Which To Buy?
 

We are in the USA. Granddaughter is looking to buy her first car. She is
talking Honda Civic. Don't know why, but she believes that is what she
wants. She will have about $5,000 (US) to spend. I lean toward something
not more than 5 years old. Haven't started looking but thought I would ask
this group for opinions a Civic. Are all Civics created equal or are
there certain models/years to stay away from?

Thanks for any help.

Which To Buy?
 

DodgeDriver wrote:
> We are in the USA. Granddaughter is looking to buy her first car. She is
> talking Honda Civic. Don't know why, but she believes that is what she
> wants. She will have about $5,000 (US) to spend. I lean toward something
> not more than 5 years old. Haven't started looking but thought I would ask
> this group for opinions a Civic. Are all Civics created equal or are
> there certain models/years to stay away from?
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
>
you'll be lucky to find a civic under 5yo for $5k or less. but that's
ok, because while the ones that /do/ fit budget will be older, they'll
still be a good deal more reliable than a domestic the same price.
that's why the 5yo's cost more.

pretty much all post 88 civics are reliable and cheap to run. for
handling, the 88-2000's are the best [wishbone suspension]. just make
sure it's not been too badly crash damaged. be suspicious of anything
where the paint looks "too new". civics are good for mileage up to 300k
and beyond if well maintained.

Which To Buy?
 

Tell her never to fall in love with something that can not love back.
Civics are great. So are Corollas, Camry's and Accords. Look for the best
one for the price she can afford to pay.


"DodgeDriver" > wrote in message
...
> We are in the USA. Granddaughter is looking to buy her first car. She is
> talking Honda Civic. Don't know why, but she believes that is what she
> wants. She will have about $5,000 (US) to spend. I lean toward something
> not more than 5 years old. Haven't started looking but thought I would
> ask
> this group for opinions a Civic. Are all Civics created equal or are
> there certain models/years to stay away from?
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
>

Which To Buy?
 

"jim beam" > wrote in message
t...
> DodgeDriver wrote:
> > We are in the USA. Granddaughter is looking to buy her first car. She
is
> > talking Honda Civic. Don't know why, but she believes that is what she
> > wants. She will have about $5,000 (US) to spend. I lean toward
something
> > not more than 5 years old. Haven't started looking but thought I would
ask
> > this group for opinions a Civic. Are all Civics created equal or
are
> > there certain models/years to stay away from?
> >
> > Thanks for any help.
> >
> >
> you'll be lucky to find a civic under 5yo for $5k or less. but that's
> ok, because while the ones that /do/ fit budget will be older, they'll
> still be a good deal more reliable than a domestic the same price.
> that's why the 5yo's cost more.
>
> pretty much all post 88 civics are reliable and cheap to run. for
> handling, the 88-2000's are the best [wishbone suspension]. just make
> sure it's not been too badly crash damaged. be suspicious of anything
> where the paint looks "too new". civics are good for mileage up to 300k
> and beyond if well maintained.

Thanks for the info. I have not started to shop so didn't realy have any
idea as to the price range for used civics.

Which To Buy?
 

Been there and done that. Thanks for the reminder. If granddaughter wants
a civic, and an accord (for example) is a better buy, grandmother will be an
obstacle that must be overcome.


"Art" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> Tell her never to fall in love with something that can not love back.
> Civics are great. So are Corollas, Camry's and Accords. Look for the
best
> one for the price she can afford to pay.
>
>
> "DodgeDriver" > wrote in message
> ...
> > We are in the USA. Granddaughter is looking to buy her first car. She
is
> > talking Honda Civic. Don't know why, but she believes that is what she
> > wants. She will have about $5,000 (US) to spend. I lean toward
something
> > not more than 5 years old. Haven't started looking but thought I would
> > ask
> > this group for opinions a Civic. Are all Civics created equal or
are
> > there certain models/years to stay away from?
> >
> > Thanks for any help.
> >
> >
>
>

Which To Buy?
 

On Feb 26, 5:17 pm, "DodgeDriver" > wrote:
> We are in the USA. Granddaughter is looking to buy her first car. She is
> talking Honda Civic. Don't know why, but she believes that is what she
> wants. She will have about $5,000 (US) to spend. I lean toward something
> not more than 5 years old. Haven't started looking but thought I would ask
> this group for opinions a Civic. Are all Civics created equal or are
> there certain models/years to stay away from?
>
> Thanks for any help.


$5k will buy you a 10 or so year old Civic here in NJ... I like them a
lot but was looking at Accords for my son (I wanted a little larger
car to compete with the SUV's). We ended up with a '99 Subaru Legacy
with AWD that he likes a lot. Paid well under $5k for it, too...

