Find or Sell Used Cars, Trucks, and SUVs in USA

1988 Honda Civic Hatchback, Bone Stock With Every Single Service Record Ever! on 2040-cars

Year:1988 Mileage:118098
Location:

Brooklyn, New York, United States

Brooklyn, New York, United States

For sale is my awesome 1988 Honda Civic.  I love this car, but need a truck for work.  Every good car has a story, so settle in, here goes:

I am the second owner, and bought the car from a female college professor.  This was her first car in 1988, got her through college and everything after.  For the last 10 years or so she had mainly kept the car garaged and only driven it every few weeks from New York (where her boyfriend lived) to the college she worked at (Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA) which explains why the mileage is so low.  118K!  Civics will easily go 200k miles or more, and a quick search of eBay will show you that most older Civics for sale has 150k miles or more.  Most Civics get inevitably cut up or modified by well-meaning, foolish teenagers- this car is bone stock, pristine, the exact same components as it rolled off the factory floor with.  I think this car is about half way through its life (in my very humble, non-mechanic opinion.)  It is now 26 years old and can qualify for classic car insurance in most states (cheap!)

Part of the reason it is in such good shape is that it was owned by one person (and then me, for the last 6 months.)  The other part is that the original owner was absolutely meticulous about servicing the car, making sure anything that went wrong was fixed, that service intervals were respected, etc.  I have done the same.  When I bought the car (and included in this sale) the owner gave me 2 folders stuffed with records for every single service/repair the car had ever received.  That's right, every repair, documented- you can see the whole life of the car laid out in front of you.  I bought a service manual, also included in the sale.

Since I've owner the car, I've only had to do a few little maintenance things to it: changed the oil, replaced the rear hatch shocks, and put in a new alternator.  That's it!  It passed inspection with flying colors.  Inspection is current, title is clear and in my name.  Has an aftermarket stereo and speakers sound pretty good.  

Now, this is a 26 year old car, so I wouldn't expect it to behave like a new car.  It's great at what it does best- sips gas (30+ MPG in the city!), can fit into any parking spot in the city, and can actually haul quite a lot (I can fit my bicycle in the back with the seats down without taking off any tires from the bike, I just stuff it in!)  So, here's the list of inevitable bumps, bruises, and other oddities:

  • A bit of rust (very little for a 26 year old East Coast car) , mostly in the rear wheel wells and passenger door sill.  I sanded these down and sprayed them with rust eliminating primer.  The primer is grey and doesn't stand out too much, but if you wants perfection you could get the factory paint matched.
  • Clearcoat on the hood is peeling.  No rust, just a bit scabby and discolored.  I routinely see used hoods on eBay for around $100, but haven't found a blue one yet.
  • Left turn signal is flashing quickly, will need bulb replaced eventually
  • Driver's seat is a bit cracked up, that's why the seat cover lives on it.  One crack in the passenger seat too.  Both are totally comfy and the padding is fine, totally cosmetic.
  • Some rattles and creaks- full steering wheel lockout to the right causes an intermittent noise (previous owner had it checked, mechanic couldn't pinpoint it and said it was irrelevant.)  AC rattles a bit (loose screw in there somewhere) but works just fine.  One AC vent cracked.
  • The big one is that eventually the car will need some clutch work- you can feel some of the power leaking if you gas it too hard (clutch is wearing down and not fully engaging.)  If you aren't flooring it like a madman you don't notice it too much (and if you are trying to race a stock 4cyl Civic you are strange.)  Drives totally fine, and I wouldn't hesitate to drive cross country tomorrow, but somewhere on the horizon this will have to be attended to.
I'm happy to show the car, answer questions about it, etc.  I really like this little blue guy, it's kinda fugly in an awesome way and does every thing its told.  Starts ever single time, even in the single degree temps this week (video is from 1/8/2014, outside temp around 15F.)  That's all I can think of, anything not listed here is an oversight, this car has nothing to hide.  I'm not a mechanic, although I can turn a wrench a bit, so all descriptions of the car are from my experience as the owner and daily driver of the car- I'm not omniscient.  Please remember this is an older car, nothing is guaranteed, and bid accordingly.  Good luck!

