As some of you may remember, I lost my 1999 Toyota Solara to an accident last week. I really liked that car. The car I got to replace it is not inspiring much confidence. It's a 2001 Honda Civic. It was a 1 owner car but then sat for 2 years. It was owned for 5 months by a stationed military individual, then sold to me. I have never owned a Honda, so this is my first Honda experience. I've heard good things about them.
I was attracted to this car because the miles were low at 103k and the mostly 1 owner history of the car. But there are quite a few problems with the car.
It leaks oil profusely. (Sat too long?)
Rear wheel bearings are making whirring sounds
The gas gauge is super inaccurate.
The speedometer cuts out randomly
There's a lot of worn bushing noises going over bumps.
Some door locks/windows aren't working.
Is Honda just not as good as Toyota? My 1999 Toyota had far fewer issues in the 3+ years I owned it, and it had twice the miles. Or is this maybe an issue with a car sitting for 2 years? I got it for $2800. If I fix all these nagging issues, will it be able to 200k? The transmission is one of the best I've driven. I have heard that Honda makes good manual transmissions. The engine also seems fine.
Did I mess up getting a civic that sat?
- Thread starter Kurtatron
- Start date
With a 5 speed, that's a $2500 car at best-if EVERTHING works, runs and drives as designed. The way you describe it-$1000-$1200. Sorry man.
These Honda 1.7L apparently have head gasket issues. So even if you do fix the leaks and bushings, expect that as well down the road, and if it sat, sooner rather than later.
Hondas are every bit as good as Toyota IMO. Most, if not all of those issues were NOT caused by sitting, though. Those things can fixed cheaply if you can do it yourself, expensive to have someone else do them. Pretty much any car will do 200k if maintained well. Did the previous owner change the timing belt? If not, it's due. Add that to your list of things to replace. I agree that you paid about twice as much as you should have.
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
You could easily double what you have in the car if you can't do all the work yourself. No way can you make brand judgement on 20 year old cars with 100k or 200k miles.
Sorry man, it sounds like you got a lemon. Used car buying is like that--that's why cars depreciate the way they do. They become a gamble. Heck even the best car could be running great and then toss a transmission. Even new cars can do that...
Unless if you want to walk away and try again I'd suggest digging in and fixing issues. I'd fix the oil leak and wheel bearings and go from there. No reason it can't go further, assuming it isn't a rust buggy. Spread the repairs out if need be. Cars cost money.
Wife had an '01 and we considered it a lemon, but we traded it (albeit with dead a/c) after 10 years and I think 176k on the clock. Front wheel bearings, cat back on the exhaust, air filter box and oil pan (it had rusted or so the dealer said). And frequent a/c repairs (the big reason for it to go away).
Sad face. Feedback suggests I made a mistake on this purchase. Uhg. Well, with all that in mind, I guess I shouldn't fix the amenities on this car. I was thinking if this car could last a few years, I may as well fix the doors, windows, cosmetic issues, but if what you guys are saying is right, I should just do the bare minimum mechanical work. Timing belt, bearings, and suspension work and drive it till it dies. What's up with that? All my Toyota's have made excellent old beater cars...
Originally Posted by Kurtatron
What's up with that? All my Toyota's have made excellent old beater cars...
The car is 18 years old. Did you get it inspected before you bought it ?
Fix the important mechanical stuff right now. The doors and windows probably don't work due to a corroded or broken wire somewhere. In that case, it would cost basically nothing to fix if you do it yourself. So you might as well look into that (IF you're fixing it yourself). If it turns out you need to buy a window motor or other parts, then hold off for now. But you'll at least have a diagnosis by then. You WILL NEED wiring diagrams to fix those. You can find them for free online.
Get the major mechanical stuff sorted now and drive it a while. Give the car time to prove itself to you. It could run for a long time with no more problems. If more issues keep popping up, then cut your losses and dump it.
The 2001 was one of the worst Civics. At least you did not get an automatic one.
