Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget

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Thu 8 Dec 2016 21:40
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - Rusties



Hi , can anyone please give me some advice .

I have a budget of around £2000 - £3000 for a car and have been advised ( from the forum ) to avoid diesels in this price range .


Currently have a 2003 ford fusion 1.4 diesel which is on around 150k and the clutch as started to slip in the 2nd and 4th gears when going up hill .


I have got the shortlist down to either a 1.4 or 1.8 Honda civic which seem to be the most reliable and economical .

The 1.4 looks better on paper with slightly better mpg and more importantly insurance ( central birmingham ) £300 cheaper a year .

I do around 15,000 miles a year with a mix city with motorway driving once a week , would the 1.4 be okay for this .
.

Also Would it be worthwhile paying for either the AA or RAC to check over the cars before purchasing as
I know very little about cars .

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Thu 8 Dec 2016 22:43
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - SLO76
The 1.8 is a vastly superior car and will be no less economical on the road than the underpowered 1.4 but I'd focus more on condition and history than performance. Did spot this one near you, 1.8, nice spec, good history and one family owner all good signs but will still need looked over by someone with a bit of car know how, worth bribing your favourite mechanic to join you if you view it. An AA report is expensive at £142 and they'll list every minor issue on what is a ten year old motor without factoring in its age so a bit of common sense is required when reading it. If I was near by I'd take a look for you. Auto Trader #DrivenByMe
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20161116982...8
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Thu 8 Dec 2016 22:51
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - SLO76
Spotted this at a local Toyota dealer too.. likely to have been a trade in against another one which is always a good sign. Auto Trader #DrivenByMe
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20161117984...4
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Fri 9 Dec 2016 11:52
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - Rusties

hi thanks for taking the time out to reply .

The Civc looks great but is out of my budget as I need to factor in
the road tax and extra £300 it is going to cost me in car insurance when compared to the Fusion I currently have.


Would around £3000 all in get me something or would I be better off buying an earlier 1.6 model for less money and save the cash in case of repairs etc?

This did come up this morning though .

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20161117983...2

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Fri 9 Dec 2016 12:26
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - SLO76
I'd beg borrow or steal to get that extra few hundred quid to get the 60,000 mile car over one with 100k. If it's as genuine as it sounds it'll save you much more over the course of your ownership in repairs and depreciation. You might get it for £3,200 which sounds like a good buy to me.

The other car might be fine, it certainly sounds honest enough but it's done nearly 3 years of your annual mileage more and would wipe out any saving if it needs as much as a wheel bearing replaced.

Always buy the best you can afford up front, it saves in the long run. Find that extra £200...
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Fri 9 Dec 2016 16:28
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - Stumblebum

I had the previous generation 1.6 and now have a 1.8; For both I did about 15K miles a year.

The 1.8 has a 6th gear which makes a big difference in terms of refinement especially on the motorway. It means it can have the same level of economy despite being heavier and having a more powerful engine. The later car is certainly a nicer car for 15k miles a year (cruise control, a CD player that can cope with MP3's etc.).

Personally I'd be a bit nervous about sinking all my cash into a high mileage 1.8 at the £3K mark. I'd either pay a bit more for lower mileage, max 2 owners, long MOT car, or go for a 1.6 with a cheaper price / lower mileage.

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Sun 11 Dec 2016 21:06
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - Rusties

Thanks again for the advice. I will try and up my budget in the new year and hopefully find something with less than 70k on the clock and under 10 years old .

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Sun 11 Dec 2016 23:47
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - Bolt

Thanks again for the advice. I will try and up my budget in the new year and hopefully find something with less than 70k on the clock and under 10 years old .

If your talking about the 1.8 civic, although low mileage is good, its not gonna be a worry, and if its not been looked after service wise they tend to have noisy cam chains which is to steer clear of

I have seen several in excess of 150k in sound condition and the odd one with imid dash backlight problem but apart from that they seem to last

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Mon 12 Dec 2016 00:47
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - gordonbennet

If the Fusion is in good condition otherwise and been looked after, there is no reason to suppose it wouldn't at least anoother 50k in it for the price of a clutch.

