Hey all,

Just signed up for this forum today. Looking at purchasing a Civic here shortly and am checking out a '99 Civic HX tomorrow. A little bit about my needs first...I'm looking for something practical, reliable and cheap. I currently drive a '98 Jeep Cherokee and am wanting something a bit more economical. My brother-in-law is willing to buy my Jeep for $3600, so I'm looking for a Civic in the $3600-4400 range. I'm not concerned about modding/ricing this Civic.

The car I'm looking at tomorrow is a '99 Civic HX 2 door, black, factory HX rims, manual with 100k miles. The dealer is asking $4800 and it looks clean from the pics I've seen online. I haven't tracked Civic prices historically, so I don't know if this is an average asking price or not. I'm hoping I can get them down to $4200-4300 (I'm paying in cash as well).

What I'm looking for is feedback on this particular model, the HX's in general and possibly any problem areas I need to keep an eye out for when I go check this car out.

I've done some general searching online for information, and feel good about the feedback I've seen. Just looking for that little extra bit of feedback before I pull the trigger.

Any feedback/info would be appreciated!

 

I have a 97 HX, I bought it brand new and I still have it with 325,000 miles. There are a few things that are unique to the HX's. Are you looking to buy a manual transmission? Because the primary oxygen sensor are expensive. The CVT's (autos in HX's) are prone to failures. The HX have an EGR and it will eventually clog up the passages, you will get need to clean it out the carbon buildup. It does get great mpg. The price is a little high, you may be able get an EX from a private seller at better price depending where you live.

 

I would prefer to stick with a manual transmission (funner to drive and better mpg). How much do the primary oxygen sensors cost on the HX? Are these sensors prone to fail prematurely? This particular model I"m looking at has a manual. My brother has a 97 Civic and he needs to replace his EGR, so I'm assuming that's a pretty standard part to replace. What price would you say would be more in line with this particular car?

 

check your local, craigslist etc see what private sales there are too.

 

use www.kbb.com

 

I've already hit up KBB and Nada. Both came back with a used retail of $5500. Craigslist varies on different models ranging from 3000-4500. I guess what I'm looking for is whether or not the HX is a more desirable car among Civics.

 

The O2 sensor runs around 230 dollars but I'm still have the original one in the car. I'm waiting for it to fail because I know I'm on borrowed time. Does your brother have a HX? The EGR are only on HX's in this generation. The EGR valve are rock solid but the carbon build up will eventually happen. It is hard to say what price is good, there was someone on this forum sold his HX with low miles. I think he sold it for at least in the high 4000 and maybe in the 5000 a couple months ago. There are few people that actually search out for these HX's because you can get pretty good mpg (close to the Prius) if you drive them right.

 

Most people prefer EX's, but I like my HX.

 

My brothers is a 97, but it's not an HX...but I could have swore he said he had to replace his EGR. I could be wrong though. Depending on how the O2 sensor is set up, I'm not to worried. I can do smaller maintenance type stuff on my own. I've double checked and the HX I'm going to look at does have A/C...I've read online that some models came without A/C. Here in the Midwest I'd definitely need that.

 

I love my HX it has 112K miles on it without any problems. Since you are not looking to modify this car it is a good model for you. The price seems high.