I got my 94 civic car from my parents while in the last years of college. It had 50k miles on it and I have been using it for the last 9 years without major problems. I have some very memorable moments in it going with my friends on camping tips and many long trips. I never expected that I would be making this my daily driver but its reliability and fuel efficiency has won my heart. During the first years of my job I felt a bit cash strapped and was happy to have this car which would not break down or give me other maintenance expenses and would take very less fuel.
The 94 civic is not the fastest car on the road and nor does it look the best but it does the task given to it very efficiently. My parents and friends have asked me several times to go for another car but this one is so dear I can hardly part with it. Now that it has around 190,000 miles on it I am planning to get another car probably a hybrid however would never sell this car and hope to take it to at least 300,000 miles.
1. General Problems
2. Rating
3. Parts
4. Tuning/Modding
5. Things to remember before purchasing
6. Price/Comparison
7. Maintenance Tip
I found a very good 94 civic on the youtube. If you can lay your hands on a good well maintained civic you can convert it into similar car spending few grands on it.
General Problems
I have had a few problems with my 94 civic. It gave me a few "check engine" light signals. The first one was at 40k miles when my oxygen sensor had some problem. Then at around 75k miles some wiring harness problem came up. Around 90k there was a solenoid valve problem. Besides this there has been a general problem of people breaking into it. All in all i have had fewer problems in this than my other cars. Although i would have loved a better alarm system and a few other minor changes.
My rating
1. Performance: (8/10) With a few modifications which i did later my 94 civic gives as good a performance as any muscle car you might see on the road. If you are ready to spend a few extra bucks on it doing engine swap or getting a turbo kit this will be the best drag car you can get. However as a daily driver this car gives you enough power to zip on the highways and good handling also.
2. Comfort: (7/10) It is not a big car and if you want to go for a family trip you might sometimes feel a bit lack of space. However the side benefit is that you can zip it in the city without any parking problems as it will fit easily anywhere.
3. Fuel Economy: (10/10) This is one of the major factors why people move towards these cars. They are simply unbeatable in this area and the money you save with a couple of years of drive is good enough to buy another newer car. I have been able to save decent money with this which otherwise i would have wasted on other gas guzzler.
4. Fun to Drive: (9/10) It is really great to drive this car around. Knowing that it is very reliable gives you good space for experimenting. I have even done some off roading with my 94 civic without big hassles.
5. Design:(8/10) I love the exteriors of the car. Just did a paint job on the car and now it looks almost as good as the time i purchased it. The interiors are good with decent leg room in the front. However the cup holders are not nice and have lots of stuff spilled in the car because of them.
6. Build Quality: (9/10) The build quality is great with good attention to details. It is made to be a good, reliable, fuel efficient daily driver and it serves its purpose nicely. The engineers seem to have given extra importance to this area and the product comes out real nice.
7. Reliability: (10/10) I have seen many cars and used several different models but this one beats all when it comes to simple reliability. Many of my friends who got much expensive cars sometimes envy on the headache free experience that i have had with my 94 civic.
Parts:
One of the biggest positives that i feel in my 94 civic is that you can easily find inexpensive parts for it. There are several sources you can try for this. For simple parts i have generally gone for ebay or my local mechanic and the overall experience has been quite ok.
This is a nice small tuning project done by a guy on youtube which I liked. Although spending on the engine swap for b18c5 would have been better investment in this case.
Tuning/Modding:
Engine swap: Civics are by far the best supported cars for aftermarket tuning. The civics are known for their reliability and the engines are very strong thus giving the potential civic tuner a good amount of opportunity. There are also lots of body kits and styling parts available. There is a vtec mechanism which is a great part of civic. It helps the civic act as a two faced car. One with a nice economy and fuel efficient car at lower revs and it turns into a sports car at higher revs. The basic principle is altering the camshaft timing to give more air to the engine. If you have a non-vtec engine you can go for a engine swap which will give you around 60-70% power boost instantly plus a good base to start tuning the car. For those staying with the non vtec engines it would be better to focus on improving the handling and braking of the car.
Exhaust: Engines need to throw away the exhaust air as soon as possible for proper performance. It acts almost similar to our breathing action. If we do not breathe out it creates problem and almost similar way the engine needs to throw out the exhaust air. Headers connect the ports of the engine to the exhaust pipe. If the header has rough parts or the shape of the exhaust pipe does not easily allow sending out exhaust gases this would cause a problem. Hence wider pipes made of stainless steel generally are better. You can find that they can give a boost of 7-10 hp easily. Along with this you can also select the tone that they give out thus making the car unique. you can either go for a 4-1 setup which collects the air from 4 cylinders and pushes out through a single pipe, this is good top end power however you will be loosing some lower end power. Otherwise you can choose a 4-2-1 setup where 2 cylinder exhaust is combined to a single pipe, this setup works better at lower to mid range power.
Intake Valve: The intake valve does the important task of controlling the flow of air and fuel into the engine and then releasing the exhaust gases after combustion. While going for a upgrade for air intake almost all of them follow a simple principle of getting extra oxygen for combustion with fuel. The cooler air has great mass density and hence more oxygen thus increasing the overall fuel burning efficiency. It can give a decent boost to your horsepower at the expense of a bit more engine noise.
Turbo: If willing to spend a bit more you can always go for a turbo. This will give good boost to the car however a few changes would have to be made to reduce the compression ratio of the engine else there is a good chance of detonation of the fuel within the engine causing big trouble for the engine and other parts. For this custom exhaust headers are required and the air intake piping should be taken through the turbo. There will be a bit of a lag before the turbo kicks in. Again make sure to change the requisite parts for reducing the compression ratio as it is very important.
