mjwalter80

Hi Everyone,

As the title of this post says, I don’t actually own a civic…..However, I have been an active member of g35driver.com for years and found it a great place to get information about my car. There are so many nice, helpful people on that forum that I joined this one hoping the atmosphere would be similar and I could get some questions answered.

Now….on to why I’m here. My girlfriend owns a 2002 Honda Civic Sedan LX. She is planning to start looking for a new car within 6 months or so and wants to sell the Civic. I have done lots of research on what to value the car at but haven’t really found a ton of Civics that I feel are comparable.

The car has really low miles (53k), and from what I can tell, the car is mechanically in excellent shape. We are planning on taking it to a local Honda dealership to get it checked out just to make sure. The issue we have is the body. The body has lots of little (and a couple of big) scratches and at least 8-10 door dings of varying size. Also, there is some pretty major cosmetic damage to the front bumper (there is large crack and a small hole in it). Interior looks to be in great condition as soon as we clean it.




Here are my questions:

1. What do you think this car is worth as it sits with the cosmetic damage?
2. I was considering buying a cheap already painted front end off eBay or a primed one and just having the whole car resprayed cheaply at like a Maaco. I think they offer a cheap $350-$400 paint job. If I did this, I would probably also call one of those mobile dent repair guys and spend a couple hundred bucks taking out the door dings. If I put $800-$1000 into repairing the body, would I get that money back in the sale of the car? What do you think the car would be worth with the repairs?
3. Also, I know that 2002 is relatively early in the generation 7 Civic lifecycle. Were there changes made to the car in 2003-2005 that I should consider (that would be a direct bolt on) that would give the car a little more of a modern look?…..i.e. slightly different front bumper, newer headlights/taillights, nicer hubcaps/wheels, etc.). Just looking for things that are cheap that will make the car more attractive to buyers.

I think this car has at least 100K miles left in it and I want to make sure we can maximize our profit on the car and provide the new owner with quality car that looks really sharp.

Thanks in advance for any information!

ezone

I think a cheapo paint job would devalue the entire car a lot more than you think, if the buyer has at least one working eyeball open and knows anything about cars.

See what a quality bodyshop paint job done the right way would cost.

Hondas hold some incredible resale values, so some cosmetic stuff might be forgiven especially at that low low mileage.

Many shops will either nitpick every little thing or try to upsell you every flush they have. Be careful about what is recommended versus what is truly needed....and YOU need to decide what's really worth spending money on.

(Timing belt should have been done at the 7 year mark, that's an important item to have done! These bend valves when the belt lets go! Possible major selling point!)

A dealership is gonna lowball the value of the car so they can try to steal it from you.
Look at sites like KBB.com and Edmunds.com for approximate pricing, and check your area craigslist listings for similar cars to get some idea.

HTH

mjwalter80

Thanks a lot....I see those cheap paint jobs advertised all the time but don't know anyone that has ever had one.

I was definitely thinking private sale as well. Fully aware of the way dealerships work

Also, thanks for the tip on the belts.....I know they typically have to be replaced every 30k (at least they do on my car)...Assuming they were changed at 30k, they are probably due.

I've done a lot of research on CL, KBB, etc....There aren't a lot of cars that old with so few miles and such banged up bodies. If the body was in good shape, I'd probably post it for like 7500 and take the first 7k.

ezone

Oh no no no! This ain't the 60's, belts last a helluva long time now.

The TIMING BELT is the important one. 7 years or 100,000 whichever comes first!

The other 2 accessory belts (the 2 you can see) should be replaced at the same time, and they typically last just as long as the timing belt.



What do you drive that needs belts replaced every 30k?


Trust me, they are easy to spot. They should make one wonder "What else are they trying to hide?"

mjwalter80

I have an Infiniti Coupe - the dealer recommends 30k on the belts, but I have found they recommend all sorts of stuff that doesn't really need to be done. They actually recommend a dealer service every 7500 miles. I love the car but had I really know all of the expenses, I may have something else right now.

mikey1

if that is the original timing belt then your engine is currently a ticking time bomb and could explode at any minute, i would have that done ASAP and keep the bills to show the potential buyer(s)

i dont think you realize how lucky you have been for that belt to be still intact

ezone

I'm sure the MANUFACTURER doesn't agree.

Dealers (and any other shop or service center) overselling maintenance, and selling unnecessary services is a huge problem IMO.

Your owners manual should clearly state what is recommended as far as routine services.
Anything else....I'd want proof of need.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I didn't read the other posts (well, skimmed, because I'm surfing from my phone and it's a pain in the ***) so here's a response to your original post. My apologies if some of it was ready covered.

First off: an 02 with only 53k? Holy crap. As long as the engine was well maintained, it should be good. Small things like the aforementioned timing belt would be something to look into. I didn't see it mentioned if it was an auto or manual, but the AT on the 7th has a propensity to "go bad" for a lack of better words. However, if you don't notice anything wrong with it during a normal operations test (drive it around and try and find something wrong), then I wouldn't worry.

Now, onto cosmetics. Get the dings taken out and the cheapo paint job should be fine, as long as the paint job doesn't look like it was don't with a rattle can in your driveway. As for the bumper, if you feel so inclined, you can fiberglass the back of the holes and crack, bondo to smoothen out the surface, *then* get it painted, I'm sure no one would know the difference. However, an oem replacement bumper would give you the guarantee of looking stock.

Now, the differences from 02 to 03. All cosmetic/aesthetic. The 03s came with an led lit gauge cluster, rims (on the EX at least), and I think the center console armrest was introduced that year. In 2004, a facelift (bumper, fenders, hood, headlight shape) and different tail lights were introduced. The tail lights fit the previous generations with no modification, at least structurally. I know in the coupes, they didn't use the outermost socket and they changed one socket (either turn or brake light, can't remember at the moment).

So, how to make it more appealing to sell it? If you want the best value from a dealership, stock condition, in as good a condition as you can make it. Ezone could probably tell you which aftermarket mods would make it more valuable to dealerships (sound system and rims, maybe? I dunno for sure). Any bushings and whatnot that might be worn? Replace them. Big culprits that come to mind are motor mounts (front and passenger) and front LCA bushings.

Now, if you were to sell to a private party, I can really ony give my opinion on what I'd want/be willing to pay a bit more. Stock and clean, but not "I'm trying to make it look so shiny so it distracts you from something that may be potentially wrong." Trying to help my buddy find a civic for less than $2000, I saw that more than I'd liked. It just made me look at the car in even more detail. I'd pay more if it had a good sound system in it. Again, that's me.

In all honesty, if it looks clean without trying too hard, you'll be better off. I saw in another post while skimming that you were trying to get 7k-ish? The mileage may get you close to that price, but the age, regardless of everything else might not let that happen. KBB value of a stock '02 LX in excellent condition is $6k, with a fair market value of $7k. Good luck finding someone that'll pay full KBB value though. Highball it, and let people "lowball" you and let them think they were getting a steal. I'd honestly expect $5500, but that'd be awesome if you got $6-7 for it.

I really do wish you the best of luck with the sale. That car will last a long time in the hands of a good owner.

ezone

No mods.
Bone stock, all the way.

mjwalter80

Thanks so much!...That is great information. My girlfriends works as a consulting so she travels Monday-Thursday. She only used the car occasionally on the weekends....that's why there are only 52k miles on it.

Also, thanks for the pricing. I think I will get it a close to stock as I can an try to sell it to a private party. I would have loved to get 7 for it but I am realistically starting to think 6 is more in the ballpark.