The worst thing from sitting around is that the brake rotors and calipers will rust up.
Leaks oil from where?
Broken wires between the driver's door and the rest of the car are a common reason for power windows to not work. This can affect any of the windows even when you use the local button on its door. Open the driver's door and wiggle the wires while pressing the window button.
?? "It was owned for 5 months by a stationed military individual", yet is a 2001. Your idea of 1 owner and mine are quite different.
Further, how can it have sat for two years? If the last owner had it for 5 months, then it had to have been driven to get from the prior owner to that owner? No yes maybe, unless it was towed there because it didn't run?
I do think you overpaid given the list of problems, BUT if you DIY the repairs you can have this back to a good state, possibly costing only a few hundred dollars out of pocket, depending on where the oil leak is. The rest of the issues are more or less $100 repairs if you DIY and use quality aftermarket parts instead of getting gouged by a Honda dealer for OEM parts.
The main question I have is, if you weren't willing and accepting to tackle these problems, why buy the vehicle? Surely you tested it before purchase and noticed most if not all these things?
I suppose the answer is yes, you messed up paying over $800 for that age of Civic with so many problems, and that's $800 to someone who likes that generation of Civics. Even $800 seems high for Detroit. I liked your gen of Solara a lot more than those. Now it is up to you to decide how much you would like it if it didn't have these problems, whether to sell it and cut your losses or make this a project vehicle.
Project vehicles aren't all bad. Anything you replace with a quality part, may never need replaced again just to get it to 200K mi, but the oil leak... you really ought to focus on that first to decide if it's a keeper or not.
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Originally Posted by Kurtatron
Sad face. Feedback suggests I made a mistake on this purchase. Uhg. Well, with all that in mind, I guess I shouldn't fix the amenities on this car. I was thinking if this car could last a few years, I may as well fix the doors, windows, cosmetic issues, but if what you guys are saying is right, I should just do the bare minimum mechanical work. Timing belt, bearings, and suspension work and drive it till it dies. What's up with that? All my Toyota's have made excellent old beater cars...
I can do all the diy work myself, which I intend on doing. I will do the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, rear wheel bearings, and the stabilizer bar bushings. But I think after reading more about the D17A1 engine, I'm just going to neglect the things like doors, windows, and gauges. I don't trust this engine's trouble with head gaskets to want to put much more time than the basics. Oh well, mistakes are made. If I can get at least 2 years before a head gasket blows, I guess it wouldn't be a total loss.
Fix the oil leaks. The motor will seize when it runs out of oil.
I'd say the issues have more to do with age than anything else. It's still a decent car and with care will run a long time. The head gaskets on those will not impact every single car, my sister's 2005 didn't blow the head gasket until 200k miles. These engines are basically like go-carts, so a head gasket isn't even that bad of a job on them. If you do a timing belt you are pretty much halfway there. Having the manual is also a big advantage over the automatic. If you can DIY just take care of what annoys you and keep it going for awhile, they aren't bad little cars at all.
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Originally Posted by Kurtatron
If I can get at least 2 years before a head gasket blows, I guess it wouldn't be a total loss.
Originally Posted by Kurtatron
Sad face. Feedback suggests I made a mistake on this purchase. Uhg. Well, with all that in mind, I guess I shouldn't fix the amenities on this car. I was thinking if this car could last a few years, I may as well fix the doors, windows, cosmetic issues, but if what you guys are saying is right, I should just do the bare minimum mechanical work. Timing belt, bearings, and suspension work and drive it till it dies. What's up with that? All my Toyota's have made excellent old beater cars...
Did you actually buy from the soldier overseas or some other party selling it? Do you have a legit title etc?
The car has some issues but 18 year old ones do. Totally luck of the draw a car this old if you did not inspect it by a mechanic. Plenty of Toyota's with similar laundry list of problems too. Did you test drive it?
The only thing you can do now is have it checked out. The whirring may be the car sitting if actually a true story.
