If you foresee yourself wanting to 'mod car', don't buy ESi,
straight away go for EG VTi or EK SiR. Maybe instead of 10 yr ESi,
buy a 8-9 yr EG VTi if your budget is limited.
The power difference is very obvious, esp. after modding.
Under mum's name should be ok, insurance might still be $1600 or so
a year cuz many Civic accident last time and this car became
blackmark. When I used to own one 5-6 years back, insurance less
than $1000 without any NCD!!
Rd tax will be around $500 for 6 mths then slowly go up 10% every
yr from 11th yr till it reach 50% increase.
Not easy to 'test' the condition like that, but just look out for
basic stuff. test if aircon is cold, any foul smell, look out for
water leaks, rev the Vtec, look at radiator hoses, check fan belt,
see if any oil leak, check chassis condition, try all windows and
doors, see if u-turn full-lock whether got clacking sound etc..