CameronAsbury

Considering purchasing a 2002 Civic SI someone has put up for sale that seems to be a pretty good price, has 137k miles, but they said that it will grind going into 3rd gear at high RPMs but other than that will shift fine into third at lower RPMs and shifts fine in all the other gears. My worry is that it may need a lot of tranny work soon? but if not I'm willing to purchase the car.

CameronAsbury

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

That car looks to be a bit of a basket case. You can see structural damage on the driver's side, with a rather botched repair in the quarter panel (spray paint and overspray are easy to see) as well as the still visible damage to the rocker panel (which is part of the car's overall structure). You can also see panel gaps are rather inconsistent to support the fact that there's definite structural damage there. Couple that with a horrible AutoZone intake air filter, some cheap/unsafe eBay seats with what looks to be cut wiring under the driver's side seat. A good condition, stock EP3 with around that mileage only pulls about $4,000 around where I live. I would hope that the price of that car would be less than half of that.

CameronAsbury

Thanks for the reply! I don't know much about the life of the car, but I'd fear that you're probably correct on all fronts. The owner wants 2500 for the car, and is currently replacing the front struts, control arms, and tie rods, before I can go test drive it, so he wants me to come up Wednesday after hes finished with that to Test Drive. Car is probably a good half hour to 40 minutes away so I haven't seen it in person yet, only those pictures.

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

If you're trying to stay in that generation of Honda, these would be a far better choices (in my humble opinion):
http://swv.craigslist.org/cto/d/2003...341903781.html
http://charlestonwv.craigslist.org/c...339351755.html

dairo1

Yah I have and ep3, it sucks. I really want a wrx but have just decided to stick with my ep3 for a little longer. Don't get one. The grind into 3rd has been there since I bought it, nearly 10 years ago. You have to double clutch to get it to stop.

But for 2500... ehh, it's not a terrible deal, if you really like the car go for it. Like I said, the grind into 3rd is in all of them.

tommycrx

1. $2500 is a lousy price for that car. It will have to be gutted of all of the "improvements" and either brought back to stock or fitted with good quality aftermarket stuff, assuming that the frame/body damage isn't as awful as it looks.

2. I bought my car 2 years ago with 127k on the odometer. No grind then, and none when i replaced everything earlier this year. The grind is not something you have to live with, it's a sign that something is wrong.

3. EP3 / WRX are not in the same league. But even given the EP3's failings, it doesn't "suck" if you do your research and know what you're getting. And why would you stick 10 years with a car you don't like? That would be miserable.

To the OP, I hope you didn't buy this car. There are plenty of other EP3 options in the 3-5 range that would be much better options.

dairo1

My father bought me the car when I was 18. I just really wanted and si of any type, and this was on the lot, so he bought it for me.

The k20a3 is the worst si motor of all time. No vtec kick at all, since the vtec engages at 2300rpm. It was a fun little car, but I'm tired of the hatchback design, and the little problems I have ran into with it, and the grind into 3rd is a major one. Finally came into a good job after having to get some experience after school. I've owned 2 Honda's and they have been great. I'm ready to move on though.

2500 isn't bad for that car. I had mine listed for 5, with no ac, cruise is broken, has cigarette holes in the seats, the clutch is slipping, it's rusting out, the undercarriage is rusted to hell, and I could have gotten 4 grand for it. Granted I only have 98 thousand miles. Still it's and si and some people really like the hatchback's I guess.

tommycrx

I agree on the K20A3 for anything other than a daily driver that you don't care about. I had the K20A put in this past spring, and with mods, it changes the fun factor a ton. It's pretty pricey, though, so would I do it again instead of buying a US car with a better engine from the start? Not sure.

I'm 51 and have always had hatchbacks. Couldn't deal with any kind of configuration. Funny thing to me is that there are ton of new hatchbacks on the road these days, but it's so much more marketable to call them CUVs instead. Same tiger, different stripe; gotta love the lemmings.

JRCivic1

There is a growing trend of us old guys rolling around in hatches... welcome to the club.

tommycrx

LOL. I've had my CRX since 1994. Which will be half of my live in a couple of years. Scary!

dairo1

Well gents, I changed my mind. Bought a 2018 wrx. Bye bye old civic.

Take care guys.