1993 Honda Civic 1.6 ESi VETEC - 173000 total mileage

Hi,

I just bought the above car with total mileage of 173000 miles - and I am
wondering whether it's a mistake. The engine is still very quiet, and it
drives very well. I even took the car for a 6 hours highway ride averaging
90mph. The timing belt was last changed at 112000 miles. Also, a shock
absorber, CV joint gaiter and the clutch have just been recently replaced
and the car recently serviced.

Could you advise me on how much longer this car could run, and what are some
of the problems that you experienced when the car is at this mileage. Also,
how much do you think it's worth at the moment?

Thank you very much.

Alex

 

Did you get an owner's manual with this car?

If so, I would look in the maintenance schedule and double check that the timing
belt change interval is 90k miles/6 years. (This is the interval the
autozone.com site gives for 1993 Civics.)

Problems that are common for early 1990's Hondas:

Failed main fuel relay. See
http://www.markl.f9.co.uk/howto/electrical/main-relay/main-relay.htm . Repair
cost should be under $100

Failed distributor ignitor. See
http://www.markl.f9.co.uk/howto/electrical/igniter/igniter.htm and
http://www.crx.org/southcal/tech/igniter/default.htm . The part is around $100,
tops. Labor is maybe another $100, tops.

Ignition switch? Wait for others to post.

PCV valves: I personally find the owner's manual inspect/change frequency for
the PCV valve is low for my 1991 Civic. On my car, my fuel mileage is
significantly affected when the PCV valve is not working correctly. Many web
sites back up this contention. I now inspect the PCV valve at every oil change.
I plan to replace it maybe every 60k miles, depending on what I saw during
inspection. $20 part. $20 labor, maybe; depends on where it is on your car.

All of this is pretty minor stuff but somewhat unique to these early 1990s
Hondas.

Right now, keep an eye on symptoms for a failing oxygen sensor. This and/or the
clutch are the only major failures I am anticipating in the next couple of years
with my 1991 Honda Civic (152k miles), based on my reading here. I am pretty
fastidious about maintenance and always alert to CV boot tears when I am
changing my oil.

Good deal that the clutch was recently replaced. The previous owner probably got
his/her money's worth out of the original one. My car is still on the original
one, with no adverse signs, but I'm anticipating it not making it to 200k miles.

Based on my own experience and what I read here, if your car has been maintained
well, it could take you over 250k miles.

Go to www.edmunds.com and plug in the specific information about your car to get
an idea how much it's worth in the U.S.

 

Thanks Caroline for that information! It is very useful indeed!

About www.edmunds.com , it shows the price of cars in the US - I'm wondering
whether there is a similar version for the UK?

regards,
Alex