Update 07/13/2025: It seems that the seller didn’t taste success when they last listed this sweet little 1997 Honda Civic DX Hatchback, although we can’t say that it didn’t generate plenty of interest. The auction closed at $8,100 after receiving an incredible fifty-five bids. The failure to find a new home has led them to list the Civic again here on eBay. The location and other details remain the same, although the bidding remains below the reserve at $2,475. Therefore, it will be fascinating to discover whether the seller manages to shift the Honda this time.
06/04/2025: Smack dab in the middle of the melted-bar-of-soap design era, this 1997 Honda Civic DX Hatchback is one of the least aggressive and most friendly cars I’ve seen in quite a while. There’s nothing mean or in-your-face about this car, including the Vogue Silver paint and matching gray interior fabric. You can find it listed here on eBay in equally friendly Puyallup, Washington.
Our own Ron Denny recently showed us the father (grandfather?) of this little Civic, a sweet little yellow version from 1977, exactly 20 years before this ’97 Civic was made. The difference between the two cars is striking, and not just in the fun, jaunty, bright yellow color and fantastic houndstooth interior fabric on the seats of that early car. They’re both overly friendly, happy little cars, and the world needs more friendly cars and people in it today more than ever. Spend some time on the road or watching the news, and you’ll see what I mean.
The sixth-generation Civic was made from 1995 for the 1996 model year until the end of 2000 in a variety of body styles, not all of which were available here in the U.S., but this hatchback body style was one of the most popular ones. Here’s what it looks like under the hatchback: nice and clean as expected. The seller says this Civic is a one-owner car with just 59,334 miles on it.
Even the four-speed automatic transmission is friendly and unassuming. Just put it in D and go, no muss, no fuss, no left leg cramps or messing around on steep Seattle or San Francisco stoplights. Power steering was standard for automatic-equipped cars, so even steering this car is easy. The seats look perfect, both front and rear, with grayish-blue fabric inserts on an otherwise gray-everything interior. Make my Civic seats black-and-white houndstooth fabric every time.
The engine is Honda’s 1.6-liter, 16-valve inline-four with 106 horsepower and 103 lb-ft of torque. Backed by the automatic sending power to the front wheels, the seller says it has a new timing belt, new brakes, new water pump, and it works as it should. I know that Barn Finds readers are a friendly bunch: which friendly Civic would you rather have, this ’97 or the yellow ’77?
The author and I are like brothers from different mothers,,,with one stark difference. He loves Asian cars, I can take or leave them. In case you missed my accolades of the ’77, you won’t hear anything good from me on these. While I generally stay away from Asian cars, after my GMC Sonoma broke in half, I needed a beater, PRONTO! My then landlords daughter had a 2000( I think, I don’t even care) Civic, 200K, 2nd motor but looked okay, threw caution to the wind, and coughed out $2 grand. I should have passed upon seeing the coolant tank empty, but I figured nothing a little “Mend-Tite” won’t cure. Initially, I liked the car, but soon began to hate it. I won’t go into what I didn’t like, but the coolant thing got to be front burner, nobody would touch it, head gasket they said, and about 100K is about all you’ll get. When the 2nd motor died, I didn’t want to mess with it, and junked the car and never looked back. The ’77 was from a different world, and I wouldn’t touch a Honda car today if it was free. All Asian cars are not equal, and you simply can’t beat a Toyota.
The Hondas drive the best and are more comfy. Toyotas are tougher for sure. Proof is in the taxicab business.
Nice very clean find. I have owned multiple 4th, 6th, and 8th generation Civics. Maybe I like even numbers. I almost stopped reading when I saw the automatic, but in the three door, it would be acceptable (desired by some people). The thing I prefer about Honda is that they have a nimble responsive feel regardless of model or trim. Their commitment to technology shows in everything from generators to motorcycles to cars to aircraft. With reasonable care, their cars are all good for at least 300k miles.
We had two ‘96’s. Only problem was the A/C compressors failing in Arizona heat.
My mom recently passed away and didn’t drive her 1998 Civic DX to heaven, leaving it to us kids who periodically kept the vehicle up when we visited her.
After all these years the interior was in excellent condition, the clear coat over red was failing but the engine started right up, aired up the tires and drove it 7 hours to New Jersey for my sisters son.
That year had a kind of frumpy look to it compared to others but now it’s a cool looking frumpy and will have a new life with a happy 17yr old. Let’s cross our fingers he doesn’t thrash the poor little thing and will enjoy the handling and gas mileage!
When did the DX model go “upmarket”? I remember looking at Civics back in the early 90s with my then girlfriend. As I recall the DX was the stripper model and if you wanted amenities like A/C and sunroof, you moved to an LX or EX.
I may be forgetting some details now, but I was totally turned off by the Honda dealership experience.
PRA4SNW, this link shows the trim levels and some details on what came standard with each one – CX was the base trim level, followed by DX:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_(sixth_generation)
Page 34 of this brochure shows that power steering was standard on automatic-equipped CX and DX hatchback models.
https://autocatalogarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Honda-Range-1997-USA.pdf
You are right, there was a model lower than the DX.
I had to go back 2 generations – 4th generation – to find the one we looked at. At that time, the base model was called STD (for standard). It was called CX in Canada only. The Standard was a very stripped model with it’s own low powered engine. As I recall, not a single option was available for this model, you had to upgrade to a DX.
I now recall that we went to look for the Standard model because all she wanted was a cheap brand new car. The dealer had advertised these models, but when we got there, they had only one and it was sold. They continuously tried to sell her a DX with more options, but would not lower the price (despite my loud claims of false advertising).
She ended up finding a gently used DX hatchback in her price range and owned that car for many years.
Auction update: this one ended at $8,100 and didn’t meet the seller’s reserve, so, no sale.
Probably the number one lesson in Civics, to take away from this. The seller should have taken the $8,100 and never looked back.
OK, so let’s say you were going to bid. Would you give $8k for this ’97 automatic, or $16k for ’91 Civic SI 5-speed (BF July 9th). I would definitely pick the ’91 at twice the value. But to each his own. Replies are welcome.
Auction update: this one appears to have sold for $8,000 on the second time through eBay.