Ok, with a lot of people asking the same sort of thing regarding purchasing a DC5 and what to look for, I thought I‘d put my 5+ years of ownership and trolling this board to good use.
Regarding this buyers guide, ill split it into the grouping as found in the ‘my car‘ section of the garage and in turn will discuss the common/frequent/known issues linked to each (that I know of). I‘m also going to try and avoid commenting on modifications due to favouritism and differing opinions people have on brands, what‘s best etc. You will still also need to search through the various sub-sections within the forum for more information as this will just cover the basic and common issues that seem to occur.
And yes no doubt my grammar and spelling will be wrong in sections but I don‘t see any of those commentators doing this so...
Id also ask people to refrain from posting on this thread should the mods not lock and sticky this thread as no doubt people will have a differing opinion to what im about to say (though it can be found in the various sections on here...). Also please remember that this is a guidance tool and not to be used as a bible when purchasing a car, please get any car you wish to purchase professionally inspected should you not trust your instincts.
Insurance
Right before you go looking for your ‘dream‘ car, make sure you‘re able to afford the insurance; it‘s classed as a Group 20 car.
Have a trawl through the insurance section to see who is recommended, write down their names/phone numbers and start getting quotations.
There‘s no point asking in the insurance section for an estimate from owners as each owner will have different circumstances to the next person/you while occasionally, some bend the truth to make it lower (fronting or not declaring mods – both are very naughty and you‘ll find members on here generally anti this).
Prices
A quick search on piston heads/auto trader will reveal where the market is at regarding year/mileage/condition. If something seems too good to be true then it most likely hiding something unless the person is very desperate to sell.
Also, do not compare mainland prices to those of Ireland (inc. N.I.), there always different for good or bad reasons; mainland cars tend to fetch/ask for more money than the Irish counterparts
Miles per Gallon aka MPG
With the rise in petrol costs, MPG is soon going to be a deciding factor for many, though despite being a 11 year old ‘design‘, the engine is still modern and only recently have Honda killed it off due to emissions.
MPG is very subjective to how heavy your right foot is. Around town, expect around 26 mpg, combined 30‘ish and motorway 35‘ish; however I‘ve had as little as 17mpg on track and up to 44mpg on the motorway. Though on average, a tank will last around 280-300 miles and then the fuel light comes on (lower if your foots heavier, higher if you‘re driving Miss Daisy), alternatively when petrol was 1.42/l, about 17p a mile.
Another item to note is that the fuel tank seems to be like a hour glass – the first 4 pips on the fuel gauge will read (for example) 100 miles then to the half way stage 80 miles, again high amount of miles/minimum pips with a rush to empty though the fuel light comes on at around 8L = should be enough for 50 miles (though I‘ve never tested this theory).
Tax
There are 3 possible Tax bands the DC5 falls in to - regardless of Age;
A. PLG - £200
B. 223 g/kg Model Report = £300
C 234 g/kg Model Report = £415
Cars imported to the UK from 2001-2007 are more than likely to be PLG. This bracket is actually reserved for cars manufactured before 2001 (No Dc5's!) but until a few years ago (before the big kick off about Emissions and Green taxes) the DVLA often registered all imports as PLG as a force of habit. If you have one of these cars you are lucky to be paying up to £215 a year in road tax compared to other Dc5 owners. There was a brief period in which it changed to using the 2 model reports than used different emission figures (as above in B and C) before switching back to PLG though I‘m not sure what importers now register them as so you‘ll need to check with them..
However, all is not lost though as one person has managed to change his emissions report to a lower one, but I believe it was a long drawn out and frustrating process but it can be done.
Keys
The DC5 from factory only came with one key; if you have 2 then you‘re lucky as someone in the past got a second cut. If you only have the one, don‘t fret, you can purchase blanks from Honda though you‘ll need the one without a chip in – Honda will try an tell you that only they can cut the key and that there‘s a chip in the original key etc – its rubbish, take it to any reputable key cutter and they should be able to copy one for you.
Note: Apparently facelift cars have an immobiliser chip in so you may need to look into this, though id have thought an aftermarket CAT approved alarm/immob would over ride Hondas....
Parts
Parts are normally available over night from Honda (lots of parts are held in Belgium) though if you require glass or bumpers, they have to come from Japan and could take a while to get. If you need a new windscreen, sometimes you may get lucky and that one of the bigger windscreen repair companies has one in stock but make sure it‘s not for the DC2.
Alternatively, there are breakers on eBay that you can get parts from.
Importers Condition Guide
Before an importer purchases a car, it‘ll go through an auction house upon which it‘ll be given a Condition grading (numerical = external, alphabetical = internal);
S As good as new. Some cars in these grades have never been driven. Age till 12 months
6 As good as new. Age until 36 months
5 Very good overall condition. A car doesn't need repair. No body parts have been changed
4.5 Good overall condition. A car has been repaired slightly. There are a few slight dents or scratches
4 Good overall condition. There are a few slight dents or scratches
3.5 A car has some visible dents or scratches
3 Many conspicuous visible dents or scratches, paint blemishes. Some parts has been replaced
2 Bad condition
1 A car which has an aftermarket turbo, an automatic transmission converted to manual transmission, flood damage
0, R, A A car which has had accident damage, and has been repaired
R1, R-A A car which has had accident damage, and has been repaired.
Interior
A Excellent condition
B Slightly dirty
C Slightly dirty, and has a few cigarette burns and stains
D Dirty, and has some cigarette burns, stains, and wear
This condition guide is only applicable to when a car is freshly imported from Japan and not really applicable to an owner who then decides to sell on a year + later; it may have had more wear and tear, general condition degradation of the cars overall state and therefore not the same condition as it arrived in Country etc. You could ask to see the condition report but don‘t be too worried if they don‘t have it as you have your own eyes to see what condition the car is in.
