98-on Honda CRV - talk to me.

[Bill Carr]

I'm thinking of getting one of these as a family hack - I'm thinking "cheap, reliable estate-a-like" rather than "it's snowing and I need a pseudo-4x4". I realise it'll probably be utter cock in the current conditions, which is fine - it'll stay on my drive.

I've spotted a few locally for £1500-2000 with c.100k on the clock. They've always struck me as being pretty reliable and practical cars. Can anyone dissuade me from my opinion? Does anything break on them, or to put it another way, are they known for being weak in any particular areas?

They seem to me to be a good option to chuck dogs/kids/guitar amps in and not worry too much, and "a lot of car for the money".

All advice appreciated.

[LJTS]

I purchased a Honda CR-V last week, 98 reg with 90K miles for £1400 to get about in the snow

I'm really impressed with it in the snow & the real-time 4WD works great

plenty of room in the back as the seats fold down

Good forum for info http://www.crvownersclub.com/forums/index.php

[djt100]

Brother in law brought one about 3 years ago, and only had one problem with it, that was a the Ait con pump buly came loose and sheered off. his fault for never havign it serviced!. I'd say very reliable

[Mars]

LJTS said:

I purchased a Honda CR-V last week, 98 reg with 90K miles for £1400 to get about in the snow

I'm really impressed with it in the snow & the real-time 4WD works great

my Mom had one of this age from new. We suspected the rear torque biasing was limited but I was quite surprised when I saw that it doesn't have enough rear drive to push the car up a minor incline if the fronts experienced 100% slip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooQRxlChvMw

[Deva Link]

Make sure it's on decent, and reasonably evenly worn, M&S tyres. If someone has put summer tyres on it it'll be hopeless and if it urgently needs a new set of tyres that'll be a fair old additional cost.

[LJTS]

Mars said:

LJTS said:

I purchased a Honda CR-V last week, 98 reg with 90K miles for £1400 to get about in the snow

I'm really impressed with it in the snow & the real-time 4WD works great

my Mom had one of this age from new. We suspected the rear torque biasing was limited but I was quite surprised when I saw that it doesn't have enough rear drive to push the car up a minor incline if the fronts experienced 100% slip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooQRxlChvMw

I've not had any problems so far going up or down steep inclines covered in snow but can see from that video that it does have it's limits

Fingers crossed I don't get stuck this week!

[Deva Link]

Mars said:

LJTS said:

I purchased a Honda CR-V last week, 98 reg with 90K miles for £1400 to get about in the snow

I'm really impressed with it in the snow & the real-time 4WD works great

my Mom had one of this age from new. We suspected the rear torque biasing was limited but I was quite surprised when I saw that it doesn't have enough rear drive to push the car up a minor incline if the fronts experienced 100% slip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooQRxlChvMw

All "soft-roaders" would do that. The other thing to bear in mind is that there's no drive to the rear until the front begins to slip by which time it might be too late to keep moving - you could really do with testing that it works OK on a used car, but no idea how to do that (unless it's still icy when you're buying one).

Read the US forums where they have a lot of snow and people rave about their CRVs in the snow.

[KenBlocksPants]

I had a 99 one and it was pretty good as a family wagon (well, boys on tour wagon)

Carried 5 big blokes, over night stuff and tons of beer with no issues at all, and plenty of room left over. Clever split tailgate and even a fold out picnic table!

[Bill Carr]

Cheers for the info guys, it's all useful and sounds quite positive so far.

Two other things I'm curious about - what are the auto's like? And does the CRV have a particular tendency to rust anywhere?

[LJTS]

Bill Carr said:

Cheers for the info guys, it's all useful and sounds quite positive so far.

Two other things I'm curious about - what are the auto's like? And does the CRV have a particular tendency to rust anywhere?

They can rust around the wheel arches on older models

[LJTS]

Link to Two reviews below if you haven't read them already!

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/usedcartes...

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/used/honda/cr-v...

[Mars]

Bill Carr said:

Cheers for the info guys, it's all useful and sounds quite positive so far.

Two other things I'm curious about - what are the auto's like? And does the CRV have a particular tendency to rust anywhere?

Mom's was an auto. She really liked it. It definitely gave her confidence to venture out in snow where she wouldn't normally have bothered. And it was comfy, well built, and the auto was smooth. It had a column gearstick IIRC. Decent economy too - mid 30s from memory. Hers was a 2 litre petrol.

[Shaw Tarse]

Dad's got one, seems pleased with it, he got it mainly to fit a couple of sets os golf clubs, trollies etc.
One of mum's mates had one, also was happy with it.(spent nothing on it apart from service & tyres.
I'm considering one as a winter hack.

[havoc]

'02+ cars have a completely new chassis - better ride quality/handling plus the iVTEC engine (or diesel option later on). That said, I think they're uglier, and I've heard reports that the interior isn't quite as hard wearing. Both have a very good reliability rep.

Depends on your budget and what you plan to use it for, I guess...

[redtwin]

"Decent economy too - mid 30s from memory. Hers was a 2 litre petrol."

That is impressive. I have an Accord with a 2 litre petrol mated to an autobox and I struggle to get mid 20s. I thought maybe my car was poorly (only had 2 months) but checking on the Accord forum, other owners are reporting similar.

It is not just my commute or driving style either as I have always managed to get above average (for that model) MPG with previous cars.

[havoc]

redtwin said:

"Decent economy too - mid 30s from memory. Hers was a 2 litre petrol."

Missed that. Most reviews I've read suggest sub-30, and typically 25 on mixed use. As with all tall cars though, it depends on what speed you cruise at on M-ways.

[Mars]

Mom is a **VERY** gentle driver.

[Egbert Nobacon]

Bill Carr said:

Cheers for the info guys, it's all useful and sounds quite positive so far.

Two other things I'm curious about - what are the auto's like? And does the CRV have a particular tendency to rust anywhere?

Can't answer about auto's but they also can rust under the upper window rubbers around the doors (pull them back and check).

Bought a 99 72k mile with full Honda history for £900 earlier this year as a hack and found it quite impressive in the snow despite trying very hard to get stuck .....

Just check it's been regularly serviced, had a cambelt change and that the rear trailing arm bushes are not split (common on these as they age).

Oh and if you opt for a manual, check the clutch - its a 4/5 hour job to change it and clutch kits are c£250 (genuine).

[redtwin]

Mars said:

Mom is a **VERY** gentle driver.

Not suggesting she is isn't, but I went to great efforts to achieve the best possible MPG when I first bought the car and noticed the fuel needle dropping at an alarming rate.

No revs over 3,000, motorway speeds kept around 55 MPH, no aircon etc and even then still struggled to get 27ish on combined mileage.

Bearing in mind that a previous Lexus LS400 with a 4.0 V8 (and probably twice the vehicle weight)would return about 22MPG with the same effort and commute I have no option but to declare my car (but truthfully Honda automatic petrols in general going by forum feedback) as uneconomical on the fuel front which was a surprise and disappointment as I had previously held Honda engineering in high regard and thought it would be better.

But, I didn't buy the car with economy in mind so I am not complaining, just offering my experiences with a Honda 2.0 petrol autobox.

Edited by redtwin on Friday 24th December 06:15