Honda Car Forum

I already asked the same question for the accord but now im also considering an 88-91 Honda civic( sedan preferably).Would you think a 1988-1991 Honda Civic would be a good starter car for a teenager in high school? Are those automatic seat belts safe? Can they be suped up and made quick? Please let me know if theyre solid cars and reliable especially for a teenager.thank you=)

it would be a good car for a teen. they are good on gas, reliable as hell, easy to work on, and parts are easily found. you can modify them and make them quick. but to make it really quick, it would take a ton of money. swapping the engine for a d16z6 would help a bit and get ya from 85hp to 126hp and then if you added on a homebuilt turbo kit using an hf manifold, and dsm turbo parts, it would be pretty quick.

If you can, go for a newer Civic than that. But yes, a lot of my friends had Civics from that time in high school (like 4 years ago).

the image of a 4 door civic in the eyes of a new teen driver probably is that it isnt the coolest car, but then again they better appreciate what they get regardless. he/she would probably like a hatchback better, you can get an Si model thats a little quicker than the other options.. These cars are VERY light, and dont offer mush collision protection for people inside the car.. and if your teen is like most teen drivers, especially boys, they will probably make a few "mistakes" with their first vehicle. it just happens. so in other words, not the safest car. as far as the seatbelt issue, the auto seatbelt when used properly is as safe as any, but keep in mind that auto seatbelts only control the top half of the belt, leaving the option of attatching or detatching the lap portion of the belt, and polce officers wont be able to enforce that(because it is not visible to them)... which to an irresponsible teen who hasnt learned some of the life lessons that older people have, might not be an option u want to leave in their hands... but then again, a seatbelt can easily be removed in any car. One good thing about honda seatbelt issues, is that if anything ever breaks, or jams, or goes wrong with the seatbelt mechanism, you can take it in to ANY dealer and have it fixed for free. All hondas come with a lifetime warranty, no matter how many owners, or what the car has gone through. just bring it in and get it fixed no questions asked.... hope this helps in your decision, i remember those days, best days of my life.. good luck!