FN2 Noobie Buyers Advise

[e46m3c]

Hi Guys,

My GF is planning on buying a FN2 Type R and i was hoping i could leech some information from you good people.

I have done a bit of googling and there is not much i can find regards faults.

It seems the doors are prone to rust but are all civics covered by a 10 year warranty? How is this affected by mods such as LPG conversion?

My main questions are regarding price. The performance car market is on its arse, is the civic affected? Are they selling, advertised price is one thing, but what are they going for? Much haggling room?

We are looking at aronud 07 plate with 40k ish. They seem to be advertised around the £8k mark. is this a fair price?

Is ipod/phone connectivity standard?
Any sound upgrade package?
Any facelift or changes at anypoint to go for?
Any must have options?

Finally ware and tare
I see honda are reliable. However at 40-50k id expect alternators, bushes, dampers etc to perhaps need replacing. Is this the case on the type R? What is common to be replaced and at what milage / age? What milage are people getting from disks and pads?

We test drove one the other day and it was great, so im after some general advice of things to look for aside from the usual when test driving or inspecting. The old EP3 IIRC has issues with getting into gears when cold. Any such issues? Electrics solid?


And just so im not totally leeching. here are some pics of my E36 m3 track slag and e46 M3 road slag:
http://www.bmwowner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=196617
http://www.bmwowner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1996701#p1996701

My old scooby (gone but not forgotton)
http://bbs.scoobynet.com/members-ga...lassic-after-facelift-and-brakes-and-evo.html

Ive also got some youtube videos if interested. They arent great ***. Drift day with my anti-lagging scooby at rocking. Couple of trackday and too many off-roading videos.

 

[e46m3c]

Someone correct my spelling please

 

[owen243]

To my understanding fn2 (07's) suffered from 3rd gear synro . I think loxy has a good explanation on here somewhere.

They also had a handbrake recall and a door closing problem which was fixed on warranty too. Not sure about changes at 40k miles but I'm sure someone will and correct me if I've made any wrong judgements

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[e46m3c]

ok cool. Will defo need to know more about the gearbox. I take it its new gearbox or is it possible to disassemble the box and change the synchro?

Any tests to carry out? Im guessing just check for grinding when cold going into 3rd. Perhaps even do a bad rev match?

 

[Loxy]

The third gear issue is difficulty selecting third and occasionally popping out of gear. Affected MY07 cars.

£8k sounds about on the money for an early car on 40k miles. Just to put that into perspective I bought mine when they just starting to drop in Jan 10, 57 reg GT model, had just had £1k taken off the screen price and I paid £13k.

Rust was only really on the roof near the window seal from stone chips and on the top of the doors where the rubbers didn't protect the door. The rubbers were revised in 2009 on the mild facelift.

I'm no my phone at the moment but when I get on the computer in a bit and can type a bit easier I'll answer the rest of your questions.

 

[e46m3c]

Awesome. Thanks for the help. Chap on the forum has one going which sounds good. And its 2008 so no gearbox issue.

Im awaiting a reply from him.

Anyone known the stock thickness of the type R discs front and rear? Or estimated cost for parts only to replace?

 

[e46m3c]

One more question. Do the optional extra 19's sell well on ebay? Found a nice looking car but im not fond of these wheels and would wish to change them.

 

[Loxy]

One more question. Do the optional extra 19's sell well on ebay? Found a nice looking car but im not fond of these wheels and would wish to change them.

Sorry I didn't follow up last night did I? I'll do it tonight.

The Rages normally do sell quite easily, normally going for between £600-800 depending on condition of tyres etc.

Some people like the look, some don't. Most will agree that the ride and handling is better on the standard 18s.

 

[e46m3c]

ok good. slight profit possible then. Any idea how much NEW 18's are from a dealer? Would rather not go 2nd hand if poss.

 

[Loxy]

Hi Guys,

My GF is planning on buying a FN2 Type R and i was hoping i could leech some information from you good people.

I have done a bit of googling and there is not much i can find regards faults.

It seems the doors are prone to rust but are all civics covered by a 10 year warranty? How is this affected by mods such as LPG conversion?
10 Year warranty is anti perforation only. It does not count towards things like corrosion, i.e. rust.

Standard warranty is 3 years on the rest of the car.

My main questions are regarding price. The performance car market is on its arse, is the civic affected? Are they selling, advertised price is one thing, but what are they going for? Much haggling room?

We are looking at aronud 07 plate with 40k ish. They seem to be advertised around the £8k mark. is this a fair price?
As I said, seems a fair price. If it is the one I'm thinking of it has Nav and bluetooth Handsfree Telephone and voice commands which was a £1,500 option, so these do tend to sell for a bit more than a usual GT model. It is a pretty good system. The wife has it in her 08 5 door EX.

Is ipod/phone connectivity standard?
No, it was an option on early cars. Became standard on the 2009 facelift. Facelift included HIDs with auto levelling headlights and headlight washers, auxillary connection in the arm rest and all FN2s from 2009 were also the GT model where previously that was an option so get auto dusk sensing headlights, auto wipers, dual zone climate control, front fogs and refrigerated glove box.
Any sound upgrade package?
Bassworks speaker and amp upgrade. Hardly anyone bought it, not really worth it on the standard headunit.
Any facelift or changes at anypoint to go for?
See above, from 2009 onwards. You can tell a facelift from whether it has headlight washers or not. Cars manufactured (not necessarily the same as registered) after April 2010 also came with a LSD as standard.
Any must have options?
GT spec personally. The base cars don't go for much cheaper second hand, so personally I would just go for a GT model. Easiest way to tell is if it has fog lights, it will probably be a GT.
Finally ware and tare
I see honda are reliable. However at 40-50k id expect alternators, bushes, dampers etc to perhaps need replacing. Is this the case on the type R? What is common to be replaced and at what milage / age? What milage are people getting from disks and pads?
Depends on how the car has been driven. Dampers might be going if it has had a hard life. Mine is coming up to 40k, has been lowered for 22k of that and the dampers are fine. My alternator has no issues and bushes are still tight. Usually you are looking at around 100k to think about replacing bushes etc. Alternators aren't known as a weak point.
An odd quirk is the rear brakes can wear quickly as the VSA system will have been used a lot if the car has been driven enthusiastically. Not a bad thing, but worth keeping an eye on. The rear brakes are used on the stability program to stop the back end coming out. 07/08 cars were known to be quite aggressive with the VSA and so wore the pads more. There have been rumours of software updates but I don't think people saw much improvement. Rear pads have been known to last 20k and my discs needed replacing after 38k. Front pads again depends how the car has been driven but 20-40k on a set of pads dependant on use.

