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Hey guys, I've been here many times before in the past, I've been looking into getting an 05 HX civic coupe for quite awhile. However, I've concluded to wait since it seemed to have quite a few bugs with its transmission(manual, gear popping?), which led to more problems down the road from over revving, etc. But I must ask this one last time, would you recommend your 7th gen. civic? Especially 05 owners, or are there too many annoying bugs in such a case you might recommend looking at something else?

I drive a 97 rolla, it was a former rental car, and it is falling apart!!! I have horrible idles(fluctuates up and down and its very rough), I get horrible gas mileage( approx. 13-15 mpg city and only 22mpg in the highway!), I'm just ready to get rid of it.

So its either a brand new civic HX, or a brand new Mazda 3 sedan... both are nice performers I guess, good styling, and decent gas (its awesome for the hx though), however, since they are "newer" models( its trivial for the civic by now) But on both forums it appears that a good amount of people have had problems with both cars, mainly just annoying bugs, but I have read of bigger problems on here....

So whats the bottom line, yay or nay?

what are some common things I can expect from a 7G? My brother has a 6G and its very reliable plus good on gas.

thanks in advance

 
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I believe the gear poping out problem was limited to 2001-2002. I would deffinately recommend my civics (2001 sedan, 2001 coupe). Being 2005, near the end of the 7th gen I'd say they've probably worked out most of the bugs. My only complaints are the stock rocking chair, wind noise, poor fuel guage accuracy and gear popoing out on the coupe (fixed by honda free). I'm happy with the ride quality, and gas mileage.

 
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I love my car to death. Like most will tell you, this generation is a little buggy off the lot, but if you take care of it you'll be OK - no problems outside of regular maintenance for me so far. And I agree with 7gnoob, the latest year should have more bugs worked out so out of all the 7th gen civics it'd probably be your best choice for a problem-free car. The Mazda 3, for the same reason, may still have some problems/recalls coming up, as it's fairly new.

The 7thgen civic, besides the problems reported (the worst ones will have the longest threads on this forum, thankfully not that many) still has Honda's great fuel economy and overall reliability, as well as holding value pretty well. If I had to go back in time and buy another car, I would buy my EL ( EL = Civic EX sedan in the states) again.

 
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Yeah, overall it's a darn reliable and nice car. Neither of ours (01 and 02) have had any problems at all. I don't count the glove box rattle, as that was a 2 minute fix.
If you don't beat the car around, it should run a loooong time. Most problems, it seems, come from attempts to modify the Vic. It just does not take to bolt-ons.
Our 2 Vics start right up every morning. Nothing but regular scheduled maintenance.
I did put a tube of moly into my 5 speed, but I did NOT have any grinding, just a little notchy feeling. I think all 7th gens feel that way, but I don't care for it. I do this to any gearbox as a preventative measure, and my car does indeed shift silky smooth now.
Overall..... Well, I should have bought an RSX. Not because of the civic, but because I REALLY miss having a "NICE" looking Hatchback. I hate the SI. And, I do carry lots of stuff. But for now I have no plans to trade in. Hummmm.... let's see what 06 brings for the civic.... maybe a bigger engine? An SI coupe.... ( Dreaming )

 
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I would say go with the civic. My 2002 has had no problems at all. I may be lucky, but a lot of the problems I've read about on this site have never come up with my car. plus, the gas mileage is excellent. my personal best was in the ballpark of 35mpg on a highway trip. not sure if that is exactly right, but anything in that area is good to me.

 
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i have a 02 and knock on wood have had no problems at all with it! so i would highly recommend..its a good reliable car!

 
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I went to both dealerships today, mazda and honda. Mazda dealership didn't give me the best service, actually they were rude jackasses. The Honda dealership was the complete opposite, happened to be very polite, but looking past all of that. I got to drive an 05 EX coupe, very nice car, i like that solid shut sound vs the rattling shut sound on the mazda3. Its a tough choice, I'll say, mazda3 has an awesome interior, good fit and finish, nice cockpit, handles nicely, has good push. But... I trust the reliability of the civic more and its better on gas. And that door shutting really made a difference, I was suprised by both cars, thought the mazda 3 would have a more solid shut, but it felt really lose and crappy. Still havent' made my mind, I need more feedback, haha...

 
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I think that over time, the Honda is a BETTER car. Check the TSB's on other cars, and you'll see. The Civic is slower, but it has a tendancy to LAST without any major problems. My last Hondas lasted and lasted. My 77 hatchback died in 2002!
My 85 Hatchback I gave away, and it's still running strong. And it is all original minus the timing belt and water pump at 165000 miles. The 77 had 287000 or so on the clock when the engine blew. I then got the 02 Vic and gave the 85 away to my best bud.
I have had mazdas, and liked them a lot. But those were rotary cars. A whole different ballgame. Mazda is now FORD. Beware! I think only the RX8 is still a true mazda.

Good luck.

 
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i have an 01 lx, n hell yeah ill recommend my car i had no problems w that car since i bought it(knock on wood) i luv it man..

 
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The problems that I've had are minute, my warranty covers them all and I'm having a kick *** time with the car. I'd highly recommend a 7thgenvic. They rock.

 
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01 EX-SI and very happy with it

 
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Well my 01 has close to 103,000 miles and has held up better than any other car I have owned at similar mileage. Still with original battery , just recently replaced front brake pads and spark plugs.

Having to replace the front struts was something I was not too happy with. A few rattles here and there and the fuel gauge is pretty much a joke.

If I were looking for a used Civic I would avoid the 01s since there are now plenty of 02 - 03s out there now which will probably have less annoyances. And on cars like my LX the 01s do not have rear sway bar. Only the 01 EX models had the rear sway bar.The handling on this 01 LX pretty much sucks. But for reliability it has not let me down.

 
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I have a 2001 EX. The seat does rock a bit. They replaced the light switch under recall, but mine was fine. I use the trip meter to gauge how much gas I have left. I usually get 350 miles to a tank.

Past that, I have only changed the fluids. I use Mobil 1 and have a K & N filter. I drive the car cross country once a year and never worry. The only thing I really changed was the battery, to an Optima, but mostly because of the stereo system.

Everyone who drives my car says that it is still very nice inside and very tight feeling. the 2005 models are all fixed by Honda, so I really would not worry. I would get the EX for the little extra power, you will notice that if you drive both.

 
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man this is really hard for me to decide, but i admit, i'm leaning more towards the civic(HX) than the mazda3 because it costs less and gets much better gas mileage, i commute so much, almost 300 miles a week. So i've been calling around the local dealerships to see if they carry any HX's, apparently most very few of them had it, but they had to get it shipped. I also didn't like the fact that they were all trying to discourage me from getting it, claiming that the HX's aren't popular because they have "more problems", and "they keep getting recalls", I believe the sales rep was just full of BS and he was just trying to get me to buy an EX or LX instead..... he also claimed that getting A/C on the HX was a hassel and that i'll more than likely have problems with it......... can anyone confirm if this is true(HX owners out there???)

 
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That's total BS. They make more on selling cars off the lot. The HX is a lean burn engine, and is otherwise no different from the others. I'd say for a long commute, you can't beat it. Stick to your guns and get the HX. The AC is BS too. It's exactly the same as the DX/EX. Again, the dealer is trying to move stock off his lot.

We bought our EX's because of long commutes, and of course wanted the moonroofs, etc. So the EX. The Civic totally excells as a commuter car that is reliable. That's what it is built for. Not for modding or racing.

In the end, buy what YOU want, though.