I got my 88 civic 8 years back when I was in college. I have driven it during my college years and kept it as a second car during my starting years in my job. When I purchased it the odometer was already showing 120,000 miles however because the condition of the car was perfect and I was a bit constrained in cash I went with this model. When doing cost of ownership comparison the 88 civic has been much better than the newer ones. It has been my best decision till now. I was able to keep the gas bill very low and the car takes up almost zero maintenance other than the regular maintenance that is required like oil changes, battery change,etc. It is also helpful to know the correct amount of insurance required.
Around 3 years back I gave the car to my younger brother and he has been beating down on the car like a maniac and still the car is in good condition. I am amazed at this machinery considering that it shows around 220,000 miles on the odometer and still there are no major faults. Surely it needed some repairs now and then like brake change, timing belt, the ac went out once but overall when you want to go from point A to point B this is the car you would like to consider. Its not a surprise that it is one of the best cars for college students also.However there are certain things to check before purchasing a used car. Before making a final purchase I also looked for other used cars which might be right for me. Check out reviews of Civic by other car owners.
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1. Sale and Purchase 2. Rating 3. Tuning/Modding 4. Parts 5. Maintenance |
Sale and Purchase:
Even before selecting a model you should see your requirements and find the right vehicle for yourself. For 88 civic model if you wish to purchase you will not be able to get it from a dealer. You will have to buy the car from a private party. You should check the condition of the car properly before coming up with the proper price. For a good idea of what the 88 civic is worth you can visit "KELLY BLUE BOOK" to know about the price of this model. However the final price will depend only on the condition of the car, mileage, maintenance and past service record. A lot of care needs to be taken while negotiating for a used car. You should also check out the history of the car from CARFAX. Also take a look at the major car buying mistakes which people make and try to avoid them. After purchasing the car the paperwork of the car also needs to be taken care of.
If you are selling this car it would probably fetch around $1500 if it is in good condition. You would have to sell it to a private buyer as the dealers do not get into these old cars because of lower margins for them. You can place your ad in craigslist as it is free and by far one of the most effective ways to get an advertisement of your car. It might take you a bit of a time considering the model is old and you might also have to figure out how much time you want to spend selling your car.
This is a nice video of the revving of a 88 civic.
Rating of my 88 civic:
1. Performance(8/10): The car has a lot of power in it. You can easily zip around the city and it has decent power for the highway also. One of the best part of the car is that there are lots of options for tuning the car up. After spending less than $1000 on the car you can achieve a significant performance addition in a 88 civic. There are also good options available if you have a bit higher budget like going for an engine swap which is like giving the car a new life.
2. Comfort(7/10): This is an old model and although it is quite ok to drive but considering only the comfort level it is obviously a bit lower than the current cars in the market.
3. Fuel Economy(9/10): This is the main reason I purchased this car besides its reliability and this is the reason why they have become so popular. This car still easily gives a huge 33 mpg in mixed driving considering how old this car is. It is also one of the reasons which has made this car come up in the top 10 selling cars of all time.
4. Fun to drive(9/10): I have great memories with my 88 civic. You can beat on this car entire day and when you go on to start the next morning the car will start without a problem. It might not have the power of other cars but it sure gives you the room to experiment without worrying about it.
5. Design(8/10): Although now the 88 civic model looks a bit old still with a good paint job and a bit of work done on the interiors it really peps up the look of the car. The interior does not feel cramped up and I have used this car with 4 other friends sitting in this car without feeling uncomfortable.
6. Build Quality(9/10): This car has a great build quality. It is meant to last. If you go for a used car this should be on the list because of its build quality. In the past 8 years I have not had to do any major repairs with the engine. Besides the 88 civic has few electronics and more muscle which helps as you can easily tell what the problem is when something goes wrong.
7. Reliability(10/10): My major reason for taking this car was its no headache reliability. You put the key in and go where you want to go. Earlier I also had a feeling that I should have opted for a sportier car like my other friends but after seeing the hours they wasted in the mechanic shop and the overall cost of maintenance they had I am more than satisfied with my decision. Although with all this it is also necessary to know that civics are one of the most stolen cars, even older models, so you should take proper care of it.
Tuning/modding:
This is a great model when it comes to tuning the car. Few of the major reason for this is that you can get a reliable used car on which to do the tuning at reasonable cost, the tuning parts are really cheap, there is a good civic tuning group and you can find easy advice on the net. If you still plan to keep the 88 civic as a daily driver you can go with basic tuning like brakes, suspension, exhaust, intake and tires.
However if you want to convert the car into a pure performance car and if you are working from a higher budget you can go with engine swap, turbo and remap.
Either way this is a great model to start from. You can call a few of your friends on the weekends who might have some knowledge about these and you can start the tuning yourself.
Parts:
In some of the models this becomes a huge source of worry as the parts might be out of stock or become very expensive in a few years. However with Civic this is not the case. You can get good, inexpensive parts for the civic and the labor cost for these is also relatively much lower as it is a model most of the mechanics have worked on and it is overall much easier to work on them overall.
Maintenance:
It is very essential to keep the regular service schedule for this car, rather for any car. You can beat the 88 civic as much as you want but you should keep up the simple schedule like oil change, coolant fluid and others.
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