2010 Honda Civic 1.8 Deep Sapphire Blue
Discussion
We've had three cars at home, and really didn't need them. My wife has her Mazda2, I have my MX-5 as a weekend car, and I had a Focus as my daily. I commute on the train to my workplace, so there was no need for three. We've decided to sell the Mazda2 and Focus, and get a combined daily driver. Luckily, my father bought my Focus, and my wife's friend is buying her car. Private sales without the hassle are always lovely.
As my wife has only been driving for two years, and wasn't used to a 'big' car, we set out to look for a car that met the following criteria:
- Not too big
- Five doors
- Petrol
- Preferably Japanese
- Not numb to drive
- Cheap to run
- Reliable
- Not a boring colour
- Relatively cheap to buy
That's quite an ask, but a Honda Civic Mk8 1.8 petrol seemed to be the perfect answer to this. I've always wanted a Mk8, and toyed with the idea of purchasing a Type R previously.
I knew about the 'Deep Sapphire Blue' model in later 2010+ facelift form with its new front grille. That would have been the perfect choice.
We jumped onto some online marketplaces, and unbelievably, one in that exact spec became available.
Here's the images from the ad:
It had to be this one. A late Si model with colour coded wheel arches, the newer Type R inspired grille, graphite alloys, and half leather and alcantara (though I thought it was cloth) seats.
We took a 2.5h drive to Birmingham from Cardiff to view the car, and was met by a lovely private seller of Hondas (specifically sells Civics, curiously enough). The man was fantastic; super hospitable and a pleasure to talk to. He was upfront and honest about everything he knew about (more on that wording later). The MOT is very clean, it was recently serviced, and after a quick test drive and a thorough look around and under the car, we purchased the car and drove it home.
Parked up after a long and boring drive, made infinitely more fun by that 1.8 i-VTEC engine:
The car is superb, but certainly not without its flaws.
To start, the things I like about this car:
- The 1.8 i-VTEC surprised me how quick it was
- The space! The boot is cavernous, and the rear 'magic seats' are unbelievable
- Gearbox is lovely
- Small steering wheel feels good
- Cabin is designed well
- Seats are fantastically comfy
- Ride is good
- Dash looks great
The things I don't like:
- Some plastics feel a little cheap
- Rear 'spoiler' is annoying for visibility, but you get used to it
- It's a very basic spec (though this will be changed in time)
There's a few issues with the car, none are detrimental.
- The rear shocks are gone, and springs are going (advisory on MOT). Luckily, a pair of rear springs and shocks come to a grand total of £80, and due to their separated design, replacing them should be a doddle. I'll look to do this Monday.
- The car's running a little cold, sitting just under the middle on the temperature gauge. A suspected thermostat, and after a brief inspection of the engine bay, it shouldn't be too bad to change.
- The alignment is out a fair bit. I'll take this to my local that has a brand new hunter system. It's very nervous on the motorway, which didn't help as the car has a notably fast steering rack.
- The air con doesn't work. I'm hoping it just needs re-gassing, but these have a habit of breaking their condenser as it sits very low.
- Clutch pedal is squeaky (common fault). A good fix is motorcycle chain lubricant on the clutch actuator rod.
- Fuel cap tether has snapped
- It's an extremely tatty car. Those who know me will know I take pride in a car's condition, but those who know me better will also know how much I like a restoration project. This is the biggest flaw with the car, but nothing I can't fix. The paintwork has a lot of minor marks and scuffs, the door has some bizarre marks in the lacquer (could possibly sand and polish), trim has been glued back on with yellow sealant, mud flaps are faded, bird droppings have burnt into the point, and the interior is disgusting. Every crevice and line has brown muck and dirt, with that 'old man' leather smell. Luckily there are no scratches on the dash plastics, but there's a lot of dirt. Seats are in dire need of a shampoo, and the dash plastic glass needs a polish as it's reminiscent of Edward Scissorshands thinking it's a touch screen.
I could have kept looking for another car, but that colour with that facelift spec, and for the price we bought it for, I'd be happy with a project to get it looking great again. Most importantly, my wife loves the car.
The things I'll be adding soon:
- Parking sensors
- Type R rear light cluster (nothing special, just dark grey rather than red, and breaks up the line)
- New clear number plates (no borders or logos)
- LED sidelights and number plate lights
- Apple CarPlay
- OEM car mats (if I can find any)
- Ambient footwell lighting
- Auto-dimming mirror
- Gear gaiter
I'll also look to retrofit the following, but this can be quite a task:
- Cruise control
- Auto headlights and wipers
- OEM parking sensors (front and rear)
- Power folding mirrors
- TPMS and other MFD features
I'm very much looking forward to having a few days to tackle the car cosmetically, but first the mechanical stuff. Monday will (hopefully) see the shocks and springs replaced, as well as the tracking sorted. My teaching term ends June 7th, and my schedule is much more free over the summer. That'll be when it really gets a makeover.
