Honda Civic??

Question

I am coonsidering buying a 94 Honda Civic. Very clean, 168000 miles on it from Private owner. No major peoblems, runs well, and the asking price is 2300. What should I offer? Should I offer? What should I look for??

Answer 1

well, considering its a honda the car may still be in good shape.

i would have a mech look over it. there may be a lot of regular maintantence stuff thats needs to be done on it.

check the tires. treads?

check if it drives straight.

check oil level, if the level is above recommended, he may be masking a problem.

if all is well, i would say the low 2000 is worth it.

otherwise negotiate for some of the repairs.

Answer 2

That may be a good deal.  My '95 is already beyond 200,000 miles so a Honda Civic '94 with less mileage may not be used very often.

You should ask and get proof of receipt for the last time the car had a timing belt/water pump replacement; deduct the cost from the asking price if it has never been done.

Test the brakes.  If you hear slight screeching when braking, then deduct the cost of replacing the brake pads from the asking price.

Run the car at 40 - 60mph and gently apply brakes.  If you feel the steering wheel shaking, deduct the cost of replacing the rotor disk from the asking price.

If the car is a manual stick shift, try shifting gears.  If it feels a little hard or difficult to get from one gear to another, deduct the cost of replacing the master/slave cylinder or the cost of replacing your clutch disc from the asking price.

Run the car on idle, then measure the voltage reading across the battery terminals with a multimeter.  If it reads 13.1 volts or less, deduct the cost of replacing the alternator from the asking price.

Run the car around the block, especially at turns and roll down the window to observe any sounds underneath the front side of the car.  Do you hear any constant or gradual flopping/clicking sounds?  If so, deduct the cost of replacing the axle boots from the asking price.

After driving for a while, park the car and inspect the radiator.  If you see any liquid around the upper plastic part of the radiator or underneath, deduct the cost of replacing the radiator from the asking price.

Observe the car's engine when starting or while on idle.  Does it require more than 8 cranks or so to get the engine started?  Does the idle feel rough, irregular, or near stalling?  If so, deduct the cost of replacing the distributor from the asking price.

Do you see any smoke from the tail pipe?  If it is dark or white, then you may have oil or coolant gasket leaks at the engine.  Deduct the cost of having that repaired from the asking price.

Good luck!