Are Honda Civics good cars? - 1

I've looked at a few civics on carmax and I've seen that they're relatively inexpensive. Most are 2-3 years old and have under 20, 000 miles and are under 18, 000. So are they good cars? None on carmax have over 100, 000 miles so are they reliable? I'm in college now and really just want something to take me from school and work, so please be unbiased in your responses.

I've never personally owned one, but have a friend who does and he swears on the reliability. Honda tend to be a very good manufacture, I actually owned a motorbike by them few years back and it was unbelievably reliable.
The cars depending on what level you get it at, tend to be reasonably quick, specially the VTech engines at top ends.

However being a Japanese car, if something does go wrong, sourcing an original part can be very costly if a OEM isn't available and simple problems can write off older cars due to the cost of repair.
Similar to German cars, if well maintained, serviced and looked after, they'll run to the moon and back, but if something goes wrong, it can be costly.

I'd recommend one, specially if you're after something in the 20,000 range!

Yes, they are reliable. Honda Civic has been one of the most popular compact cars sold in America. While this vehicle has always remained towards the front of the pack, it is no small feat that its popularity steadily climbs from generation to generation. From the intuitive handling to the sleek style and back to the extra "pop" you get on the blacktop. Its exterior design references everything from pyramids to science fiction, while the interior is equally distinctive, with lots of brightly coloured displays and a dashboard that swoops around the driver.

The hold their value. You can find a bmw 5 series for the price of a civic of the same year if you wait like 8 years. There's a reason for that.

Excellent cars. Know a lot that are still kicking with around 300,000 miles. Just have to do some upkeep.

The ones built through 2000 were decent. After that, it got bloated and ugly, in addition to Honda cutting corners.

One thing for sure Honda's have usually good resell values even several yrs later. They do tend to be pretty reliable the Civics but they do have some models that came out that weren't as reliable or just say that their more expensive to keep up.

Personally I always wonder when a used vehicle has low mileage unless it's a one time owners vehicle and being sold by them privately or it's a dealership trade in car.There's more then just one reason to question low mileage vehicles especially if only 2-3 yrs old and having just 20,000 miles on them.Makes one wonder what was the reason for such low mileage and could of it been sitting for awhile.Vehicles that sit for too long can cost much more to get on the road when it comes to the amount spent on repair parts and labour or on a full Mechanical Safety Certificate.

Another reason for low mileage could just be due to someone using the car for driving to and from local work places.One key concern could be if the vehicle was a a loaner car or used for different errans etc by a companie's employee/employees or maybe it was a rental car.It also could of been a previouslly leased vehicle either privately or by a company etc.Another issue could be it has been involved in some kind of accident and this is one reason to always check Carfax etc info.Note not always are the dealership's sales ppl or sellers provided info or even Car Fax info totally up to date or honest.

Hope that helps and best of luck.By the way I've owned and driven Civics and besides some models being too small their basically pretty good vehicle.Remember like any company some yr/models may have issue so again be sure to look them up well before hand. Even if the vehicle has less then the average 15,000 miles per yr mileage on it the previous owner might of still kept it up to par. You just might get a great deal if such low mileage I'd just highly recommend that you have a unbios mechanic check over any vehicle you are seriouslly interested in before agreeing or paying for any used vehicle. Believe me the extra fees such as paying for a mechanical safety inspection before hand can save you a lot of money sometimes. I'd also suggest you do some more home work on whatever model/yr Civic you plan on buying.One issue can be the price of insuring the new or used vehicle so again check into what the insurance rates will be too before you actually agree to buy any vehicle.