ZstarZ

Hi,

I just bought my first car! Its a 2005 Honda Civic Coupe EX Special Edition and it looks amazing! I am soo excited to get to ride it to work every morning!

I just bought it off of a used car dealership and its in great shape (clean Carfax with routine dealership service records from its one previous owner) and comes with an ok, mainly powertrain, warranty for 3 months. I am not that experienced with cars yet (i could prolly switch out a light or two and install a headunit, but not be able to work on any of the engine belts, sparkplugs and whatnot without the tools and exp), so what checks should I do myself (for preventative measure), and what should I take it to a mechanic for? Its got 109,500 miles on the odometer. I am a fresh college grad so money is a bit tight so im comfortable with easy DIY tasks. Advice would be greatly appreciated thanks!

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

Timing belt status 1st and foremost.

Stock 99

agreed

Congrats! Buying a vehicle is always such a rush in my opinion.

Things to watch out for on 7th gens are headgasket and automatic transmissions. You should read up on both so you are armed with some knowledge before either becomes an issue. Other than that regular maintenance will probably see that car get another 100k miles without much issue. You would be surprised how mind numbingly easy it is to do basic maintenance without any prior experience. Start with easy stuff like changing oil/filter and work your way up. Just be safe...if your ever going to crawl under your car make sure you have jack stands.

ZstarZ

Thanks for the advice! I will definitely check up on the status of my timing belt. From what I have read its a good idea to switch both the timing belt and water pump at the same time to save money. How would I go about checking the status of my timing belt myself? Whats the average cost that a dealer would charge, as well as what a non-dealer shop would charge for a timing belt and potentially water pump switch? Thanks alot again I am so new to this haha but yeah buying a car (and driving one) is definitely a good feeling!

lowlife9

why even consider a dealer there always going to cost way more for the same job. you have the power of the internet to find a reliable shop. also check motor mounts and lower control arm bushing those always fail.