Did I mess up getting a civic that sat?

[KrisZ]

The trick in used car buying is not to handicap yourself by shopping only one brand. Worse yet if that brand happeneds to be Honda or Toyota as they come with a hefty premium but the reliability is not guaranteed any more than other brands when it comes to used. In April I sold my 07 Ford Focus 2.0L, 5 spd manual for about $2500 with 110k miles, ice cold AC and everything in working order. It had a minor valve cover oil seepage and the struts and breaks would need to be changed in near future, but that was about it. Would OP even consider a car like this? Many don't, but it is a far better vehicle than that gen Civic and would've easily lasted to OPs goal of 200k miles with minimal effort because these cars are easy to work on, parts are cheap and they dont break as much as people believe.

 

[meep]

headgasket on our 04 made it 329,000 miles, along with everything else. don't throw in the towel. Fix the mechanicals, just go through it as you can. 5 speed hondas are a driver's gem, and harder to find. you have something you might not be able to get again.

 

[bullwinkle]

My brother had an ‘02 Civic EX (1.7 VTEC automatic), that thing leaked oil everywhere! His indy and me took turns working on it, he ended up having a bad HG which caused him to dump it after he put VC gasket, VTEC solenoid gasket, timing set and WP, front & rear struts, even replaced rusted out transmission cooler lines! I was glad when he finally gave up & dumped it!

 

[JMJNet]

I would just drive it first and see without fixing anything. There will be something that fix itself if it caused by sitting. On 2nd thought, at least change the oil and filter.

 

[Kurtatron]

i Carfaxed the thing, and it did verify the seller's statement. Owned by the first owner for 15 years, sat for 2 years. Technically the military guy owned the car for 5 months, so it is a 2 owner car, but he did maintenance on the car (has receipts). He bought new tires also.

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted by KrisZ

The trick in used car buying is not to handicap yourself by shopping only one brand. Worse yet if that brand happeneds to be Honda or Toyota as they come with a hefty premium but the reliability is not guaranteed any more than other brands when it comes to used. In April I sold my 07 Ford Focus 2.0L, 5 spd manual for about $2500 with 110k miles, ice cold AC and everything in working order. It had a minor valve cover oil seepage and the struts and breaks would need to be changed in near future, but that was about it. Would OP even consider a car like this? Many don't, but it is a far better vehicle than that gen Civic and would've easily lasted to OPs goal of 200k miles with minimal effort because these cars are easy to work on, parts are cheap and they dont break as much as people believe.

Bingo. I think a lot of mechanically-lazy people buy cars that have a reliability reputation because it means they don't have to maintain them until they're too dang worn to drive. It seems like every used Civic I see on craigslist here is owned by a ricer who failed to turn it into a race car and is trying to recover the funds for their next failed project. So buying used cars by brand is really a crap shoot due to this. Like you said, I'd rather have paid for something, regardless of make, if the previous owner could show a good history of care/maintenance.

 

[Rolla07]

You paid 3k for a 18 year old car? I would probably only get 2500$ or less for my 07 Corolla, and everything works flawlessly. Ur judging a brand based on an 18 yr old used car? I consider my 07 Corolla as old at 12 YO. Did you have the car inspected before buying? Id much rather lose 200$ on an inspection than 3k on a junker. Id dump it.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted by Kurtatron

i Carfaxed the thing, and it did verify the seller's statement. Owned by the first owner for 15 years, sat for 2 years. Technically the military guy owned the car for 5 months, so it is a 2 owner car, but he did maintenance on the car (has receipts). He bought new tires also.

Carfax is one thing, but like others have asked, did you actually have that car inspected or did you inspect it? A lot of the problems you mentioned would be clear as day during the test drive and inspection. Or, if you noticed the issues and still thought this car is worth $2800, consider it a lesson learned.

