I have been quite regular in my servicing of the car and at 50,000 road miles, nothing has gone wrong. My engine kicks a teeny bit as it changes gears, and gas mileage is not as high as I expected, but overall, I am pleased with my purchase. I think the Civic makes a great first time new car.
I just bought a used '97 Honda Civic LX stickshift, I bought it at 55,000 miles and I love it. It runs like new and it's such a great car for me. I plan on making some modifications to it and to play around with it a little bit.