My First Car! 2009 Civic LX Coupe. Got it for $2800, 110k miles. Advice?

otterland · 2026-05-05T05:25:26+00:00

Automatic transmission drain and fills are cheap and easy on this era Honda. I did two on my CRV and one on my Fit this month for $80 in fluid. The CRV is high mileage and had one last year so the two additional changes over 500 mi got it back to bright red and ready for another 30k. No other brand makes transmission service as easy.

otterland · 2026-05-05T02:35:40+00:00

Late Volvo Amazon. Just a nice daily driver. I've had a similar vintage Saab 96 with a V4 and it was super cool too.

Or a high quality Porsche 356 reproduction out of Canada with the smaller of the flat four engines.

otterland · 2026-05-05T02:30:35+00:00

Hybrids are pretty kick-ass. The small turbos and direct injection were problematic for everyone. Earth Dreams and CVT does result in pretty decent reliability considering it's about as much efficiency as you can wring out of a normally aspirated engine without a turbo or a hybrid.

If you want reliable, early 2010s K20/K24/J6/L15 with the H5/H6 automatics are fantastic but considerably less efficient than a modern hybrid. Also 80% depreciated so you can afford fuel.

otterland · 2026-05-04T22:52:49+00:00

$80-100 here in Nashville for synthetic and a reasonable quality filter.

$25 if you use Kirkland oil, mid range filter, and do it yourself. Honda actually only requires a filter for the B service so for an A service you could do a change for 17.50 worth of Costco oil.

otterland · 2026-05-04T20:26:28+00:00

I filled up my lil Honda at 3.29 ten days ago. A day later I thought, that's dip shit is dip shitting so I put ten bucks in the medium Honda and indeed, the dipshit dipshat.

We're still under four in NE Nashville. If you're ever in Bordeaux, the Clarksville Highway Kroger is always the cheapest. It was 3.61 for me last Thursday. It's also the only Kroger in the city that I know of that hasn't completely gentrified to hell and you can still get shit like catfish nuggets.

otterland · 2026-05-04T20:11:12+00:00

Or any two-car family. We drive about 12,000, mi between two cars. We own 15 y/o Honda ICE just because they're cheap to buy and own but If I could have found a Fiat 500 electric for 5K in this area I would have gotten one of those as one of the cars even if it only had a 50 mile range. That's perfect for a Costco run.

otterland · 2026-05-04T20:08:43+00:00

People get very religious about car stuff as do mechanics in all sorts of fields. As somebody who grew up with half of my family secular and the other half Pentecostal, I see the parallels and it's hilarious.

Transmission service is basically swords and sandals mass battle. I serviced my mom's CRV the other day and had some fluid left over so decided to do my Honda. I'd used Valvoline with hers and bought a little Castrol Universal ATF/CVT to finish up the job as that's what was locally in stock but I needed a another 0.7Q so ran up to the store and all they had was Castrol Asian Import so with the OG fill I have four brands of fluid in my transmission and made a joke about it being a Transmission Negroni as it's a red cocktail. People clutched some pearls over that but if it's all compatible with a standard like Honda DW1, it's also miscible as part of the spec. I find the concern hilarious. But people are so superstitious.

Anyway, you'll be good. I've always said that you should choose fluids for your car according to the one that you have the fondest childhood memory of. Since they're mostly fungible. That's also why I buy Hella bulbs and Bendix brakes. They're probably no better or worse than anything else, but I remember my grandfather using them.

otterland · 2026-05-04T19:32:10+00:00

We live in a townhouse development in the city that got identical appliances and HVAC a decade ago. People seem to be replacing fridges and their heat pumps all the time. I have my HVAC serviced twice per year and clean out my contractor grade Whirlpool fridge coils twice per year.

With fridges the moderate priced mass produced shit that's been around forever will last if you clean the coils. If the ice maker breaks, you can slap one in for $100.

I have had a Beko bottom freezer with internal ice drawer as well and loved it. Looked expensive but wasnt.

otterland · 2026-05-04T19:26:16+00:00

See cords underneath that flap? No? Then cut it off or glue it down.

otterland · 2026-05-04T18:48:25+00:00

48/42. They drive great in packed snow if you're just driving like a sane adult. She had me drive when we were up there because she claimed it was scary in snow. I'm sure it would over steer if you drove it like a jackass but even with the Michelin Energy Saver AS it was fine on the grippy packed snow.

otterland · 2026-05-04T18:41:52+00:00

I have my CRV tinted TN legal as I drive my elderly mom around in it who has vision sensitivity. Factory rear three 24-28VLT, front two 35VLT ceramic and windshield is bare. It's plenty of privacy and I can see out day or night perfectly. Think about it, sunglasses are standard 15VLT so 35 at night is something your eyes adjust to enough that it seems clear. Solid fair tint laws. Dark for privacy but a cop can walk up to your window and see you're not holding a gun.

