Oops new car: CTR

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 04:54

Hi all

Not posted for a while... with winter coming up wanted a fun hack for the b road journey to work. Not owned a car as a daily driver for 20 years so it's about time I guess.

Looked at Clio 172/182s, Corolla Tsports and Cupras but it had to be a CTR, something i've always wanted to own. I've been hunting for one for 3 months now, most are high milers, and as much as I know they are reliable i wanted an ultra low miler.

Just picked one up today, 03 (pre facelift ?), with a stunning 30k miles on clock FSH from honda, HPI, totally mint condition with not a single mark or blemish on it, lowest miler on autotrader (also one of most pricey). I must admit i paid around a 1k premium for it, but if i can look after it for a year wont lose to much.

Paid 5995, 612 quid fully comp insurance and chucked it all on credit card. Best bit for me was it was 2 miles up road to buy..

No doubt i've done a bad thing price wise but even after riding a bike with similar power for a few years the little civic brings a massive smile... so much fun. Handling is great, and VTEC is impressive plus i can fit family in it and leave the i10 at home

Anyone have any tips / tricks with these motors ?. I noticed the headlight height adjuster doesn't seem to work, can just hear a whirring sound but no change.

Some pics...

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 05:35

Cheers for advice, will do

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 06:45

sure i'll grab some as soon as light, was snapping away last night on phone while carrying baby :\

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 07:27

yeah no ac :-(

...some snaps I just took. They do look a bit dated, but most stuff in this price bracket doesn't float my boat, maybe a facelift would have been better

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 07:51

hah, yeah a lot of wedge... but paying premium for uber low miles. This car rather than being on 'i10 finance deal fail' is gonna be fully paid for in next couple of months.

gonna keep it stock, nothing worse than cars like this with loads of DIY crap all over them

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 08:22

hurfdurf said:
You paid 6k for a non face lift non AC car, I think you got ripped off big time I'm sorry to say, then again, I don't know the Type R market at all, but from first glance...

Hmmm, paying over the odds maybe, ripped off, nah. It's a good 50k miles less than others about, drives and looks as new (i should be a car dealer) and was just up the road. AC really isn't high on list of things I want... not even used to a radio and seats as been biker all life.

No regrets here

lol at chav comment btw, if only, I'm 40 don't think I could be one if I tried

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 08:32

I'm with ya.... oh well, live and learn

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 08:33

loltim said:
6k for an 03? lol? I'm not sure what to say.

30k miles dude!

...it was £5 less than that btw

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 09:43

commited said:
Was it really worth paying a 3k premium for 50k less on the clock on a car that will do fairly high miles?

Good question, 3k premium ?, so you can get a mint condition 03 plate CTR for 3k ? (one without halfords crash damage)

I'm guessing if this car had 80k on it it would be up for 4 something...

End of the day it was 2 miles from home, and shouted buy me. The problem in my head with these cars is a real high miler is likely to of been abused a lot... I know it's what these engines are about but low milage seems important to me

Still it drives good, just waiting for some muppet to take a key along the side now

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 09:45

Johnnytoxic said:
Very nice, I currently need a deposit for a house but theres no way I can get rid of my CTR, love it too much.

Good deal there, the prices have come down substantially. About 1 1/2 years ago I bought my 54reg, 46k miles for £8.5k.

You might want to look out for a KPRO ECU. They pop up on ebay from time to time for about £650. Lowers VTEC and lots more power across the midrange, also improved fuel economy. Think of it as an investment instead of spending money as when the time comes in the future you will get near enough what you paid for it. They don't lose their value.

That sounds interesting, is it just plug and play no remap required ?

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 09:50

loltim said:
Yes, between 3k and 3.5k. With a 6k budget you can get an 05 with low miles, if you're prepared to travel.

Thing is, there won't be any difference between a 30k engine and a 90k engine I guess your suspension will be nice and fresh, though

Deep down I know you're right, if I had been prepared for a road trip could have got a later one. This one was kinda convenient though, and is still fresh as it left the factory.

Spent 3 months watching them daily on AT, and got a feel for market, this one didn't seem 'that' bad for condition / miles

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:29

-Ad- said:
I highly recommend you don't do this. Get one and get someone with proven experience to set it up properly on a dyno for you, generic maps can do more harm than good.

