Help me buy some vtec y0

richyfingers

richyfingers

richyfingers

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Glasgow
Right, I have to make a decision in the next week or so on what car to get, it’s definitely going to be vtec y0.

Choices are between a Black Integra Type R DC2, 2000 plate with 68k on the clock and full service history. One year’s mot and 6 months road tax. Stone chips as standard but on the whole body work is in good condition, it’s due a service and belts need changed at 72k and will be an expensive job. Asking price is £6,850 but with a bit of haggling I think could get it down to 6.4, 6.5k.

Second choice is Civic Type R EP3 2003 plate with 43k on the clock, full Honda service history and in excellent condition, black again and bodywork is in excellent condition. Needs taxed and has a few months mot left. Asking price of £7795, could possibly get it down a bit.

Now my heart is saying to go for the Integra but my head is saying go for the civic, I may be starting a new job which will have a motorway commute which I know is not the ITR’s strong point where as the civic handles the motorway very well. Now should I go for the Integra which say I get for 6.5k which will then require a big service costing around £600 or go with the civic which is 3 years younger with almost 30k less on the clock and has been recently serviced.

Overall drive and looks wise I prefer the ITR but the price and condition of the civic is making me have second thoughts and before all the type r enthusiasts start jumping down my neck saying buy a real type r the ep3 will disappoint you, bear in mind I am upgrading from a 1.25 fiesta. I’m just looking fro some advice and opinions as I really cant make up my mind.
 
The integra type R is no where near as bad as people make it out to be. They make out it's the worst car out there for motorway use.
 
I cant actually find or type a number that signifies how much better an ITR is over a CTR.

I tried to convince my mate at work, but he ended up with an EP3 too because its 'newer and more reliable'.... :rolleyes:

Edit - as for motorways, it's not great but its certainly not 'bad'. It'll be better than the Fiesta anyway!
 
6.5k is a decent price for a 2000 DC2, the cambelt can be done for £200 under the honda hapiness scheme, the rest of the service is probably ~£200 if done at honda so budget £500ish.

They're comfortable enough on the motorway, just a bit louder than average :p

I find the seats really comfortable for long trips, some, especially those of a larger stature, might find them a bit tight ;)

It's hard to spend 8k on a DC2 now, only really mint '98specs JDM's, or maybe a very low mileage Black UK, fetch that money anymore.
 
I hope to be looking at these cars in a couple of months too. I don't really like the looks of the older integras though. The new ones are very nice looking but seem to be a lot more expensive than the equivelant Civic :( and probably out of my price range.
 
The cam belt is fairly easy to change on the Integra as there is plenty of room, a £600 service is ridiculous, are you going to the main stealer or something?

The DC2 is in a totally different class to the EP3, the EP3 isnt really a proper type R, im not saying its a bad car but its just not roar enough to be type R.

The DC2 isnt too bad on the motorway, just remember that at 70mph it will be doing 4000 rpm. I used to commute 30 miles a day in mine, I also did some fairly long runs in it, Blackpool and Skegness. I still miss my Teg.
 
richyfingers said:
Now my heart is saying to go for the Integra but my head is saying go for the civic
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Which is exactly what I felt when looking for a new car. I bought an EP3, and didn't test drive the DC2, simply because I knew it wouldn't be suitable for me and the wife (well, the wife mainly, being the main driver of the car). If I was single, I'd probably have gone for a DC2.

I'm not going to try to comment too much about the DC2, because I'm not 'qualified' to do so.

All I can say is that coming from a 1.4 60 brake Astra, the Civic is a beast. It is great fun to hoon about in, and is reasonably comfortable. The ride is damn firm, and if you're a passenger in the back you get thrown all over the place at the slightest bump or dip. The DC2 is obviously the more focussed car, and everyone here will tell you that (most will say it's the better car), but it really depends what you want and need. A lot of people would have you believe the EP3 is a poncy flouncy womans car compared to the DC2. It's not. It's different. Lots of people say there's too many of them on the road yadda yadda yadda, but then you could say the same about LCR's/MX-5's and the like.

The EP3 still goes better than most similar cars on the road, handles very nicely and is reasonably economical to run and is still brilliant fun to drive. If you plan on driving like a nutter down country lanes every other day, the DC2 will be more rewarding and feel better connected to the road. If you never really plan to do that the EP3 would probably be the more sensible compromise, and not totally disappoint you if and when you do go for a hoon.

Also note that (and you may not have noticed this on any test drives), the EP3 has the turning circle of a supertanker, and takes a bit of getting used to for parking. The standard stereo system also sucks hard. My '98 Astra 1.4LS had a better stereo as standard (well speaker system at least).

If you do down the EP3 route, just remeber to make sure the steering rack/gearbox is ok, otherwise walk away.

/edit that's a good price for an EP3 of that age/mileage. Better than mine was :mad: :( :p Does it have aircon?
 
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This is a toughie, but imo an EP3 would munch up the motorway better than the Teg but then again when not on the motorway you'll be having more fun ;)

Not an easy choice but I'd go for a Teg :D
 
danza said:
Also note that (and you may not have noticed this on any test drives), the EP3 has the turning circle of a supertanker,
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Did Honda ever make any Civic with a reasonable amount of steering lock? Mine is like piloting a nuclear submarine around, gets very frustarting in tight car parks when you have to shunt back and forward a couples of time where most cars could have gone straight into the space. Maybe I need bow thrusters :D
 
I chose the EP3 as I have two labradors. I've just come back from camping in Scotland for 2 weeks and the EP3 did very well.

One thing I have noticed with the EP3, the facelift models seem to have a more positive front end when cornering. My pre-facelift seems rather skittish and some camber bolts and a fast road set-up is in order.

It's a fun car, and I would expect to find a clean EP3 easier than a DC2. All the DC2s I looked at had either distasteful mods which put me off or had too much wear and tear. Anything other than that was too expensive for the year. I wanted a steep hatchback and I'm friendly with a Honda franchise owner so the EP3 was for me.

When out on drives with other Type-R owners, the difference in real world performance is neglegable on the B roads. However the DC2 is more about handling and its lower centre of gravity makes it look more planted.

My advice would be to test drive both and make up your own mind from there.
 
Simon said:
The integra type R is no where near as bad as people make it out to be. They make out it's the worst car out there for motorway use.
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I can't personally see how its any worse than, say, a 1.1 106 or something and people use those for the odd Motorway trip.
 
[TW]Fox said:
I can't personally see how its any worse than, say, a 1.1 106 or something and people use those for the odd Motorway trip.
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It will be luxurious compared to one of them. The main criticism is the high revs, but thats not too big an issue. Pretty similar to mine i think (about 4k @ 70mph)
 
I'd go for the Teg. Its fine on the motorway and its much nicer to drive hard when your looking to have some fun. The Civic is a very good car, its nice inside, handles pretty well, is quite fast etc but the Teg to me just feels all round better to drive, more connected, more RAW, handles better (thanks to LSD) proper VTEC noise and kick etc.
 
Apart from it being a bit boomy and the suspension not being suited to the job my Integra is fine on the motorway,not much worse than my Mondeo at all. Both the suspension and exhaust are non standard so I imagine a standard car would be fine.
 
Simon said:
It will be luxurious compared to one of them. The main criticism is the high revs, but thats not too big an issue. Pretty similar to mine i think (about 4k @ 70mph)
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I drive at 4000rpm on the motorway and I've got a diesel with a 6 speed gearbox ;).

I hate to say I'd probably be buying the Civic in your circumstances. It's still a good drivers car but it's newer, roomier, probably safer, has a hatchback for practicality...

Shame you can't afford a DC5 Integra :(.
 
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