Hi guys! I found this forum while surfing around looking for Civics. Copy pasted my post over from Super Honda.

For context I'm a high school senior. I've saved up quite a bit of money, thrown it into savings and some mutual funds, and left out a tiny bit to play with risky day trading. By sheer luck I now have an extra $20k burning a hole in my pocket, and I decided to go hunting for a used car that won't break down and won't bleed me dry with gas and insurance.

I've been looking at some manual EK Civics, mostly non-VTEC EX/LX versions that I can depend on. I like the look and general reputation of them, and my idea is that if I buy a decent car for less money, I can save a little and spend it on some new headlights and get some nice brakes/suspension (and in the future turbo or b16/18/K swap??). I helped my friend fix up and overhaul his M3 last summer and we're fabricating a roll cage for it right now, so I'm not too bad in the way of equipment and experience with cars.

I'd like to hear any advice you guys have about owning a Honda Civic, and if my plan has any holes in it.

 

Omg no way I’m a sophomore! It’s cool to find another like me, everybody here are adults and they’re so knowledgeable but I’m a noob. Excuse me if I sound like I’m treating you like a beginner, heh. Honda Civics are immortal, mines slowly dying of age but it’s very healthy. There’s a frequent oil leak, massive power steering leak, axles are dying, rust rust rust, it’s so funny. 20k is a lot, you definitely have enough for an engine swap. Probably extra enough for customizations too. I feel like the only issue you would run into would be money wise. You buy what you planned to buy and not buy extra stuff recklessly. I thought I was gonna have a fully modded civic, but it turns out the only thing on my list is coilovers, that’s what I want for Christmas hahah. Make sure to be on a budget too, especially if you’re going to do an engine swap. I don’t know I’m young, but it’s very nice to meet you as well! You should come here more often, stay here so that I’m not the only high schooler, heh. Also is this your first car?

 

Non-VTEC would be LX/DX/CX trim levels. EX has the VTEC engine.

These are highly dependable vehicles when taken care of and not modified. Performance modifications will most often reduce dependability to some degree, but you must decide how to balance performance / looks / reliability. If this is your daily driver (which it sounds like it is), I would keep modifications beyond an engine swap to a minimum. These cars are 20-25 years old now, so if you pick up one that hasn't been kept by an old lady who only drove it to church on Sundays, plan to deep dive the maintenance items on the car.