I'm very new to the Honda Civic scene, so if there's anything I should know about, I'd be all ears.
More soon.
Edit: Updated image links
As my wife has only been driving for two years, and wasn't used to a 'big' car, we set out to look for a car that met the following criteria:
- Not too big
- Five doors
- Petrol
- Preferably Japanese
- Not numb to drive
- Cheap to run
- Reliable
- Not a boring colour
- Relatively cheap to buy
That's quite an ask, but a Honda Civic Mk8 1.8 petrol seemed to be the perfect answer to this. I've always wanted a Mk8, and toyed with the idea of purchasing a Type R previously.
I knew about the 'Deep Sapphire Blue' model in later 2010+ facelift form with its new front grille. That would have been the perfect choice.
We jumped onto some online marketplaces, and unbelievably, one in that exact spec became available.
Here's the images from the ad:
It had to be this one. A late Si model with colour coded wheel arches, the newer Type R inspired grille, graphite alloys, and half leather and alcantara (though I thought it was cloth) seats.
We took a 2.5h drive to Birmingham from Cardiff to view the car, and was met by a lovely private seller of Hondas (specifically sells Civics, curiously enough). The man was fantastic; super hospitable and a pleasure to talk to. He was upfront and honest about everything he knew about (more on that wording later). The MOT is very clean, it was recently serviced, and after a quick test drive and a thorough look around and under the car, we purchased the car and drove it home.
Parked up after a long and boring drive, made infinitely more fun by that 1.8 i-VTEC engine:
The car is superb, but certainly not without its flaws.
To start, the things I like about this car:
- The 1.8 i-VTEC surprised me how quick it was
- The space! The boot is cavernous, and the rear 'magic seats' are unbelievable
- Gearbox is lovely
- Small steering wheel feels good
- Cabin is designed well
- Seats are fantastically comfy
- Ride is good
- Dash looks great
The things I don't like:
- Some plastics feel a little cheap
- Rear 'spoiler' is annoying for visibility, but you get used to it
- It's a very basic spec (though this will be changed in time)
There's a few issues with the car, none are detrimental.
- The rear shocks are gone, and springs are going (advisory on MOT). Luckily, a pair of rear springs and shocks come to a grand total of £80, and due to their separated design, replacing them should be a doddle. I'll look to do this Monday.
- The car's running a little cold, sitting just under the middle on the temperature gauge. A suspected thermostat, and after a brief inspection of the engine bay, it shouldn't be too bad to change.
- The alignment is out a fair bit. I'll take this to my local that has a brand new hunter system. It's very nervous on the motorway, which didn't help as the car has a notably fast steering rack.
- The air con doesn't work. I'm hoping it just needs re-gassing, but these have a habit of breaking their condenser as it sits very low.
- Clutch pedal is squeaky (common fault). A good fix is motorcycle chain lubricant on the clutch actuator rod.
- Fuel cap tether has snapped
- It's an extremely tatty car. Those who know me will know I take pride in a car's condition, but those who know me better will also know how much I like a restoration project. This is the biggest flaw with the car, but nothing I can't fix. The paintwork has a lot of minor marks and scuffs, the door has some bizarre marks in the lacquer (could possibly sand and polish), trim has been glued back on with yellow sealant, mud flaps are faded, bird droppings have burnt into the point, and the interior is disgusting. Every crevice and line has brown muck and dirt, with that 'old man' leather smell. Luckily there are no scratches on the dash plastics, but there's a lot of dirt. Seats are in dire need of a shampoo, and the dash plastic glass needs a polish as it's reminiscent of Edward Scissorshands thinking it's a touch screen.
I could have kept looking for another car, but that colour with that facelift spec, and for the price we bought it for, I'd be happy with a project to get it looking great again. Most importantly, my wife loves the car.
The things I'll be adding soon:
- Parking sensors
- Type R rear light cluster (nothing special, just dark grey rather than red, and breaks up the line)
- New clear number plates (no borders or logos)
- LED sidelights and number plate lights
- Apple CarPlay
- OEM car mats (if I can find any)
- Ambient footwell lighting
- Auto-dimming mirror
- Gear gaiter
I'll also look to retrofit the following, but this can be quite a task:
- Cruise control
- Auto headlights and wipers
- OEM parking sensors (front and rear)
- Power folding mirrors
- TPMS and other MFD features
I'm very much looking forward to having a few days to tackle the car cosmetically, but first the mechanical stuff. Monday will (hopefully) see the shocks and springs replaced, as well as the tracking sorted. My teaching term ends June 7th, and my schedule is much more free over the summer. That'll be when it really gets a makeover.
