First car

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Old Feb 11, 2012
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First car

Hey,
I'm looking for my first car and one that I really like is the Civic Si. I've found two that look nice from the listings but I'd like some opinions before I go and check them out. I wanted to know how long the clutch usually lasts on the 2003 Si. One of these cars has 136,000 and I don't think it has had the clutch replace yet. I'm still waiting on a reply from the seller about it.
Another thing is that my driveway is 2/10 mile of dirt and gravel and I'm worried about ruining the underside of the car. Does anybody have any experience with driving a Civic off road? I can't seem to find any information on the ground clearance of the Si. Other people who live on the same road as me have low sedans that get up the road just fine.
Anywho, here are the two cars I've found-
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...835892415.html
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...ema&listType=3

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!
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Old Feb 12, 2012
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Re: First car

Any car with over 100k is going to need attention regardless.. A clutch can last a cars life but could be destroyed within a few thousand with the right idiot behind the wheel. I would be more worried with finding out if the timing belt, water pump, and tensioner have been done. The clutch is a big question mark but by driving it you can normally tell if it is still in decent shape; not always though.. I don't know how young you are but no offense, most young kids do not care for their cars. Not saying you won't and there are kids that do but for the majority, questionable. With that said, if you find any that have the service records and are mainly stock is a good start.

As for offroading a civic.. Depends how nasty your driveway is but unless it is really bad; any civic that has not been lowered should be alright.
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Old Feb 12, 2012
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Re: First car

Originally Posted by toucansam333
Any car with over 100k is going to need attention regardless.. A clutch can last a cars life but could be destroyed within a few thousand with the right idiot behind the wheel. I would be more worried with finding out if the timing belt, water pump, and tensioner have been done. The clutch is a big question mark but by driving it you can normally tell if it is still in decent shape; not always though.. I don't know how young you are but no offense, most young kids do not care for their cars. Not saying you won't and there are kids that do but for the majority, questionable. With that said, if you find any that have the service records and are mainly stock is a good start.

As for offroading a civic.. Depends how nasty your driveway is but unless it is really bad; any civic that has not been lowered should be alright.
Agreed, I just got an 04 EM2 with 195k on the shell and tranny and the clutch is still in really good shape. I could get another 50k out of it driving normally. Things to worry about are the timing belt and water pump, etc. but IMO,once you get the car, do a full tune up, water pump, timing belts, spark plugs, coil packs, fuel filters, etc...
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Old Mar 6, 2012
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Re: First car

I'm sure the height of an Si vs an Ex is no different. Regardless, I have driven mine off road a decent amount, and I don't mean a flat dirt road either. I've had some pretty nasty hits taken to the sub-frame, and it's holding up quite well. I'm not sure how badly it f***s up your alignment, but letting go of the steering wheel shows no pull. Don't know about tire wear since they're about two months old, and car hasn't been driven in a month. If you're worried about cosmetics of the undercarriage, I don't know why. Unless you're making it a show car, I wouldn't worry about that. Otherwise, just drive it smart and avoid hitting the oil pan or punching your exhaust.

Only reason I take my poor car out off road is because I go to desert parties a decent amount. Plus when you're getting paid to go out there (either to DJ, run sound, lights, etc.), you kind of have no reason to not try it haha. I wouldn't recommend a whole lot of rough terrain, but you'd be surprised what they can take. I sure as hell am. Just remember, the harder you drive any car, the more you will have to repair in the long term (in theory).
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