Regarding this buyers guide, ill split it into the grouping as found in the ‘my car‘ section of the garage and in turn will discuss the common/frequent/known issues linked to each (that I know of). I‘m also going to try and avoid commenting on modifications due to favouritism and differing opinions people have on brands, what‘s best etc. You will still also need to search through the various sub-sections within the forum for more information as this will just cover the basic and common issues that seem to occur.
And yes no doubt my grammar and spelling will be wrong in sections but I don‘t see any of those commentators doing this so...
Id also ask people to refrain from posting on this thread should the mods not lock and sticky this thread as no doubt people will have a differing opinion to what im about to say (though it can be found in the various sections on here...). Also please remember that this is a guidance tool and not to be used as a bible when purchasing a car, please get any car you wish to purchase professionally inspected should you not trust your instincts.
Insurance
Right before you go looking for your ‘dream‘ car, make sure you‘re able to afford the insurance; it‘s classed as a Group 20 car.
Have a trawl through the insurance section to see who is recommended, write down their names/phone numbers and start getting quotations.
There‘s no point asking in the insurance section for an estimate from owners as each owner will have different circumstances to the next person/you while occasionally, some bend the truth to make it lower (fronting or not declaring mods – both are very naughty and you‘ll find members on here generally anti this).
Prices
A quick search on piston heads/auto trader will reveal where the market is at regarding year/mileage/condition. If something seems too good to be true then it most likely hiding something unless the person is very desperate to sell.
Also, do not compare mainland prices to those of Ireland (inc. N.I.), there always different for good or bad reasons; mainland cars tend to fetch/ask for more money than the Irish counterparts
Miles per Gallon aka MPG
With the rise in petrol costs, MPG is soon going to be a deciding factor for many, though despite being a 11 year old ‘design‘, the engine is still modern and only recently have Honda killed it off due to emissions.
MPG is very subjective to how heavy your right foot is. Around town, expect around 26 mpg, combined 30‘ish and motorway 35‘ish; however I‘ve had as little as 17mpg on track and up to 44mpg on the motorway. Though on average, a tank will last around 280-300 miles and then the fuel light comes on (lower if your foots heavier, higher if you‘re driving Miss Daisy), alternatively when petrol was 1.42/l, about 17p a mile.
Another item to note is that the fuel tank seems to be like a hour glass – the first 4 pips on the fuel gauge will read (for example) 100 miles then to the half way stage 80 miles, again high amount of miles/minimum pips with a rush to empty though the fuel light comes on at around 8L = should be enough for 50 miles (though I‘ve never tested this theory).
Tax
There are 3 possible Tax bands the DC5 falls in to - regardless of Age;
A. PLG - £200
B. 223 g/kg Model Report = £300
C 234 g/kg Model Report = £415
Cars imported to the UK from 2001-2007 are more than likely to be PLG. This bracket is actually reserved for cars manufactured before 2001 (No Dc5's!) but until a few years ago (before the big kick off about Emissions and Green taxes) the DVLA often registered all imports as PLG as a force of habit. If you have one of these cars you are lucky to be paying up to £215 a year in road tax compared to other Dc5 owners. There was a brief period in which it changed to using the 2 model reports than used different emission figures (as above in B and C) before switching back to PLG though I‘m not sure what importers now register them as so you‘ll need to check with them..
However, all is not lost though as one person has managed to change his emissions report to a lower one, but I believe it was a long drawn out and frustrating process but it can be done.
Keys
The DC5 from factory only came with one key; if you have 2 then you‘re lucky as someone in the past got a second cut. If you only have the one, don‘t fret, you can purchase blanks from Honda though you‘ll need the one without a chip in – Honda will try an tell you that only they can cut the key and that there‘s a chip in the original key etc – its rubbish, take it to any reputable key cutter and they should be able to copy one for you.
Note: Apparently facelift cars have an immobiliser chip in so you may need to look into this, though id have thought an aftermarket CAT approved alarm/immob would over ride Hondas....
Parts
Parts are normally available over night from Honda (lots of parts are held in Belgium) though if you require glass or bumpers, they have to come from Japan and could take a while to get. If you need a new windscreen, sometimes you may get lucky and that one of the bigger windscreen repair companies has one in stock but make sure it‘s not for the DC2.
Alternatively, there are breakers on eBay that you can get parts from.
Importers Condition Guide
Before an importer purchases a car, it‘ll go through an auction house upon which it‘ll be given a Condition grading (numerical = external, alphabetical = internal);
S As good as new. Some cars in these grades have never been driven. Age till 12 months
6 As good as new. Age until 36 months
5 Very good overall condition. A car doesn't need repair. No body parts have been changed
4.5 Good overall condition. A car has been repaired slightly. There are a few slight dents or scratches
4 Good overall condition. There are a few slight dents or scratches
3.5 A car has some visible dents or scratches
3 Many conspicuous visible dents or scratches, paint blemishes. Some parts has been replaced
2 Bad condition
1 A car which has an aftermarket turbo, an automatic transmission converted to manual transmission, flood damage
0, R, A A car which has had accident damage, and has been repaired
R1, R-A A car which has had accident damage, and has been repaired.
Interior
A Excellent condition
B Slightly dirty
C Slightly dirty, and has a few cigarette burns and stains
D Dirty, and has some cigarette burns, stains, and wear
This condition guide is only applicable to when a car is freshly imported from Japan and not really applicable to an owner who then decides to sell on a year + later; it may have had more wear and tear, general condition degradation of the cars overall state and therefore not the same condition as it arrived in Country etc. You could ask to see the condition report but don‘t be too worried if they don‘t have it as you have your own eyes to see what condition the car is in.