Impulse FN2 Civic Type R buy
Discussion
Browsing Ebay during the week for cars, as I'm sure we all do, just to see what's about with no real intention of buying. I came across various early 06/07 FN2 Civic Type R's going for £1500 to £2500, and was amazed the price had come down to this level. I remember when they first came out I thought they looked great, and so a more thorough search for one was more than tempting. I managed to find one that was fairly close for £2200, and although it had high mileage at 175k, and cheaper ones with fewer miles were available (albeit with questionable history) this one was close and had one owner from new. I checked the bank account, which looked good, and so I Justified to myself that I needed a practical car with 4 seats to transport myself, daughter and friend/cousin/grandparent around when my girlfriend is at work with the family car.
This would bring the total vehicles in our rather small household to 4, which we perhaps dont have the space for, but I argued with the more sensible part of my brain that an impulse car purchase was now an absolute necessity, as the 2 seats available in the work van are not enough, and the impracticalities of using a stripped out track car as a family run about become annoyingly apparent very quickly.
So rather excitedly, I arranged a viewing for the next day, had my dinner and went to bed. After work on Friday afternoon, I turn up, generally not expecting much from a car with 175k miles, but was pleasantly surprised by the general condition this Civic was in. It definitely looked like it had been cared for and none of the issues in the various buyers guides seem present. The car starts, drives, and looking through the various booklets, it seems the only MOT failures have been tyres, and I notice it did 100k all before its first MOT, so I guess it was a company car, and that will be motorway miles. Furthermore the car has full Honda service history stamps (good), but unfortunately no receipts (not good).
Buyer asked if I wanted it, and I took the best part of 30 seconds to consider if I did, after which I handed over the cash, shook his hand, jumped in the Civic, and headed to the nearest fuel station. On the way home, the car drove very nicely indeed, no knocks, bangs or rattles. Having never driven anything with Vtec before, and generally having driven mostly older Peugeot hot hatches, I was suitably impressed whilst having some fun on the 20 mile journey back home.
Now a few days, and 60 miles have passed, and I've got to say, I love it. Its practical, quiet, and large inside. Personally I like the looks, and coming from a slammed track car, the ride on this is more than reasonable. It handles well, and I think it's very quick. The obligatory Induction and Exhaust mods are something I'll do shortly, although I will be keeping the decibels to a reasonable level. I know this isnt the definitive Type R experience, but as a daily it seems to tick as many boxes as the other R cars, if not more. I'll book the car in for a service soon with a friendly Honda enthusiast I know, and see if theres anything I need to rectify to try and prevent a large bill coming my way, but in the long run, I'm hoping for a decent amount of cheap motoring
First, a trip to the car wash to remove the dust buildup.
All electronic stuff seems to be working properly, and I'm a big fan of the spaceship dash!
Genuine Type R mats are nice, as is the optional extra red footwell lighting.
Build number 00069, which is childishly amusing.
Factory extra Apple connectivity, which is redundant as I have no intention of buying any Apple products.
18" wheels fitted, (of which this one is the worst condition) with Bridgstone Potenzas on. Fronts will need doing soon, although rears are nearly new.
Boot is huge, and with the seats folded down flat, you genuinely have van like space available.
Engine bay is as tidy as most.
Front end has stone chips, but is otherwise tidy, unfortunately the front red Honda badge needs replacing, which is a £60+ part! Currently searching for cheaper alternatives.
Thanks for reading
This would bring the total vehicles in our rather small household to 4, which we perhaps dont have the space for, but I argued with the more sensible part of my brain that an impulse car purchase was now an absolute necessity, as the 2 seats available in the work van are not enough, and the impracticalities of using a stripped out track car as a family run about become annoyingly apparent very quickly.
So rather excitedly, I arranged a viewing for the next day, had my dinner and went to bed. After work on Friday afternoon, I turn up, generally not expecting much from a car with 175k miles, but was pleasantly surprised by the general condition this Civic was in. It definitely looked like it had been cared for and none of the issues in the various buyers guides seem present. The car starts, drives, and looking through the various booklets, it seems the only MOT failures have been tyres, and I notice it did 100k all before its first MOT, so I guess it was a company car, and that will be motorway miles. Furthermore the car has full Honda service history stamps (good), but unfortunately no receipts (not good).