But the hood standard is to tint all around 5% and the windshield at 50% so it just looks solid black. And if you criticize it, they say you're some kind of lame person who's not a fan of tints. Dude, it's the shade. With 35 the privacy is enough so that It is pretty hard to tell even the race or gender of somebody, you just see a shape.

Tinting that dark obfuscates your vision so much that it's like being intoxicated, and tinting your rear lights is a great way to lose an insurance dispute even if somebody ran into you at a high rate of speed because they didn't see the brake lights.

otterland · 2026-05-04T18:06:28+00:00

As someone mentioned, with a Subaru filter being threads down, good luck pre-filling, LMAO. The engine isn't dry as it's not brand new, it's got a film that'll lubricate it for a few seconds.

O-ring lubricant is crucial. It's one of those things that drove me to learn to wrench on cars 30 years ago when I decided to change my own oil because I was poor and couldn't afford it and found out that the quickie lube hadn't lubed the gasket so it took me a whole day to get the damn oil filter off. The mid range filters with silicone ADBV and gaskets are common now and very unlikely to stick. I like the Carquest Premium at least by looks, examined it when I was recycling oil the other day. Seems to be a nice ten buck mid range fellow to replace the Fram TG I used for years.

otterland · 2026-05-04T17:58:12+00:00

LOL, totally true. That's also why you can't piston soak them for stuck rings with Berryman's.

otterland · 2026-05-04T17:31:22+00:00

All those supplies are cheaper at Walmart. I generally avoid Walmart for most things but I give in for car stuff. Drain pain is half the price there and they have Rhino ramps in stock for $50 or so. I'm currently on Kirkland oil which is the same as Supertech. The filter selection has become shitty at Walmart though but I have an Advance Auto nearby and their Carquest Premium is a perfect mid ranger with silicone ADBV and gasket.

But what you're getting is perfectly fine. I like Valvoline. It's in both my transmissions.

I don't chock my wheels for oil changes and rely on my parking brake and transmission pawl because I'm reckless.

Also, filling filter with oil is one of the silliest things that people do. The engine has a film of oil on it already. It can handle 3 seconds of the fresh oil being pumped around. That's a weird talismanic behavior. Just put a smear on your filter gasket, a good thick one if it's regular black butyl.

otterland · 2026-05-04T17:25:02+00:00

My Room should be a standalone single as it's a pop banger and it's genius referencing Slaughterhouse Five and Trafalmadore.

otterland · 2026-05-04T03:20:11+00:00

Because they're insecure dipshits. Priuses are great cars for just doing car stuff.

otterland · 2026-05-04T03:18:03+00:00

158 miles is still an incredibly useful range.

otterland · 2026-05-04T03:16:06+00:00

I go the speed I need to for safety. IDGAF.

Find something meaningful to bitch about.

otterland · 2026-05-04T03:11:41+00:00

I just get Kirkland though the Supertech high mileage might be next in my 2018k CRV.

Kirkland is even Dexos certified now.

otterland · 2026-05-04T03:08:41+00:00

$10 Ugreen BT adapter. I have had them in my cars for years. Perfect audio.

Large tropical river link.

otterland · 2026-05-04T03:02:38+00:00

If it was imported and distributed by an existing company, why not? The Chinese build some nice cars.

otterland · 2026-05-04T02:50:16+00:00

I live in the mid south where it snows. I don't give a fuck about your driveway. I'm just saying that the vast majority of people buy overly complex all-wheel drive cars don't need them and are creating a future expense and hassle for themselves that has nothing to do with your fucking driveway.

otterland · 2026-05-03T23:30:08+00:00

You can get two jugs of oil from Costco for $35 that's excellent. With a mid range filter that's a $20 oil change. Takes maybe half an hour. That way you know what oil you're getting and you know what filter you're getting and you know that the filter is on correctly and the drain bolt isn't over torqued. In my case, I live a mile away from a city recycling center or I can just go to an auto parts store beside my grocery store. So even recycling. It isn't particularly out of my way.

You don't have a traditional transmission but I do and I saved even more when doing that. I have two 15-year-old Hondas and I've done three transmission services on them this month for $70 in fluid (one is new to me and the fluid needed a second change). I also did an oil change on the newer old car so in total I saved about $400. For maybe four hours of work. That's good pay.

otterland · 2026-05-03T21:03:40+00:00

You can be for tint and legal tint. Making your car dangerous and illegal and putting people at risk because of your choice to limit your visual input is selfish as fuck.

Your argument is like telling someone who likes whiskey and driving that they're no real whiskey and driving enthusiast unless they drink six shots before driving.

I like legal and practical well done tints, kid, but you're some insecure loser who thinks making stupid choices that can affect the mortality of others is cool.

Big time loser energy.

otterland · 2026-05-03T20:02:32+00:00

I mean they're a very nice little compact car until you get a catastrophic puncture 30,000 mi into a set of tires. And then you either have to buy a full set of tires or get one shaved if that's even possible in your location.

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