Rep Power: 0

first off I don't own a car yet but I found a 1998 civic ,its a 2 door auto with a good body and 180000 miles for 1200.00. it needs a driverside door panel and door handle everything else looks stock and clean. it looks lowered a few inches on stock wheels with hub caps.... my questions are is the auto tranny ok on these cars ? I wanted a 5 speed but it might not be too bad to have an auto if they can be modified with a shift kit or something like this. should I look for any other problems with this car? I have never owned a Honda or even driven one. ive owned Camaro's and firebirds but want a nice import and I really like civics and intergra's but don't want a junker that's broke down a lot.

 
Rep Power: 0

get a 5 speed modifying an auto is useless the torque converter eats all of your power so you go from a gutless car to a turtle.

 
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turns out the one im looking at is a 5 speed. it was marked wrong on the sales sheet.

 
Rep Power: 187

The 4-speed auto is pretty nifty and reliable. Third gear sucks, the torque converter robs a lot of power, 2nd gear is good though from 30-62MPH and it has overdrive so on the highway it can get manual-like MPG.

I often take it out of [D] and shift it by going to [3] or [2], or by tricking the computer by fluttering the gas peddle.

It is slower than a manual if the guy knows how to shift but it's easier to drive and you can probably tow more without worrying about burning up the clutch, not that I ever tow anything.

So I guess my point is that the auto can be 'sporty' and useful and pretty slow and pretty fuel efficient if you don't use the torque convert much.

 
Rep Power: 0

I still haven't bought the car, being that I a complete newbie im kinds scared to buy some elses problem. heres the deal it was an auto car that was converted to a manual . if I knew someone that was good with these cars I would feel a lot better. I noticed when the car is started the check engine light is on and it idles high and low all the time , the sensor in the cold air intake is missing, the speedo don't work, both door panels are missing, and there are 3 wires hanging on the ground towards the back of the engine. and the muffler is missing. if this was my Camaro these are all easy fixes but not sure bout how hard of fix these would be.

 
Rep Power: 0

also I few other things I noticed was all the pollution stuff is missing and the ac is missing, I was wondering if the speedo was run from a cable or is it electronic? with no pollution system gone I cant get it to pass emmisions but if it runs off a cable I could just unhook the cable and keep it under 5000 miles and that would exempt it from emmisions

 
Rep Power: 0

well ive found another 98 this one is 5 speed and is a dx. it has a broken brake line and the interior cleaned and a new driverside kick panel. it starts and drives decent. the guy is asking 1200,00 but I told him 950.00 and he said yes. now we just need to get our schedules to match up and transfer the title. it has 167000 miles.