Here is a brief summary of the problem on my '94 Civic EX coupe (93k miles):

-6 months ago: mechanic mentioned that clutch master cylinder has a leak
-shortly thereafter noticed that the car was harder to shift through the gears
-a couple of days ago: the clutch suddenly started having trouble engaging and
disengaging. e.g. i'd be in 2nd or 3rd and it would be locked there even with
the clutch depressed. after a few seconds i'd eventually be able to shift out
of those gears. Also, after shifting into 1st or 2nd it would sometimes
"klunk" as it engaged. i imagine the same would happen in higher gears but I
never shifted that high.

The clutch doesnt seem to be slipping once the transmission is in gear. Only
when I tried to shift in or out of gears would I have a problem....maybe on
about 25% of the shifts I had to make. I've only driven the car for about 15
minutes since the clutch suddenly got worse so this is what I'm going by.

Since I already knew that the clutch master cylinder was leaking I thought that
that would be the extent of my repairs.

However, I took the car for the first time to this new garage (non-dealer honda
shop) and they, after a short test drive, said I need a new clutch. They were
certain that it was not the clutch master cylinder. They said most of them leak
a bit at that age, but he didnt have a satisfying answer when I said that since
the cylinder only has a little bit of oil in it to begin with, any
leakage--even a small bit--would likely necessitate replacing it. On the
other hand, the clutch fluid in the reservoir has barely dropped at all.

They're convinced that my problem resides with the springs in the clutch disc,
saying how common this is with Civics and Accords, how one of the mechanics in
the shop had to have the same repair done 3 times, yadda yadda yadda.

Is this guy a good mechanic or is he trying to make me overhaul my clutch when
merely replacing the clutch master cylinder will do? I thought my clutch still
had lots of life in it: i dont race, pop the clutch, nor shift crappily....but
i do drive it "enthusiastically". The clutch is still engaging at about the
halfway point of the clutch pedal's travel--nowhere near the top which is what
I expected.

I'm on a very tight student budget and want to sell the car within a few months
so obviously I'm trying to keep my repair costs low.

thanks in advance for any advice