Buyer asked if I wanted it, and I took the best part of 30 seconds to consider if I did, after which I handed over the cash, shook his hand, jumped in the Civic, and headed to the nearest fuel station. On the way home, the car drove very nicely indeed, no knocks, bangs or rattles. Having never driven anything with Vtec before, and generally having driven mostly older Peugeot hot hatches, I was suitably impressed whilst having some fun on the 20 mile journey back home.
Now a few days, and 60 miles have passed, and I've got to say, I love it. Its practical, quiet, and large inside. Personally I like the looks, and coming from a slammed track car, the ride on this is more than reasonable. It handles well, and I think it's very quick. The obligatory Induction and Exhaust mods are something I'll do shortly, although I will be keeping the decibels to a reasonable level. I know this isnt the definitive Type R experience, but as a daily it seems to tick as many boxes as the other R cars, if not more. I'll book the car in for a service soon with a friendly Honda enthusiast I know, and see if theres anything I need to rectify to try and prevent a large bill coming my way, but in the long run, I'm hoping for a decent amount of cheap motoring
First, a trip to the car wash to remove the dust buildup.
All electronic stuff seems to be working properly, and I'm a big fan of the spaceship dash!
Genuine Type R mats are nice, as is the optional extra red footwell lighting.
Build number 00069, which is childishly amusing.
Factory extra Apple connectivity, which is redundant as I have no intention of buying any Apple products.
18" wheels fitted, (of which this one is the worst condition) with Bridgstone Potenzas on. Fronts will need doing soon, although rears are nearly new.
Boot is huge, and with the seats folded down flat, you genuinely have van like space available.
Engine bay is as tidy as most.
Front end has stone chips, but is otherwise tidy, unfortunately the front red Honda badge needs replacing, which is a £60+ part! Currently searching for cheaper alternatives.
Thanks for reading
Edited by Pebbles167 on Monday 9th March 16:00
Have been watching the prices of these carefully with a view to helping a mate purchase one as his first 'performance' car; my daily needs are covered by a Mountune'd Fiesta ST or else this would be right up my street as well!
Good write up, I hope you have some interesting plans for it.
Good write up, I hope you have some interesting plans for it.
I saw this one advertised as I have been looking at them recently! Values really fall off a cliff over 100k for some reason, which makes no sense as they wear them well.
56 plate ones are really rare and all would have been press cars originally - worth looking to see if yours was in any magazine reviews or something!
When you replace the front tyres, look at Michelin PS4s instead of the Potenzas. I have just fitted them to my DC5 and they have transformed it - and they are only £80 a corner on Blackcircles - bargain of the year.
They're fabulous cars and I truly miss mine.
56 plate ones are really rare and all would have been press cars originally - worth looking to see if yours was in any magazine reviews or something!
When you replace the front tyres, look at Michelin PS4s instead of the Potenzas. I have just fitted them to my DC5 and they have transformed it - and they are only £80 a corner on Blackcircles - bargain of the year.
They're fabulous cars and I truly miss mine.
jase_llan said:
Have been watching the prices of these carefully with a view to helping a mate purchase one as his first 'performance' car; my daily needs are covered by a Mountune'd Fiesta ST or else this would be right up my street as well!
Good write up, I hope you have some interesting plans for it.
Love the Fiesta. Never driven an ST, but I have a 1.5 tdci for a work van, and despite lacking power, its arguably the best handling car I've driven.Good write up, I hope you have some interesting plans for it.
Matty322 said:
jayemm did a good review
i bought one new in 2007 (had the bronze colour, but looked black) fully loaded inc sat nav
was a very good car, and did 90,000 in 3 years, without any issues
Enjoy it !
Yes, his review was pretty honest, and helped convince me to buy i bought one new in 2007 (had the bronze colour, but looked black) fully loaded inc sat nav
was a very good car, and did 90,000 in 3 years, without any issues
Enjoy it !
Usget said:
I saw this one advertised as I have been looking at them recently! Values really fall off a cliff over 100k for some reason, which makes no sense as they wear them well.
56 plate ones are really rare and all would have been press cars originally - worth looking to see if yours was in any magazine reviews or something!
When you replace the front tyres, look at Michelin PS4s instead of the Potenzas. I have just fitted them to my DC5 and they have transformed it - and they are only £80 a corner on Blackcircles - bargain of the year.
They're fabulous cars and I truly miss mine.
