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2003 Honda Civic Lx Coupe 5 Speed Manual, Mechanic's Special on 2040-cars

Year:2003 Mileage:159985
Location:

Laurel, Maryland, United States

Laurel, Maryland, United States
Advertising:

2003 Honda Civic 2 Door LX


This car is a mechanic's special.


It is a tough decision to sell this car because I have otherwise kept all service up to date and it has been an excellent vehicle. However, this car has a few critical issues that aren’t cheap to repair but if done will definitely get the car to 300,000+ miles.


It was driven regularly (~150 miles / week) until I parked it about 10 months ago. Since then, It has been driven about 500 miles. It starts on the first crank and has a new battery.


*Alternatively, if you are local to Baltimore/DC and want to fix this car for an awesome price, I’m all ears.*


Body & Interior

The body and interior are in decent and solid condition though it’s not winning any awards. It has lived in the city for 7 years and has all the typical bumper scuffs that go along with that. The left front fender and headlight were repaired from a minor city scuff-up about 2 years ago.


The back seats fold flat allowing for so much hauling. The little beast has hauled 14 8-foot 2x4s with the trunk closed on one occasion and 4.5 bicycles with 3 occupants on another. These are incredible little cars.


Mechanical

Aside from the issues which are outlined below, the car is in good mechanical condition.

Clutch is new with about ~9k miles and shifts well and with incredible ease, just as you would expect from a Honda.

The catalytic converter is less than 15k miles old, the tires have lots of life left, oil always changed on time.


Now for the bad...

  • An internal engine issue is causing the car to burn about a quart of oil / tank of gas and to also return poor fuel mileage. It currently gets about 27 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway. Low compression in #3 cylinder at about 70 psi. All other cylinders hit between 120 and 130. I tested dry and warm after taking the car for a quick spin. I did not do a wet test. The car does not smoke at all but must be burning enough oil to foul a replaced o2 sensor shortly after replacement. This issue could be bad piston ring or valve seal though i’m leaning towards piston ring. I’ve never seen it drip oil.

  • Transmission - Bad input shaft bearing. Rattles a good deal when the car is cold but usually goes away after warm-up. This should be addressed before catastrophic failure. Transmission is very strong otherwise.

  • Brakes - Strong but pull to one side. This issue appeared after being parked for some time. I suspect that a caliper piston is the culprit which is a very straight-forward repair.


The Other.


Passenger window glass is fine but low quality,

Used OE replacement in great shape included in sale.


Sale and Pick-Up

  • 25% deposit at close of auction with balance due within 7 days of close of auction.

  • I am confident that the car is capable of making a several-hundred mile trip if the new owner preferred to drive the vehicle away. I can pick you up at BWI airport or at any local train station or other location between Baltimore and DC.

  • Car must be claimed within 30 days of purchase.


Recent Service History

Date
Mileage
Service
6/7/2013155,672Brake Rotors, Brake Pads, Brake Fluid
1/8/2013151,962Rear main seal
1/4/2013151,823clutch service, rear main seal
10/3/2012148,995exhaust manifold, 4 new tires (Yokohama avid), high side hose
8/3/2011131,180replaced cam plug, cleaned degreased motor tech
5/27/2011133,762rear brake shoes, timing belt, water pump, seals, coolant, engine mount (front)
8/19/2010119,827oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket

Auto Services in Maryland

Wes Greenway`s Waldorf VW ★★★★★

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Address: 2282 Crain Hwy Waldorf, Md, Harwood
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On The Spot Mobile Detailing ★★★★★

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Auto blog

United States drivers buying fewer Mexican-made cars

Tue, May 10 2016

Crossovers and pickup trucks are not only growing in market share, they're also more profitable than cars. A crossover on the same platform as a sedan retails for thousands more, despite similar components. It's one of the reasons we've seen automakers rapidly shifting production of their sedans and hatchbacks to Mexico, where cheap labor preserves the thin profit margins on these inexpensive vehicles. But as the market continues to shift in the United States, Mexico is getting burned by its lack of product diversity. The country's auto exports, which are heavy on cars, suffered a 16-percent drop last month, Automotive News reports. In total, year-over-year exports fell from 233,515 to 197,020 last month, while year-to-date exports are down by 7.4 percent, from 922,029 to 854,118. The number one culprit? America – which usually accounts for 75 percent of Mexico's exports – and its appetite for crossovers and pickup trucks bolstered by cheap gas prices. While Mexico does build some light truck models – AN specifically calls out the Ram 2500, Honda HR-V, GMC Sierra, and Toyota Tacoma as export leaders – the vast majority of vehicles rolling out of its factories are sedans and hatchbacks. In fact, the three biggest drops in Mexican exports came from companies whose south of the border factories only build cars – Ford (Fusion/Lincoln MKZ and Fiesta), Mazda (Mazda3), and Volkswagen (Golf and Jetta). Mexican Automotive Industry Association President Eduardo Solis told AN the export shortfall will likely be sorted out sooner rather than later, thanks to a pair of new factories – a Kia car factory and an Audi SUV plant – that are coming online by year's end. The two facilities will add around 100,000 vehicles to the country's export totals, which Solis said should leave the industry on the verge of breaking another export record in 2016. But how sustainable will these record-breaking years be? Slapping an "Hecho en Mexico" sticker on a new German SUV won't be enough to change the fact that Mexico's product mix is tilted too heavily towards body styles that are not growing in volume. Mexico's record-breaking export years probably aren't at an end, but we'd argue they're certainly under threat. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Omar Torres / AFP / Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing Ford GMC Honda Mazda RAM Volkswagen Truck Crossover SUV Mexico

