Originally posted by HouseofKolorEX
Hey Dave....
Well congrats on the Civic. Good times. As far as the vtec question... I believe so. I too have a 5th Gen EX and I have the sohc vtec. YOu have the auto though and I have a 5spd, so maybe it's diff? I don't know auto Hondas at all. My thought is that they just didn't give you the cool snazzy valve cover, that's all. But then again I could be wrong. I've been wrong before, so what's stopping me now? 
I bought my 95 EX last fall. I paid 4000. It had 122K on it. Needed some minor body work, interior detailing, engine bay detail... but other than that... she was in tip top shape. I know I got a smokin' deal on mine though. So, since you paid 3800 for your 93 with more miles. I don't think you got ripped off, but maybe not such a deal though either. Check kbb.com to see what todays value on it is.
This is my third Civic. The last 2 I had over 265K on them when I sold them. (They both were still running great) I plan on keeping this one even longer. Oil changes. It's so key. I change my oil between 3-3500 miles. I also spend one Sunday a month and check maintenence items on her from head to toe. Once a season I take her to my mechanic to give her another look over too just in case. Keep up with it's scheduled maintnence and you should be just fine. It's when you start to neglect the car and let stuff slip some time, that's when sh!t goes south. Also, the harder you drive your car...the faster stuff goes bad. You know that... you sound like a smart guy.
Hope I was of some help. If not.... oops.
-Mindi
Thanx for that reply, yes, i am a stickler for keeping my cars(plural now..yay!)maintained. I change my oil on my accord between 2800-3000, so i never go to 3k with one oil change. I have had synthetic in her since 80k miles, JUST turned 100k today.
I will keep regular oil in my civic since its an older car, if only i owned it from 60k+, oh well, i dont plan on racing it or anything.
And yes, its not a SUPER KILLER deal, but its what i was looking for.
Yeh, still dunno if i have vtec. I would think in the dawn of vtec with honda's they would make SURE a car they sell has it stamped on their valve cover, thats just me. Is ther a wire or anything that is "only" a vtec part? This way i can make sure.
94civicex said: Unless your motor has been swapped, you have a D16Z6 with VTEC.
So i'll check the engine stamp on it, if i can find it. I can see my accord engine stamp(f22b), so i'll see if i can see this one too.
96greencivic said: It sounds like you really love your Civic! My 96 Civic is an auto too and I also just use it for a commuter, but with some fun too.
Yeh, any car i buy i'll love for sure. And i shopped EXCLUSIVELY for a honda and a honda only(for obvious reasons).
So, thanx guys and gals for these posts, its nice to be a civic and an accord owner now, i've been in the accord world for a while so excuse my civic ignorance when it comes to history. But, my accord still drives a heck of alot better than the civic, the civic is smaller of course :-) Nice little commuter.
Keep em comin if ya feel like typin for a fellow civic owner.
Dave