Just gettin' started

[Kiojoe]

Looking for a car.....
Wifes Corolla is a lost cause because of her lead foot LOL.
If I drive it gets 40-41, if she drives 33 to 36.
Anyway starting to look for a car for me to drive to work.
Right now I'm driving a truck that gets 15mpg.
Have seen a couple of VX's for sale here and there.
They are generally in fair shape.
You can buy a newer Civic for the same money and have more to choose from.
Is the difference that dramatic?

I have learner alot from reading all of your posts, very interesting.
Lots of things I had never thought of before.

Thanks, KJ

[lovemysan]

IMO, the older civics are better cars. My preference is pre 97. I think that any manual trans honda is a good car though. Stay away from the automatics.

Saturn S cars are great too!

[Danronian]

I would actually test drive the 92-95 civics compared to the 96 up ones. For me, I think the interior in the newer ones feels way too cheap, and is the main reason I don't like to drive them. The 96 up civics also get worse mileage, are heavier, and in my opinon, uglier... But with a Honda, I agree that 5spd is best. Most 5spd trannies can go 200k without a bearing problem at all, and many others can go even 400k miles. Most auto trannies in Hondas seem to start slipping at around 70k, and then by 200k, most have to be replaced. (but this is just from my experience)

Good luck with the car search.

[Kiojoe]

Oh I definitely want an 5 spd.
I have never like the autos.
We once test drove a Toyota SR5 with an auto, it had 54k miles on it.
I asked the salesman(always believe those guys) if Toyota autos were any good.
He said they are the best and don't be afraid of them, they'll last forever and that this one is a well taken care of ONE OWNER car.
We drove out of the lot I had my wife look thru the glove box, it had been purchased 9 months earlier from a used car lot, by a couple that had to immediately have the trasnmission rebuilt.
They then traded it in to this dealership.
Needless to say we didn't buy it.

We have been looking hard at a 92 vx 5 spd.
Are there any things other than the normal I should look for?
Thanks
KJ

[lovemysan]

Originally Posted by Danronian

I would actually test drive the 92-95 civics compared to the 96 up ones. For me, I think the interior in the newer ones feels way too cheap, and is the main reason I don't like to drive them. The 96 up civics also get worse mileage, are heavier, and in my opinon, uglier... But with a Honda, I agree that 5spd is best. Most 5spd trannies can go 200k without a bearing problem at all, and many others can go even 400k miles. Most auto trannies in Hondas seem to start slipping at around 70k, and then by 200k, most have to be replaced. (but this is just from my experience)

Good luck with the car search.

Thanks for clearing that up I agree with you. I wasn't sure when the body style changed. 92-95 is also my favorite. My only gripe with the civic that I drove is this. It was a 93 ex coupe. Lots of power options, automatic, etc. It drove well and got 40mpg highway. But the seats were pure torture. Hard as bricks, I rank them right up there with 90s nissan pathfinder seats. You end up with some type of kidney malady if you drive more than 300 miles. But otherwise a great car.

[ajohnmeyer]

as with any civic, just make sure it hasn't been modified in any way, especially with the VX, they tend to get different (higher power) engines swapped in, often by people who don't know what they're doing. Also always have someone (like your wife) look at the back of the car as you take it for a test drive and make sure there's no unusual amount of black, blue or white smoke being emitted from the tailpipe as you take off.
Good luck
-Andrew

[garyhgaryh]

Originally Posted by ajohnmeyer

as with any civic, just make sure it hasn't been modified in any way, especially with the VX, they tend to get different (higher power) engines swapped in, often by people who don't know what they're doing.
...
-Andrew

Man, ain't that the truth...

[Kiojoe]

I have noticed the trend to modify them, badly.
I went to a few Honda boards and they have nothing good to say about it (VX).
Just because of the fuel efficient engine.
I find it amazing myself.

KJ

[MetroMPG]

Hi Kiojoe -

The VX comes into its own on the highway. If you're going to be doing mostly city driving, a CX/DX would be fine (or just about any other lightweight 3 or 4 cyl car). I wouldn't pay a premium for a VX if you're just going to be using it to go from light to light.

But on the highway, in the right lane, at relaxed speeds, a well tuned VX in lean burn mode is the king of the older gas sippers.

[cfg83]

Kiojoe -

Welcome to GS! I'm not one of the Civic owners, so I can't give you any advice there. Is the Corolla a stick? I'm thinking yes, since you don't like automatics.

If you got another same year Corolla, then you'd have a "baseline car" to compare to.

Might be boring to have two of the same car, but there'd also be alot of share parts/repair dude benefits.

CarloSW2