Why? I have one and i'm very happy with it as a daily drive and solo/duo/trio outtatown car... The company i work for has two ES Civics which are driven to the ground and they're still running okay after over 130,000kms.
The fuel tank issue is quite minor IMO and your main concern is to check if the unit you have had been serviced/fixed by the CASA under the recall of Honda.
For me (since we have both an '01 ES Civic and '06 Altis in our Garage), space and driving feel goes to the Civic (at 6 feet, i can't even fit into my preferred driving position with the Altis as the drivers seat doesn't roll far back too much and my head hits the roof when seated at the rear)... better fuel efficiency and torque goes to the Altis (about 1km/l+ difference based on my observations... my 1.5L Civic gets the same city mileage as our 1.6L a/t Altis).
At 500K, you can look for an '03 model of these cars... just check out both units and go with what you feel fits you better in package, ownership history/maintainance history and pricing.
My two cents
Buhay na buhay ang BGC this evening. Bukas halos lahat ng restaurants. Sabi pa nung isang cashier...
Traffic!