Where have all the good Civic Type R's gone?

[Baz2000]

I have been on the look out for a nice EP3 Type R for a while now and can't believe how hard it has been. A couple of years ago the market seemed awash with quality cars.

Don't get me wrong good cars are out there but the prices seem to be far too high £7k plus or miles away. The cars I've looked at have turned out to be far from perfect with lacking service history.

[TheLordJohn]

Baz2000 said:

I have been on the look out for a nice EP3 Type R for a while now and can't believe how hard it has been. A couple of years ago the market seemed awash with quality cars.

Don't get me wrong good cars are out there but the prices seem to be far too high £7k plus or miles away. The cars I've looked at have turned out to be far from perfect with lacking service history.

If the market values a good example at £7k (don't know if that's true or not) and you want a good one, then guess what...!?
To be fair, any decent example of an EP3 should be worth £4.5/5k. Which is a relative steal.

[Butter Face]

I bought mine 2 years ago, 1 owner from new, Full Honda service history and completely standard.

Then proceeded to change everything on it

The cars are out there but you need to pay strong money for a clean low mileage standard car!!

[Revisitph]

I've searched, in a desultory way and out of interest only, for my one - black, JRSC supercharger with standard pulley so ~240bhp, carbon air intake (by a maker I can't remember) but never found what happened to it (original reg R200 HON )

ETA - with Honda sat-nav.

[sbyers10]

http://www.kintorecarsales.co.uk/used-cars?page=3

A long way for you but I can recommend them, great garage and have an EP3

[Tickle]

Why discount the ones that are 'miles away'? You can get pretty much anywhere in the uk in a day. Make sure the seller sends all the pictures and information on the car to satisfy your expectations, the get the train and drive it home. Whats a day of travel for the car you want.

[Butter Face]

Tickle said:

Why discount the ones that are 'miles away'? You can get pretty much anywhere in the uk in a day. Make sure the seller sends all the pictures and information on the car to satisfy your expectations, the get the train and drive it home. Whats a day of travel for the car you want.

I did 8 hours on the train for mine. Then an enjoyable 5 hour drive back!

[rich85uk]

Thats why i chose the FN2 instead, plenty out there so you can be very picky and for not much more compared to the price of a low mileage clean EP3

[TheLordJohn]

rich85uk said:

Thats why i chose the FN2 instead, plenty out there so you can be very picky and for not much more compared to the price of a low mileage clean EP3

Not as many folk will like the American (sort of) styling of the FN2, though.

[Welshbeef]

Butter Face said:

I bought mine 2 years ago, 1 owner from new, Full Honda service history and completely standard.

Then proceeded to change everything on it

The cars are out there but you need to pay strong money for a clean low mileage standard car!!

Criminal ruining a great standard 1 owner full Honda service history. Why didn't you go for another example to mess around with.

[hora]

I've been looking for a decent EP3, supposed to be circa3k now but all seem ruined by men who live at home with their parents right upto the 6k mark.

Don't they have any taste? Can't they spend the mod money on a deposit renting a place of their own?! ..part tongue in cheek part meant.

[FN2TypeR]

TheLordJohn said:

rich85uk said:

Thats why i chose the FN2 instead, plenty out there so you can be very picky and for not much more compared to the price of a low mileage clean EP3

Not as many folk will like the American (sort of) styling of the FN2, though.

Beats the EP3 breadvan to my eyes, but then again I'm biased

Joking aside both are great cars - I like the Premier Edition EP3s, especially one in Cosmic Grey, there must surely be some out there that are in good condition but people will be wanting top money for them I'd imagine.

Plenty of wrecks too, as the original poster has found out - thorough checks and inspections are a necessity with these and if buying private the attitude of the owner towards the engines servicing and driving the car when cold/not warmed up are big indicators too IMO.

[Butter Face]

Welshbeef said:

Butter Face said:

I bought mine 2 years ago, 1 owner from new, Full Honda service history and completely standard.

Then proceeded to change everything on it

The cars are out there but you need to pay strong money for a clean low mileage standard car!!