Devil you know and all that, you won't know the reason a new to you Civic was sold until it goes wrong, of course if you want a change then thats fine, but a clutch replacement is no reason to part with an otherwise good car.

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Mon 12 Dec 2016 10:05
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - Rusties

The 2003 fusion has served me well and is very cheap to run £30 tax etc .

It was bought 3 years ago with 90k on the clock for £2000 and has done 65k since, work done

leaking injector seal - £200

Clutch and Flywheel £500 ( cannot get that price now )

Couple of ther jobs amounting to £200 plus tyres .

In the last month I have noticed that the car struggles on any sort of incline , I have to use the 2nd gear and high revs but it is painfully slow and a local garage diagnosed a slipping clutch .

I would love to keep it , the clutch and flywheel was done around 30k ago and cost £500 , I was qouted £300 just to do the clutch but advised to do the flywheel at the same time .

The reason I went for the Civic they seemed the most reliable and may cost me less in the long run than a diesel from what I have read on the forums .

I do around 15k and need a car that can hold up to 5 guitars ( sometimes more ) in cases at a time with a mix of motorway and city driving .

As I said previously it is not just the cost of the car but the extra insurance ( £500 now - £850 for the civic 1.8 with 10 years of NC) - road tax and not including the extra cost of petrol .

I am just looking for the cheapest option - not too fussed how fast or any extras the car may have

It has just come at the wrong time of year and I was not expecting to be looking for another car before christmas .

Thanks again

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Mon 12 Dec 2016 11:06
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - gordonbennet

Unless you have clutch judder, or when they remove the clutch find the clutch is so worn it's dug into the flywheel facings, i'd be inclined to slip a new clutch pack into it without new flywheel and try for another couple of years and 50k out of it, entirely possible with a bit of TLC and good maintenance it could well have another 100k in it.

Your car is in the last few years of Diesel manufacture that is still a reasonable long term bet, i doubt you will ever see such real life overall economic motoring again, makes sense to me at least to squeeze another couple of years from it, you have nothing to lose because its almost worthless with the present fault, if that new clutch lasted you till next summer you would still be well in pocket, you are in the enviable position of depreciation not being an issue.

Edited by gordonbennet on 12/12/2016 at 11:08

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Mon 12 Dec 2016 11:18
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - SLO76
£850 to insure an 1800 Civic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What on Earth do you do for a living... bank robber, assassin?

I'm paying around £300 for £25k worth of Honda CRV, £185 for a Polo both with FNB and was paying £210 for a V6 Ford Cougar despite having no no claims I could use on that policy.

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Mon 12 Dec 2016 11:29
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - jc2
£850 to insure an 1800 Civic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What on Earth do you do for a living... bank robber, assassin? I'm paying around £300 for £25k worth of Honda CRV, £185 for a Polo both with FNB and was paying £210 for a V6 Ford Cougar despite having no no claims I could use on that policy.

Read the earlier post-MUSICIAN!!

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Mon 12 Dec 2016 12:13
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - SLO76
You're only supposed to smash the guitar up after a gig not the car!

That's an insane fee for a run of the mill motor.

Hope you're shopping around, you must be able to get a better deal than that surely?

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Mon 12 Dec 2016 12:14
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - Rusties

It is down to my postcode which has one the highest amounts of " crash and cash " claims in the UK .

It was a struggle last year to get my insurance on the 1.4 to £550 with 10 years of no claims .

I will take the car to the garage and see how much it will cost , the last time they said they will not be able to say if the flywheel has been damaged until they remove the cluth .

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Mon 12 Dec 2016 13:16
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - Rusties

I have used all the comparision websites . I am actually a dealer of musical instruments / and antiques so it is down to the postcode . When I use my brothers postcode who lives 2 miles away in Solihull it comes down £300 .

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Mon 12 Dec 2016 13:38
Honda Civic 1.8 or 1.4 £3000 budget - Theophilus

Looks as though it might be cheaper to change your address than change your car!

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