Honda Civic, College car?

[moparguy]

Well, it's time to buy the college bound son a car for school. The old 270k Dodge Ram 50 he and big brother used in high school isn't up to the task of college 5 hours away, (Fayetteville Ar).



He's thinking 98 to 2001 Civic, 5 speed, 4 door or 2 and while I'm OK with that, just wondering if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions. Safety, dependability and economy are of course all important.



Thanks, RJR

 

[dpuckett]

I know some people who have owned them, and ben good, I guess. They are by no means a CTD, and cant take the abuse some of us deal them on a daily basis. Just make sure the oil has been changed, along with other maintenance. Ex's sister had her 626 engine ruined by a libe shop that conned her into an engine flush; only had 110K, and used no oil before..... After, you couldnt keep oil in it, had a blue cloud wherever you went.



Personally, I'd go for the 50 mpg of a TDI, vs the 30-35 of a Civic. Just a matter of preferance- diesel is harder to find in midwest college towns. I'd check to see that the 2dr wasnt a sports car rated vehicle for insurance. And dont let him rice-ify it. We'll have to smoke him out with a real engine.



Daniel

 

[mazdarotary]

I may be a bit biased but a good choice is a 98+ mazda protege. The wife has a 00 ES model,and it has been great. Better styling as far as I am concerned(but that is subjective),and it handles like it is on rails. Do some research honda isn't the only car manufacturer that makes good small cars. I would bet you could even get a left over 03 model cheap because mazda has introduced a replacement for the protege with the mazda-3. They may have some left over that they would like to get rid of. Just my

$. 02. Again I may be a bit biased.





Chris

92 D250 CC

83 Mazda RX-7

74 Mazda Rotary truck

00 Protege ES "hers"

 

[GFritsch]

The Honda's are 200k+ mile cars when maintained. I would consider VW TDI. Super Mileage-ours has been trouble free at 140k now and still averages over 45mpg

 

[lgibson]

I would not recommend a Honda for a college car. The reason why is they are always broken into or stolen. If he really wants a Honda he should keep the factory radio, have nothing left in plain view, and have a good alarm.

 

[guava]

The Good - The Bad

I can't say enough good things about hondas. If you carry an 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19 mm socket and wrench, you can basically take the entire car apart and put it back together.

I've own three and NEVER been stranded. Just purchased my 4th but haven't picked it up yet.



My most recent was a 91 crx with 300K. I blew the engine at 250K and still drove it home. I changed the engine myself with the above mention sockets (and a few other things). Connected the wires and drove away. It got 34 MPG no matter what speed I drove.



The only suggestion I could make is ONLY USE GENUINE HONDA IGNITION PARTS.



THE BAD... . it was stolen three times. The last time, I was in the middle of selling it so I don't much care.



Recall that this car had 300K miles on it... . It looked it and they still stole it.



Good luck.

 

[moparguy]

Actually, a diesel Jetta was our first choice. But after thinking about it a bit it's down the list of candidates, the negatives I see are fuel availability, mileage is great, however he's not doing that much driving. And the big potential problem, a bud puts gasoline in the tank. I hate to think about what that could cost if it was driven till it stopped on gas.



Thanks, RJR

 

[Duluth Diesel]

Fuel availabilty? Where is he going to school? The North Slope?

Remember, while at college, there is greater chance of someone using the fill hole as a urinal than putting gasoline in there.

 

[jgillott]

I will agree that the Honda is one heck of a reliable car. My aunt and uncle in Sacramento have had several with 250,000+ with no significant problems.



I'm not real impressed with the Civic in real world crash situations however. I have seen quite a few of these in accidents with the FD. They tend to have a significant amount of dashboard intrusion in a moderate to severe front impact. I'm not necessarily saying that there is another small car that does a great deal better, but the we seem to be cutting alot of people out from under the dash of these. Not trying to be critical, just giving you my honest opinion.



Justin

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I have a '98 New Beetle TDI for sale...



He won't pick up any girls with it, but it sure has been a good car to me.



BTW, the fuel door is actuated by an electric solenoid... so it would be hard for someone to whiz in the filler neck.



