I am looking at buying either a CL9 or a FD2 or a FD1, opinions?

[mysterious_7]

I am looking at buying either a CL9 or a FD2 or a FD1. At the moment I drive a 2005 5MT Civic GLi sedan (ES1).

Can anyone that have owned or driven these cars help me make a decision?

My budget is around $10k, I can probably stretch it a little bit more if I found a really good car with low k's.

I find it hard to find any facelifted CL9 that'll fit my budget (2006+), they look much nicer/sleeker than the pre-facelifted CL9 and that's why I've been thinking twice about going for a 2003-2004 Euro or FD2, CL9's gauges and steering wheel look a bit outdated as well.

How does the K20Z2 compare to the K24A3? Which engine will respond better to simple bolt-ons?

P.s. Whichever car I am buying it's gonna be manual transmission, how does the FD2's 5MT compare to the CL9's 6MT?

And last question, are there any other websites to look for used cars other than the standard carsales, carsguide, drive.com.au... etc.?

help is much appreciated.. Thank you

[Jasemas]

Welcome
What did you have in mind for your next car?
After luxury, room, sportyness?
The K20z is the gutless and detuend version of the K20a (think dc5r)


The K24a on the other hand has much more torque and horsepower - so for everyday use it'll get you going
You will not find a GOOD cl9 with low kms under $10k, usually they'll go for around $13-15k for a good one these days

If you're after sportyness and a bit of luxury go euro

Nowadays the civic is pretty much a boat compared to its predeccesors...

[mysterious_7]

I was looking at Mazda 6, Subaru Liberty 2.5L and eventually landed on the Accord coz of the more powerful engine.

I am after a 6 speed manual, quiet, comfortable, well built sedan, handles good, and the engine has to have a potential to extract more power out of it in the future, a K24 Honda Accord Euro seems to fit the bill.

I've driven about 5 of them this week, some were totally out of my $10k budget, some were going for $11k which I can probably afford.. etc.

To cut a long story short, I've got a 80,000km 2005 Accord Euro 6 speed manual, non-lux and pre-facelift.. Seller wants $11k and I pushed him down to $9.5k with RWC but then I didn't leave him a deposit coz I need to bring my brother down with me to have a look at it. I jumped under the car, no evidence of leaks, I had a very good look around all radiator hoses, power steering hoses and valve cover... etc. no evidence of leaks whatsoever (One owner all its life). I looked under oil cap and I looked through the hole and the engine looks spotless, car got a full service history at Honda..

Now the big question, should I go for it? or wait till I come across a low km post facelift 06+ Accord Euro? My budget is $11k maxx! I don't mind the pre-facelift bumper style coz I am gonna try and hunt down that lip-kit/body-kit that some of them came out with.

What other advantages does the 06+ post-facelift have over the pre-facelift Euros? I heard the the post-facelift tells you how much petrol you're using and average petrol consumption while the pre-facelift doesn't, is that correct? coz that's a big thing for me :/

I also heard the post-facelift has illuminated buttons on the steering wheel while the pre-facelift doesn't, this one is not a biggie.. May be by replacing steering wheels you can add that? But it's not that important.

What other differences apart from looks and exterior cosmetic styling? Are there any differences interior wise other than the cluster and steering wheel?

I don't know if I should go put a deposit on it tonight?!

[Jasemas]

So many questions
So little time
The fuel consumption meter is off by a bit on most that i've seen.
Reliable form of petrol calculation is fill to the brim, drive it, fill it again. Do the math of kms driven and how many litres put in.
Make sure any euro you get has the power steering hose recall done - i think thats it
The difference between facelift and pre facelift is very subtle
You wont get a good low km euro for under $10k mate

[littlebo]

Go CL9 dood, way much better car than any civic. Its K24 engine can be a beast if you gonna mod it.

[curtis265]

+1 go for the cl9

I think that one you looked at seems OK.

DId you get bored fo the ES1 already? (lol)


I think you can expect about 10L/100km as a ballpark figure

[mysterious_7]

Ok, called the guy today to go have another look at it and leave a deposit, he said it got sold this morning, it was a graphite pre-facelift 05 Accord Euro Cl9 6MT non-lux but anyway, I'll find another one, may be I'll even find better . I knew it was a catch, should've put a deposit on it the first time I saw it, I literally couldn't find any major faults with it. The interior looked immaculate and rear seat looked like no one has sat on it.

