BACON XXL

I test drove 4 07 civic coupes today. All 4 had what I thought was the exhaust rubbing the floorboards.

Just when I was heading out discouraged the salesman asked if I'd be interested in an 08 that will have a rebuilt title. I thought what the hey. I drove it and it was the nicest of all of them. It had 180k so here is this question . is this car worth $2500? It was in good condition looked New because of new paint. Just nervous over the miles and salvage title. It is a 5speed sedan .

ezone

They probably all needed the one motor mount that goes bad.


Salvage title? Why? What happened to it? Crashed? Stolen?
What does your mechanic say about what all is wrong with it?

BACON XXL

I was in a bit of a hurry to get to work, and it was pouring the rain. I am assuming it hit a deer or some sort of front end collision. Deer strikes are VERY common here. It appeared that the hood and fenders had water beading up more than the rest of the body. (fresh paint???) I need to stop by tomorrow after they have the state patrol inspect it and get the salvage title. I am pretty sure if it had frame damage, they would not have messed with an 8 yr old car with 180k. It had to be pretty minimal in order to still make money off of the job at 2500. Just me thinking about things. I will ask more questions tomorrow.

BACON XXL

I usually do all my own mechanical work, I did have these guys do a set of press in wheel bearings for me a while ago. It's not like I trust these guys watching my kids or anything, but I think they would shoot straight with me about the work they did.

ezone

They can tell you whatever they want you to hear.
Don't assume anything about the car.
Just assume that all salespeople lie.

Listen and pay attention, but look for yourself and verify before believing anything you hear.


A couple months ago I did a whole bunch of work (over $2k) on a 06-08 ish Civic coupe M/T with 250,000+ miles on it. Already had fresh front end and paint work after hitting a deer or something. Owner said he drives about 300 mile round trip 3 days a week. Clean as a whistle inside and out.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Run a carfax or similar and see if it have records. Likely if salvage title? If course, it's not infallible.

BACON XXL

I got to sit down with the shop owner and go over all the recipt today. It looked like they replaced the right fender and front bumper cover. They also had a recipt for a radiator cap. just the cap. The only thing the Carfax showed was oil changes at a Valvoline instant oil change in C-bus OH. There were a few times the oil changes were well over 5k miles apart. I guess it could be not recorded or did it themselves? Any way, they have to put the inner fender in yet and get a new plug socket for the head light. The only other thing I found was the drivers seatbelt was "locked". He told me I would have to replace it or have it rebuilt. I found a place on Ebay that rebuilds them for 65 bucks. I guess I feel better about the situation. The way it looks the insurance company did not want to repair it since it had high miles. But I feel like it has some miles in it yet.

ezone

Why doesn't this accident show up on the carfax report? It totaled the car. It's gonna have a salvage title. Why isn't this on the report?

IMO the only time a carfax is useful is if it shows something bad on it. A good report is worthless. A bad report is worth something.




The crash caused the belt tensioner to deploy. If that's the only item that deployed then it wasn't a 'huge' crash.

You will need a seat belt,

the crash sensor(s) that would have triggered the deployment in the crash (there is an official shopping list available that addresses SRS deployment crash/repair procedures),

an SRS control unit,

a dealer level scanner to do the setup and initialization of the new SRS control unit,

and finally rechecking the fault codes to see if there was any other SRS items deployed or other previously unknown faults present.


Not exactly cheap, and not all will be DIY.....




I see you're all about safety.....as long as it isn't too expensive.
Picture yourself on the witness stand trying to explain that.

BACON XXL

I see you're all about safety.....as long as it isn't too expensive.
Picture yourself on the witness stand trying to explain that.[/QUOTE]

Is there a problem with having the seatbelt rebuilt? I looked for used ones and all I found was passanger side. So I saw this places ad for repair. He charges the charge so what am I missing?

