Rep Power: 0

We were in an accident on July 26th - previous car was totaled - and have been dealing with that, while using an insurance-paid rental car, which was about to run out today. So we didn't have time, with the medical appointments etc, to look for another car until last week, and wound up either facing over $400 a month in rental car costs, that we would have to pick up, or buying a car fast, without a mechanic seeing it.

So we wound up, last Thursday, getting a 2002 Civic EX with a cool Vtec engine and 130k miles ( $4200 ), but apparently we got the SHAFT with it.

( I KNOW, we violated THE FIRST RULE of car buying - ALWAYS get it checked out by a mechanic. But I'm 67, have been having to take my handicapped and injured sister to medical appointments AND try to get my work done, to pay the bills...)

The owners appear to have lied that the timing belt was changed - at least they still haven't provided the receipt for it, that they promised us before the sale. There's also a damaged driver's side front quarter panel, that they SAID was caused by am encounter with a deer, and the seller claims to have changed, himself ( but the new ( used? ) one is a little dented and appears to scrape the tire when backing out of the driveway.

Then he emailed me one receipt today, of some stuff being changed, but not the timing belt, and an estimate saying that it needs front struts, I think.

I also think it needs ( at least ) front brakes, from the feel and squeal of it, but still need time to get it to a mechanic.

But this immediate problem is concerning. When driving at night and trying to flash the high beams by pulling back on the handle, or turn them on, by pushing forward, it SOMETIMES works, BUT MOST of the time, it shuts the headlights off until I let go of the handle, or pull it back! Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!

On the only receipt that he DID give me, it mentions rerouting some wiring in the front, at no charge, so it sounds like the mechanic just tied some loose stuff up, but not related to this problem. Has anyone heard of this before, and does it sound expensive to fix? ( I'm not a mechanic, though I can change my own plugs. )

Well, we took the rental car back, but now have other problems. But I'm thinking that maybe this 130k Vtec engine alone, is worth what we paid for this car, should we just turn around and sell it, after we get a decent one that wouldn't appear to need thousands in repairs?

Disgusted in Denver...

 
Rep Power: 518

Without being able to personally test anything, I'd venture to GUESS this is a headlight switch problem.

On that note, there is a recall that pertains to the low beam headlights on some of these cars, you NEED to contact your Honda dealer to see if this recall or any others needs to be completed. (It may not fix your complaint though, this only pertains to the low beams.)

 
Rep Power: 308

The headlight switch would be pretty straightforward to replace.

The timing belt.... not so much.