Looking at Civic Type S

[Alex7783]

Hi All

New to the forum and am hoping to buy my first Honda over the next couple of weeks.

I have narrowed it down to a Type S GT, however i have become a little concerned over the reliability issues that have been reported, which i find strange given that it is a HOnda afterall. Should i be worried about reliability?

Secondly i cannot decide between a diesel or a petrol. I currently do approx 12-15,000 miles a year, (a combination of short 2- 5 mile journeys and longer 100-200 motorway journeys). Does the extra 'pull' of the diesel justify spending an extra £1000 on an 07-08 plate car?

I have been offered two options by my local dealer, both 07 Type S GTs with approx 40,000 miles. The diesel is £10,000 and the petrol is £9,000 am i correct in thinking that these prices are inflated to the tune of approx £1000 for the diesel and £500-750 for the petrol?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many THanks

[deni.babe]

what ever choice you make they are both superb, reliability issues is pot luck diesels usually suffer with the clutch slipping not all though but if your lucky it could have been replaced with the modified version worth mentioning if you go for the diesel,petrol Ive had two enjoyed them both 5 door and three door all i can say on the reliability on mine was minimal bump stops and door handle replaced that's it it wouldnt put me off buying another, if i was you test drive the two the 1.8 petrol gives a nice sound and performance when driven hard but the power of the diesel at low revs is very impressive,i bought a 07 plate type s gt with 36k last october for £8300 from a car supermarket honda dealer wanted a grand more, you could by this type r gt same money.
2007 (07) Honda Civic 2.0 Type-R GT 3 Dr | Used car for sale - Arnold Clark

[edwardwan]

Never had an issue with mine, and its the first issue version. £9k seems bit steep for 40k on the clock though, or is that how much they are these days?!! got mine for that price with half the milege a couple years back.

[rogp1]

You are right about the inflated prices, i would shop around a bit more, search autotrader etc, i only paid £6,995 for my 57 reg GT, it had done 74k miles but got a FSH.

Lots of postings about Diesel v petrol on here, best to have a test drive in each to see which you prefer

[shaunwistow]

Hi, I do about 15k miles a year, I have the 2.2 Type S GT-t, never had a problem with it at all. It's very nippy & great on the motorway. Personally I would go for the diesel.

[saberkin]

Originally Posted by shaunwistow

Hi, I do about 15k miles a year, I have the 2.2 Type S GT-t, never had a problem with it at all. It's very nippy & great on the motorway. Personally I would go for the diesel.

+1

but eitherway you'll be chuffed with it

[ThePurifier]

I have the 1.8 and very happy with the mix of performance and economy. Not driven the diesel though so can't comment what that's like. I've had my car for 14 months now and generally happy, but make sure you thoroughly check the car out even buying from a dealer.

I had steering rack and temperature sensor replaced within a month of buying, and have had front pads and discs replaced within 3 months and a bumpstop replaced at 6 months. I've also had issues with folding mirrors and wipers over the winter (although working ok now) and my CD player sometimes gets too hot to play CDs. I suspect the dealer didn't bother to carry out Honda checks before putting the car up for sale

[ThePurifier]

Not wanting to put the OP off but to add to that little list of mine I now have a problem with the rear part of the roof blind not wanting to open. Think I've been seriously unlucky with my car

[NickS]

Hi Alex, and welcome! Unfortunately this generation Civic does not enjoy the usual Honda reputation for reliability justly earned by either the earlier models, or (say) the Jazz.

I've done almost 43,000 in 26 months, and nothing has failed or broken (except smashed foglight, which is hardly Honda's fault, and temp sensor, which is common). Still on original Michelins too - just! However, the driver's door seal has never fitted perfectly so it whistles in the wet (!), the radio is shocking and doesn't properly re-tune under RDS (dealer says it's fine - they must be deaf!), and various bits of trim are not well aligned. As you've read, the ride is pretty poor too.

That said, the engine and gearbox are great, I find the seat really comfy, the styling and interior look stunning, never boring, and it is very roomy for luggage and passengers (plus magic seats in the 5 door). I'm getting 48mpg now, about 2 or 3 mpg better since it passed 30k miles. The sat nav and panoramic roof are both good too.

Paint chips quite easily, and wheels need regular cleaning.

I'd suggest driving at least on 1.8 and one 2.2. With 15k miles the diesel should pay for itself over 2 or 3 years - do the maths.

Best wishes.