I'm very new to the Honda Civic scene, so if there's anything I should know about, I'd be all ears.
More soon.
Edit: Updated image links
Edited by geraintthomas on Wednesday 29th May 22:42
Mercury00 said:
Well done. I absolutely love these, and I always wanted a type S GT, but never get around to buying one.
The Type S would have been a good choice, they were the other alternative.Master Of Puppets said:
Had several FN Civics, mainly type R and S, overall great reliable cars but absolutely horrendous for underside corrosion, if you plan
on keeping it a while make undersealing a top priority.
Thanks for that, I did notice a few people mentioning that. From looking underneath, there's very light corrosion on the rear boot floor and the torsion beam, but it doesn't look too serious. The heavier areas of rust are the rear axles and hub carriers, both of which can be replaced. Luckily there's nothing on the sills, so I'll get to work on undersealing what I can soon. I need to do it on the MX-5, so I'll do both at the same time.on keeping it a while make undersealing a top priority.
Out of curiosity, I looked into where the correct position for the temperature needle should be for a civic, and found this image amongst a tonne of others:
That's the exact position mine is at, and apparently is normal for Civics. Reading up on it, it seems that Honda set this as 'operating temperature' for the needle to stop people worrying of a potential overheat, but in this case it doesn't seem to have worked.
Either way, the thermostat thankfully won't need replacing.
That's the exact position mine is at, and apparently is normal for Civics. Reading up on it, it seems that Honda set this as 'operating temperature' for the needle to stop people worrying of a potential overheat, but in this case it doesn't seem to have worked.
Either way, the thermostat thankfully won't need replacing.
Master Of Puppets said:
Had several FN Civics, mainly type R and S, overall great reliable cars but absolutely horrendous for underside corrosion, if you plan
on keeping it a while make undersealing a top priority.
^^^ This!on keeping it a while make undersealing a top priority.
My pals that have Grinspeed up this way more or less daily have these in for full rear beam replacements; they come in like cheese graters there's that much underside missing!
geraintthomas said:
d_a_n1979 said:
^^^ This!
My pals that have Grinspeed up this way more or less daily have these in for full rear beam replacements; they come in like cheese graters there's that much underside missing!
Ouch!My pals that have Grinspeed up this way more or less daily have these in for full rear beam replacements; they come in like cheese graters there's that much underside missing!
A few Bilt Hamber products going and you'll soon have it managed I reckon
The car looks lovely from the photos, and from (quite a far) distance. But here's the real condition of it:
One of the worst scratches, purely down to how wavey it is. I can't mask and paint this one, so it'll have to be a wet sand and polish. Failing that, I'll figure something out.
It's had a scrape at some point. I'm not too worried about these. They're low enough not to be noticed when polished, and the straight ones can be masked and painted easily.
All the calipers are like this. The discs aren't great, but they could be worst. Some silver paint would bring these up nicely.
It seems as though there are a few trim areas that have been bumped, with a poor attempt to fix them.
A common issue is mold in the water runs of the rear lights. Can be removed by removing the lamp and cleaning with bleach and a toothbrush. I'll also re-seal that lamp to fix the condensation.
Lacquer peel on the rear spoiler. Not much I can do about this from home.
It's annoying to see curbed alloys on tyres as high profile as this. The wheels are a lovely graphite colour, but that's going to be a pain to get a colour match for with a spray can. I'll see if I can find the colour used. Also, China's finest tyres are used, but at least they're the same brand all around with equal tread.
That tiny ding is the only dent on the entire car, surprisingly enough. The bird poo etched into the lacquer should be fine; I've removed similar before with sandpaper and a polisher. But there's some very bizarre shaped scratches on the front bumper. I'm suspecting a dog owner.
Really? That's a horrendous job at attempting to repair trim.
The mould continues.
Seats are generally good condition, but the leather could do with some dye on the bolsters. Aside from this, they're great.
Signs of a well loved car.
And there it is, just as expected; dog hair. Smells fantastic, too.
A dog owner, and a smoker. This centre console has one of the worst smells. Old, musky tobacco that's been left for years in the heat. I genuinely can't explain the smell.
Because simply pointing at the dash wasn't enough. Either that, or the dog decided to drive.
Rear seats are in decent condition, but are in dire need of a shampoo vax.
