'08 Civic LX 2dr, 62k: Buying help, please

[gathermewool]

Hellow, all. Firstly, thanks to every one who helped out with questions and advice following my gf's car being smashed by a tree during hurricane Irene. I mentioned before that her best friend's brother, whom she has known for years, is selling the subject car. He wants $10,500 for it, which is exactly what KBB FAIR value is, but I offered him $10k based on the below list.

Based on the carfax, only one accident is listed, which is listed below as item number 7. He has all receipts for maintenance, including all scheduled oil changes and one ATF change at 30k. The fluid was pretty dark and a little burnt smelling (nothing terrible, but noteworthy,) so I'm not sure if the drain and fill was actually performed. The PO drove mostly highway between Boston and NYC to see his gf at the time, so seeing the fluid look like that after so much highway seems off. What do you guys think?

1. The transmission fluid needs to be replaced - it's a brownish color
and smells burnt. The transmission also shifts very well, but misses
a little, which could be due to the fluid needing to be changed.

2. The power steering fluid needs to be replaced - it comes from the
factory as a clear fluid, but is now a dark amber and, like the
transmission fluid, smells burnt.

3. While turning the steering wheel, i hear a squeaking noise coming
from the steering. It's most likely the tie rods, but there's no play
in the steering, so I don't believe it's serious, though it will need
to be addressed soon.

4. The rear tires are at the wear indicators and need to be replaced
immediately. The front tires are a few millimeters from the wear
indicators and will need to be replaced soon, too.

5. The fan motor for the AC unit is making noise and sounds like the
fan motor bearing is on its way out.

6. I'm not sure why, but when your dad went to start the car of us, it
started roughly and sputtered for the first few seconds, then evened
out. It ran fine for the remainder of the time, and all through the
test drive.

7. The rear bumper looks fine, but the front right corner panel does
not look as if it was repaired correctly. The front right panel does
not align correctly with the headlight, and is noticeably different
than the front left corner panel, which lines up perfectly with the
headlight. The paint on the front right corner panel also has streaks
in it and a few areas where the primer is exposed. Is this the damage
from the truck that tried to squeeze by you or is it new? This
definitely isn't a deal-breaker, but I'd like to figure out the extent
of the damage to make sure it was all superficial.

 

[Dave Hess]

I would stay away from that car, keep looking.

 

[Drew99GT]

I know these late model Civics don't exactly have the most reliable automatic transaxles. If it's slipping, I doubt it's from old fluid.

If he has receipts, it's going to be hard to argue with the things you've noted. Trying to use every noise and squeek to haggle on price will mostly be a lost cause as Civics are in great demand.

The one thing that would concern me and be my biggest bargaining tool would be the accident. Was it bad? Salvage title at all?

I would absolutely take it to a good tech to have a pre-purchase inspection.

If you're the least bit concerned with the car, walk away from it.

 

[2oldtommy]

Keep looking-! FWIW-Oldtommy

 

[gathermewool]

Sorry, I wrote the OP in haste. The transmission doesn't slip at all, but had a few hard (read: slightly odd) shifts. The damage, he says, was from an impatient delivery truck driver trying to squeeze past him. The driver brushed his front right corner panel. To me, it looks like it was minor, but repaired shoddily. My gf has known this guy since she was little, so he wouldn't lie to her. He's also not mechanically-inclined, so anything like the ATF drain-and-fill and body repair work might be beyond him. The good thing is that he has every receipt and all of the work was done at a dealer that reports to Carfax.

I was originally excited by the $10.5k price tag because my gf went to check it out on her own and said it was an EX, which is Blue-booked at a grand more. I still think $10k would be a good deal, but not quite the great deal that I was originally hoping for.

Any idea what the squeeking in the steering might be? I only heard it in the driveway, while stopped. I didn't hear any unusual noises, nor did the steering act up, while driving. Also, the rough initial start, any ideas? Ran perfectly and started immediately every other time.

So, the only IMMEDIATE costs will be tires, fluids, and maybe a tie rod or what ever it ends up being. (Edit: and the blower motor, though it flows like new without a hickup)

Again, the transmission shifted just fine throughout the test drive and all else was as expected.

Thanks again for all of the help, and I apologize for the lack of pics and scatter-brainedness of the post, as I'm doing all of this from my Blackberry while trying to enjoy the holiday weekend. I'd trust no other webbernet opinions other than some of you here, though!

 

[SrDriver]

I would stay away from it and keep looking too.

 

[Patman]

It doesn't sound like this car was taken care of very well at all, I agree with everyone else, keep looking! My 2006 Civic has more miles on it than this one, but yet has none of those issues at all. Everything feels nice and tight, the engine runs perfectly smooth and the transmission shifts perfectly. None of the fluids were in the condition of yours when I bought it, even with higher miles (and I doubt the previous owner would have thought to change the PS fluid, so it's probably original too)

I'm sure you could find another 06-08 Civic out there in better condition, with less miles on it, and probably for less money too. Maybe even a 2dr EX model like mine (which adds 4 wheel disc brakes, power sunroof and a premium sound system with subwoofer) My Canadian car didn't get it, but I understand the US EX models come with a navigation system too.

