Faults:
Basically, the only things that have gone wrong in the year I've owned it are either basic maintenance that I didn't do or the cause of beating on it. I'm a lube technician, and I'm also in school for mechanics.
The first thing to go wrong was fo inspection it needed ball joints, that was the first week I had the car, so it was from the previous owner.
The next thing was the battery died, easy fix.
Next was the alternator, and when having that done I also had them do my serpentine belt.
After that my brake pads wore off and started grinding against my rotors, which is typical for any car if you don't replace the pads in time, but it was still an easy enough fix.
My heater core started leaking, but I used some sealant to stop the leak.
I replaced the thermostat which was kind of a pain, but not the worst thing in the world.
I also replaced the exhaust gasket (manifold-downpipe), and a few weeks later the entire cat back exhaust due to large holes in the muffler, all of it was fairly easy.
General Comments:
The car has been very good to me. It is very roomy, which is convenient because I'm a bassist with large equipment. It is very comfortable, and I make 5 hour trips from NH to NY about once a month.
Although it's not the fastest car in the world, the thing still has balls. I've raced many a rice beater and put them to shame in a little family car. It's no WRX, but it definitely beats those Civics and Celicas out there.
The handling is fine, no complaints about it really.
All in all, it's a great car. I only wish they had made them with 5 speed manuals, that would just make it perfect.
26th Dec 2006, 21:29
Did you beat a Civic DX with a 1.6 litre. They try and race me with my 2.2 litre Honda Accord and I smoke them too.