Some odd places for dirt.
I was expecting worse for the steering wheel. These Gen 8 and Gen 9 Civics have a habit of wearing through the leather dye quite quickly.
That needs replacing.
So does that (eww).
Thankfully the engine is in great condition. I'll be re-painting some of the metals after giving it a thorough clean, but I was impressed with this. No oil leaks, either.
I'm just about to pick the car up from the garage for an air conditioning re-gas; we'll see if it lasts. They did tell me that they would reimburse me if it failed after a few weeks due to leaks, but this should (hopefully) be picked up on a pressure test.
One of the worst scratches, purely down to how wavey it is. I can't mask and paint this one, so it'll have to be a wet sand and polish. Failing that, I'll figure something out.
It's had a scrape at some point. I'm not too worried about these. They're low enough not to be noticed when polished, and the straight ones can be masked and painted easily.
All the calipers are like this. The discs aren't great, but they could be worst. Some silver paint would bring these up nicely.
It seems as though there are a few trim areas that have been bumped, with a poor attempt to fix them.
A common issue is mold in the water runs of the rear lights. Can be removed by removing the lamp and cleaning with bleach and a toothbrush. I'll also re-seal that lamp to fix the condensation.
Lacquer peel on the rear spoiler. Not much I can do about this from home.
It's annoying to see curbed alloys on tyres as high profile as this. The wheels are a lovely graphite colour, but that's going to be a pain to get a colour match for with a spray can. I'll see if I can find the colour used. Also, China's finest tyres are used, but at least they're the same brand all around with equal tread.
That tiny ding is the only dent on the entire car, surprisingly enough. The bird poo etched into the lacquer should be fine; I've removed similar before with sandpaper and a polisher. But there's some very bizarre shaped scratches on the front bumper. I'm suspecting a dog owner.
Really? That's a horrendous job at attempting to repair trim.
The mould continues.
Seats are generally good condition, but the leather could do with some dye on the bolsters. Aside from this, they're great.
Signs of a well loved car.
And there it is, just as expected; dog hair. Smells fantastic, too.
A dog owner, and a smoker. This centre console has one of the worst smells. Old, musky tobacco that's been left for years in the heat. I genuinely can't explain the smell.
Because simply pointing at the dash wasn't enough. Either that, or the dog decided to drive.
Rear seats are in decent condition, but are in dire need of a shampoo vax.
Some odd places for dirt.
I was expecting worse for the steering wheel. These Gen 8 and Gen 9 Civics have a habit of wearing through the leather dye quite quickly.
That needs replacing.
So does that (eww).
Thankfully the engine is in great condition. I'll be re-painting some of the metals after giving it a thorough clean, but I was impressed with this. No oil leaks, either.
I'm just about to pick the car up from the garage for an air conditioning re-gas; we'll see if it lasts. They did tell me that they would reimburse me if it failed after a few weeks due to leaks, but this should (hopefully) be picked up on a pressure test.
Edited by geraintthomas on Wednesday 29th May 22:42
I've had 2 of these, both excellent, both had broken AV. First one we repaired, second I didn't both as. Had got a company car and wanted rid.
Other that, totally reliable.
I see you have aux port for the stereo, neither of mine did. Stereo was absolutely pony in both.
First one we bought at 72k miles, sold at 110k, still going strong locally. Second one was in family since demo and I sold at about 78k.
Other that, totally reliable.
I see you have aux port for the stereo, neither of mine did. Stereo was absolutely pony in both.
First one we bought at 72k miles, sold at 110k, still going strong locally. Second one was in family since demo and I sold at about 78k.
Great to hear they're reliable.
We've just driven to the Forest of Dean, my god is the stereo awful. The speakers are a decent size so my guess it's the head unit. A decent HU with a separate amp should free up some sound.
I think I was spoilt with the Sony surround sound in the Focus.
We've just driven to the Forest of Dean, my god is the stereo awful. The speakers are a decent size so my guess it's the head unit. A decent HU with a separate amp should free up some sound.
I think I was spoilt with the Sony surround sound in the Focus.
Does the air con clutch engage? If not, try replacing the air con relay, could be a simple fix. I had an FN2 Type R and it just needed an air con relay.
Rear shocks are a 30 min job as you've already mentioned.
The cluster plastic is very soft hence all the scratches - mine was the same.
Hopefully the ride is better than the Type R!
Rear shocks are a 30 min job as you've already mentioned.
The cluster plastic is very soft hence all the scratches - mine was the same.
Hopefully the ride is better than the Type R!
