Fast, furious and flawless reliability. What else do you want in a car?

Last summer, I was in the market for a used car. After having several late model VW's given the thumbs down by my
trusty mechanic and watching the side moldings peel off of a friend's Golf I decided that maybe a Japanese car was the way to go. My sister had a '97 Civic DX coupe that was repair free, so we began to shop. I had my eye on a '99 Civic SI. To those unfamiliar with Honda's, the Civic SI is an EX coupe on steroids. A more powerful engine, 5 speed manual transmission, rear spoiler, moonroof and upgraded wheels make this a very attractive cars to millions of teenagers. ABS was not offered on these and insurance would be higher(I'm a 17-year-old boy.My rates are already sky high!)so my mom said no way. She had her eye on a '96 DX hatchback with a few dents. We settled on a silver '98 EX four door.$7500 in OCT. 03/Odometer reading:63,500. Ping-Ling Truex (a name given to the car acknowledging it's Japanese pedigree and Canadian manufacturing)was garage kept in the suburbs and driven only a few times a week by a woman who worked at home. This car looked NEW when we bought it. It has everything except the CD player and the alloy wheels. In the seven months I've owned it, the car has been completely problem free. I had to replace the little light on the automatic gear shift. That was IT! I wash it and put gas in it. The car is an appliance! I've driven a fair number of cars, and this thing is an absolute blast! The transmission shifts very quickly,take-offs are great.The V-TECH with the variable valve timing makes an intoxicating noise when you punch the gas just right.The 127 horses pull this car up to 70mph with no struggle what so ever.Great in the snow! The gas mileage is amazing. The gauge on the other hand is a little funny. It tends to fluctuate, no big deal though. Body integrity is outstanding, only one minor sealant problem.The old-school metal antenna coming out of the A-pillar is a tad dated looking but it holds up very well.It won't bend with wind fatigue like those newer rear mounted antennas.Plus, it retracts into the roof when I have to park it in the ghetto, so it won't get snapped off. I had a flag attached to it one day in high winds and it didn't bend.The moonroof has a very powerful little motor attached to it, that thing jets open. The keyless entry works great. If you unlock the car with the remote and then walk away, the car will lock itself again. The silver is very easy to keep clean, as is the dark gray interior. The seats are very soft, similar to those in a '97 Golf I drove once. The doors close with a very satisfying clunk. In my opinion, more solid than the '02 Civic my mom has. Some wind buffeting, but hey, it's not an Expedition, what do you expect? Tons of room for front seat passengers. Decent room for rear passengers, I haven't had any complaints.Several friends have begged to drive it and walked way proclaiming that Civics rule! When I first got it, I parked it at a frisbee game and people came over and drooled at it.Jealous over a 5 year old Honda? Hard to believe. I get comments on it all the time.Girls seem to think it's "cute". A friend of mine wouldn't let me put sod in it the other day he likes it so much. People ALWAYS steal the keys. They love the keyless entry and the remote starter.These cars really do hold their value. The steering is still tight after 6 years and the brakes are perfect. The stereo is VERY loud and has quite alot of bass.I have rock shows in this car every weekend. I had 8 people in this car once and there was still room! I regularly squeeze 4 people in the back and the seat belts fit around all of them.I've hauled TVs, bikes,sod, shovels everything in this car and with the back seats down everything fit just fine.I never have to tie the trunk shut.I just can't say enough about this car. Buy one immedietly. You'll never pay repair bills again. You wonder why all of these cars have hundreds of dollars worth of extras on them? You can afford $500 wheels when you never have to replace lights or radios or transmissions. My only complaint is that everytime I go to Pep Boys I see another aftermarket trinket that I want for this car. They make everything for these. You can have alot of fun for just a little bit of cash.Looks great, drives great, the perfect first car!