The Honda Civic is an automotive icon for good reason. It is neither luxurious nor particularly large, but can reliably serve as a family vehicle for years. This 2009 example has had a tough life but finally received some much needed detailing.
This Civic has a tragic history. An old woman sold it to the current owner because her husband died of a heart attack in the car. After something like this happened, you can understand that you wanted to get rid of the vehicle.
From the outside, you can’t tell how bad this Civic is. The car is certainly dirty but not disgusting. Powerwashing the body goes a long way in improving the appearance.
Interior cleaning begins with the trunk. Removing the liner reveals a pile of sunflower seeds and rat turd. Then all the seats come out of the cabin, which reveals a hidden mouse nest. It takes a lot of vacuuming to get the carpet clean.
Restoring seats involves spraying them with a cleaning solution and using a brush on a power drill to agitate the fibers. Judging by the color of the water the vacuum pulls up, the back seat is even more disgusting than the front seats.
Steam cleaning does an impressive job of removing grime from door panels. There’s so much gunk on the shifter that it’s brown rather than black. The steering wheel is equally disgusting. Even the seat belts command attention.
This Civic looks like new after the deep cleaning. It rolls on steel wheels which aren’t particularly nice, but a new owner could swap them out for something else.
The Civic remains an important part of Honda’s lineup in the United States. The hybrid model expands the range for the 2024 model year. The version available in Europe uses a 2.0-liter four-cylinder running on the Atkinson cycle and two electric motors. Total output is 181 horsepower and 232 pound-feet of torque.