We had the iS but it was the absolutely gutless 1.4 in the same colour as yours. Admittedly ours was in far better condition however a couple of things no matter how you took care of them seem to be present. The dash glass looked like it had been scratched up all over whereas I think the finish on it deteriorates. I could never understand why it was so bad when no one goes around touching it. The paintwork on Civics seems to be really poor. Lacquer peel was prevalent on ours in a couple of places and the thing was covered in stone chips. By contrast our Accord had near three times the mileage and the paintwork was better
Check the clutch fluid (it’s dot4 brake fluid). If it looks like algae it needs replacing asap.
I have a type r and the clutch was squeaky. Common ‘fix’ is to spray the clutch cylinder with grease. This only hides the issue imo as it will return in a month or two.
Replace and bleed the clutch fluid with fresh high quality dot4. I did mine with ate200 and now the clutch is silent and has been for 6 months. It also greatly improves the clutch pedal feel.
I have a type r and the clutch was squeaky. Common ‘fix’ is to spray the clutch cylinder with grease. This only hides the issue imo as it will return in a month or two.
Replace and bleed the clutch fluid with fresh high quality dot4. I did mine with ate200 and now the clutch is silent and has been for 6 months. It also greatly improves the clutch pedal feel.
TotalControl said:
I came so close to buying one of these as a daily but ended up getting a Celica 140 as it was too good to ignore for the price.
Keen on seeing how you get on with this one.
Great choice, had one myself before purchasing a T-Sport. If it's the pre-facelift (99-02), be careful of excessive oil consumption. Other than that, fantastic cars. I found braided brake lines helped enormously with the pedal feel of those cars, as the brake feel isn't the best.Keen on seeing how you get on with this one.
Willber said:
Does the air con clutch engage? If not, try replacing the air con relay, could be a simple fix. I had an FN2 Type R and it just needed an air con relay.
Rear shocks are a 30 min job as you've already mentioned.
The cluster plastic is very soft hence all the scratches - mine was the same.
Hopefully the ride is better than the Type R!
As far as I'm aware it does, but is there any way to check? It's been confirmed that there's a leak in the system when testing at a garage, so the condenser will need replacing regardless, but it'll also be good to check that too.Rear shocks are a 30 min job as you've already mentioned.
The cluster plastic is very soft hence all the scratches - mine was the same.
Hopefully the ride is better than the Type R!
The ride is lovely! I've heard everyone mention how bad the Type R is for ride quality. I'm guessing that's resolvable with a set of coilovers?
Chicken Chaser said:
We had the iS but it was the absolutely gutless 1.4 in the same colour as yours. Admittedly ours was in far better condition however a couple of things no matter how you took care of them seem to be present. The dash glass looked like it had been scratched up all over whereas I think the finish on it deteriorates. I could never understand why it was so bad when no one goes around touching it. The paintwork on Civics seems to be really poor. Lacquer peel was prevalent on ours in a couple of places and the thing was covered in stone chips. By contrast our Accord had near three times the mileage and the paintwork was better
From what I've read, the 1.4 was built for the Jazz, though as it's also used in the Civic it's a heavier car. Agreed with the paintwork, there are some odd blemishes that I've not seen before. Thankfully no lacquer peel so I'll keep an eye on that.sam.rog said:
Check the clutch fluid (it’s dot4 brake fluid). If it looks like algae it needs replacing asap.
I have a type r and the clutch was squeaky. Common ‘fix’ is to spray the clutch cylinder with grease. This only hides the issue imo as it will return in a month or two.
Replace and bleed the clutch fluid with fresh high quality dot4. I did mine with ate200 and now the clutch is silent and has been for 6 months. It also greatly improves the clutch pedal feel.
That's interesting, I'll be sure to replace the fluid. Is it an easy DIY job to replace and bleed the clutch fluid on these?I have a type r and the clutch was squeaky. Common ‘fix’ is to spray the clutch cylinder with grease. This only hides the issue imo as it will return in a month or two.
Replace and bleed the clutch fluid with fresh high quality dot4. I did mine with ate200 and now the clutch is silent and has been for 6 months. It also greatly improves the clutch pedal feel.
geraintthomas said:
That's interesting, I'll be sure to replace the fluid. Is it an easy DIY job to replace and bleed the clutch fluid on these?
Easy DIY. I removed the plastic cover over the radiator and unbolted the top cross member which holds the latch mechanism. You should then be able to see the bleed nipple on the clutch cylinder. I then attached some tubing and got my father to press and depress the clutch pedal whilst opening and closing the nipple.
Was a tedious process and would probably invest in a pressure bleeder next time.
If you do it my way make sure you keep the reservoir topped up as it can be a pain to get air out later on.
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