 

[gathermewool]

Man, I was really hoping you guys would say this was still a good deal at just under KBB fair value. Please take into account that finding a low-mileage Civic within 200 miles of here for around this price is nearly impossible. All have more miles or are older. I guess not having any issues to begin with is a plus, but at least with this car, I'm aware of all of the issues and what has been done. With any other used car, it's what the owner hasn't reported or divulged that will bite you in the end.

Just a reminder that she's known the guy since she was little, so when he says the damage was minor, I believe him. While him being the type to simply drive and not pay attention to any of the maintenance or repairs that have been done is a negative, the fact that he has all receipts for all of his maintenance, and that he allowed the dealer to perform whatever might be needed (including ATF replacement and brake job) is a major plus in my book. He also drove a lot of highway, so his oil changes were just about every two months for the past three years that he's owned the car - he's the one and only owner. So, even though the ATF and power steering fluid are dark, they're not to the point where I'd consider them to be detrimental to operation, nor causing any additional wear. IMO, they DO need to be replaced ASAP, though. If I can, I'll drive back over tomorrow and snap a few pics of the fluid color so you guys can more-accurately gauge its quality.

So, there are some items of concern here, but there doesn't seem to be anything on the list that I emailed him to negotiate a lower price that I can't remedy myself. Worst case, with maybe having to replace the fluids (I already have the ATF,) blower motor, tires and tie rods, I'll have to shell out a grand. Does that really seem like such a bad deal?

Lastly, and for what it's worth, Consumer Reports lists every single category for the '08 Civic as much better than average.

 

[FXjohn]

I'd drive farther than 200 miles to get one then. it's worth it

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: FXjohn
I'd drive farther than 200 miles to get one then. it's worth it


So would I, so if any one happens to know of a Civic LX or EX with no issues that's being sold for a similar price within 300 miles of Boston, I'd be very grateful!

Also, I just got home and checked on kbb.com to verify the value, and it wasn't the same as when I looked it up on my Blackberry. I must have chosen a manual transmission or screwed up the options, because it's now showing fair value to be $11,190. Hmmm

 

[FXjohn]

go to cars.com and start searching

 

[gathermewool]

Yep, we've looked on there, but haven't received any emails back so far. It seems that all of the LX models (most with higher mileage) are more expensive near here; however, '07 and '08 EX models (the model above the LX) with around the same mileage as her friend's LX (the one this thread is about) that are 4+ hrs away are going for the same price, around $10k-$11k.

The plan now is to call every one within 4-5 hrs to see whether we can get a better deal. It would suck to drive that far just to find out that what seemed like a comparatively great deal really isn't, but it's definitely worth a shot. I've still got the same idea reverberating constantly though my thoughts, though: better the evil you know than the one you don't. At least with her friend's car, we know the history (more to come when he replies to my email pertaining to the things I listed in the OP.)

Thanks again for the help, guys. I know my gf wants a car now, but it's definitely not worth rushing into a purchase she'll be paying off for the next few years.

 

[Cutehumor]

buying a car for a significant other is a huge headache. my wife got rearended in her 06 vibe. after the insurance settled with us, I had less than a week to buy a car for her. she was not going to be driving our 96 sunfire.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
buying a car for a significant other is a huge headache. my wife got rearended in her 06 vibe. after the insurance settled with us, I had less than a week to buy a car for her. she was not going to be driving our 96 sunfire.


She couldn't care less it's me here over-analyzing and nit-picking. She'd have given her friend the check by now for all she cares. It turns on and drives.

You guys are helping, but NOT at the same time haha

 

[addyguy]

Run away from that car. Lots of others out there.

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Run away from that car. Lots of others out there.


I dunno, you should be careful, may never find another Civic again, they are so rare.

 

[Dave Hess]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
buying a car for a significant other is a huge headache. my wife got rearended in her 06 vibe. after the insurance settled with us, I had less than a week to buy a car for her. she was not going to be driving our 96 sunfire.


As a good husband you had no other choice than to drive the old Sunfire and get your wife a new car.

 

[rationull]

I agree with the "stay away" responses. Sounds like the car's a little rough for 62k miles. Mine (07 EX coupe) has 75k and while I did have some part replaced under warranty at much lower miles, it performs and behaves the same as it did when new as far as I can tell.

Personally I'd just buy a different model if this is really the best Civic you can find.

EDIT: Or work the price down a little more so you have enough left over to cover any other problems that might come up from lack of maintenance...

 

[hattaresguy]

The transmission sounds kind of iffy.

So just buy it at a price where if you have to rebuild it your still happy.

What's a rebuild on that cost? $3k? Whats the car worth $11k? So you have to get it for $8k give or take. Or go find a better Civic for $13k which is what you will have into if if the transmission goes.

Really a 2008 car is pretty new, if it was taken care of it shouldn't need anything.

 

[Patman]

In addition to the transmission fluid and PS fluid smelling burnt and looking yucky, what would scare me the most about this car is the fact that the engine sputtered and ran rough on startup. That's not normal for these engines, and is something that would be an instant deal breaker for me, no matter what the price of the car is. It just seems like there are too many things wrong with this car, and the Civic is common enough that there are a ton of other ones to choose from that are in much better running condition.