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hi guys .i been reading this forum trying to "educate" myself on civics since i am looking to buy a civic soon.this will be my 1st car ever and first civic.

i live in new york so i am looking for a car that's going to be mostly to travel to work and back which is like a 3 miles ride.i am looking to buy a civic that is from 1996 - 1998 automatic because i only got a budget of $2,000/$2,500 dollars the most since i don't think i will find a 99 - up in my price range.

now after searching online i seen civics with miles in the 100s to 140 miles.my questions is with how many miles the most would you guys consider would be a good car for me to buy since i only have $2,000 / $2,500 budget. and would you guys say is ok to buy civic from those yrs (96-98) do they last and how many miles would most of them go for the most before they are no good.

i am new to cars so i don't know anything.i am really counting on your advices here. i also seen people say like for example "226,XXX Miles on body
80,XXX Miles on Motor" what do they mean miles on body.i though miles only where on the motor. can you guys please help me i will really appreciate it because i am looking to becoming part of the civic owners family

 
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thank you fo your input my friend . But am not really looking to buy a civic for racing . Just day to day commute from home to job and back and maybe some crusing on days off.Maybe the only money I would spend on it would be stereo, rims and minor visuals depending the condition of the car I find.but as far as making It go fast am not into racing or anything like that.that's why I want a automatic.I just love how civics look so I am wondeing if it's a good car to Invest in as a 1st car

 
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Getting the car checked out properly before buying it is more important than how many miles are on it. If it wasn't maintained then enjoy a shitload of hidden problems.

100,000 miles for a honda for 2000$ wont happen though. Hondas have a high resale value.

Miles on the body = how many miles total on the cars existence, regardless on how many engines have been in it. If its had 2 or 3 engines it has 260,000 miles on the car itself. Even if it now has a new engine.

If you want 96-98? doesnt matter any car can have problems or not. So just get what you want.

 
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thank you CivicRage , you really helped me a lot on things i wasn't clear.i been checking on craigslist and i came across this car 1998 HONDA CIVIC EX 104K ORIGINAL MILES for $1900. the only thing that got me think was the guy said NEW TIRES. AM/FM/CD RUNS EXCELLENT. CLEAN IN AND OUT. NO ACCIDENTS BUT HAS A SALVAGE TITLE. .... what can he possibly mean by "***HAS A SALVAGE TITLE*** " since he said no accidents.

 
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Avoid that car on craigslist. He probably set the miles back on it as well. probably has more like 200,000 on it or more. Not only that a salvage title DOES mean it was in an accident. Could have a bent frame causing alignment problems etc.. "a salvage title is an automobile title with a notation that the vehicle has been damaged in excess of approximately 70% of its pre-accident market value." 1900$ is a rip. Who knows how much other stuff was altered on the car or rigged to work only temporarily. He probably stuck new tires on it because the failing alignment killed his others quickly. Sounds like a cheap cover up. You can get new tires on craigslist for 150$ and throw them on to make the car seem like it doesn't eat tires. He obviously wants to dump the problem on someone else under the facade of a good deal.

 
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Look for a car with an older owner. I had to replace EVERYTHING on my car because mainly kids owned it. Prepare to spend an extra 500 $ to 2000$ at least when buying a car from idiots. I've spent 4 grand. But i have a basically brand new car now though too.

 
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Don't buy a salvage title unless you know how to do major service yourself, because labor is expensive and it might need a lot of work, it's more for someone who wants a project car than anything else (I'm still trying to figure out why the car was salvaged if it had no accidents, this makes NO sense to me). You can buy an older car with high mileage if your not going to drive it much. Keep cruise nights limited and only drive it to work and back you shouldn't have much problems.

The main things to look for in a Civic after 100k miles is:

1. Timing belt history (If it has not been replaced, or there is no record of it a red flag goes up right away). The person might be selling it strictly because the timing belt job is expensive, and if that has not been done what else was overlooked?

2. Service records, does the person have them? You know a lot of how well a car was maintained if someone kept these. It not only shows they are responsible as owners but also that they take care of their belongings.

3. Cleanliness. If a person lets their car get messy as hell it usually means they don't care about it. Which means they aren't maintaining it either.

4. Check engine lights, is it on? Why? Does the person know? How long has it been on for? Don't buy it.

5. Strange sounds. Go out and test drive one with low miles that's in great condition. Take mental note of how it sounds, drives, feels. Then go drive the one you want buy that's in your price range and compare. It will give you a good idea of what the car should run like, and if there is something wrong.

6. Fluids. Are they all topped up like they should be? It's easy to spot even if you have never looked at it before, they should all be at the fill lines in the reservoirs. Check the engine oil, is it in between the min and max lines??? If not don't buy it. You would be amazed at how many people take their cars to walmart, who overfills their oil and they never even know about it. Which can cause internal chaos on the engine.

7. Take it to a mechanic for inspection, if you can't do it yourself. They will generally tell you if anything is wrong with it. I find mechanics miss a lot of stuff because they generally don't care though, so it's best to learn to do these things yourself.

There is lots more, but remember, don't stress out about it too much. It should be an enjoyable experience!!!

 
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thank you guys for all the good advice. i mainly posted that particular car on craigslist because it seems odd to me that he says no accidents and then savage tittle. good thing i wasn't even considering that car. right now i am in the process of just looking around to see whats out there and to have an idea of how much i will be needing to save so when i get the money together i can start going out to look at these cars in person and see if they are worth buying.i just want to have an idea of what to look for because this is my first car ever so i don't know anything when it comes to buying and maintaining a car.

 
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Civics are pretty reliable cars. The only worry really is the timing belt. If you don't do it on time and it breaks, your buying a new engine 90% of the time. That's probably one of the first questions you want to ask.

 
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I've bought two rides off of ebay and had no complaints. Once you check seller's history and all, you will be fine. There are dealers out there who make a living on ebay so screwing their history up is like a suicide in a huge market.

 
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it was probably flooded, salvaged from hurricane katrina, etc. but not technically in an "auto accident". there are tons of salvaged cars out there from major natural disasters.

i'd stay away from anything "salvaged".

i got my 97 civic coupe for about 3500, paid my mechanic 100 bucks to check it over first and used whatever they said was wrong with it (wasn't much, but they were very thorough), to negotiate the price down. it had about 103,000 miles on it when i got it. definitely recommend taking any car you're considering to a mechanic you can trust first.

 
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^ Sweet, never knew that Ty