For further information on tuning you can visit forums. They have numerous members providing information from their experience.
Things to remember before purchase
The few things to consider while purchasing a used car are:
Check the used car history: Although this technique is not totally foolproof however it is still better to go for it even though it costs a bit. It can give you good idea about the past such as accidents, rental use, odometer rollback or flood damage.
Tires: Take a close look at the tires. Whether they are of reputable brand or some general product. Look for any major cuts,bubbles etc.
Interiors: Spend good time to look at the interiors as this can show the level of maintenance easily. If the driver seat is cut or requires maintenance it shows that the car probably has not been taken proper care of. It is more than likely that the internal parts of the car might also have some major issues.
Electrical Features: Check the electrical features closely. Check wipers and windshield washer function. The rear wiper generally is the first to fail hence check it carefully.
Heater: Check operation of the heater and air conditioner. even if a bit of a problem is there reconsider your decision as this can cause some major repair costs afterward.
Check the engine: This is one of the most important of the tasks. Regular oil change is very important. Even the most reliable engines will fail if this is not done. You can find it through the service records however they are sometimes not available. If you see under the hood and find that the engine is extremely dirty, there is burnt oil smell,corroded battery or any other signs of poor maintenance it show that the car can give some major issues in the future. Check the engine oil, if it has not been changed recently it can give a good picture of the condition of the engine. Check the engine oil dipstick, if the mark on it is between "full" and "low" it is good sign. also the color of the oil gives you an idea, if it is dirty and black the engine might have some problems. Finally starting the car and looking at the exhaust fumes can give you an idea, if they are blue or black with bad odor the engine has been maintained poorly.
Check the automatic transmission: Check the transmission dipstick when the car is idle. If the car has been driven immediately before than the fluid must be within the HOT mark else it should be within the cold mark. also if the fuel condition is not good that is it is too black and dirty with bad smell than the transmission will probably not last long. It should be a bit transparent. It comes as red in color and over time it turns brown. when totally brown it is time to change the fluid. some car makers require fuel to be changed every 40000 miles or so others say you never have to change. You can find about the specification from the owner's manual.
Manual Transmission: The gears should shift easily without any noises,jerks etc. Try to accelerate and decelerate suddenly while in the 2nd and 3rd gear. There should be no slipping of the clutch. If this happens the clutch will need to be changed soon. Also there should be no whining or humming noise in any condition.
Test drive: This is by far the most important part while doing a good used car inspection. Check that there are no blue smoke while starting the car, this will be the first sign that there is going to be a problem with the engine in the future. Try to ride on bumpy roads and if possible on highways.
The major things to look out for are:
There should be no irregular noises from the engine.
The steering should be responsive.
Even at highway speed the car should feel stable.
There should be no harsh shifting or jerks.
No humming sound should be there.
Check for pulsation while braking. if there is one the brakes might need to be changed.
One of the best things is to drive another model of the same car if available. This would give you a good feeling of where your earlier car stands. in the end if you still feel a bit unsatisfied be prepared to get it checked by a third party mechanic. He would be able to tell you the major problems if any within a few minutes. Although it might cost you a bit but would save a lot of money and time in the end.
Price and comparison of cars
You can get a new 94 civic in the range from $1800 to $2800 or a bit higher if it has lower mileage and better condition.
Besides this you can look at the following cars which are also good.
94 Toyota Corolla
94 Subaru Impreza
94 Mazda Protegé
Following is the comparison of the 3 most chosen alternative to the 94 civic.
| Name> | 94 Honda Civic | 94 Toyota Corolla | 94 Subaru Impreza | 94 Mazda Protege |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Price | $2,785 | $2,625 | $2,050 | $2, 250 |
| Private Party Price | $1,860 | $1,725 | $1,225 | $1, 425 |
| Estimated Payments | $53 /mo @ 4.99% APR | $50 /mo @ 4.99% APR | $39 /mo @ 4.99% APR | $43 /mo @ 4.99% APR |
| Gas Mileage | 29 mpg City / 36 mpg Hwy | 23 mpg City / 31 mpg | 22 mpg City / 29 mpg Hwy | 24 mpg City / 33 mpg Hwy |
| Engine | 4-Cyl, 1.5 Liter | 4-Cyl, 1.6 Liter | 4-Cyl, 1.8 Liter | 4-Cyl, 1.8 Liter |
| Transmission | 5-SpdManual | 5-SpdManual | 5-SpdManual | 5-SpdManual |
Maintenance Tips:
Engine oil: Check if the engine oil is dirty or is below the requisite level. Ideally it is advised that the engine oil be changed every 3000 miles.
Engine coolant: Change this twice a year so that silt does not build up in your coolant system.
Automatic transmission fluid: This fluid should be changed every 30000 miles or so. The reason why this fluid requires regular change is because this fluid creates a lot of friction while working. This friction is created because of the fluid moving in the torque converter and because of the friction of the general gears and the bearing.
Tire Pressure: This is one of the most important not only because of the money it can save on tire changes but have low tire pressure or more makes the handling of the car difficult and the chances of accidents increases greatly. You can check this with a tire gauge and check this regularly or whenever you feel that the tires are not balanced.
Do regular inspection: Sticking to the maintenance schedule is important as this will save a lot of cash in the long run.
Overall I would give this car a (9/10) and would recommend it all who would buy it as a daily driver or a fuel efficient low maintenance ride.
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