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Used cars: how to buy a second-hand Honda Civic Type R (2007-2010)

By Ben Barry

20 March 2012 09:00

If you're looking for an all-round hot hatch, the Civic Type R isn't for you: it's an all-or-nothing hot hatch. The ride is hard and spikey, the naturally aspirated 2.0-litre 16-valver is low on torque and, really, it doesn't do the daily drive stuff anywhere near as completely as a Golf GTI or Focus ST.

But work the Type R hard and it all comes together, that bonkers VTEC engine waking up beyond 5000rpm – just when most of its modern-day turbo rivals are about to throw in the towel – and screaming frenetically all the way to 8200rpm. Watch for the shift lights to illuminate at the top of the dash, then slot the short, slick gearchange home and repeat the process over again. If any engine demonstrates why turbos aren't as much fun, this is it.

This was the second-generation Type R to reach the UK – we didn't get the first model – and it launched in early 2007. Today, a carbon copy of the car that starred on CAR's May 2007 cover can be snapped up for well under £7k.

Buying and running a Honda Civic Type R

Stuart Pridham runs the Civic Type R Owners' Club, and has owned three Type Rs over the last decade. Here's what he has to say:

• On early cars, the gearshift from second to third could feel unnecessarily notchy. Honda remedied this under warranty, and most owners got this done at the time. Out of warranty, the work would be carried out at a dealer's discretion, so check the shift is as slick as the rest of this brilliant 'box.
• Pull away from cold and you'll sometimes hear a loud creaking noise. It's the clutch-release bearing, it's not terminal and the noise will disappear as the car heats up. Honda replaces this part under warranty, although the noise will eventually return.
• You might notice a Civic Type R's rear suspension creaking. Don't worry, Honda remedies this with a strategic dab of grease under warranty.
• Early cars can suffer from rust hidden away at the top corner of each door, where water has collected under a seal. Later cars featured a revised design to prevent this from happening, while Honda should have fixed problems with early cars under warranty. Double-check the car you're looking at isn't afflicted.
• The Type R should be serviced every 12,500 miles or once annually. However, every other service is the bigger service, which costs approximately twice as much as a regular service. So, it's worth paying a small premium for a car that has just been in for its big service.
• The first Type Rs weren't fitted with a limited-slip differential. However, after the Championship White special edition launched – with an LSD – standard Type Rs started to get one too. Every 60-plate onwards car definitely has an LSD, while a lot of 59-platers have one too. There's no way to tell, other than to feel its extra traction by driving the car hard, or to jack the front end up and spin a wheel – if both wheels spin together, you've hit the LSD jackpot.
• The paint is particularly thin on British-built cars due to the water-based paint used at Honda's Swindon plant. This can chip easily, so check the condition of the paintwork on the Civic's bonnet and front end in particular.

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