Cheers for the tyre advice. My track car has 18's and uses NS2R, but I'll look at the PS4's as I would rather something with better all weather capability.56 plate ones are really rare and all would have been press cars originally - worth looking to see if yours was in any magazine reviews or something!
When you replace the front tyres, look at Michelin PS4s instead of the Potenzas. I have just fitted them to my DC5 and they have transformed it - and they are only £80 a corner on Blackcircles - bargain of the year.
They're fabulous cars and I truly miss mine.
redandwhite said:
Nice , check under your false boot floor for moisture if you have not done already.
Washed it Friday, and been raining half the weekend, and currently still is. Went to have a look, bone dry, no evidence of previous leeks. Result!An interesting and timely thread!
Wanting to get out of the PCP bubble I got rid of a fiesta ST and picked up one of these purely on a whim and like you, was pleasantly surprised. Mines done 100k yet it still feels fairly tight with no rattles. In 600 miles of ownership it hasn’t used any oil despite being given some abuse (VTEC gets addictive)! It does have some lacquer peel and alloys need a refurb but I still feel it was pretty good value when you compare it to other sub £3k cars.
to cheap motoring and be sure keep us updated!
Here’s mine:
Wanting to get out of the PCP bubble I got rid of a fiesta ST and picked up one of these purely on a whim and like you, was pleasantly surprised. Mines done 100k yet it still feels fairly tight with no rattles. In 600 miles of ownership it hasn’t used any oil despite being given some abuse (VTEC gets addictive)! It does have some lacquer peel and alloys need a refurb but I still feel it was pretty good value when you compare it to other sub £3k cars.
to cheap motoring and be sure keep us updated! Here’s mine:
Had mine coming up to a year now, still enjoying it.
Just replaced all the shocks with new sachs units and added eibach springs for a small drop in height (15mm). It has brought it a new lease of life, feels so much better on the road and with the 4 new Michelin tyres is running superbly.
Autodoc is good for parts, Fn2 owners on Facebook throws up bargains and cox tegiwa are good for everything else!
Just replaced all the shocks with new sachs units and added eibach springs for a small drop in height (15mm). It has brought it a new lease of life, feels so much better on the road and with the 4 new Michelin tyres is running superbly.
Autodoc is good for parts, Fn2 owners on Facebook throws up bargains and cox tegiwa are good for everything else!
Looks clean for the mileage! 
Had mine for 6 months now without an issue *touches wood* Although the road tax hurts.... More than the insurance! Oh and the MPG
Out of interest do you have any evidence of the cam chain being replaced in the 175k its covered? I have a constant worry in the back of my head of mine becoming stretched (I really should stay off internet forums!) Mine is on 90k and completely standard and not sure if I should get it done or if I am just being paranoid.
Had mine for 6 months now without an issue *touches wood* Although the road tax hurts.... More than the insurance! Oh and the MPG
Out of interest do you have any evidence of the cam chain being replaced in the 175k its covered? I have a constant worry in the back of my head of mine becoming stretched (I really should stay off internet forums!) Mine is on 90k and completely standard and not sure if I should get it done or if I am just being paranoid.
Db123456 said:
That looks great for the price! Red really suits these, more so than other Type R models. Definitely not a bad purchase. joefraser said:
Had mine coming up to a year now, still enjoying it.
Just replaced all the shocks with new sachs units and added eibach springs for a small drop in height (15mm). It has brought it a new lease of life, feels so much better on the road and with the 4 new Michelin tyres is running superbly.
Autodoc is good for parts, Fn2 owners on Facebook throws up bargains and cox tegiwa are good for everything else!
Cheers for the info Just replaced all the shocks with new sachs units and added eibach springs for a small drop in height (15mm). It has brought it a new lease of life, feels so much better on the road and with the 4 new Michelin tyres is running superbly.
Autodoc is good for parts, Fn2 owners on Facebook throws up bargains and cox tegiwa are good for everything else!
I'll be looking to get some standard shocks and the FRS setup that everyone talks about at some point. At 175k though, I'm wondering what's realistic to do before spending a fortune.
SteveR1979 said:
Just going against the grain.
I bought a 2 year old one back in 2010 (I think, give or take), and hated it.
God rid within 6 months!
