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Hello, guys. This is my first posting(obviously) I don't know if this is the incorrect section for this, if it is my apologies. But. I am going to get to the point.

I'm about to be purchasing my first Honda, a 1995 Civic EX. I do not know anything about Hondas.. or cars for that matter. But, I am trying to learn. He says it has a new engine (1996 VTEC)

This is what he posted.

"Hey Was sup Craigslist i have a 1995 Honda civic Ex coupe auto just bought it about a week and a haf for 2500 but don't work anymore and need money. has a1996 vtec motor with 50-60K real clean. shell has 200xxx on it. Car runs and drives smooth check engine on because O2 sensor typical on Hondas. car has NO RUST needs some body work nothing Major."

I don't know how much you guys can help me but, any suggestions to what I could look out for/test? anything would help. I don't know much about cars in general, but I also am not trying to come off as an idiot.. help is highly appreciated!

Picture of the car itself..



He also sent me a picture of the engine.



Thanks for any feedback!

 
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Welcome to the site- don't worry about coming across like a noob or sounding like an idiot, its inevitable when you first start out to have a low knowledge base.

Changing the O2 sensor could be $400-500 dollars all by itself and if you live somewhere with emissions testing you won't be able to get insurance without replacing it, if its fouled that will also have a significant impact on gas mileage. I'd also like to know what exact engine was swapped in, why it was swapped and who did the swap. Although it may just be the 02 sensor causing the CEL, it could be something more serious, so you should have a mechanic with a code reader tell you whats causing the light first.

Overall looks clean, but there are some serious questions that need to be answered first.

 
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Well, he told me he purchased the car for going to school. But, he is selling it because of his age (18) he can't afford the price of insurance. No, there is no emission testing, I live in PA,thankfully. About the swap, I don't know.. I don't think he knows either to be honest. So, I guess my best bet is to take it to a mechanic before I purchase it?

 
Rep Power: 285

Taking it to a mechanic would be the absolute minimum, have him do a thorough inspection inspection of the motor, including compression tests for each cylinder.

The problem with a swapped motor is you don't know its mileage, its history, how long it sat out of a car, why it was pulled from a car; and in this case you also don't know who did the swap, there may be a major hidden problem. Otherwise it looks to be in decent shape, thats an old battery though, the top would have been bright red new.

 
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Alright, well.. I guess when he comes this week I'll check it out. I don't know if he'd be willing to go to a garage with me to get it checked haha. Hopefully.

But, thanks for the help man.. I appreciate it. I'll ask whatsup with the swap. If I buy it I'll keep this updated. :P

EDIT :: He is telling me It's a D16 Vtec motor. It is indeed the O2 censor that is the problem, according to him.

 
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Not sure how to do this, but for peace of mind maybe check the engine serial number? just to be sure...

 
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IF he won't take it to a garage to have it checked out then don't buy it. Hondas are a dime a dozen. Don't get your heart set on one just cause it looks good. there are pleanty others out there. Plus that engine I believe doesn't really make that much HP over a non-vtec SOHC! So don't go crazy just cause it's a vtec.

 
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Haha, yeah. That's just logical. I just hate being a dick.. but I don't want to dump 2g into some pile of crap. I have mixed feelings about this. I guess we'll see what happens!

 
Rep Power: 285

There are 22 different D16 motors, you need to know the exact one, not just for the purchase but maintenance as well.

Lesson 1: don't trust anything anyone trying to sell you something says, just because he says its the 02 doesn't mean it's not something more severe. Maybe it is something severe, and he's trying to dump the problem on someone else. If he won't let you take it to a mechanic, don't buy it.

Like Mad Dog said, you can find 200 civics on craigslist any given day.

 
Rep Power: 367

and you never know where the engine came from, being the reason i asked about the serial number (unless he have a valid receipt, just to be on the safe side)

 
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Yeah, I'm going to check it all out. He just agreed to come to a garage with me to have it check out. Looking good.

Thanks everyone for the help, very friendly people on this forum! haha