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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

The Body Works of VA INC ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Body Repairing & Painting, Automobile Parts & Supplies
Address: Burtonsville
Phone: (866) 595-6470

Sarandos Automotive Technology Inc ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Auto Oil & Lube
Address: 818 York Rd, Fort-Howard
Phone: (443) 377-3517

Safety First Auto Repair ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service
Address: 52 Main St, Bentley-Springs
Phone: (717) 235-2203

Quick Lane ★★★★★

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Address: 1415 W Patrick St, Keedysville
Phone: (301) 668-8650

Prestige Automotive ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Automotive Tune Up Service
Address: 200 W Padonia Rd Unit D, Glencoe
Phone: (410) 561-9696

Preferred Automotive Assoc ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Diagnostic Service, Brake Repair
Address: 12356 Wilkins Ave, Colesville
Phone: (301) 881-8530

Auto blog

Kayaba, Sumitomo to pay millions for price-fixing in US

Sat, Sep 19 2015

Kayaba Industry Co, which does business in the US as suspension parts maker KYB, and Sumitomo Electric Industries are facing payments in the millions to settle price-fixing cases about the components that they make. As part of the Department of Justice's ongoing crackdown of price fixing in the auto industry, KYB agreed to pay $62 million and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to set the cost of shock absorbers from the mid '90s through 2012. The company allegedly worked with co-conspirators to keep the cost of the parts high, and those components then made it into vehicles from Honda, Kawasaki, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota. "Any collusive agreement among competitors to restrict price competition undercuts our free enterprise system and violates the law," said Carter M. Stewart, US Attorney of the Southern District of Ohio, in the DoJ's announcement. Over the past few years, the DoJ has brought cases against 37 parts suppliers and 55 executives, leading to over $2.6 billion in fines. The investigations haven't always been so successful – some of the Japanese execs fled from the US to avoid prosecution. Critics allege that price fixing is simply how business is done. According to Automotive News, Sumitomo Electric Industries is also facing a $50 million settlement in a civil lawsuit that's related to price fixing of parts like wiring harnesses and heater control panels. The plaintiffs include owners and dealers that purchased vehicles with these parts. The company asserts that the violations are from before 2010, and it now has different process in place to avoid further violations. KYB Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $62 Million Criminal Fine for Fixing Price of Shock Absorbers Kayaba Industry Co. Ltd., dba KYB Corporation (KYB) has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $62 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix the price of shock absorbers installed in cars and motorcycles sold to U.S. consumers. According to charges filed today, KYB conspired from the mid-1990s until 2012 to fix the prices of shock absorbers sold to Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (manufacturer of Subaru vehicles), Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Nissan Motor Company Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Company, including their subsidiaries in the United States.

New Honda ads: Fix your airbags

Sat, Mar 14 2015

As we've heard on many different occasions, one of the biggest problem with recalls is getting people to actually report to the dealership to have repairs done. This is particularly important in cases where the recalled part can cause some very serious harm. To combat this tendency – you might even call it neglectfulness – on the part of owners, Honda is turning to advertising. The company is launching a multi-million-dollar ad campaign targeting owners of vehicles affected by the Takata airbag recall and asking them to report in to have a replacement inflator installed. "Honda hopes that this new consumer information campaign will bolster our existing and continuing efforts to reach our customers and maximize the vehicle repair completion rates associated with recalls to replace Takata airbag inflators," Honda's John Mendel said in the attached statement. "These ads are a strong call to action from our company designed to break through the clutter, grab the attention of customers driving affected vehicles, and urge that they get required repairs as soon as possible." The campaign will kick off March 16 with full-page color ads in over 120 newspapers and 30-second radio spots in 110 markets. Because it's 2015, the company will also use sponsored Facebook posts "that mention the specific vehicle owned by each identified user." Yep, here's the future. Honda's ads will largely be focused in the 11 high-humidity states and territories (Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) most affected by the Takata recall. Several of the states were part of the initial National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation, like Florida, Hawaii, the USVI and Puerto Rico. "The goals of this campaign is to save lives and prevent injuries," Mendel added. This campaign will be worth watching, not only because they deliver an important message, but they could set a precedent for the handling of future major recalls. Check out Honda's full press release, available below. New Honda Advertising Campaign Urges Owners to Take Immediate Action to Check for Open Recalls to Replace Takata Airbag Inflators Mar 12, 2015 - TORRANCE, CA.

Honda planning sub-NSX S2000 successor

Tue, 13 May 2014

Nine years separated the arrival of the original Acura NSX and the Honda S2000. By that time, the NSX was closer to the end of its fifteen-year production cycle than it was to its beginning. The latest word has it that not only is Honda planning a successor to the S2000, but it's not about to wait that long after the new NSX arrives before it's rolled out.
While the S2000 was a front-mid-engined roadster, its successor will, according to the latest from Auto Express (which we are taking with a grain of salt), be a mid-engined coupe - closer, in other words, to the NSX than the S2000. Power would come from a more potent version of the 2.0-liter turbo four developed for the upcoming new Civic Type R, possibly as part of a hybrid system derived from Honda's upcoming Formula One powertain to develop over 400 horsepower.
Whether the new sports car would revive the S2000 nameplate, and whether it would wear the Honda or Acura badge in the United States, remain to be seen. As does its potential production site: while the previous S2000 was built at the same Takanezawa plant in Tochigi as the original NSX, the new NSX will be built at the new Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio. The new S660 roadster, meanwhile, is set to be assembled at the same Yachiyo plant in Yokkaichi as the original Honda Beat.