Honda expands Takata airbag recall to 5.4M units in the US

Tue, Dec 9 2014

While Honda already announced plans to take its front driver's side Takata airbag inflator recall nationwide, the automaker has now officially reported on the number of affected vehicles and the specific models in need of repair. The expanded campaign covers an estimated 5.4 million units across the US, including those already being fixed under the previous regional actions. That number is an expansion of the five million units initially reported by NHTSA. The affected models under the nationwide recall are the 2001-2007 Accord with a four-cylinder engine, 2001-2002 Accord V6, 2001-2005 Civic, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2007 Pilot, 2006 Ridegline, 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2002-2003 TL and 2002 CL. For customers who expressed concern about their vehicle's safety, Honda had already been replacing the inflators nationwide. It's possible for the inflators in these vehicles to rupture when inflating the airbag, spraying metal fragments at occupants. This problem has been blamed for at least five deaths worldwide and at least 139 reported injuries. In its statement, Honda said that it worked with Takata to test the recalled inflators in the original high-humidity recall regions, and there were no abnormal deployments in these evaluations. Honda will begin notifying owners by "over time," according to its statement. Priority will be put on the geographic areas with the highest risk of ruptures. Those in the original recall region were contacted in September. Earlier in December, Honda partnered with Autoliv to supply the automaker with replacement inflators for this campaign. Autoliv predicted it would take six months for deliveries to start. Takata also increased its production of substitute components. Scroll down to read the company's announcement of this nationwide expansion. Statement by American Honda Regarding National Safety Improvement Campaign: Driver's Front Airbag Inflator Supplied by Takata Dec 8, 2014 - TORRANCE, Calif. Honda will voluntarily expand a regional Safety Improvement Campaign initiated in June 2014 (NHTSA No. 14V-351) into a national Safety Improvement Campaign affecting certain 2001 through 2011 Honda and Acura vehicles in the United States to replace the driver frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. Honda is expanding this Safety Improvement Campaign to address concerns raised by its customers whose vehicles were not included in the regional campaign.

Honda rolls out production S660 roadster in Japan

Mon, Mar 30 2015

Honda doesn't do convertibles often, but when it does, they tend to be pretty small. No Cascadas or Continentals here; just nimble little two-seat roadsters like the S2000, del Sol and the legendary Beat. That's the line into which it tapped with the reveal of the S660 concept at the Tokyo Motor Show late in 2013, and now it's rolling it out in dealerships across Japan. Picking up where the Pininfarina-designed Beat left off in 1996, the S660 is heir to a proud tradition of Japanese roadsters like the Suzuki Cappuccino and Daihatsu Copen – two-seat convertibles designed to Japan's Kei car specifications and even smaller than the Mazda MX-5 Miata or Toyota MR2 Spyder. The new S660 joins Honda's minicar lineup alongside the N Series and adopts the same 660cc inline-three, but spins it around to mount it amidships and adds a turbocharger. It's got a roll-up canvas roof and a two-tone cabin that gives driver and passenger seats of different shades. 45/55 front-rear weight distribution promises to keep it fun but friendly, with brake-based torque vectoring to keep it all under control - all wrapped in a package that has barely changed any on the road to production. The Japanese automaker has still yet to reveal full specifications, including overall dimensions, output and performance. But while it won't be outperforming the Civic Type R or new NSX anytime soon, the combination of turbo power and compact dimensions promise to deliver what we can only imagine will be a fun ride. And imagine is what we'll just have to do, because for the time being, Honda will only offer the S660 in its home market. There buyers will be able to choose between a six-speed manual or continuously variable transmission, two trim levels, six paint colors and even a Concept Edition that adopts a similar color scheme as the show car. The manufacturer expects to move 800 of these little roadsters every month, but no more than 660 examples of the special edition. Related Video: Honda to Begin Sales of All-New S660 Open-top Sports-type Mini-vehicle TOKYO, Japan, March 30, 2015 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will begin sales of the all-new Honda S660, a 2-seater open-top sports car, on April 2, 2015, at dealerships across Japan. In addition, on the same day Honda will begin sales, in a limited quantity, of the S660 CONCEPT EDITION, a special model that commemorates the market launch of the S660. Only 660 units of this special edition will be sold in Japan.