wafflez

Greetings everyone. I'm looking at buying a civic and needed some advice (just in case you couldn't infer that from the title) and thought I'd come to the home for Civic aficionado!

So I've never bought a civic before. I've always been a fan of their looks and their longevity. I saw this 06 Civic LX at a local Honda dealership for around $9K. It has 115K miles on it. Its a reputable dealer who has been around as long as I can remember and the "Auto Check" checked out with flying colors. It was locally owned and seems to have been kept in good shape (from the report and the overall look of the car.)

Just looking to see if there's anything I should ask about if/when I go for a test drive.. do you guys think this is a good deal? I'll mostly be driving this to work and back then around town. Rarely will I ever drive out of a 50 mile radius. I'm mostly concerned about it falling apart as soon as I drive off the lot

Anyway, thanks for any and all advice or support you guys offer. Like I said I'm new here so if this is in the wrong spot I am sorry. If you need any other information I'll do my best to inform. I'd post the dealership url but I don't know if that's ok here so until told otherwise, I wont.

ezone

I assume when you say "dealer" that you mean a Honda dealership?

That car wouldn't be on the front lot at the dealer I work at. Too many miles.

A clean Auto-Check means nothing to me, same for a clean Carfax and the rest of them. A bad report might mean more than a clean report. A clean report proves nothing.

Likewise, "looks clean" means nothing. Detailers can polish and perfume a turd.

"JiffyLube did all my services".......umm, I'm leery. A lot. No real maintenance, and iffy on the oil quality.

Make sure the recalls have all been completed.
Be aware of the warranty extension on the engine block. If you are lucky, it got done already.
If you are serious about buying it, take it to a mechanic you trust and get a prepurchase inspection. If the seller won't let you have it inspected at the place of your own choosing, run away.

Please note: We cannot predict the future! We do not have X-Ray vision! A 10 minute test drive may not reveal all problems with a car. Many possible problems aren't readily apparent in a one hour inspection.

Be observant; If it doesn't drive 100% smooth and perfect for you, take notes and have the issues addressed in the inspection. Don't hide anything. Tell him everything you already noticed. Share notes. Work WITH your mechanic on this.

{rant} I think some people try to test me with crap like this. Will I notice the same things that they already know about? Probably not. No two mechanics will come up with the exact same list either, but they had better be similar on the important stuff. Some of us try to notice every little thing and note it. Some only write down what they think is important stuff. Not everyone thinks the same things are important. Some will try to sell brake jobs and fluid flushes---easy work. Everyone is different. {/rant}

I would want to see the work order from the dealers shop that shows the Used Car Inspection job and the recommended repairs listed by the tech (assuming there was an inspection done in the first place, and done by a truly competent and observant tech).

An inspection does not mean anything got repaired.

Most of the time an inspect is done so the sales manager knows ahead of time what the cars issues are so he knows ahead of time what a potential buyer may try to bargain with. (I have seen cars on the lot with steel belts showing on the tires. If the buyer doesn't notice it, sales wins.)

I would want to see the complete history of the car (its file) if it was serviced regularly at the dealer.
I might even talk to the previous owner, if possible.

(Hopefully) with an independent inspection you will be informed of anything that needs attention on the car.
That will give you bargaining power at the dealer, and you will know any repairs that need addressed right away.

Maybe the inspection will reveal why the previous owner got rid of it.
Every car gets sold/traded off for a reason. Maybe the previous owner will tell you honestly why they got rid of it.

Hope I didn't scare you. I like inspecting auction cars and trying to figure out why they ended up at an auction in the first place.

wafflez

Yep, its a Honda Dealership.

I didn't expect anyone to know whats wrong with a car they know next to nothing about lol Just if theres any glaring issues that should make me look elsewhere. My main concern is the mileage..

Just out of curiosity, and I know this is probably a dumb question, but how would one get all the previous records? Is that something the dealership would hand over?

ezone

They aren't like Mitsubishi, Hyundai, and Kia. Hondas have a high resale value for a darn good reason. They last when cared for.
As far as mileage, I would be most concerned that oil changes were done regularly and with the proper oil. Timing chains these days do NOT like neglect and wrong oil. (Following the maintenance minder for oil changes is fine as long as the proper oil is used. I have seen the minder go anywhere from 4k to 12k+ miles on an oil change. Not a problem as long as the proper oil is used. Proper means far more than just the 5w20 on the oil cap.)
Same goes for the transmission services. Some have issues with the torque converter no matter if the trans was serviced or not. Hasn't been a big problem in the Civics here (I've only seen a couple with real issues), but it is a problem in some of Hondas other cars.
Engine and trans are probably the 2 most expensive things to replace. The rest of the car parts are relatively cheap in comparison.
The cars seem to hold up pretty good unless these 2 things are neglected badly.
Unless the car is from the northern salt and rust belt. I saw an 06 the other day from Michigan that is rusting out the rear wheelwells already.

All cars need brakes and tires now and then. And other stuff. Expect it to need something.


I'm a tech, so I can make heads and tails of a work order and the file on a car. Someone not in this business probably would not get the same info out of it that I would.
Salesmen probably won't know a darn thing about "the service file".
I think the dealer has to keep records for 7 years.
You cannot keep the records. Ask the previous owner for theirs.
All you can do is ask at the service department. Some might, many won't. Probably cite "privacy concerns" if they won't.
Some don't use paper records either, that makes it tougher to "see the file".
I know that the times that someone gets to "see the file" from the service manager here, all they get is a printout with job headings @ mileage+date listed, they don't get to see the actual work orders that has all the notes the tech wrote by hand.
As a tech, I think it would be easier to get a tech in the shop to let you look at the file since most of us don't care about the same things that the rest of the department does.
Every place is different. The dealer I work at is relatively small. I'm not in a big city.

Gunner

Wow good info. Price seems fair. As mentioned you should take it to be looked at. Dealerrs are always in it for the money. If it was taken care of it wil last a long time.

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