You wont get a good low km euro for under $10k mate

Really?? Carsales is way overpriced in my opinion, a lot of these Euros on carsales can easily be brought down $2k off the advertised price, the way I do it is I take a stack of $100's in my wallet and a few friends and we inspect the car very well ourselves (no time for mechanics checks or RACV) and go under the car and check everything as much as we can and then I pull my wallet out, pull out $500 and tell the seller I'll put a deposit on it right now if you can do it for $10k (assuming you don't give them a ridiculously low price, 80% of sellers will say yes with a bit of pressure... etc.). Trick is you gotta take a quick decision whether you want it or not and you gotta "SHOW THEM CASH ON THE SPOT". If he said no, I'd pick a few things wrong with the car and try again (scratches here and there, rego expiring soon, car is due for a service... etc.).. if he still says no, I act like I am walking away and see if he'll retaliate.. if he still says no I'll go back and raise the price $200 and try again and so on.. etc. Still no, I'll tell him he has got my number have a think about it and call me.. more than 5 times before it happened to me or one of my mates that the seller calls the next day and agrees on the price I offered for a quick sale! loll ..it's all luck.

I also reckon Honda owners tend to overprice their cars a bit on the second hand market because of how well-built the cars are and how much they enjoyed owning them over the years, Hondas and Subarus surely hold their values more than any other Jap car but owners still tend to give prices that are a bit off what they're actually worth.

The only reason I didn't put money on this car coz it's pre-facelift I reckon it's starting to show its age a bit in terms of looks and gauge cluster design... etc. (Still way better than my 05 ES1 Civic though ).. I reckon if I found another pre-facelift Euro with under 100k km I won't hesitate again like I did with this one! it's technically and mechanically the same.

P.s. The definition of low kilometers in my book is under 100,000km, specially that Honda engines are known to do a lot of kilometers before they die if well looked after.

DId you get bored fo the ES1 already? (lol)

I like the car but the engine is not really up to my taste, bit weak down low and when you turn on the aircon, forget it!!! I had plans to throw a Kswap like everyone in the US but it's gonna cost me about $10k AUD, I don't know how it only costs about $5k-$6k in the US.. The swap will cost more than the car lmao. so thought of just buying a K-engined Honda from factory

I think you can expect about 10L/100km as a ballpark figure

I know that that's how much petrol they'll use, but I was wondering if the pre-facelift has the electronic fuel consumption estimator dsiplayed on the cluster or anywhere else like the post-facelift ones? I know it's not very accurate but kinda of cool to look at while driving on freeways and long trips... etc. My friends 04 Golf 1.6L base model Golf has it, surprised the pre-facelift Euro doesn't!!

P.s. anymore tips on negotiating from past experiences? I can probably cave out $12k if worst comes to worst, but I always love that euphoria feeling when I know I got a good bargain haha sure we all do!

Thanks for all the help guys, I appreciate it. Wish me luck CL9 hunting

[curtis265]

Fair enough but I've gotta pick at your words a bit there - look at what the typical kswap candidates are - EG,s EK's DC2's.

How much do you think their kswaps cost? and how much do you think those cars are valued at on the market?

[Jasemas]

K swapped eg,dc etc.
So expensive hahah
I'm not basing my figures of carsales
Have a look at gumtree
1 out of 10 euros will be under $10k and that's because there is something wrong with em
They hold their value really well

No offence but you seem very picky and willing to low ball an honest person just to get that 'perfect euro'
Who cares if your mates golf has a fuel consumption watch, does it really matter?

[curtis265]

If you're concerned about the fuel consumption meter, this thing can do it.

[d1zzo]

Or get the upper sub-display like the one for the satnav

[littlebo]

FYI, CL9 is last real Honda. Last of their cars that been built for ages by engineers , not fecking greedy marketers. Thats why it hold its value so well. And besides its great ride quality and reliability it looks surpizingly nice and fresh 11 years after its been released !