Quote Originally Posted by Hadowken View Post
I also would like to purchase my first car under 200k and I'm currently eyeing the Civic EK 96-00 and the ES.
Most recently I found a well maintained EK 96 VTi with a seller's asking price of 195k. I also found 2001 vtec3 civic that's all stock and looks fairly maintained for the same price.
Both cars are M/T.

I would just like to know if the ES is much harder (also more expensive) to maintain than the EK?

I have a neighbor that's into buy and selling and I showed him the listing of the 195k EK and said that it was too expensive. Even if I said that it looked really well maintained. It also has a lot upgrades as well.
The EK and ES is fairly easy to maintain and has an abundant of parts. Most common issue I encounter on the EK is the aircon and suspension parts. The ES never had an issue aside from the usual maintenance, change engine mounts and tie rods.

The EK at 195k is a bit expensive imho.. if you can stretch your budget, I would recommend to get the Civic FD, If you look hard enough and knows how to haggle, you might be able get one at around 250-300k..