 

[Ben Boyle]

I'm going to be blunt, I live in the same state as you. You will find no value buying these 20 year old Japanese cars here. This is Michigan, this is the rust belt. You would have been far ahead having bought something like a Cavalier. Yes, they are crude, they'll have their problems. But, you won't pay for some supposed aura of reliability that no 20 year old car in this price range is going to offer. You'll be paid back in cheaper parts and more readily accessible knowledge in how to find a decent one. I live over an hour from any import dealer.

 

[Chris142]

I don't think you messed up buying a Honda. I think that you messed up because you bought THAT Honda.

 

[spavel6]

WOW! So many negative "I-told-you-so's" I don't think you messed up buying anything! Fixing it now means you'll have plenty of trouble-free miles ahead of you.. Good luck, and I'm sure it will turn out in the end.

 

[maxdustington]

It's a common car and old enough that you can get parts from the yard for it. You probably overpaid but you needed a car dude, you have to get to work. If you don't like working on cars then you probably should not have bought it. If you can fix it over time with yard parts and drive it for a while, who cares what you paid. I had a similar car and slowly fixed it with yard parts and it was fine. You made the correct decision getting a manual trans, if it had a slushbox you would be in tough.

 

[bruckus]

The honda civic 2001 was probably the single best car I have ever owned excluding my 2009. I racked up 320,000 miles on that car which was the same car as yours with a manual trans. I replaced front wheel bearings but never the rear. You have drum brakes on the rear and may be just hearing rust buildup. I would clean the engine bay, change oil and filter and try to locate the leak. It could be a valve cover gasket or a cam seal which are easy fixes. I really believe if there is a weak point in these cars it's the A/C. Fix the big stuff and don't worry about the small stuff for now. A few hopefully easy fixes and this car should give you some good service.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I would repair what is needed and drive the wheels off it. As a previous posted stated some of those problems might seal up and quit leaking or making the funny noises as you accumulate some miles on it.

 

[bullwinkle]

Civics, and Hondas in general, used to be some of the best cars going (I had an '89 Civic wagon that I got for scrap value & rebuilt the engine, and a '90 3 dr. that I bought at 1 year old)-but as they got more complicated, they're not the great deal they used to be. Similar Toyotas have nearly foolproof timing chains instead of timing belt(s), and water pumps that are accessible from the outside.

 

[Kurtatron]

Originally Posted by bruckus

The honda civic 2001 was probably the single best car I have ever owned excluding my 2009. I racked up 320,000 miles on that car which was the same car as yours with a manual trans. I replaced front wheel bearings but never the rear. You have drum brakes on the rear and may be just hearing rust buildup. I would clean the engine bay, change oil and filter and try to locate the leak. It could be a valve cover gasket or a cam seal which are easy fixes. I really believe if there is a weak point in these cars it's the A/C. Fix the big stuff and don't worry about the small stuff for now. A few hopefully easy fixes and this car should give you some good service.

Wow. I hope mine gets close to that! I just ordered $600 worth of oem parts. Timing belt parts and rubber seals, gaskets, water pump. I'll put in Honda coolant as well. No point on neglecting it even if I don't like it as much as my Solara.

 

[01rangerxl]

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.

Even then, pour some K-Seal or something in the coolant and see if it holds. Just fix the mechanical stuff first and see how it does. You have already bought it, so you can't do anything about paying too much now. You should be able to get it mechanically stable if it's not rotted out though and then assess if you want to do more or just use it until you get something else.

 

[Supersonic]

If the oil leak is from the rear seal then it may be an issue, but if you're ever put a new clutch in it you'll be right there at the rear seal. I think you're Golden, 103k you should be able to put another 200k on it, if don't rust out.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Change every fluid. Oil,trans,brake,clutch,coolant.

 

[exranger06]

Overpaying won't be so bad if you get your money's worth out of it and your cost per mile is low. Keep track of how much you spend on repairs and maintenance, add that to the purchase price of the car, and divide that by the number of miles you put on the car. If you can get it down to around 10 cents per mile, you did well.