Faults:

Carburettor was at fault for THREE breakdowns

(1) Carburettor got clogged with old fuel that was brought up from the reserves which meant it couldn't start properly and when it did, it struggled to run properly. In the end I had it 'unclogged' by my local mechanic

(2) Whilst slowing down from about 60mph on a dual carriageway, it simply 'clunked out' i.e. switched off on me and decided not to start again. The AA man said the carburettor was 'over fuelling' itself and 'choking' itself to cutting off. Again the local mechanic fixed it

(3) Going round a roundabout, it randomly started jerking back + forth very violently at low speeds which was a little scary at the time. The AA man said this time the carburettor was getting blocked and fuel delivery was suffering as a result.

So much for Honda reliability.

General Comments:

Despite the problems I've had with my Honda, I still love these cars. GENERALLY they have a reputation of being one of the strongest, well built, good looking cars in the world. The engines are meant to be 'bullet proof' I totally AGREE with that (the ones that are fuel injected and not the ones with the carburettor in them) Performance-wise she flies. Doing 70mph is nothing, it has more power beyond that, for sure. In my eyes, the car looks stunning and is very rare. So it is still a great car.

I've only had problems with the carburettor, and That's IT. I'm guessing that if its just the carburettor that goes wrong, buy a fuel injected Honda and that's it. Problem solved. No carburettor to worry about.

Faults:

A small amount of condensation managed to find its way into both front headlights. These are the type that have a plastic outer layer and a glass inner layer. The moisture was between the two. Fixing the problem meant taking both headlights off, a pain as this meant bumper removal, drying them out with a hot water bottle as the units are sealed and finally pasting silicon rubber all around the joint edge to fully seal them.

A small spot of rust appeared in exactly the same place on both rear wings over the wheels at the point where internal moisture would rest. This might be a flaw in the first production run as this was one of the first British built Swindon Civics. I dinged the spots in and packed the panel hollow with grease, then putty to hold the grease in and then isopon.Doesn't look as bad as it sounds and certainly stopped the rust.

Other than that just replaced the rear exhaust back box (after ten years) and rear suspension bushes (after six - apparently a common wear item).

Only other problem is uneven rear tyre wear even though the car is tracked perfectly.

General Comments:

Reliability is by far the best point of this car. No replacement parts needed other than servicing. Still on the original battery after ten years. Enough poke for motorways too, but really only suitable for two adults and the front headroom is a bit cramped at that. The sunroof doesn't help, lowering the roof by an inch or two to allow a space for the glass to slide back into which affects front and rear passengers.