We test drove one the other day and it was great, so im after some general advice of things to look for aside from the usual when test driving or inspecting. The old EP3 IIRC has issues with getting into gears when cold. Any such issues? Electrics solid?
Electrics solid, some issues around the windscreen cowl rattling against the glass in cold weather. To solve you take the cowl off and put a strip of double sided faom tape down it's length and refit, totally eradicates the problem. Some wiring has been known to rattle in the roof lining, and some dashes are known to be squeaky. If the car was still under warranty the dealer would resolve these issues by taping the wiring back down or refitting the dash. It depends how much it bothers you and not all cars suffer.
Some cars have squeaky rear suspension on cold mornings when setting off until you get round the first bend then it goes. Again, not all cars, no official fix by Honda and it isn't a safety issue.
Some cars have squeaky clutches when cold. It squeaks on the bite point until it warms up. This went away when I fitted a new clutch.
Some cars have squeaky pedal boxes. Usual dealer fix is to grease the pivot points, but some cars have had new pedal boxes. Some clutch master cylinders have failed.
3rd gear issue as mentioned earlier, but nothing much else with the gearbox. It is usually pretty solid.

And just so im not totally leeching. here are some pics of my E36 m3 track slag and e46 M3 road slag:
http://www.bmwowner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=196617
http://www.bmwowner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1996701#p1996701

My old scooby (gone but not forgotton)
http://bbs.scoobynet.com/members-ga...lassic-after-facelift-and-brakes-and-evo.html

Ive also got some youtube videos if interested. They arent great ***. Drift day with my anti-lagging scooby at rocking. Couple of trackday and too many off-roading videos.

Added some info above in red. These are reported issues, but remember not all cars have these, some are quite rare but are just pointers to look out for.

 

[Loxy]

ok good. slight profit possible then. Any idea how much NEW 18's are from a dealer? Would rather not go 2nd hand if poss.

Standard 18s are £423.36 each at main dealer prices. I kid you not...

 

[e46m3c]

Brilliant information. Thanks!

2nd hand it is then!

The one in question has the nav yes. however im concerned on its valuation. There was a flurry of new cars for sale at dealerships with similar age, milage starting at 8k this morning. Dont want to pay that much of a premium for the nav, its nice ***. Condition aside, its now out of warranty, not from a dealer if anything goes wrong, needs a service and tax, HPI & inspection and tyres within the year. If its never had disks or pads these will be due in a year also, which imo would put it closer to 7.5k (or lower) rather than 8.5k.

Was window tints a factory option?

 

[Loxy]

Brilliant information. Thanks!

2nd hand it is then!

The one in question has the nav yes. however im concerned on its valuation. There was a flurry of new cars for sale at dealerships with similar age, milage starting at 8k this morning. Dont want to pay that much of a premium for the nav, its nice ***.

Was window tints a factory option?

It's what's important to you really. The nav is nice, but if you won't use it or most of the features then it probably isn't worth it over another car for less money.

Tints were never a factory option, so they would be aftermarket or dealer fit.

 

[e46m3c]

The one in question has the nav yes. however im concerned on its valuation. There was a flurry of new cars for sale at dealerships with similar age, milage starting at 8k this morning. Dont want to pay that much of a premium for the nav, its nice though. Condition aside, its now out of warranty, not from a dealer if anything goes wrong, needs a service and tax, HPI & inspection and tyres within the year. If its never had disks or pads these will be due in a year also, which imo would put it closer to 7.5k (or lower) rather than 8.5k

 

[e46m3c]

Anyone know the new and min thicknesses of the disks? I can always measure these to gauge how much life will be left.

 

[e46m3c]

Sorry one more.

When are the vavle clearences due? Every 40 or 4 years? Are they part of a "full service history"?

 

[e46m3c]

And do honda offer any kind of inspection / Health check? Id like to get the car given a proper once over.

I could really do with the stock disks new thickness if anyone knows it?

 

[Loxy]

And do honda offer any kind of inspection / Health check? Id like to get the car given a proper once over.

I could really do with the stock disks new thickness if anyone knows it?

Value clearances are every 25k miles. It is in the service schedule. Dealer will adjust their service price accordingly but you have to tell them to do it. They have a habit of not checking if it is due.

They will do an inspection but they will charge for it. We got a flyer through before Christmas for a winter inspection. £60 or something. Checking brakes, fluid levels, suspension, ac etc. You'll pay more if anything needs doing.

No idea on stock thicknesses I'm afraid.

 

[e46m3c]

Ahh yes just found another thread of yours with this info. Thanks!

Am i right in thinking only honda should be doing the valve clearences. i.e. refuse the dealer if he offers to get his own mechs to do it. Small 2nd hand car dealership?

 

[e46m3c]

Should valve clearences be specifically mentioned in the service sheets which come with the history of the car?

Would you avoid a car thats not been done at 32k, or just ensure it gets done / haggle point?