time. Only sensible that she lend her parts and partly live on in a baby sister. Thank you for the exhaustive analysis. This is just what I was looking for. I wasn't aware of the 8th's block cracking issue. The only real reason I considered going newer was the lack of hp in the 7th gen. And yes I would definitely go manual tranny this time. Are there any good enthusiast websites for finding civics for sale other than the usual suspects: cars.com, ebay, autotrader? I would consider one that's already been modified.

 
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How close are you to vegas? My old EM2 (block bad. tranny alright; did every now and then slip out of 2nd like they do. Also has rear sub-frame damage and a big ol' ding on the passenger door) is still sitting in my dad's driveway (only 2 months going). I guess I forgot to mention the 2nd gear synchro issue with regards to the 7thgen MT.

Semi-serious jokes aside (she would need some serious TLC to get back into tip top shape), you forgot about craigslist. That's really about it, unless you find some good local finds.

edit: if you're in canada (or close to, I guess) there's always kikiji, too

I forgot to comment on this part, as I know the pain all too well. Notice in my sig "RIP Azumi." That's there because my EM2 also went before her time. In this case, her little sister Miyuki is a 2018 Civic Sport Hatchback. If you do get a new EM2, I do have parts I can part with.

 
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Shooting for a mid 2018 purchase, but definitely will be willing to travel when the time comes.

I did notice your sig a few days ago when I logged in! The tribute to Azumi and Miyuki is great! My ex named my black EM2, Corby. She called it a crowmobile. I guess if I get another one it'll be Corby 2.0.

 
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The amount of love Azumi needs to be road-worthy again would probably be more than it's worth, unfortunately. Amidst taking aftermarket parts off her to sell, found the source of the front end suspension clunk she had: pillowballs on the coilovers failed. If I don't donate her by the time and you feel like putting in the wrench time, here's a laundry list of what she needs:

1) Engine block is done. Over heated, then head studs stripped out the block when I was reinstalling the head (during torque round one at 14ft-lbs). Helicoiled affected holes to try and patch her up, but some of those failed and a few more failed at 36ft-lbs. Threw in the towel then and there while choking back tears.
2) New strut setup. She's currently on coilovers, but probably needs 'em all around. They've been on since January 2005.
3) Rear subframe needs to be replaced, as does the right rear lower arm.
4) New rear tires, at least. Camber killed 'em.
5) New right rear rim. Been running my "full sized spare" since I f'd up back in 2012 that damaged the rear subframe. That said, she was running on 3-17's and a 16"
6) Passenger door has a fatty ding on it. Patched that up with a band-aid vinyl sticker. lol
7) Interior needs lots of love. Includes ECU wiring harness. Probably easier to remove and replace the under-dash harness.
8) Swapped in old shitty headlights to sell new retro. Reminds me I gotta pop 'em open and spray 'em black fro sdaidoji. lol. That said, current headlights are hella shitty. TSX Retrofitted, but the lenses are oxidized as hell.
9) Driver's seat (sparco) is tore up on the outboard bolster. Passenger seat was pulled to turn it into a new computer chair. lol

I really, really don't expect anyone wanting to take this massive project on. It's definitely in the realm of restoration project car, not to be taken in as a "I need a new car that I can slowly work on"

In any case, best of luck with the search for Corby v2.0. If you want to delve into a new car and learn a new platform, 9thgens, while being very, very similar to 8thgens, seemed to fix some of the issues 8thgens had. Worth looking into, especially considering they dropped a K24 into the Si trim.

 
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everything about the 8th generation is better than the Seventh Generation it's more powerful is lower its wider it's safer it's lighter and it's more fuel economical... and the most important thing in my opinion he has the all new engine 1.8 liter naturally aspirated making 140 and made it to a 5-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual to a 6-speed manual in the SI version with the 2.o making 197..my fave its exterior looks.. I cannot believe how many looks at this little Civic gets absolutely gorgeous with the extreme rake in the windshield I threw on a pair of nice little rims it looks menacing going down the road low n wide actually has a steeper a rake in the windshield then the Acura NSX.. another thing is the frame is 35% more rigid and it has a 8 air bags... Motor Trend named at car of the year and it was the North American Car of the Year as well for good reason... 200k on my 06 lx couple... Purr