kami6666

Hi every body,

I live in Vancouver, Canada. I saw this 2002 Civic SE today (which is the fully loaded model). Black in color, 218,000 KM mileage. It's been lightly modified (spoiler, front lip and side skirt, air intake, JVC stereo, tinted windows). It's been rebuilt from a rear accident. The engine and transmission are flawless (I know a bit about cars).

The guy has been driving it for almost 2 years now. I drove the car and If I wasn't told, I would have never guessed it's a rebuilt.

Should I buy it for $2500 CAD?

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

Get pictures of the damage and figure out what was replaced.

If it was just rear ended, then the bumper/tails/trunk/floorpan were replaced... and thats all fine. If it was more then that, such as suspension needing to be replaced or any frame damage aside from the rear bumper rail, then it was pretty serious.

Rebuilt cars only get this kinda title if entire panels were replaced, like the trunk was replaced instead of having it bent back. Bumper replacements and trunk floor pan replacements arent anything big that will give it a bad title... If it was hit off center then it could of ****ed up some **** thats not apparent yet.

Get pictures of the damage and ask what was replaced. Post them. If you cant, then ask to go to a mechanic thats well know like honda (who knows what they are supposed to look like) and a shop like les schawb that works on the rear suspension/brakes all the time and ask if anything looks like an issue from the previous accident.

MindBomber

It sounds like a very bad deal to me. Not only is the car rebuilt, but the modifications to the car indicate that it's likely been abused by the owner. Has the timing belt been replaced?

The SE is also not the fully loaded model, it's actually one of the lower models, it only has a couple minor options added to it.

kami6666

You are right. I checked and it's an LX model. Thank you for the note!

BobDobolina

I agree with Mindbomber, the mods indicate possible abuse...

But I have personally owned a few rebuilt cars. You really have to know the person/persons who did the rebuild. And I doubt insurance would total a rear hit without frame damage...I did a 180 in my 07' coupe and slamed into a tree from behind. dead center. Shattered the rear windshield, crumpled the trunk, bumper and a lil of the side panel. it was the frame damage that sent the estimate over the top.

My advice? take it to a stealership and tell them the story. Have em check it out. The engine looking clean and nice just tells you he had it dressed to avert attention...

And baseline resale value for R title STARTS at 1/2 comparable kelly blue book. So if they want more, tell em to suck a lemon or prove why. Cause when/if YOU ever total it, your only gettin that much back from insurance. TRUST me. Been there and dealt that.

Also check the paint job for bondo, the frame welds for hairline cracks and the interior trim for stress marks near doors and seams. Also make sure the edges of the hood/trunk line up parallel with the body panels...good indication of a torqued frame if they aint PERFECT, like they should be.

But in the end you take a risk, for a possible sweet deal.

tipnitty

I would agree, I would just walk away and look for something stock.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Stock cars are the way to go... You know some kid didnt drive it into the ground and then want to get rid of it before that little knock became a serious problem. If you know about cars go with your feeling though. In the end you will do what you want to do A family member of mine bought a rebuilt civic and shes been driving it now for about 4-5 years without any problems at all (hit in the rear).

DarkSouljur

I was checking out this ad:

http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehic...AdIdZ259006207

As soon as i saw modifications, i dropped it. Buy a stock car and modify it the way you want. That way you can learn stuff, customize it to your preferences, and do all the work yourself (or make sure it's done properly).

I asked the guy in the ad about what he did to his suspension, he didn't know anything about it ... someone else did it for him. Bad sign haha

kami6666

Thank you all for your posts. Yesterday, I went there and looked at the car again. Everything was lined up fine. There was no signs of tension anywhere. I bought it for 2350 CAD. The car looks and drives awesome and I'm very happy with the purchase. My friend has a low mileage (100,000 KM) 2002 Si, which he bought it for almost $7000, he drove it and said for 120,000 KM more mileage the car runs great. I'll try to take some pictures and post.

BobDobolina

There you go! Time now to descend into the world of mods and DIY!!

And what is 2350 CAD? In my field thats know as Computer Aided Drafting

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

Congrats on the purchase. lets see these pictures!

IMSHANE

The lad is from Canada, so id assume CAD is Canadian dollars?