Thinking of buying a 2004 Honda Civic 1.6

umop-apisdn

Hi folks,

We need to buy a 2nd car and have a budget of €2000 max. We currently have a 2004 Honda Accord Tourer 2.2 i-ctdi, so the 2nd car will mainly be used just for small journeys to school/work etc.

Here was our criteria
- Petrol
- Cheap to insure/tax/run etc
- 5 doors

Have also looked at Corollas, Leons, Fabias etc but finally narrowed it down to a Honda Civic.
Can anyone give me an idea of common problems with this model and specific things to look out for?
When should cambelt be changed?

Thanks

JohnBoy26

umop-apisdn wrote: »

Hi folks,

We need to buy a 2nd car and have a budget of €2000 max. We currently have a 2004 Honda Accord Tourer 2.2 i-ctdi, so the 2nd car will mainly be used just for small journeys to school/work etc.

Here was our criteria
- Petrol
- Cheap to insure/tax/run etc
- 5 doors

Have also looked at Corollas, Leons, Fabias etc but finally narrowed it down to a Honda Civic.
Can anyone give me an idea of common problems with this model and specific things to look out for?
When should cambelt be changed?

Thanks

Gearbox bearings and electric power steering issues effect the hatchback version. The saloon version is one of the most reliable cars out there though. They give next to no issues outside regular servicing.

Cambelts on this generation of civic do 72k or 8 years.

umop-apisdn

Thanks Johnboy26,

I did look at the saloon version but just not keen on it as much as the hatchback. Will consider it though after what you've said.

How do I check for either of these faults? I take it that if the previous owner has already experienced these faults and fixed them, then I won't have to worry about them at all?

JohnBoy26

umop-apisdn wrote: »

Thanks Johnboy26,

I did look at the saloon version but just not keen on it as much as the hatchback. Will consider it though after what you've said.

How do I check for either of these faults? I take it that if the previous owner has already experienced these faults and fixed them, then I won't have to worry about them at all?

The gearbox will be noisy, have a rough mettalic sound on test drive if bearings are on the way out. If the power steering has failed the steering will feel heavy when trying to turn it, especially when the vehicle is at a complete stand still.

The hatch has electric power steering and it's a known problem. The saloon has a hydraulic power steering with no such issues.

If the previous owner has fixed these faults it depends on how long ago they've fixed them and weather they've used secondhand or new parts. This will determine weather you need to worry about these issues or not.

umop-apisdn

Great, thanks for that JohnBoy.