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Auto blog

Automakers donating money, vehicles and supplies to Oklahoma tornado relief effort

Fri, 24 May 2013

Judging by the destruction the Oklahoma City area experienced earlier this week, residents are going to need a lot of help in coming months. Fortunately, a number of automakers - including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Honda and Toyota - have stepped up to donate money, supplies and vehicles to aid in the recovery and rebuilding processes.
Here's a quick rundown of which automakers have pitched in and what each contributed so far:
Ford Motor Company has donating $250,000 and a Transit Connect to the American Red Cross, and it will match all other donations made to the Red Cross (up to $250,000) using a special URL tied to the latter's website (link here). Additionally, its local Oklahoma dealers have thrown in an extra $150,000 for the United Way and the automaker will be offering an extra $500 toward the purchase of a new Ford vehicle.

Best cars for snow and ice in 2023 and 2024

Tue, Jan 23 2024

What's the best car for snow? The real answer is "the one with winter tires." What do we mean by that? You could have the finest, most advanced all-wheel-drive system or four-wheel drive in the world, but if you're running all-seasons (the spork of tires), your fancy four-wheeler won't matter much. The odds are, any vehicle on the road running good winter tires will probably perform adequately in slippery, slushy and/or snowy road conditions. (Here's a more complete explanation of why winter tires are totally worth it). In other words, you don't really need any of the cars on this list. With a set of winter tires, countless others will do the job, and even these will be at their best with proper rubber. You can find a variety of winter tires for your car here at Tire Rack. Keep in mind that you will need a full set of four snow tires for safety and performance, no matter what you're driving. The days of your dad putting just two snows on the family truckster to get it moving in a straight line are long gone. Don't get us wrong, getting a car that performs well in snow and ice is still a worthy criteria for car buyers. According to the U.S. Transportation Department, 70% of Americans live in places that get snow and ice. And much of the country has been blasted with arctic air for much of the new year. So let's look at the cars. First, we're highlighting choices for a variety of buyers and price points. Second, we're not just considering snow; we're considering general wintery conditions people will experience driving to work or school. As such, these are all choices with advanced all-wheel-drive systems, usually with "torque-vectoring" systems that not only automatically shunt power front and back, but side to side between the rear axles. Most have extra ground clearance for getting through deep snow, and we prefer those vehicles with more responsive steering, throttles and transmissions that provide a greater sense of vehicle control in slippery conditions.    Acura RDX Read our Acura RDX Review Acura's Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive system was one of the first to offer torque-vectoring, and besides often being touted for its ability to greatly enhanced dry-road handling, its benefits in the slick stuff can be profound. It's actually surprising that Acura hasn't leaned into this capability further by offering more rugged versions of its vehicles.

Honda reveals three new turbo VTEC engines, including Civic Type R 2.0L

Tue, 19 Nov 2013

It's fair to say that in recent years, Honda has been viewed as a laggard when it comes to engine and gearbox development, seemingly missing the boat on direct-injection, forced-induction and high gear-count transmissions, among other things. But under its Earth Dreams banner, the Japanese automaker is showing new vigor, with the latest proof being this trio of just-announced powerplants.
Measuring 1.0-liters, 1.5-liters and 2.0-liters in displacement, this array of three- and four-cylinder engines boasts turbocharging and direct-injection along with the latest iteration of Honda's famed VTEC variable valve timing hardware. "Most suitable for small-to-medium-sized vehicles," the largest engine is said to be good for more than 276 horsepower and will slot into the eagerly awaited Civic Type R, iconic red valve cover and all.
Unfortunately, few other details about the hot Civic's engine or any of the others are being made public at this time, and there's no official word about the engines coming to North American in the Type R or any other model. Given that all the engines are complaint with stringent Euro 6 emissions standards, they figure to be clean enough, and Honda says that these have been developed as global powerplants, so we'd be shocked if they didn't come ashore in new or updated products over the next few years... even if they leave the CTR on the boat.