Faults:

One of the motor mounts broke and had to be repaired at 70,000 miles ($450.00) -this was due to a wreck and rebuild situation before I ever owned the car!

The alternator had to be rebuilt at 84,000 miles (happens to ALL cars eventually) only cost $64.00 to have rebuilt and I put it back on myself - still works!

Battery went dead at 89,000 miles, but it lasted 7 years of the car's life which is very long! Besides, any battery will go bad eventually!

The radiator intake broke off (made of plastic - I believe it cracked due to the wreck it was in also) at 92,000 miles. Only cost 158.00 to buy a brand new one with warranty and I put the new radiator in myself - still works and runs cool!

Alternator plug has a tendency to corrode and break off if not fixed quickly (no fault of Honda, any electrical connection can corrode on any type of vehicle) I just put grease on it every month - no big deal!

General Comments:

At first, I didn't know much about Honda cars, but once I had this car for a month or so, I became attached to it!

This car's only major problems I believe were the result of a front-end wreck it was in before I ever got it. It was rebuilt and sold to my Mom at 68,000 who then passed it down to me at 81,000 miles! I believe that both the radiator and the motor mount were warped or damaged in the wreck and after a couple years of stress, they eventually broke! For this car to be as good and reliable as it is now after a wreck shows how good of a car it really is!

The engine is the fastest starting gasoline engine I've ever seen! When other cars age, it usually takes several more cranks to get them going. This engine turns over after about 2 cranks every time! It revs up quickly for a 4 cylinder. It never gives up no matter how many times it is pushed to the 6250 rpm limit!

This car weighs a lot for a small mid-sized which is good for handling and shows how solid it is! Even though it weighs 3000lbs (1 and 1/2 tons), the small engine will still accelerate 0 to 60 in about 7 or 8 seconds! Not bad at all for a stock 4 cylinder with only 130 hp and 139 lb.-ft of torque (and it's not a V-TEC either!)

With the help of an intake tornado and some performance spark plugs, I think I've managed to get about 30+ miles per gallon out of it!

The suspension is stiff (I'm young, I can take it) which gives it very sporty handling in sharp curves with little body lean!

The interior is one of the most solidly built and very shiny. It vibrates because of the engine, but I don't care, I just turn the radio up! The seats are tough, but comfortable and the radio, if configured correctly, has a great bass and sound quality for a '96 stock stereo system. This leaves me with no desire to buy an after-market one!

After all the bugs have been worked out of it from the wreck, the car is still getting me around well at 98,000 miles. The paint sparkles like new as long as the birds don't try to ruin it! I love this car and I hope to have another 200,000 miles with it!

I like many domestic brands of cars especially Pontiac and Chevy, but I believe Honda is one of the best foreign brands in the world. They've been around for almost 60 years and they build just about anything with a motor in it and well I might add! If you look into the surveys, you will see that there are more satisfied customers than dis-satisfied!

Faults:

Nothing notable.

Replaced door "check strap" the metal bracket that keeps the door from opening all the way.

Replaced emissions system, covered by dealer. Full tune up, also covered my dealer. Renton Honda in Seattle, WA has the best service overall.

Tires and other misc stuff.

General Comments:

This is my 5th Honda. I am so happy with this one. I have never been as pleased. I don't really like the 5 speed manual Trans, but it does get up and go. It's a little loud accelerating, but it revs very high with no problems. Honda spells Reliability.