Criminal ruining a great standard 1 owner full Honda service history. Why didn't you go for another example to mess around with.

Because it was an absolutely bargain. Perk of working in the trade

Ruining may be your word, improving is mine.

[hora]

You don't hang out out meets on a Fri night in some horrible industrial park with your bored girlfriend in the passenger seat pretending to be in some faux Californian car film?

[Butter Face]

hora said:

You don't hang out out meets on a Fri night in some horrible industrial park with your bored girlfriend in the passenger seat pretending to be in some faux Californian car film?

I wish I had the time to do that

I'm a married 32 year old man with a small child, I just like buying ropey old Hondas and making them look better, go faster and handle better. not that there's anything wrong with EP3's standard that is.

I have bought and sold a few, had a lovely cosmic grey Premier last year which sold very quickly!!

[northwest monkey]

Welshbeef said:

Butter Face said:

I bought mine 2 years ago, 1 owner from new, Full Honda service history and completely standard.

Then proceeded to change everything on it

The cars are out there but you need to pay strong money for a clean low mileage standard car!!

Criminal ruining a great standard 1 owner full Honda service history. Why didn't you go for another example to mess around with.

It's a Honda Civic - hardly drawing bigger tits on the Mona Lisa is it?

OP - I have the same problem. I'm trying to find a 5 bedroom house in Islington for £60k. Back in the 1970s there were loads - now there are none.

[stargazer30]

I bought my second FN2 earlier this year. I had a right time finding a half decent one with lower than average miles. I ended up paying over the odds at a local dealer for a low mileage one and even then it needed some minor remedial work (alloy refurb, decent tyres, new caliper..) I did a check vs what I paid 3 years ago for my first one and the price had indeed gone up on them by about £1000-£1500. I've kept it standard apart from a decent audio install and a reverse camera. The camera is a heaven send on the FN2 given the rear spoiler.

I've had WBAC pestering me monthly to buy it off me too after I did a valuation against what the dealer was charging so I could figure out how much sunk money was in the deal. Its actually going up in price with them as they are in demand apparently.

I didn't even bother trying to get a decent EP3. I don't like the look of them as much but even so they were all modded to hell, red dwarf mileage or stupidly priced for a decent one.

[Welshbeef]

Butter Face said:

Welshbeef said:

Butter Face said:

I bought mine 2 years ago, 1 owner from new, Full Honda service history and completely standard.

Then proceeded to change everything on it

The cars are out there but you need to pay strong money for a clean low mileage standard car!!

Criminal ruining a great standard 1 owner full Honda service history. Why didn't you go for another example to mess around with.

Because it was an absolutely bargain. Perk of working in the trade

Ruining may be your word, improving is mine.

Can it be returned to OEM? Good clean examples of these might make you some money especially if you keep up the FHSH.

[Butter Face]

Welshbeef said:

Butter Face said:

Welshbeef said:

Butter Face said:

I bought mine 2 years ago, 1 owner from new, Full Honda service history and completely standard.

Then proceeded to change everything on it

The cars are out there but you need to pay strong money for a clean low mileage standard car!!

Criminal ruining a great standard 1 owner full Honda service history. Why didn't you go for another example to mess around with.

Because it was an absolutely bargain. Perk of working in the trade

Ruining may be your word, improving is mine.

Can it be returned to OEM? Good clean examples of these might make you some money especially if you keep up the FHSH.

Probably. The bodywork is all OEM, everything I've added is all OEM stuff (mostly) from later/better spec models.

I dare say mine is worth more than a standard one, bolting a Rotrex on it will have helped that! (I mean it's not worth what I've spent, but it's worth more than a completely boggo one with 126k on the clock)

Servicing is done my friend who's a mechanic. I'm not paying Honda prices

[FN2TypeR]

I doubt a few choice modifications will damage the value too much if quality parts have been used and the car has been well cared for, getting your money back on modifications is always a tricky business of course but that's a different matter entirely.

I've seen a few of Butter Faces posts about the car and it seems to be a lovely thing so it's hardly a wreck that has been Barried, slammed and badly abused.