Garin Morgan

I have a 99 civic DX coupe that I bought last year. The guy that I bought it from tried moding it out and FAILD. I know it was bad on me to buy a car that someone had done a lot of work on but I was in a hurry and needed a car bad. Since then I've had to replace both ballasts for the shity HID headlights (not the biggest deal but annoying), one of the engine mounts literally exploded (and smashed one of the previously mentioned ballasts), the tires where shot but I knew that going into it, there's an adjustable suspension that's lowered all the way to the point where the tires scrape on corners (looks cool but not practical, I live in north Idaho there's no such thing a smooth road), they put in a cheap cold air intake but cur the wires to the sensor in it, and finally there was bad oil and the camshaft sprocket wasn't tightened all the way (my bad for not changing the oil immediately) so the head seized. I replaced the head, it originally had a v-tec head but I was on a budget and got a non v-tec head from a scrapping yard. The old distributor didn't fit the new head so I had to replace that and then the starter snapped off because they didn't tighten the bolt down enough when the replaced it.
Ok sorry for the long intro, but my question is: I'm close to being able to pay this car off and the engine has relatively low miles on it so I would like to do what I can to restore this car to proper functionality. I'm not super concerned with performance, it would be nice but its not my top priority. I was planning on taking it to my mechanic and having him do a full inspection to see what else might be needing to be fixed. Id like to get at least 300,000 out of this car and I'm about half way there so is there any thing that I should do to make this car run as close to new as possible?

Roc-N-A

I'm in a similiar situation as you. I was in need of a car then. I've had it little over a yr now. I bought a 97 Civic Ex 5 Spd Vtech Coupe. The ppl who owned it prior to the kid I bought it from had NO business near a car bcuz they ran it THRU THE GROUND!! I knew what I was getting into with the blown head & a few other things but once I got it home that was another story. Due to time, I'm still slowly bringing it back to life to just get it back to original specs. I've had to strip the car COMPLETELY down to the metal chasing leaks. I'm having to replace EVERYTHING b4 I even get to start any major upgrades Anyway, my best bet is to remove EVERYTHING the previous owner did & find a cheap decent motor & cheap (pull-a-part/junkyard/etc) replacement parts to give you a piece of mind. Then go back thru the parts that came with the car & reuse what you feel comportable with that works.

mac25

Even if you guys found cars where people had taken them to mechanics they would still be in rough shape just due to age and use.

The components that will be worn out are the

Suspension
-struts
-strut bearings
-suspension bushings
-if manual shift linkage bushings
-brakes (pads, rotors, calipers, fluid)

Exterior
-seals on the glass
-weather stripping
-clogged drains leading to rust most likely on the rear quarter panels.

Engline
piston rings, valve seals, main bearings, rod bearings, seals (front main, rear main, valve cover, oil pan.

Transmission
main seal, axle seals, interior bearings, synchros, gear wear, possible clogged filters on autos. (and of course regular stuff like the clutch if manual and through out bearing).

Roc-N-A

Lol, that is a given - which is no big deal. But when they start messing with factory wires for WHO KNOWS WHY but then instead of connecting the correct colored wires back after splicing them they crossed them. Leading to Check Engine light codes & major electrical issues & others mechanical problems. How & Why (he/she/they) did what they did still boggles me.

I put my aftermarket head unit in almost immediately after the purchase. But yest/last night... I started installing my system. I know all my equipment works. But once I put the same head unit back in...the electrical bs started again. Where everything was for the most part fine & working when we started. What we took apart was put back together the same way. But the electric window button went from just that -- working the right electric mirror (up/down/l/r) normal but when it came to tge left Mirror... It moved it up & down but then LEFT /RIGHT motion LOCKED /UNLOCKED MY DOORS! Can you explain that? No, this is not my first time installing a stereo system.

hickociv

Why not also making a call to a nearby dealership's service center?