In addition to what the others have said, stay away from any car that
has been 'upgraded' with aftermarket air intakes, wheels, headlight/
taillights, etc. As you'll see, Civics are very popular with the tuner
crowd, but many of them have stuff added with no thought of how it
will work, just how it will look (or sound). Also look for one with
mechanical records, and preferably with the timing belt replaced.

Dan D
'07 Ody EX
Central NJ USA

Which To Buy?
 

On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:17:00 -0500, "DodgeDriver"
> wrote:

>We are in the USA. Granddaughter is looking to buy her first car. She is
>talking Honda Civic. Don't know why, but she believes that is what she
>wants. She will have about $5,000 (US) to spend. I lean toward something
>not more than 5 years old. Haven't started looking but thought I would ask
>this group for opinions a Civic. Are all Civics created equal or are
>there certain models/years to stay away from?
>
>Thanks for any help.
>
For that price it will be a much older Civic.
Check prices at cars.com and kbb.com (kelly blue book)
Have it checked by a mechanic before buying. Find a GOOD mechanic you
can trust, not the seller's mechanic. It's a $40-100 investment that
will save you untold problems later. If the buyer won't allow it, look
for another buyer.
About any Honda is a good car. I bought a $5k Honda a few years ago,
drove it for a year, trouble-free, and then sold it for what I paid
for it!
One of the car sites above (or maybe another one?) lists all Recalls.
Find out if there are any for the year she wants to buy and then
demand to see the paperwork showing it was fixed for that recall.

Which To Buy?
 

"Dano58" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> On Feb 26, 5:17 pm, "DodgeDriver" > wrote:
> > We are in the USA. Granddaughter is looking to buy her first car. She
is
> > talking Honda Civic. Don't know why, but she believes that is what she
> > wants. She will have about $5,000 (US) to spend. I lean toward
something
> > not more than 5 years old. Haven't started looking but thought I would
ask
> > this group for opinions a Civic. Are all Civics created equal or
are
> > there certain models/years to stay away from?
> >
> > Thanks for any help.
>
>
> $5k will buy you a 10 or so year old Civic here in NJ... I like them a
> lot but was looking at Accords for my son (I wanted a little larger
> car to compete with the SUV's). We ended up with a '99 Subaru Legacy
> with AWD that he likes a lot. Paid well under $5k for it, too...
>
> In addition to what the others have said, stay away from any car that
> has been 'upgraded' with aftermarket air intakes, wheels, headlight/
> taillights, etc. As you'll see, Civics are very popular with the tuner
> crowd, but many of them have stuff added with no thought of how it
> will work, just how it will look (or sound). Also look for one with
> mechanical records, and preferably with the timing belt replaced.
>
> Dan D
> '07 Ody EX
> Central NJ USA
>
Thanks for the good info and suggestions. I started looking at prices this
morning.

Which To Buy?
 

> wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:17:00 -0500, "DodgeDriver"
> > wrote:
>
> >We are in the USA. Granddaughter is looking to buy her first car. She
is
> >talking Honda Civic. Don't know why, but she believes that is what she
> >wants. She will have about $5,000 (US) to spend. I lean toward
something
> >not more than 5 years old. Haven't started looking but thought I would
ask
> >this group for opinions a Civic. Are all Civics created equal or are
> >there certain models/years to stay away from?
> >
> >Thanks for any help.
> >
> For that price it will be a much older Civic.
> Check prices at cars.com and kbb.com (kelly blue book)
> Have it checked by a mechanic before buying. Find a GOOD mechanic you
> can trust, not the seller's mechanic. It's a $40-100 investment that
> will save you untold problems later. If the buyer won't allow it, look
> for another buyer.
> About any Honda is a good car. I bought a $5k Honda a few years ago,
> drove it for a year, trouble-free, and then sold it for what I paid
> for it!
> One of the car sites above (or maybe another one?) lists all Recalls.
> Find out if there are any for the year she wants to buy and then
> demand to see the paperwork showing it was fixed for that recall.

I started checking prices today. Thanks for the reminder about checking for
recalls.

Which To Buy?
 

On Feb 26, 2:17 pm, "DodgeDriver" > wrote:
> We are in the USA. Granddaughter is looking to buy her first car. She is
> talking Honda Civic. Don't know why, but she believes that is what she
> wants. She will have about $5,000 (US) to spend. I lean toward something
> not more than 5 years old. Haven't started looking but thought I would ask
> this group for opinions a Civic. Are all Civics created equal or are
> there certain models/years to stay away from?
>
> Thanks for any help.

For $5k I'd buy an american over a jap car anyday.
Much better value and reliability because $5k buys you a dilapidated
jap car and an american car in very good shape.
Unless your daughter is a mechanic or runs a repair shop
I won't advise to buy a desirable fun car for that kind of
money. I suggest to get something some boring piece of junk that won't
fall apart next day.

Speaking of that, are 07 and 08 Civics any better than 06s
reliability wise?