The car fax did show the accident, I was refering to mechanical issues...

ezone

http://crashrepairinfo.com/sites/default/files/Honda_Pos_Salvage_Airbags_10-07.pdf


POSITION STATEMENT SUBJECT:

SALVAGED AND USED AIR BAG SYSTEM COMPONENTS
TORRANCE, Calif., October 1, 2007 – The original air bag system component s installed in a new Honda or Acura vehicle have been carefully designed for use in that vehicle, as have new Honda or Acura service air bag system components. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (“AHM”) is confident that such air bag system components will help protect occupants in Honda and Acura vehicles. The installation and use of salvaged or used air bag system components in a Honda or Acura vehicle may compromise the intended performance of that vehicle’s air bag system as there is no certainty of the history, quality, condition, or compatibility of a salvaged or used air bag system component.

Therefore, AHM recommends that only new Honda or Acura air bag system components designed and designated for use in the specific Honda or Acura vehicle being repaired be installed in that vehicle. By following this recommendation, vehicle owners and repairers can best ensure that the air bag system in the repaired Honda or Acura vehicle actually will help protect vehicle occupants.



It's a critical passenger safety system.....but now that you have read the manufacturers statement, you can do whatever you want.




I just thought of this: if the crash caused the seat belt retractor to deploy its charge, then the buckle charge probably was deployed also.
Compare to the buckle sticking out of the passengers seat....the deployed buckle will sit about an inch lower than an undeployed unit.

BACON XXL

And we all know Honda airbag safety is at the top of their priority list...

BACON XXL

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-SEAT-B...ZTo0Bh&vxp=mtr


He states that they use 100% OEM parts...

BACON XXL

So I got the car home and started to tear into it. I want to completely go through the car and preform any maintenance it needs and do any repairs it may need. It is by far the nicest car I have ever owned.


I pulled the seats out of the car to be able to scrub the carpets good, and to remove the seat belts for repair. I changed the oil and the coolant replaced the coolant with Honda coolant. It had the blue Honda coolant in it and it was real clean, but I decided to go ahead and replace it. I drained the block and anti-seized the block plug that was very hard to get out. I pulled the spark plugs out to replace them and they looked new. No carbon at all on them. The only thing I did not like is that there was no Anti-seize on the threads so I pulled all and put back with a-s. I pulled the wheels off to inspect the brakes. Front brakes were about 50% so I got pads to replace them the rotors not warped or grooved. Air filters both replaced.


I ordered some speed bleeders and will replace the brake fluid when I get them in. I have Honda MTF and will replace the oil this week. The lights are all good. I am sending the belts off in the morning to have them rebuilt. I have an appointment next wed at the dealer to make sure all the SRS system is up to snuff. I need to get the carpets done and wash and wax.


Can anyone think of anything else I should check or perform before hitting the road??

BACON XXL

I did find a crack in the alternator case. It charges good, but I decided to go ahead and replace it. It is on order.

ezone

Don't do that until the belts and interior are back in place.

If you turn the key on, there should be a ton of codes set because the seats and belts are missing.

You would be able to erase codes DIY....IF the SRS control unit is new and already initialized (I'm pretty sure it is not).


IF the SRS control unit was not replaced after the crash and deployment, you may as well do that before bothering to go to the dealer....because it has deployment codes that cannot be erased.
The new control unit needs setup and initialization performed using the HDS scanner.

And the new unit may reveal more codes that were impossible to see in the unit that deployed charges. Trust me, they do this.
I guess you now know how far the nose was pushed in.
New radiator and condensor too? Structural support for the core support and front sections of the car looks good, not hacked together?

BACON XXL

Not sure that the accident caused the cracked case on alternator. They told me the condenser and rad was not damaged. I cant imagine this shop using Honda coolant. I am not sure how the alternator got damaged.. My guess is someone dropped something on it while in shop or they swapped it out from another project.. Who knows...

BACON XXL

The core support is straight and looks fine. I did find the prop rod clip was missing... But that could have broke a year ago... I ordered one...