I've had a 2003 Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 now for the past 11 months, and can honestly say I'll be glad to see the back of it - had £1300 repair bills on it. I'm looking at my next car being the Honda Civic 1.6i (EP2) because of the low insurance, low cost and seemingly low running costs. Been looking at around 2005 models (facelift) with full service history (naturally) and hoping for one with <80,000 miles on it.
I've just got a couple of questions for them really, so here goes:
-Are they reliable with FSH?
-Are there any common problems or warnings I should know of before buying?
-Is the fuel consumption good? (Says average of around 30mpg on paper, but it always lies)
-Are they generally good cars? (Good to drive, good to own etc.)
I'm not looking for anything particularly fast (that'll be after uni) or flashy, but something with a bit more poke and style than my severely underpowered Corsa.
I've heard that you have to listen out for the gearbox bearings going, so if anybody knows how much a fix for this normally costs, please let me know.