No reason to avoid, but also no reason to single out a Civic in particular. Why?, because any £1k car is going to be a gamble, and even the most otherwise reliable car could turn into a money pit very quickly if you have not thoroughly checked the car in question.

Instead of singling out one particular car, you should really be focussing on condiditon above all else. Ideally a privately owned car who's owners have had it for a number of years. Also, use this website, www.gov.uk/check-mot-history, to check the MOT history of any car you are looking at. This will give you an indication of how well the car has been looked after, as will meeting the owner if a private sale (do they look like the kind of person that would scrimp on maintenence and the upkeep of the car?).

It is sensible to avoid diesel at this money, but other (petrol engined) cars you should be looking at aswell as the Civic are, in no particular order, Ford Focus, Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla, and Vauxhall Astra. All of these are inherently reliable, though at the age they are likely to be, all could be suffering from rust issues, so check carefully (in combination with any specific knowledge on the car you are looking at from previous MOT advisories)