I'm thinking about buying a used Honda Civic from 2016 with about 120k miles on it. It runs fine now, but I want to know realistically what I should expect to spend on repairs and maintenance over the next few years before it gets too old.
The real wildcard at that mileage is the transmission - if it shifts smooth now, you're golden, but if there's ever a hiccup, you're looking at thousands. Beyond the standard $500-1k yearly stuff everyone mentions, keep maybe another $1-2k set aside specifically for the bigger surprises (suspension, electrical gremlins, timing chain if you're unlucky) that tend to pop up around 120-150k miles on these.
A Honda Civic at 120k miles is pretty solid, so budget somewhere around $500 - $1,000 per year for routine maintenance like oil changes, filters, and brake pads, then add a cushion for unexpected repairs. At that mileage you're getting close to when bigger items might need attention - transmission fluid, coolant flushes, suspension work - so having $2,000 - $3,000 set aside for surprises over the next few years is realistic. The good news is Civics tend to be reliable and parts are cheap, so you're not looking at catastrophic costs like you might with some other brands.
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