Looking at early-mid 2000 Civics/ Corollas

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Just as the title says. Is there anything to look out for, stay away from etc?

Thanks folks.


I inherited 2005 Civic coupe with 30K miles. Its just a basic gas sipping econobox.

 

[silverrat]

Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: supton
45mph isn't that slow in an accident.

2001 Civic was a bad year, lots of problems. Maybe they all got fixed in any vehicle that is still going, but that was a high recall year. I'm not sure when Civic went timing chain but Corolla was chain in this timeframe. However, 98-01 motors can be notorious oil burners. Chevy Prizm is a rebadged Corolla, with a different radio and hvac; typically though the Corolla would have a more desirable 4AT while the Prizm tended to come with a less desirable 3AT. [The 3AT spins the engine faster on the highway and gets a bit less mpg, and more engine noise. It also has a separate sump for the diff that many overlook.]

As far as Corolla goes, this thread thread is more for the later years, while this was more Prizm based.



I believe with the civics, if the engine is on the "wrong" side it has a belt. If it's on the "right" side, it has a chain.


Anything Pre 2006 has a timing belt. 2006 and up have a chain, including the K20 SI.

Also the Civic is not a deathtrap any more than any other car in it's class. Give me a break.


2002-2005 Si also have a chain

 

[Rolla07]

Ive been happy with my rolla. Not fast but great on gas and reliable as anything. Replaced front wheel bearings and ecm had a recall replaced under warranty..im at 221,400kms and going strong. Id recommend getting one with 4 disc brakes if you can..drums are fine but braking power not as good. Besides the above just standard maintenance. It also has timing chain not a belt. Easy to work on also..take a look at the engine compartment.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Anduril
Had a 2002 Corolla that I drove in high school. Got 42 mpg on the best tank, all freeway 75-80 mph. Also burned a lot of oil and the engine didn't make it to 100k. My 6'1" frame barely fit in the driver's seat. Others have had the complete opposite experience, but I wouldn't buy another.


I had an 02 corolla. Pretty much mirrors your opinion.

The good: Paint, AC still worked, OBD-II emissions stayed happy.

The bad: Burned a quart of oil every 350 miles, rims bent easily, rockers rusted away. So underpowered it would downshift to 3rd on the turnpike on hills I didn't know were there. (A 5 speed would fix that.) A saturn s-series would be more durable, and for much less money.

 

[Nick1994]

What's the purpose for this car? Grocery getter, long distance commuter, highway, city etc.

I'd suggest a 97-01 Camry. You could pick up a real clean one for cheap. The 2.2L isn't very quick but is dead reliable. They also didn't sludge up like the V6 ones did. Mid 30s mpg on the freeway.

What I like is they're a lot more roomy than a Corolla and drive nicer out on the road. Has a timing belt but they're non-interference. Also not that hard to change.

 

[KrisZ]

I would take Ford Focus with a 5 speed and 2.0L Zetec, or the newer Duratec engine any day over the Civic and Corolla. It will be cheaper to buy, will be better equipped. will ride much better and is as reliable as the Japanese ones. And you get it as a sedan or a hatchback, also you could try and find the SVT version, which is very underrated, but quite excellent.
I had one for almost three years and it was a great little car. The hatchback could swallow a lot of stuff and aside for a bad thermostat I did not have to do anything during the course of my ownership, but drive it, fill it up and change the oil.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I would take Ford Focus with a 5 speed and 2.0L Zetec, or the newer Duratec engine any day over the Civic and Corolla. It will be cheaper to buy, will be better equipped. will ride much better and is as reliable as the Japanese ones. And you get it as a sedan or a hatchback, also you could try and find the SVT version, which is very underrated, but quite excellent.
I had one for almost three years and it was a great little car. The hatchback could swallow a lot of stuff and aside for a bad thermostat I did not have to do anything during the course of my ownership, but drive it, fill it up and change the oil.


I've never driven a Zetec, but the various Duratec Focii have been pretty snappy! And the Duratec engine is easily capable of just as many miles as a Civic.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I would take Ford Focus with a 5 speed and 2.0L Zetec, or the newer Duratec engine any day over the Civic and Corolla. It will be cheaper to buy, will be better equipped. will ride much better and is as reliable as the Japanese ones. And you get it as a sedan or a hatchback, also you could try and find the SVT version, which is very underrated, but quite excellent.
I had one for almost three years and it was a great little car. The hatchback could swallow a lot of stuff and aside for a bad thermostat I did not have to do anything during the course of my ownership, but drive it, fill it up and change the oil.


I've never driven a Zetec, but the various Duratec Focii have been pretty snappy! And the Duratec engine is easily capable of just as many miles as a Civic.
The Zetec is gutless. About the same power my Camry has, my mom had a 2003 Focus wagon. It died at 9 years old with 52k miles due to a Suburban making a left hand turn in front of her at an intersection.

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Originally Posted By: robshelton
I'd have to look for a Geo Prism, as mentioned above they are usually a bit cheaper than the Corolla. One thing I have noticed that causes catastrophic failure is many don't know the differential fluid is separate from the trans and also need to be checked/changed. Simply changing the trans fluid does not affect the differential.


Is that specific to the Geo Metro or are you saying for the Toyota transmissions?


