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Hey everyone this is my first post so sorry if i go too long. i just came here to ask about buying my first Honda civic. I have been in the classic vw scene for about 5 years so i know a vw bug like the back of my hand, but lately as i am going to college and my bug is lets say not the best transportation (noisy, rough ride, and safety wise it's like driving a tin can around on a freeway) but it's a cool car but it's just not what i need right now. so after a little research i decided to buy a Honda civic coupe for their reliability, but i do not know Honda's very well. i really like the years of 94 and 95 the body style is just cool to me, so thats what i'm looking for at the moment. so my question is what should i look for when i'm looking at civic's in the market especially for these years? what are the common problem in these years? also i want to get one thats auto just because its a pain to drive in traffic with a manual and i drive a lot in the freeway. my budget is around $3,000 dollars. also i wanted to ask how many miles is too many, being that these cars are 15 years old?
ooh and i live in so cal if thats makes any difference.

i decided to come here and ask the experts (you guys) and not yahoo answers because they are full of kids that don't know what they are talking about.

thanks for any advice and input
Fernando B.

 
Rep Power: 229

well it sounds like you already know what you want. but for a car that old make sure they have proof of timing belt changes, check the basics like oil to make sure they take care of her. you can always check the car fax to make sure it hasn't been in any major accidents. it's like only $50. some sellers even pay for it for you. that's all i got, you probably already thought of this stuff though.

 
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Also, if it has the typical Honda rust over the rear wheels on the quarter panels, stay away. It may look easy to fix, but can be very expensive!

 
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Hey everyone after some searching i found a promising looking car on craigslist that is like 30 minutes away from where i live. tell me if this looks like a good buy.

It is a 1995 civic EX coupe Automatic
Mileage 150,000
Maroon Red Color
After market Rims on it.
seller states everything works
The guy is asking $2,700 for it.
after i sent him an email i got some more info on the car.
It turns out that he is the 2nd owner the 1st being his uncle who gave him the car 5 years ago. he has used the car mainly to drive to school not a long commute and he states that he has maintained the car. he mentioned that the only major repairs done to it while he has owned it was fixing a bumper due to a small fender bender.Some minor problems he stated was that the sunroof does not retract all of the way but still works, and that their are small dents around the car and the paint is starting to fade a little but it still looks good from the pics. He also stated that he is selling the car because he needs a bigger car for his family.

what do you guys think about the car?
do you think $2,700 is too much, how low do you think i can lower the price, If it was you what would you offer?
and what about the mileage is this too much for a civic how much more can i expect it too last if i really take car of it?

thanks for any input.
Fernando B.

 
Rep Power: 235

- I would make him come down to $2000. If it was a standard trans he could probably get what he's asking. Ask if he has any maintenance or repair records. Unless he has records you really don't know how it's been treated.
- With proper maintenance, that thing should last at least another 50K.

Take it for a ride and look for a slipping trans, pops and rattles in the suspension, and loose/funky steering. Make sure all accessories work and check all the fluids.

edit: Of course, I wrote this and didn't even see you live in So-Cal. For Cali that's probably a decent price cause everything is more expensive out there. I would get input from the Cali guys before I moved on it. Being in Cali I would make sure that thing is inspected cause it could be a b**ch to get it to pass, especially since you have to buy OEM cats.

 
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again, carfax. they should have all records you need on it and last time i used it it was $50.

 
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I dont know what you are going for, but it goes like this. At first it was the CRX (tuner #1), then it was the Del Sol, now it is the Honda Civic EX coupe. It will hold its value the best, be easiest to sell, is attractive and yet not impractical (think tiny CRX tiny Del Sol). So if it has a manual trans it is better (more desirable), and if you fix it up a little (stereo, wheels, paint..) you can sell for alot. I mean when can you drive a car for years and sell it for more than you paid for it? Think about it.

 
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Thats alot of money unless its cherry. Dont take his word for it, check it out. Makes sure you check compression and tranny. Those two will kill you. Plus its an auto. Does it have a sunroof? Power...? Banging stereo? Nice wheels and tires. For that it should be pretty clean for a automatic.