How reliable is a 91' Honda Civic HB?

[izzoblitzo]

Hey folks, Im thinking about picking up a 91' Civic HB, with maybe around 250Kish on it.

Probably will use this for a winter beater, and maybe start the task of replacing parts on it, and tune it in the next few years perhaps.

My questions are for anyone that has experience or have owned such cars. Like, what kind of mechanical problems would be typical for a car of this age? Are parts easily replacable.. such as if the winter start is bad?

For now, Im just looking for reliability. Like, with any amount of $$$, this car could be just like new, but if I was to go out and spend mega $$$ to replace everything, I might as well skip the trouble and buy new anyway.

How much would a typical replacement engine cost?

Not certain that this is the car to buy, but your opinions would greatly help! thanks!:D

[AllGoNoShow]

Typical replacement engine can be anywhere form Free to $500 depending on who your getting it from, why their getting rid of it and shape it is in. Si may be a little moore but not much.

Replacements? Buddy has done alternator on the civic I am driving (his) twice I think, both used units forliek $15 form PyP I think, could have bought new but doesn't feel like it.

Other then altnerators and odd coolant leak, a valve adjustment if its bad, not much goes wrong witht hem besides brakes. Light car so they put really small brakes on. Warp easy and don't last exceptionally long.

Other then that great little fuel effecient cars, event he Si which I am driving and me driving around not knowing how to drive stick right yet and stayin in some higher rpms, I have burnt less gas in the 3-4 weeks of driving this then I do i na week of driving the bimmer.

[Datsun-Fever]

Fourth gen's are amazing in my mind. i ran from Calgary to Golden and back on a 400,000Km D16a6 that had less than a litre of oil in it the entire time, doing 160+km/h both ways...
fuck i love Honda :D

[WWJAI]

For reliability, it also depends on how the previous owner treated the car. Did they maintain it well (give it regular oil changes, flushes, etc) Parts for civics are generally really cheap compared to many other vehicles and lots of the labour you can do yourself just by reading tutorials on the net but in general, 91 civic would definitely be reliable and should last you longer than 25xxxxkms as long as your treating the engine right. I say go for it, you can't go wrong with a civic for a winter beater assuming you have good tires as well.

[max_boost]

If you have any mechanical skills, you can probably do all the repairs yourself. Or just call richardchan2002.

[DC2]

there are LOTS of 4th gen civics at pyp, most of them are trashed but there are some with quite a few decent parts left

[88CRX]

Make sure the timing belt and water pump have been changed in the last 70-90k km's and you'll be good to go.

[izzoblitzo]

Wow.. really good responses. Thanks!

I'll give it a looksee, and check it out for sure. With a honda civic this age, I bet there will be tonnes of rust.. I just wonder if it's a good idea to spend money on fixing it.. or maybe throw a cheapo maaco paint and repair job on the rust itself perhaps.. haha