96 civic gives a fuel efficiency of 29 mpg in city and 37 mpg on highway. The overall handling and reliability of this car is one of the best among all the cars I have had the chance to ride till now. I got this car a couple of months back and it has been a great experience till now. My aveo was giving me a bit of a trouble and hence I decided to go with this car. I purchased it from craigslist and overall I can say that the experience of buying and using this car has been much better than all my earlier experiences. I was prevented the unnecessary haggling with the dealers. In return I have got a car which although had 140,000 miles on the odometer but it still runs like it is a new car.
This is a nice comparison of civic with corolla and mazda 3
For those looking to buy these cars as a daily driver or for those who would want it to be a performance car I have a few points to share:
1. Searching: This is the most tricky part of all and I had to spend the better part of my weekend doing this. I generally like to go through the net first but it would also be better to notify some of your friends that you are looking for a used civic. Few my friends have been able to find really great deal just by asking their friends or updating their status on Facebook.
On the net you need to go through various postings of 96 civic to select the car which you think is well maintained. I have used the following sites in the past and have been very satisfied with them: Craigslist, Ebay motors, Carmax, Autos.aol and lemonfree. You should have a specific budget and you can narrow your search to 5-6 options which you can inspect yourself.
2. Calls: Many times the sellers might not be serious or would be using the bait and switch technique of quoting lower prices and than asking for more. You should call them individually and you can can know if they are genuine within 2-3 minutes. If they give evasive answers it means there might be some issues with the car or they would want a higher price. If they seem alright you can fix appointment with them. Generally it is better to complete the inspection of all 5-6 cars you have shortlisted within a couple of days preferably weekend.
3. Inspection: It is very important to do proper inspection. First you need to check the car body, the engine, transmission fluid and other parts before even going for a test drive. I generally take one of my friends on such visits who might have a bit better knowledge. This gives a better chance to inspect and the other person can identify a problem which you might have missed.
4. Test Drive: If every thing is ok you should take a test drive. Generally spending 20-25 minutes can tell you a lot about the car. If there is any abnormal sound coming from the engine of the 96 civic while accelerating there might be a problem there. Besides you can check the transmission, clutch, brakes, handling and the CV joints.
5. Negotiation: Either leave the negotiation for the next day when you have had the chance to test drive all the remaining cars or you can finalize the prize and pay afterward. Always take a approximate prize from KELLY BLUE BOOK(KBB) before going into negotiations.
6. Paperwork: The car needs to pass the smog test. This should be done by the seller so see the proper paperwork for it. Check the registration of the car. You need to get the “bill of sale” from the seller. Finally sales tax needs to be paid and the insurance needs to be activated.
7. Tuning/Modding: If you want to convert a 96 civic into a performance car you would need to spend some good amount of time to gain basic knowledge about different parts, various tuning options and the cost to you. One of the best source is to go through the forums available like: Honda-tech, Hondaswap and TorqueCars.
Again buying a used car requires detail inspection of the car. As a last option you might want to get the car inspected by a mechanic for a car you have finalized. It might cost an extra $75-$100 however it would be worth it.
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