Im looking at a good deal on a 01 civic manual, 150k for 3500 from a friend of a friend. i have heard of problems with the auto trans from 01-03, so im avoiding that. any problems with the engine, manual tranny, body, etc?

I wanted to get a 04-05 because of the better looks, but the best i can find is 2g's more.

 

check if ur civic was part of the huge air bag recall.

 

the manual trans in the 7th gen sucks.

the motor is slow, if you want something fast, go for another platform

 

I can attest to the problems with the auto trans. The auto trans in my 01 coupe gave out at 107,500 miles and had to replace it. I never knew there were issues with the manual too. Although if I had it to do over again, I'd get the same car in manual. Cheaper to fix and more fun to drive. I'd say go for it!

04-05 looks better than 01-03?

 

How did you drive your coupe?. My 05 coupe is on 94K miles and I'm starting to worry since your's gave up on you at 107. Hopefully I can swap the auto to a manual by then.

Eh. People has their difference of the 01-03 compared to the 04-05. IMO I like my 05 better than the others. Just my .02

 

I drive it gently, no racing, or hard driving etc. Its stock and I use it to commute to work. I bought the car used in 2006 with 72,000 miles already on it (just double checked my paperwork to be sure), now it has 117,+- I dont have any idea how it was treated by the previous owner, I bought it from a dealer.

If at some point your check engine / maint req. light comes on, and your mechanic says its the trans code, have him reset the computer for you and see if it happens again, if it does come back in a few days, weeks etc. then you'll know it wasnt just a small particle of dirt or whatever. Thats what my mechanic did for me.

 

Check front suspension over real well

 

I wasnt impressed with the D17 tranny. My 3rd gear synchros went out pretty quickly... granted, I was tracking the car, but they started to let go after ~5-6 track events.

By the end of it, the car could barely shift into third if I was above 4k rpm.

 

third is infamous for that.

 

I've got an 01 w/manual tranny at 137k. I've owned it for 37k and have had to replace nothing on it at all. It's been the most reliable car i've owned and i've had no tranny problems of any kind. I also don't drive it like a jackass. If your friend has taken care of it, it sounds like a pretty good deal to me. And IMO, the 01-03 looks better.

 

The only thing thats diffrent from the 01-03 to 04-05 is the head lights and tail lights, that i can see.. i have a 05 and i love it i havent had 1 problem with it yet except tie rods and tie rod ends (thats cuz im super low) besides that perfect! i got it with 10k on it at a near by dealer for 13,200.. and i got 64k on it now runs great..

 

After a quick Search (hint)

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/looking-buy-2001-2005-civic-2468370/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/buying-2005-civic-2491541/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/interested-buying-01-but-heard-transmission-problems-2586432/

I'm sure there are more. The FAQs are a useful resource as well.