Toyota, which means either car since they shared pretty much everything except some trim, maybe some AC parts and radios.

I think it was the 3speed automatic that had a separate diff fill. The 4speed automatic was one fluid, IIRC.

I try to buy manuals, so it wasn't something I committed to memory.

 

[Scooby]

2003-2004 Corolla's with manual transmission have a known main shaft bearing problem....AVOID!!

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
I try to buy manuals, so it wasn't something I committed to memory.


I should have added that I am mainly interested in 5 speeds too.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I would take Ford Focus with a 5 speed and 2.0L Zetec, or the newer Duratec engine any day over the Civic and Corolla. It will be cheaper to buy, will be better equipped. will ride much better and is as reliable as the Japanese ones. And you get it as a sedan or a hatchback, also you could try and find the SVT version, which is very underrated, but quite excellent.
I had one for almost three years and it was a great little car. The hatchback could swallow a lot of stuff and aside for a bad thermostat I did not have to do anything during the course of my ownership, but drive it, fill it up and change the oil.


I've never driven a Zetec, but the various Duratec Focii have been pretty snappy! And the Duratec engine is easily capable of just as many miles as a Civic.
The Zetec is gutless. About the same power my Camry has, my mom had a 2003 Focus wagon. It died at 9 years old with 52k miles due to a Suburban making a left hand turn in front of her at an intersection.


Well, to be fair the car didn't die due to the gutless engine; many other vehicles might have been totaled out for the same accident.

IIRC the first few years of Focus had many recalls, the model had some initial teething issues.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Originally Posted By: robshelton
I'd have to look for a Geo Prism, as mentioned above they are usually a bit cheaper than the Corolla. One thing I have noticed that causes catastrophic failure is many don't know the differential fluid is separate from the trans and also need to be checked/changed. Simply changing the trans fluid does not affect the differential.


Is that specific to the Geo Metro or are you saying for the Toyota transmissions?


Toyota, which means either car since they shared pretty much everything except some trim, maybe some AC parts and radios.

I think it was the 3speed automatic that had a separate diff fill. The 4speed automatic was one fluid, IIRC.

I try to buy manuals, so it wasn't something I committed to memory.


Yeah, the 3AT was a separate sump. AFAIK all the 4AT's did not.

Both were pretty robust; given the input shaft bearing issue in the 2000's they may be the ticket. Anything can break though.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I would take Ford Focus with a 5 speed and 2.0L Zetec, or the newer Duratec engine any day over the Civic and Corolla. It will be cheaper to buy, will be better equipped. will ride much better and is as reliable as the Japanese ones. And you get it as a sedan or a hatchback, also you could try and find the SVT version, which is very underrated, but quite excellent.
I had one for almost three years and it was a great little car. The hatchback could swallow a lot of stuff and aside for a bad thermostat I did not have to do anything during the course of my ownership, but drive it, fill it up and change the oil.


I've never driven a Zetec, but the various Duratec Focii have been pretty snappy! And the Duratec engine is easily capable of just as many miles as a Civic.

If the OP is doing alot of hwy miles, I would favor an 08+ Focus over mine. The short gearing and no VVT doesn't help mileage going above 65mph. I get 33-35mpg when I suspect a corolla or civic would get 40+mpg for my 55mph hwy driving.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

My 2011 5 speed gets ~40 on the highway going 65 or so. But I have the "fuel economy" gearing.

 

[dlundblad]

I am new to the whole timing belt thing guys. All the cars I have found have 150k+ on them.

Her Volvo was due for a TB around 120k IIRC, but we got to it around 150k. The belt, tensioner and idler pulley seemed fine though.

On average, should other cars be done around this time too? Perhaps I could use this as a way to keep price down and closer to KBB value.

"A shop will charge me $200 to do this." The sellers dont need to know I am a gearhead and will fix it myself for less than half. (Still a pain in the rear to do I am betting though.)

Having a TB over a chain isnt enough to scare me from a vehicle. I've done one before and Ill do it again if needed.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

A shop won't charge $200 for a timing belt. You're looking closer to $600

 

[supton]

Depends upon what vehicle and what corners are getting cut. But I'd expect any sort of quality job to be past $600, upwards of $1k, since (usually) water pump and other parts ought to be replaced also.

 

[dlundblad]

Looked at a 5 speed civic last night.

The CL ad said "very good condition" which it was.. minimal rust. The paint was a bit rough, but I still loved it. The only issue was the fact it was rear ended in a previous life. No mention of this in the ad.

*He wanted well north of the KBB great condition value too.

 

[dareo]

It would be hard to find anything that old that hasn't been abused to near death. I do like the 2000 and lower Civic years a lot more than the 2001+. They were just so simple and high quality in 2000 and down. We had a 2000 EX MT 4DR civic for a while and it was a nice drive, eventually sold it for a nice profit. This was on a car that had been rebuilt restored too, still drove very well even with half the paint coming off again.

The vehicles i really like in this era: VW TDI manuals, 1999.5 to 2003 ALH Engine Jetta / Golf / Beetle. After the Civic we got a 03 Jetta with 233k and took it past 300k without any issues and sold it for the same price as we got it for, all while averaging at least 40 mpg and a record of 55 mpg.