Cheers for advice ....similar to a bike then, generic maps can do a lot of harm... will prolly leave stock until bored at least.

Just been for quick b road blast and jebus it's fun, like being in a go kart

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:46

Muffin` said:
such a cager

the shame of it

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:47

Dr Who said:
My mate sold his after it was carjacked off him, it was 3 years old and had done 12k miles, when they found it it had been driven to almost destruction, engine was almost dry. The insurers did the bodywork damage and only paid for the engine to be refilled with fluids.

Low milegae is no certainty of no abuse mate

maybe more chance of less abuse, over time... who knows, I'm like a magpie with shiny things

Flukester · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:51

scousegit said:
has it got the rear JDM arb? a lot of people go for coil overs etc on these and do the FRSU on it aswell.

I wish I knew what you were talking about..

Flukester · 7 Oct 2011 at 06:55

[TW]Fox;20243142 said:
Low mileage means nothing but a higher price and easier warranty purchase.

The most rattley car I have owned was a low miler and the least has nearly 200k on it. Why people prioritize mileage as some sort of utopia beats me.

Only reason to buy low miles is if you need to be able to get a cast iron warranty for it.

This can't be true. On a high performance car (we're talking relatives here) the wear on not only the engine internals at high revs and the running gear etc is immense. This is why old cars don't feel 'tight'. Everything develops a certain amount of play and slop, things don't work as they should... be is suspension, brakes. Not to mention grotty interior (did I just say that lol)

The above is massively the case with bikes, and with a high revving hot hatch that is long in the tooth miles also become important.. especially where the CTR in concerned, a car that seems to egg you on all the time when the going gets twisty. It will of had a hard life no question.

I bought low miles and was aware I was paying maybe 1k for the miles, and maybe 1k more for the condition (ie mint). End of day I want a brand new EP3, my ideal play thing and object of lust for ages for the 14miles of b road every day during winter. Unfortunately they don't make them any more so I paid a bit more.

If I had tons of money to chuck about it would have been a Focus RS, but I don't fancy a 30k 300bhp car to do 14miles in crap weather, just seems overkill, not to mention the fact it's a lot of wedge.

I see your point for some cars, ie a big waftmobile / motorway cruiser...miles is nothing... but for a little hooligan like the CTR it doesn't apply imo

Many people would buy a 150k miler BMW 5**, no one in their right mind would look at a 150k CTR

edit: I think you have based your post on buying large exec saloons (your area of expertise), and not looked at the bigger picture

Flukester · 7 Oct 2011 at 07:02

Stormster said:
Nice car mate I am sure you will love it One of the things I've read to check is the headlight motors making a racket but not doing anything, as you know I'm gonna view a facelift 62k miles sounds as good as mint and perfectly looked after, it wont need a penny spending on it for a long time and I've agreed a price of £5250 pending an inspection/drive.

6k is a lot but like you say it's low miles and if you're keeping it a while it will probably pay off in the future.

The one I've seen hasn't got aircon either, bit annoyed but I wouldn't use it much but see the point above about it being a good humidifier.

This is my checklist :| I've done me research lol: CTR checklist so that will keep me busy.

Anyways, looks mint mate, enjoy And let us know how you're getting on with it!

Car is going great, and not missed aircon yet... to busy having fun with loud petdal and road to worry about playing with buttons

Found out the near side height adjuster is working, not sure if the offside one is meant to move (need to check)

Looking forward to seeing your one when you get it

Flukester · 7 Oct 2011 at 07:02

wrong button

Flukester · 7 Oct 2011 at 08:46

Lucero said:
Hot hatches for me now are a careful buy. They are like the slightly slutty girl you and your mates have all had a go on. She's not too old, but she's showing some signs of wear and her internals are all mashed up.

, this from experience ?

Flukester · 7 Oct 2011 at 15:01

[TW]Fox;20245994 said:
But the point you miss is that you still have... an old car. It's 8.5 years old and this has far more effect on the car than how far its been driven. I'm not saying buy a 200k Civic, there is a limit to everything, but I am saying that paying more for a 30k miler over a 60k miler on a car as old as that is nothing but pyschological IMHO.

I would pay a premium for a newer one but not a low mileage one. In this particular case I'd have walked right over to a 55 plate on 60k every day of the week. Just my opinion though

hmhmhmh, 2 years younger or half the miles, I chose later... horses for courses though