thinking of getting a civic coupe

[kharmakaze]

hey guys,
i've interested in getting a civic coupe and was taking a look at this one. wat just wondering what you thought of it?

http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales/!cs_content.private_vehicle?total_rec=9&selected_region=0&search_type=20&vehicle_id=3077248&keyword=coupe&model_id=74&selected_model=4&state_id=2&current_rec=5&search_distance=25&used_rec=2&make_id=19&category_id=3

cheers all!

[locote]

sick its got a red top motor:)

[muhhan]

kharmekaze, it certainly looks very neat and it would be a fairly uncommon car as well. However, it seems to be a little on the high side price-wise. Check out www.redbook.com.au if you haven't done so already. That will give you an idea for average prices. It does have low kilometers going for it but you'd also want to check the books to see if it has been regularly maintained. Personally, I feel that the mechanical condition of a 2nd hand car is very important and appreciate owners who are also fastidious in their vehicle maintenance, rather than making modifications, that haven't been thought through, and trying to upsell because of the ill-installed air filter or stereo they put in. What they need to remember is that you may not have the same taste as them in colour or style and so you don't put as much value into modifications that they have personally chosen.

Also, the more you pay for the car the more the stamp duty is going to cost. Not to mention transfer fees, rego, insurance, etc. Also being 6 years old now the timing belt should have been changed last year, although it may not have been changed since the car has done quite low kilometers. That would be something to check with the current owner, but don't take his word for it. If it hasn't been noted in the log book or there is no receipt for a timing belt then assume that it hasn't been done. It's too easy for unscrupulous sellers to say that it's all been serviced and maintained to the logbook schedule. If you are going to have to change the timing belt, and can't do it yourself, then it is generally a fairly expensive job.

Then again, if money is no issue for you it would make a very nice ride. Only you can decide if you think the car is worth the amount that you pay.

[nugget666]

bit pricey

i wouldnt want to pay more hten 15k for it.

[kharmakaze]

thx 4 da professional opinion man.

wat i like most abt this car is that its clean and non-modded. i think it looks pretty hot by itself and yeah
im gonna check it out this wkend, c what they guy who is selling it is like n take it for a test drive if i can. it looks good n i just love civic coupes.
plus the white is hot.

i think its done pretty low k's for being 6 yrs old and stuff, but i guess we'll have 2 c how it goes. i'll wait a little while longer for other pplz responses n c what they think of it

any tips or advice on what to look out for?

btw, redbook says
2000 HONDA CIVIC

VTi-R Coupe 2dr Man 5sp 1.6i
Prices based on km 90,000 - 150,000
Trade in price guide* $11,200 - $12,900
National average price - private sale* $14,000 - $16,900
Price when new (RRP) $30,100
all prices quoted are GST inclusive

[tRipitaka]

redbook isn't what you should be basing your prices on..

you should base your prices on the others that have the same mileage/year as yours..

from my research, i find that redbook tend to quote their cars a few grand under the market price..

[levi]

ok i checked this car out myself, its been in an accident- the back bumper isnt fitting flush, and its not the stock motor cover which he tried to say it was.. so i think its a bit iffy and would stay away.. or at least offer a lot less than hes asking. also interesting to note he was asking a lot more than that a month ago, i daresay hes very anxious to get rid of it

[kharmakaze]

hey guys

i was wondering from any and all pplz, any tips on what to look for in buying a 2nd hand car?

i'd esp like to hear from civic coupe owners, and 2000 coupe owners would be awesome.

what should i look for and if i test drive, what should i be listening for?
this car looks good, but as levi listed, its potentially dodgy.

thx all again!

[aimre]

redbook isn't what you should be basing your prices on..

you should base your prices on the others that have the same mileage/year as yours..

from my research, i find that redbook tend to quote their cars a few grand under the market price..

Actually, im very good friends someone in the business of buying cars, and he reckons take a few K off what redbook says and thats what ur cars worth.

But it all depends on what OTHER parties are willing to pay for it

[xtercii]

that car's been in the ad for few months...you should know the reason and it's not becos of the price...

[MvP]

man white em1s are hard to find.

[kelviN]

hey guys, its obvious that this car is dodgy.

Esp when u look at the front bumper, u can tell it has totallly resprayed and has a vti grill instead of vtir and the fact he sed that the red top is standard and has a air intake while stating all is oem is very suss.

http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales/!cs_content.private_vehicle?total_rec=9&search_distance=25&vehicle_id=3387917&keyword=COUPE&state_id=2&current_rec=1&model_id=74&used_rec=2&make_id=19

This one however looks very good. Shame i didnt find this one earlier...

Its best to get the car checked out with NRMA, costs about 200bux for memebers to get a full check

[muhhan]

Tripitaka and aimre, you both make valid points. I tend to use the redbook as a guide to get a ball park figure but as others have said it does depend on the demand and condition of the car. For example, thanks to Tak and the drift craze the AE86 is quite expensive for a 20+ year old car, but that's just economics.

What's more important is that you are getting a mechanically worthy car of your hard earned coin (or your parents' hard earned coin :p ). I didn't want to cloud kharmakaze's decision by giving him a one line response as really the final decision does lie with him.

Kharmakaze, when inspecting the car one thing you can do is make sure everything sounds as a normal car should sound. Check out the nrma website for tips on what to look for in a 2nd hand car. Also, other things you can do is take your time with the purchase as this will give you a chance to suss out the seller. Ask him a couple of times through out the sale why he is selling the car. If he changes his story then you know something is not right. Look at everything in the car even if you don't know what you are looking for and watch his reaction. If he starts to look uncomfortable then, again, you know something isn't right. If at anytime you are unsure of the car just walk away. You aren't under any obligation to buy the car. And don't fall for any bs sales pitch.

