2001 honda civic ex or 2002 nissan altima?

With cars this old it will be a crap shoot no matter the brand. Get as much info about each car as possible and running an Auto-check or Car fax wouldn't hurt.

I will say that I would be very leary about the 01 Civic because this model may have been Honda's worst car in modern times, notorious for transmission problems http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Civic/2001/

You have to be careful with the 02 Altima as well with it's engine problems http://www.carcomplaints.com/Nissan/Altima/2002/en...

Between the two I would go with the Altima but you may want to do a little more research and look at other cars too. Never just go by the brand or just on the word of others.

The Nissan Altima has a timing chain instead of a belt so don't worry about that. They're both good reliable cars. The Civic will get a little bit better gas mileage but the Altima has more horse power and a larger interior. I have a 2006 Altima, which is the same as the 2002 and I average 23-25 mpg city and 28-31 mpg freeway at 70mph. Nothing against the Civic, but for me I would choose the Altima because of the larger interior space and lower miles. Well worth a little extra money.

Decisions! Decisions!

Both are kick *** cars. The 2001 Civic is the first year of a new design from the 96-00. As is the 02 Altima, 02 was the first year of a new design.

Between 72k and 105k on these cars your really splitting hairs, both are average to decent for a 9-10 year old car, maybe pretty low for the Nissan anyway. The one thing on The Civic, and this is key. Make sure the timing belt and water pump has been changed out, if it hasn't it needs to be done or your will mess your engine up. This has to be done at 100k on Honda's.

I'm more familiar with Honda having owned 3, then I am with Nissan but either one you choose I think will be good but I'd probably go for The Honda.

Get the Nissan. Mileage is key. Chances are you will sell it before 100k. Most people don't tell themselves I'm getting a new car today and I hope it has over 100k miles on it. It's a sale killer. Its also a value killer.

If the Altima drives and runs well get it. They are just as solid as any Honda!

Same deal on the timing belt for the Nissan. I had a 1999 Altima and it ran forever with no major repairs.