2001 Honda Civic EX from North America

Summary:

This car is a really good value!

Faults:

My oil pan started to leak and needed to be replaced at about 120K miles.

I blew a speaker this year, too, and I don't listen to my music all that loud.

General Comments:

Other than the above, the car has cost me nothing beyond what would normally be 'wear and tear' - brakes at 90K miles (!) ; timing belt at the same time, for precaution; tires at 80K miles. Everything else is original and in perfect shape. I have the oil changed every 3K miles, and I keep up with recommended maintenance - the car has rewarded me with great performance.

I find the seats uncomfortable, though, when I'm in the car for longer stretches, and it doesn't perform as well in the snow as I remember my others Hondas doing. But, it's been a great car and I expect to drive it well over 300,000 before replacing it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 13th December, 2006

2001 Honda Civic LX 1.7 from North America

Summary:

Costly

Faults:

I have always heard that Honda & Toyota vehicles last a long time. My car just turned past 100k miles and it is like someone pressed a button at Honda and my car started falling apart. I keep getting coupons in the mail for services I should have done soon or bad things will happen to my car. I went with it and had the timing belt changed along with all accessory belts and water pump $449.00+ tax ($50.00 coupon). While I had the car in for timing belt replacement they told me a list of things that need to be changed asap.

Things that aren't done yet:

The struts, sway arms and bushings were leaking and needed to be replaced ($531.00). The brakes needed to be done yesterday. ($209.00). Brake line flush $119.00. Oil is seeping or leaking above oil pan ($226.00) for fixing.

Two weeks after that my radiator springs a leak form a rock and now that is $540.00. It takes week for the part order and they are not sure that the car is OK due to possible overheating. Technician said he was optimistic because he did not see smoke after starting.

The kicker was that I had bought a warranty after I bought the car out from a lease and it expired 7/31/06. Cost of Warranty $2000.00. Cars original cost was $14,500. Lease it for 42 months at $168.54 month with $2004.00 down. Final cost at completion of lease payments was around $7,000. Over mileage caused me to buy car for $9607.00 + tax + warranty for $2,000.00.

General Comments:

Car has treated me very well and never had a problem unitl now. I blame myself for keeping the car this long and now I am paying the price.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th October, 2006

15th Nov 2006, 22:07

The rock chips aren't the cars fault. The brakes wear out eventually, and if you do your brakes, you should take them to a local shop where its cheaper. If you take everything to the dealer your bound to pay lots of money. 100k without problems sounds like a pretty long time to me. If anything, those problems shouldn't have all sprung on at once.

3rd Jan 2007, 11:15

This is exactly why I don't take my car to dealers. They will fix one thing, and tamper with another to make more money. They did it to my grandfathers Lumina and when I came in and took off my jacket, and told the manager that I would knock the life out of him, they immediately fixed his car, in no more than 5 minutes, when they said there was 500 dollars of repairs to be done.

24th May 2008, 22:30

I've experienced the same with Honda dealers; they push the customer to do repairs not necessarily needed. OK, things do wear at 100000 miles, but unless one needs to keep his car in like new condition forever, don't trust a dealer coming with a long repair bill. It's just a costly and never ending story. Especially, be careful with those suspension bushings, little oil leaks, and such repairs.