Torontopaul

Which Honda Civic Specs to get?

I need a car real bad. I dont care for foreign cars but I dont have much money due to health reasons and financial situation.

I have read online and been told by my father who was a mechanic that Hondas are great for high mileage and have cheapest parts easiest to fix.
Is this true?

I need a car thats easy to find cheap parts and fix up. I know a bit about fixing cars. I used to own a dodge intrepid but it was expensive and hard to work on.

what kind of Honda Civic should I get? Year? Generation? Swappable parts? Where to get parts?
Can I use the OBD2 Scanner plug from Amazon for diagnosis? Its $23
what mileage should I worry about? Stay under 200k km?
Any way to get heated seats? I live in Canada, winter is cold and snow is harsh.

Any Civic issues to worry about?

I only drive automatic, would love to use for uber.

Any help would be very useful and grateful?

Thank you.

Colin42

Civics are made in Alliston, about 40 mins north of you

Yes as long they're maintained, Girlfriend's car has 380K kms and is solid mechanically, little bit of cosmetic issues, nothing serious

Should be easier than the chrysler, and much more reliable. Penetrating fluid and heat are your friends working on civics.

One with four tires and an engine, depends on if you want 2 or 4 doors, if you're serious about doing uber go for a sedan.

1996-2000 if you can find one that isn't rotted out or riced out with low mileage. Good luck.

2004-2005 are good, avoid 01-03 as they have weak automatic trannys.

2006 and up are good as well.

Something like this?
I have one, works great, download the torque app, pay the $3 or whatever for the full version.

I would personally stay away from anything over 300 unless you're not going to keep it for too many years, especially because you want automatic


Toronto barely gets winter come up north

04-05 Acura ELs (same thing as a civic) have heated seats 06 and up depending on the trim level can have heated seats

04-05 can have head gasket issues, but as long as you catch it early it's not that bad to fix. There was some issue with cracking blocks in the newer ones 06-09? maybe but that should have been dealt with under warranty.

good luck with your insurance company


Hope this helps, good luck with your search!

Torontopaul

What are heat gaskets?

So I should stick to 2004 and up?
easy cheap parts and low insurance?

For mileage stay below 300k obviously
is 250k km okay?

I was worried to get anything above 200k km.

I want to keep it for at least a few years until my finances are in order.

Honestly I was hoping to get something for like $600 and put $1,000 in parts to ensure its perfect shape mechanically. I just want it to be reliable and no rust, cosmetic I dont care if I have spray paint it.

I will do most labor myself and father hopefully if we can. We both have health issues. I cant afford a crooked mechanic to charge $1000 to change a light bulb, you know what I mean.

Any tips on what parts to maybe change when I get it? Besides belts fluids, pads, plugs, battery and basics? A fresh undercoat to protect from rust?
Maybe inner tie rod bushings, brake booster or alternator? Any common issues to look for? Gaskets?

I will be able to figure out issues when I get it obviously but any issues to look out for?

My father is a semiretired mechanic and I know how to work on cars a little mostly my previous Dodge Intrepid that invested 10 grand and someone stole and wrecked.

Colin42

Head gasket, sorry that was a typo in my original post

Yes and yes

250k is probably ok, try to get maintenance records if you can, see if the timing belt has been done. if you're looking at kijiji ads or whatever post the link here and we can give you our opinions.


finding a car with no major issues for $600 may be difficult, I would look at cars $1000 and up, especially because you want an automatic.

not all shops are like that, you're going to need to get the car safetied, and that involves bringing it to a shop, read reviews on google to find the best shop in your area, even try the dealership, they're going to know the car best.

Just assess the car and try to get maintenance records, make sure the timing belt has been done and is not overdue, if that lets going it can destroy the engine (google interference engine) undercoating is probably a good idea but i would wait til its gets warm again

ezone

Walmart/Amazon/CT or some such, heated seat covers are cheap and the used one I scored (free) sure seems to work well

Torontopaul

I couldnt type in reply.
I found this civic 220k km $1500
Guy claims its new engine but front axel is broken.
So Im not buying it but I have questions.
Does this engine look different than the OEM?
What has been done to it besides the ram air filter I see he installed. It also looks like some type of stabalizer bar for engine that I am guessing?
Any other thoughts? Its 2001. The trim model not listed.

Also he said the ABS has been disabled on car. Why would someone do that? I dont know if thats safe or legal in Ontario to pass safety inspection.
Probably bad for snow driving I am guessing?

ezone

Engine looks like it's probably correct for an LX (D17A1) You should be able to see the stamp down on the front of the block by the bellhousing....and if the engine was pulled from another car you can probably locate an original VIN tag on it and investigate what the engine came from


Cold air intake (also, water vacuum/hydrolock if you try to go through deep water)

Valve cover breather vent -filter

Header;
catalytic converter is probably missing;
and CEL may be on because of it

Racing Oil Cap

New looking braided ground strap over top radiator hose

Strut tower brace

"I WIRED IT MYSELF" (amplifier? And something else?) hot cable(s) at the battery---I can't see any fuses, that's a fire hazard!

Probably not equipped. USA LX didn't have ABS. It (the hydraulic unit) would have been on the drivers inner fender facing the timing belt upper cover.

Torontopaul

Still I am unable to decide what to get.

i have been looking at so many civics online and on the street.

i cant say I like the way they look. So many look so different hard to detwrmine the year or model trim.

I did find out that 2006 and up are all timing chains which are a bad thing to have by my understanding.
hard to replace, more expensive, timing chains can cause serious damage to the engine.

which sucks because I like the way tbe new civics look.

i am also trying to decide whether to buy the cheapest civic I can find then spend 2 grand to fix it up or just buy something for $4,000 and hope it doesnt need more work.

With very little money to waste, the least money to spend the better. I need it for transportation but still want it to look great.

i dont want to waste money on a new car with payments.

Which years models are most customizable and easiest to work on? Lots of space to put your arms inside engine bay, reach in and change parts?

on my old dodge, there was no room to work on the car. Literally needed to remove everything to change any part.

i dont want to buy 99 because of power options windows locks.

So I am not sure, 2000-2005 only?

i tried looking for SI or type R because better parts and built.

if it wasnt for timing chain I would try for newer.

i would love those new civics, look amazing but i doubt theres a way to modify a 2005 to look like 2017.

please help and advice please.

What should my budget be?

ezone

Too bad you're scared of these.
I've been in a dealer since long before any of those cars were sold...I've not seen any problem with the chain in that R18 engine at all (but I'd want a 2010 or newer though)

And I own an R18 with a chain.

I got a 2007 Fit for my GF (It also has an extremely reliable chain).....I don't have to worry about it breaking down...and that car has something like 240k miles on it now.





OTOH you can find plenty of cases of timing belts and related parts failing in the pre-2005 Civics.
And head gaskets.
And transmissions.
These failures ain't cheap at all.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Personally, would much rather go with a timing chain than belt. I've dealt with timing belt failures and have heard of very little, if any, as far as timing chain failures goes with Honda chains (K20/24, R18, L15).

When I got my 2018, I was pretty stoked that it had a chain instead of a belt. Same-ish series engine as ezone's gf's Fit (GD3 Fit has an L15A, my FK7 Civic has an L15B7)