dallison

The rl gets about 20 mpg on premium fuel so i bought a 2003 civic that should get 30-35 on the cheap stuff.

It goes in tomorrow for a timing belt and i need to locate a driver side headlight, but i got it for a good price.

For the most part it's clean and in good shape.

It's a 5 speed ex with 156k. I still have the rl and plan to keep it in the short term. I like having a decent cheap car around that you don't have to worry about.

tmnhs81

Looks in great shape.

greddycl-s01

nice addition...vtec?

05TLdcc

...what about the TSX?

teranfon

Looks really nice!


20 mpg a pig? Damn, I'd consider 20 mpg to be sipping the fuel.






Terry

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

Very nice.

Civics are instant win.

speedemon90

haha

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

So what's the math on the money you spent on the Civic vs. what you would have paid in gas in the RL, provided that gas is $4/gal. for the forseeable future? In other words, when will you break even on the purchase, insurance, current repairs and maintenance of the Civic? I'm just asking because I never got the whole, "buying a car to save money in gas" thing. I'm sure there are valid scenarios however. Just curious.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Very nice! You should clean up that drivers side headlight.

Ken1997TL

20 mpg sounds about right for a 1st gen RL in mixed driving. Best I've ever done is 25 mpg on a long trip. The comfort and highway ride is hard to beat though.

Costco

This is what I always think whenever I see things like this.

Yes, I know keeping the RL garaged and safe at home when you go downtown where nobody gives a crap about other peoples' cars is nice and all, but is it worth that much?

However, we do get about 34 mpg on our 97 Civic. Plus it's beat up anyway, so we can just park it wherever and not care

calgary2800

Those things last 400k -500k if you baby it.

Willie3.5

Is there an electrical problem with head light or any leaks? Instead if buying a whole new headlights just a detail shop to buff it out or get one of those headlight restoration kits from autozone.

dallison

It does have v-tec, the headlight does leak, and we paid $4400 for it.

We still have the tsx which the wife still has.

Calculate for yourself the savings, it will pay for itself in 3-4 years esp with cheaper maintenance.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

Nice car. My wife has a similar car, but no manual.

dallison

I factored all of that in before purchasing. The think is, there is most likely going to be an outside sales job opeing here at work. I thought about buying a newer accord coupe with low miles, but since i currently put on 20k a year, i didn't want to go that route. It would be worth little in 5 years. The civic is now worth little but it should go for another 5 years and my monetary loss should be minimal.

I don't know what i am going to do with the rl in the next few years.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

Put spinners on it!

mrmako

So by me getting 12 - 14 mpg out of my H6 is bad?

OP: Nice pick up. That car will get you around for a long time, and may outlast multiple cars you'll own.

dallison

lol, back to the ghetto you go.

Since we have the tsx the rl won't get used much, but i don't want to get rid of it yet.


Now i do have to spend some money to get the civic up to my expectations.
I am getting the timing belt/belts/water pump done tomorrow at the honda dealer for just over $500. I will need to replace the driver side headlight;$50-100.

I'm going to replace the rear brake shoes, mt fluid, brake fluid, plugs, cabin air filter(dirty as a mofo), and ps fluid. All that should cost about $100 or less since i am using advance auto coupon codes.

So with repairs, purchase price, insurance and taxes/tags i am under $5500 for a fully maintained civic.

It already has 8/32 on the tires, newer front brakes, new inspection, new oil change, cold a/c and isn't as beat as most other 8 year old civics.

dallison

If i get this sales job, they pay you a monthly stipend of 6-700 per month plus pay for all your gas. I can make a killing with this car.

ThermonMermon

oh snap! that seems like a huge stipend. you could lease a pretty nice car with 20/k miles a year for that allowance.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Nice pick up, rather than spending an arm and a leg getting OEM lights you can get aftermarket OEM replica ones for decent money.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CIVIC...item2c5c96830e

dallison

noted and purchased from your link. I just wanted to make sure i got something decent.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Install shoudlnt be a problem, I think you have to take the bumper off to do it. Once the bumper is off make sure to fix the bumper side support that hold the bumper tight next to the fender.

I can see in the following picture that it might be loose hence the above average fender/bumper gap.



The new lights usually dont come with rubber boots/caps that go around the back of the light, make sure to swap them over from your old lights in order to avoid leak/fogging issues.

dallison

Aweosme, thanks

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

Nice! Can never go wrong with a Civic.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Nice.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

My fiancée used to have a silver '02 Civic LX. I kind-of miss it. It wasn't fancy, but was very reliable and got the job done.

SpiderX1016

I had an 01 Sedan. No matter what I did, It still returned at least 31 mpg. Almost double of what my TL gets.

dallison

That's what i like about this car, it's plain and very basic transportation.
If i want to be pampered, i'll drive the rl.

neuronbob

Nice pickup. I have thought about picking up a gas efficient beater myself. I've looked a the numbers, I've looked at a TSX wagon, I've looked at used Civics, and I've even looked at cheap Chevy Aveos. For now, since it's warm, I'm just driving my S2000 more often. It gets 22-25 mpg depending on how often the top is down and how often I use VTEC to hit 9k rpm.

Ken1997TL

My TSX wagon gets excellent gas mileage!

34 mpg on long trips at 70 mph. Around town 22 to 24 mpg.

Mr Marco

Boring....snooze.
2007 Mazda MX-5 Miata. Mpg's Range: 22 - 30. Fast, fun, no back seat for those pesky kids to ride along. Best option under $20k right now.

dallison

I had a boxster before, i don't want another convertible.





I just got back with the car from the dealer. I had the timing belt and water pump done and now the a/c doesn't work.

It may be a coincidence but now i don't have cold air. It worked fine in the 90 degree heat the other day. The compressor doesn't kick on and normally that means the refrigerant is low.

But the bill for the belt service was only $423 at the dealer, $100 cheaper than quoted, i think someone screwed up.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

Hmm...not good! Does the Civic have a separate belt that drives the compressor (I never did anything more than change the oil in my fiancée's)? Maybe it slipped off?

dallison

the belt is still on there.

dallison

It worked on the way in to work this morning. Maybe it's just low on refrigerant, i'll have it looked at this weekend.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

If it worked in 90 degree weather then randomly didnt work and now works again then the problem isnt with refrigerant, you might have a bad condenser actuator or a wiring connection that might be acting up.

dallison

I checked as many connections that i could last night and all looked normal. I also checked the fusebox for a blown fuse and nothing. If it goes on and off, you are probably right. The compressor didn't kick on last night so that prompted thnking there wasn't enough refrigerant.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

You can bring the car to your local Napa and I think they can check if you are low on refrigerant.

If refrigerant is good and your condenser actuator is bad then go through your mechanic and have it replaced using Napa's core exchange program.