Personally, I'd never let someone borrow my vehicle that I wouldn't fully trust. If they value their life, they wouldn't beat on my vehicle or put gasoline in it. :-laf



Matt

 

[GFritsch]

With a 500+ range fuel station location is less important.

 

[Jumbo Jet]

Well, it's time to buy the college bound son a car for school. The old 270k Dodge Ram 50 he and big brother used in high school isn't up to the task of college 5 hours away, (Fayetteville Ar).



When he comes up here, if he ever needs any assistance with anything, just let me know. I'm about 7 miles from the University. I know where the County Jail is and a good bail bondsman!

 

[moparguy]

Thanks guys, I've imposed a few analytical requirements with a weighted average (fuel mileage, safety, repair cost etc. ) on the cars Clint feels are his top choices. This analytical overlay on a emotional decision is proving interesting at the old homestead.



Jumbo Jet, man, you brought the cold hard face of reality to the college phase of parenting. Thanks for the offer, hopefully we won't need to take advantage of the last two items, however it's nice to know your're there if needed.



Thanks, Ronnie Rhodes

 

[big jake 1]

I have owned several Honda products and gotten well over 300k on all of them before I just got sick of driving them and got another one.



Use only GENUINE HONDA IGNITION PARTS, change the oil every 5k and timing belt every 80k and they will go forever.



My 87 CRX went 387k before I gave it to my son, it got me 46mpg @80mph, my current 89 Acura Legend commuter just turned 315k on the clock tonight and gets 26 mpg @80mph, uses no oil between changes. I put 160 miles a day on this car just back and forth to work.



the thought of a VW diesel does intrigue me, however...





big jake



THE FORD GUY Oo. Oo. Oo.

 

[bmoeller]

My dad has a '94 Ford Aspire w/5spd that he bought new. Has around 220k on it and still doesn't use any oil. Still looks, drives, works as good as new. He still gets close to 40 mpg. Just routine maintenance. Absolutely no rust anywhere.



I drove a '95 Hyudai Excel to collage. Was just as reliable as the Aspire before we sold it. I put 30k on it the first 8 mths I had it. Bought it with 55k, sold it with 150k. Got 100k miles out of the brake pads too. Just routine maintenance and a transmission shortly before we sold it. Driving clutchless like a big truck probably didn't help it any (wasn't grinding it either).

 

[EBottema]

Get a 2door Golf TDI... they are a hot little car and diesel





erik

 

[WMcGuire]

With my 2 cents worth of belated experience, I would suggest you think back when you was a teenager and what kind of car you preferred (was it the stodgy sedan your parents preferred?),

if you get him the car he wants and is proud of he is more likely to take care of it and not abuse it, if he wants a Myata, that is the car to buy for him (with a roll bar installed!), bottom line is. . ask him what he would like, of course a Porsche may be out of your price range... but it will get him more dates!!

 

[HoleshotHolset]

IMHO, I'd be more worried about the vehicle sitting in some lot and having other people ruin it for him.



I've seen my share of vehicles get wrecked while sitting in parking lots...



Matt

 

[dpuckett]

Originally posted by WMcGuire

I would suggest you think back when you was a teenager and what kind of car you preferred (was it the stodgy sedan your parents preferred?)

I always thought, "if I'm going to belittle myself by driving a CAR, I at least want access to the back seats. " I know, pickups dont get the MPGs of a little car, but at least I can drive home from a wreck, and no one is going to steal anything out of my old beater. Plus it'll outrun most of the little gas sippers on the road, which I guess contributes to the lower MPGs GOt a few more dates when I drove a pickup, but being a bull rider may have helped more than anything else. You can play up on the sympathy when you are limping off the elevator at midnight, ahuling your stuff to your room... ..... (I was in a co-ed dorm, co-ed floor Oo. )



-DP

 

[WMcGuire]

I stand by my original reply, if his choice isn't unreasonable, that's the best for him, all the other reasons not to don't matter and won't make him apprecieate you later, buy him a piece of rusty junk and he'll tell you about it later when you need something from him, I speak from experience.