Fair enough. Could see why as a general buyer, what with the ride and needing to be worked. Could also see why with a Honda fan, as it's not as frantic or, dare I say it, 'fun' as other models. Main draw for me was practicality/performance/price. Similar Golf GTI's in my area were very rough looking. I bought a 2 year old one back in 2010 (I think, give or take), and hated it.
God rid within 6 months!
siandcian said:
Great cars. Had mine 2 years now and it's on 96k. Go for the tegiwa 70mm exhaust it's not mega loud and doesn't drone on motorway. I'm also lowered on eibach 15mm springs with 15mm spacers all round. With a FRSU it transforms car.
Awesome, where did you go to get yours done, and do you reckon it's worth it? Would be something I'd look to do soon. RossF1984 said:
Looks clean for the mileage!
Had mine for 6 months now without an issue *touches wood* Although the road tax hurts.... More than the insurance! Oh and the MPG
Out of interest do you have any evidence of the cam chain being replaced in the 175k its covered? I have a constant worry in the back of my head of mine becoming stretched (I really should stay off internet forums!) Mine is on 90k and completely standard and not sure if I should get it done or if I am just being paranoid.
Tax price is the same for my Peugeot 406 luckily, so was no shock. Mpg is probably better on the Honda too, the 406 is fairly thirsty, massive fuel tank though. Had mine for 6 months now without an issue *touches wood* Although the road tax hurts.... More than the insurance! Oh and the MPG
Out of interest do you have any evidence of the cam chain being replaced in the 175k its covered? I have a constant worry in the back of my head of mine becoming stretched (I really should stay off internet forums!) Mine is on 90k and completely standard and not sure if I should get it done or if I am just being paranoid.
Nope, not a shred of evidence anywhere for work done sadly. Supposedly much has been done, and the clutch feels great which makes me think it must have been changed at some point. Owners have said that the chain should have been done by now really. Not sure what I'm going to do about that, as I'd imagine its costly. I think at 90k you'll be fine.
Also. New badge arrived today. Managed to find a genuine Honda one brand new for £20.
Looks genuine enough
Before
After
Yeah, not sure on cost for chain replacement but don't imagine it being cheap. Seen that Honda HQ seem to do them quite regularly and quickly so they would probably be my first port of call.
Clutch is on my list although it is not slipping, just for piece of mind. This will be a DIY job.
Do you mind me asking where you got your badge from? Need one for mine as it has started to deteriorate around the edges from water ingress.
Clutch is on my list although it is not slipping, just for piece of mind. This will be a DIY job.
Do you mind me asking where you got your badge from? Need one for mine as it has started to deteriorate around the edges from water ingress.
I had my timing belt done on my 206 180 for £500, a lot of 4 cylinder engines seem to cost similar for chains. I've heard £500 mentioned for EP3's for parts plus work, so I'd use that as a estimate.
Badge was from an Ebay shop, prices ranged from £60-£90 elsewhere so was very pleased to find this for £20. It has the exact same grey 3M adhesive and locating lugs as the badge I removed so I'm certain its genuine. Here's the link:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-JDM-HONDA-CIVIC-FN2...
Badge was from an Ebay shop, prices ranged from £60-£90 elsewhere so was very pleased to find this for £20. It has the exact same grey 3M adhesive and locating lugs as the badge I removed so I'm certain its genuine. Here's the link:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-JDM-HONDA-CIVIC-FN2...
SteveR1979 said:
Just going against the grain.
I bought a 2 year old one back in 2010 (I think, give or take), and hated it.
God rid within 6 months!
A friend of mine bought one new in 2008 with the 19inch wheels. Worst riding car I have ever been in. He also sold after 6 months. My Impreza on rock hard coilovers is far more cosseting I bought a 2 year old one back in 2010 (I think, give or take), and hated it.
God rid within 6 months!
New shocks / springs and drop links all in was under £500 from autodoc, I to went with spacers so the standard wheels weren't lost in the arches anymore (17mm all round- ebay purchase) .
I find the ride alright, been in one on 19s (rage alloys) and it was very crashy though that could have been down to the tired suspension as much as the alloys.
I also stuck a big daft carbon mugen wing on the back because I'll never grow up
.
I find the ride alright, been in one on 19s (rage alloys) and it was very crashy though that could have been down to the tired suspension as much as the alloys.
I also stuck a big daft carbon mugen wing on the back because I'll never grow up
. Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff