kathy_kfpb

We are looking at a safe, reliable, gas-sipper car for our soon-to-be 16-year-old son. We've found a 2005 Honda Civic EX Special Edition (manual transmission, gray color, 153,000 miles). Carfax shows one owner, no recalls, no accidents, but also no service records. The car appears clean and well taken care of in photos. We are driving to dealership to get a closer look/test drive this weekend. I have no idea if the timing belt has been replaced. It should have been done at 110,000 miles. I've heard that if it had not been done, the trouble would have shown itself by now and that if it looks well taken care of and had one owner it was probably changed. I'm nervous about this and feel we should probably change it if we buy it. We've worked out a deal for $4,800.

What do you think about this car?

Any advice is appreciated! :-)

mikey1

if you can not confirm if the timing belt has been replaced, then i would have it replaced anyway for peace of mind, its not worth the risk to potentially have it snap

Stock 99

I've bought cars from car lots and dealerships but my last 2 were private sales. I think I will buy all my cars privately from now on. When you buy from the owner of the car they have to look you in eye and tell you about the car. A 'salesman' on a car lot is trying to sell you something. There is a big difference in my mind. Car lots also have detailers that can make that car look very clean for a couple of months until the polish/silicone/scratch X/autoglym/etc wears off. If you can take the car to someone (professional) that you trust to give you the proper answers about the mechanical condition of the car. Doing this will either make you want to buy the car, walk away from the car, or use the information as a further bargaining tool.

kathy_kfpb

Well, we bought the car. The best part was that after we got home and started going through the paperwork in the glove compartment, I found the original owner's name. I Googled him and my husband called him. The guy was able to tell us that he had a 40-minute one-way commute every day and that was how the miles had accumulated on the car. He only used synthetic oil and had the timing belt changed twice. He put the Michelin Primacy tires on the car and they've only had 20,000 miles on them. He seemed to have no problem investing money into the car to keep the engine in good shape. He also said that he had the back seat headrests (missing from the car when we purchased it) at his home and would have them sent to us by UPS. I've never bought a used car and it was a scary experience, but I feel like we had a little good luck on our side. Our mechanic is going to take a look at it and let us know more. For now, I'm teaching a 15-year old boy how to drive a manual transmission. I drive a 2010 Nissan Maxima (CVT) daily and I like the car, but miss the manual transmission driving experience. I've always had a manual until the Nissan. Needless to say, I've really enjoyed driving this Civic!
Thanks all for your private messages and input. I've found valuable information on this forum.