My daughter is thinking about a newer, smaller, more fuel efficient car to replace the Thunderbird SC. She want's to be able to autocross it and it will be her daily driver.
Any thoughts on these? It looks pretty clean and checks all the boxes as far as, manual transmission, cloth seats, fuel efficient.
Thanks.
Also, she does most of her own repairs. How sucky are these to work on?
They're largely a differently styled RSX of the same era. I haven't taken one apart, but I have spent more hours than I care to taking apart and reassembling an RSX and you know what, Honda did a good job screwing them together. I found the RSX extremely pleasant to work on all things considered. Engineering was good, you could reach things and unbolt them and bolt them back together. I love the K-series motors. I've only driven this generation Civic Si on dirt, so unless she's interested in how well it rotates with left foot braking on gravel (it's wonderful) then my driving impressions probably aren't helpful.
I test drove one that had water entering it through the cabin vent in the rear (behind the bumper cover), or the hatch seal. Honestly, I really liked it. Cool shifter, fun car, but that one was a lemon. These were assembled in England, unlike the RS-X, For What Its Worth.
They are well built and fun to drive while still being pretty economical. The one I just sold had 220k and was almost completely rust-free despite going through 14 harsh Wisconsin winters (aside from a single rock chip down to the metal that started the process). K20A3 is a great engine, sure they don't scream like a B16A but they are dead nuts reliable and do fine on 87 octane. Tons of storace space too. I think they are an excellent daily and criminally undervalued.
I think if you don't judge it primarily by its performance statistics then it's an excellent car. I think they are underappreciated but i dont know about undervalued. To me that would be I can get a really really nice one for $2k and i haven't seen that. Most of the cheap ones are trashed.
They're fun cars. Back in the day, we had one as a project car. You can find some updates here.
I had one 2004 in early 2003, I think? Whatever the first year for the clear tail lights and the 5 bolt wheels was.
It was fun and cheap to run. I liked it a lot. Capacious, easy to drive fast (well, as fast as it went...), easy to drive in traffic, super reliable.
Then again, I didn't have it for that long. I bought it the last day of the year in 2002, then by march 2003 I had swapped it for a '99 Boxster and kind of never thought about it again.
Great cars. As reliable and easy to work on as any other Honda. Has neither the screaming B16 nor anvil-like quality of the previous gen civics, but they're still great. I own an EM (coupe version with soul-sucking D17) for a DD and though its had a few weird electrical gremlins, I'm pretty sure you can light it on fire and it would still drive for another ten thousand miles.
I've always thought the bastard SI would make a great DD. Seems like its fun, efficient, love the hatch, and flies under the radar of most turners.
The only issue is that it's sort of boned by the autocross classing structure. In HS it's underpowered and undertired. It is a good car for STF, but that class is likely going away after this year or next and this car will get thrown in STS or STX.
But still a lot more competitive than a Thunderbird SC.
Toyman01 wrote: Also, she does most of her own repairs. How sucky are these to work on?
They have the typical Honda severe fastener rust problems, but this probably isn't an issue in SC.
I do remember that the procedure for replacing the A/C compressor involves taking the front off of the car, but I am able to cheat it out by dropping the front subframe out and shifting the engine towards the firewall, which actually takes less time. Fortunately, you generally only have to replace the compressor once or twice in the car's life, it's not an every three months thing...
She looked at the car yesterday and loved it. Unfortunately it had hail damage and the seller wouldn't budge on the price, so she walked.
Now the search is on for another one.
This one is local. It's a 2007. She sent the owner a text but no response yet.
I prefer the EP3 as it is a hatchback. Fantastic cars. THe biggest problem is finding one that has not been hacked up into pieces by a 18 year old "tuner" at this point.
Just did One Lap in the sedan version. 100% in love with the car. 
Same car won a rallycross national championship. Not classed great for AX, but an absolutely wonderful car.
So... EP3 or Fit?
Fit is painfully, painfully slow. It's a little buzzy as a DD, but the interior is cavernous and it gets over 40mpg on the highway if you keep your foot out of it
So, I guess Honda people are over the whole "What? Struts? No upper control arms?" Brou-ha-ha.
In reply to Toyman01:
How much was he asking for the car,
what was the mileage
and how bad was the hail damage?
In reply to spitfirebill:
Asking $5k, 160K miles, noticeable at 20'.
It was in immaculate condition other than the hail damage. Primarily a interstate cruiser that racked up a bunch of miles. It had no modifications.
Blue book was $4800 in good condition. If he would have come down to $4k or $4500, she would have probably bought it. He wouldn't budge, at all.
In reply to Toyman01:
Thanks
I found the CL ad, but it didn't have the mileage listed.
I noticed it had been listed for 26 days. He should have dealt a little
My only complaint with the 8th gen SI is the seats. As Calteg knows, I was just baby sitting/probably prepping for sale a buddies 2008 and I just couldn't get comfy in the car but it was a fun one to drive if you like the high revers.
bmw88rider wrote: My only complaint with the 8th gen SI is the seats. As Calteg knows, I was just baby sitting/probably prepping for sale a buddies 2008 and I just couldn't get comfy in the car but it was a fun one to drive if you like the high revers.
Its the location of the parking brake handle that makes those a no go for me. Right in the knee. Even on a short drive, they bother me. I would have to borrow The Shootists pillow if I bought one of those.
I "inherited" an LX model of the same vintage and loved everything about the car, except it was an automatic. These are on my short list for my next car.
mazdeuce wrote: Just did One Lap in the sedan version. 100% in love with the car.Same car won a rallycross national championship. Not classed great for AX, but an absolutely wonderful car.
I'll always be fond of that generation of Civic. It was such a bold change and yet delivered 100% on functionality and performance. People still complain about the Prius looking odd, but i think people forget just how out there the 8th gen Civic was when it came out. It's the only reason anyone considered the 9th gen a disappointment! Honda took its bread and butter and welt bold. I consider that moment in time one of the high points of the modern era of Honda.
I love 8th gen Si sedans. They are great. But the coupes are hideous..
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