Good luck with your decision.

[nobbs]

i'd esp like to hear from civic coupe owners, and 2000 coupe owners would be awesome.

hey mate, i own a 99 model em1, have had it for 2 years and i love it

as others have said that white one u posted has been there for a while, someone mentioned its been in an accident coz of the rear bar not lining up properly....i have seen hundreds of coupes (pics, real life etc...) and from what i can see its a common problem that it does not line up properly
from looking at that white example i would say its been hit at the front because of the gli grille and the painted ducts on the bar (they are black standard)...

if u test drive one and there is a small squeek from the rear it should just be the boot, the coupes are US made and this is also a common thing in them

also with the redbook price, this can sometimes be misleading, as a car is worth what people are willing to pay for it, the em1 coupe holds its value very well, and seeing that they are kinda rare is part fo the reason...now with the p plate laws vtir model hondas will be higher in demand, therefore the price has and will kinda stay at between 15k-19k

[turbo convert]

i purchased my em1 a few months ago for $18.5k wif 50k kms
i thaught at the time it was more than i wanted to spend but now i am happy iam so glad i spent the extra pennys rather than settling for the em1. and yes as ppls say they hold there value,
now ppl can say get nrma to check it out etc, but just go there check the engine for general things first, (i.e c how the gearbox feels, check the oil looking for built up sludge, check the conditions of the coolant hoses cause if they r crunchy generaly means starved of coolant. and check what the buyer say if he says if dead standard un modded, then look under the car and see if the bolts are old looking cause if they are fresh you know he has just put it back to standard for the sale.)
after 3mnths of owning car gave me no probs and then i thaught i would take it to mechanics for some peice of mine and they said everything perfect. never ever had that happen before, on my skyline something used to go wrong monthly.lol
well good luck with your purchase just my 2 cents:wave:

[simbadda54]

that white em1 has definately been in an accident.

[bubblecivic]

So that is where the squeek is coming from !!!! LOL

Damn boot, its been driving me nuts.. how did you resolve it nobbs?

Thanks!

[Catcha]

There is a black one as well, might wanna take a look at that maybe compare. between the two, price is not my different and 6000km more 1 year less. It might be a better car who knows? best to get NRMA to get it checked out

http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales/!cs_content.private_vehicle?total_rec=2&search_distance=25&keyword=COUPE&model_id=74&badge_id=1532&state_id=2&vehicle_id=3387917&current_rec=1&search_type=21&used_rec=0&make_id=19

[nobbs]

So that is where the squeek is coming from !!!! LOL

Damn boot, its been driving me nuts.. how did you resolve it nobbs?

Thanks!

haha, my car doesnt squeak man, ive just heard its a common problem

i heard it when i rode in ur car back when john owned it....but i duno, maybe try wd40?....either that or just turn up ur stereo lol

[Ru$kI]

hey guys, its obvious that this car is dodgy.

Esp when u look at the front bumper, u can tell it has totallly resprayed and has a vti grill instead of vtir and the fact he sed that the red top is standard and has a air intake while stating all is oem is very suss.

http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales/!cs_content.private_vehicle?total_rec=9&search_distance=25&vehicle_id=3387917&keyword=COUPE&state_id=2&current_rec=1&model_id=74&used_rec=2&make_id=19

This one however looks very good. Shame i didnt find this one earlier...

Its best to get the car checked out with NRMA, costs about 200bux for memebers to get a full check

Man NRMA inspection is absolutely worthless!!

Honestly, I would get it checked out by a mechanic you trust. When I was purchasing my EK1 sedan this is what each party said:

NRMA inspector ($200) - perfect cond, never in an accident.

Mechanic ($80) - perfect cond, WAS in an accident on the right drivers side, but is still mechanically A1.

With this info I was able to drop the price of the car by an extra 1k. And indeed as I started modding it and taking parts on and off...i did see the true extent of the damage from the accident...and the dodgy repair of it, however as my mechanic said, the car still performs without a worry.

Similar thing also happened to my mate when he purchased a Supra. He felt the 55k on the dial seemed dodgy, but NRMA said it was all good, . He took it to a reputable mechanic, and the guy said that simply by looking at the state of the engine, the car has prebably done close to 150k and was clocked.

Bottom line, screw NRMA inspection, take it to your mechanic:thumbsup:

[nobbs]

agreed man, when i sold my old EK the guy that bought it got a nrma inspection done on it, i had told him the things that nrma would pick up (it had been in an accident previously but it was all fixed up fine, everything else was pretty much perfect)
nrma pointed that out (which i had told him) and then they couldnt find anything else wrong, so they wrote stupid stuff like "blue parkers" and "one small scratch on the bonnet" which was pretty much obvious, the guy payed $200 for that!!

but yeh, i wouldnt even trust them 100% (when the guy got it done i felt like there was some bias due to the fact it was a modified car), if u trust ur mechanic (or someone who has alot of experience in cars) i say get them to check it out, they will tell you the honest truth and will look out for your best interest

my mechanic is also a very close family friend, when i buy a car i always take him with me...

[blk_shadow]

ok i checked this car out myself, its been in an accident- the back bumper isnt fitting flush, and its not the stock motor cover which he tried to say it was.. so i think its a bit iffy and would stay away.. or at least offer a lot less than hes asking. also interesting to note he was asking a lot more than that a month ago, i daresay hes very anxious to get rid of it

that's correct, the boot lid sits in an angle.

[levi]

that is a good example, but high km's