Buying a second hand car (Honda Civic)

[Krim]

Another thread about buying a second hand car.

Prolly going to buy through a private sale but going to look at car yards this week in Sydney.

Will definetly be buying a car this week so any other suggestions are welcome.

Main things are the 'sportier' look that the civic has
Sedan
Not a fuel guzzler as ill drive to work and back mon-fri
<100,000km
Wont cost me an arm and a leg for insurance. (male, 20yo).
Preferably auto ... shoot me im lazy :p
Obviously must be in great nick mechanically and hasnt been someones thrashing/drifting machine. Dont want big mechanical bills 1 month down the track.

Looking to buy a 95-98 model which is no more than 15k. Id like a newer model for the cleanliness and potential resale value. Ive found a 95 model with vtec which is appealing for 12000 and a 97 model for 13500, both have kms under 90,000km.

Thanks in advance guys!


Also posted on ocau motoring section.

[MRJDM]

dude get maybe a Civic VTI coupe got some power and it pretty sporty
pretty light on fule get bout 550km and thats going into redline quite a bit

[Geek]

Y dont u buy mine??

[madgrk]

Geeks is a great example of a well maintained car. Go check out the For Sale section and you'll see the amount of work put into it :D

[2ds]

VTI is a good choice the SOHC vttec d16y8 sips pertrol and still has a fair bit of power behind it, you should be able to beat a stock lancer in this =)

-2ds

[Krim]

Are all vti models made with a vtec engine?

I like the 95 vtec model but its older although prefer the newer 97 style car.

The 97 model that i mentioned earlier is only stock though.

I checked carsales.com.au earlier and the 95 model isnt listed anymore :(


What troubles can i expect for a 100,000km civic and repair costs. Everyone that ive spoke to and stuff ive read on the net/papers say that repairs are costly for hondas so what would i be looking at.

Ive factored in car costs, insurance, petrol, rego to maintain the car which i can afford but if its $10 for a 'honda' screw/nut which is the only thing which can be put onto the car then i might get a lancer or something :(

[Krim]

Y dont u buy mine??

Does the girl come with the car ? 8)

[Bumble B]

Yes, all VTi Civics have a single cam vtec engine. (even the early 1990's models) :) but you're not looking at that.

And with troubles expected at 100 000km? Well, the same as any other car with the same number of kms. But if maintained well, the car will give you little trouble at all.

[McChook]

if you want fuel economy, don't buy a prelude.... civic, wise choice

[Krim]

so all i should really be checking if its mechanically sound ...

would an NRMA check be sufficient to ensure this you think ?

[A'PEXi]

check its mechanically sound, www.revs.nsw.gov.au (REVS) check...

[Weq]

dont worry about those NRMA tests, they are a wasite of time and money. They do no mechanica test at all, anything they can do, u can do without touching a single bolt.

@ 100k make sure u factor in timing belt, coolant flush and change, plug change, oil/filter change, air/fuel filter change, brake system flush, distributer check/chnage. plug lead check/change, TRANNY FLUID CHANGE! etc etc
100k is a major service on any car, do it right and look forward to another 100k of bliss.Id say a this service, done properly at a mechanic could set u back $800++ dollars using genuine hond parts.

[Geek]

Y dont u buy mine??

Does the girl come with the car ? 8)

Hahaha.. no she doesnt come with the car. But I have had alot of new engine parts in my car during the conversion incl new distributor. So there should be no problems.

[skoota]

I'm selling my '99 EK. But it is a GLi - SOHC Non-VTEC. PM me if you're interested it's in the For Sale section.

[DarkCoupe]

make sure you get someone who knows what they are looking at to check over the body, boot and engine bay for any accident damage. ripples in the paint, imprefections such as dust under the clearcoat and even more obvious, the dodgy bog repair jobs are a dead giveaway.

put it this way, if the car has been damaged badly outside, it's quite likely it's been thrashed as well.

good luck dude. I hope you find a car you like!

[Krim]

I'm selling my '99 EK. But it is a GLi - SOHC Non-VTEC. PM me if you're interested it's in the For Sale section.

Yeah i checked out your sale .. not after a hatch too small altho sounds like a nice car :)

Thanks for all your help guys.

Will let you know what i end up with.

[eknine]

ask "revolution" on this board, he has a civic sedan - i know he is thinking of selling....car is clean, no mods, and smells good:)...just a heads up:)

edit: an auto too:)

[Krim]

thanks ill PM him or are u able to pass his number on ?