Naftoor

Hi ya'll, first post and hopefully one of many to come. Hopefully this is the right section to post this in.

So long story short I took my first car into the dealer, they did an oil change, didn't refill the oil after draining it and now the engines wrecked.

In other words I'm looking for a new car, preferably one that won't break the bank and more preferably one that I can with some maintenance of my own keep running for 5-10 years to come. Currently I'm doing ~3k miles a month.

I've recently had an automatic 2000 civic EX sedan offered to me: asking is 6000 under 35k miles, single owner and a clean carfax. From looking at the year on Car Complaints it seems to be solid, however from lurking I've seen some folks say the EX is less preferable than the LX as there are more add ons that tend to break, and that the automatic transmission doesn't have the longevity of the manual.

I'm left with a few questions:

1) Would a car this old be able to reliably handle that kind of driving load?

2) Does the price seem reasonable? It felt high to me originally, but given the reputation of the model year and the low mileage I'm beginning to change my mind.

3) Are there any concerns with mileage this low?

4) If I go to see the car, what things should I keep an eye out for, or if I can find a mechanic willing to inspect it for a fee what should I specifically mention he should look at?

5) I've never so much as changed my oil before; that being said I can follow instructions, watch videos and mimic what I see and do want to learn as much about car maintenance as possible. Could I feasibly keep this car running?

Thank you for your time!

Wankenstein

Have proof? They offer you compensation?

Does the carfax show dealership or other maintenance schedule mileages the car was brought into the shop at? That can help determine original mileage.
Is the title clean (no lost or rebuilt title)?
Otherwise in those years anyone can pull a used cluster (odometer) and claim it as original unless the title is clean.

EX has more options which is preferable..who doesn't want a sunroof, Vtec engine and a "sporty" lower geared transmission in their deluxe grocery getter?..lol.
As far as the automatic transmissions as I just mentioned the EX has a "sportier" lower shift points compared to the base models (LX,DX) and IMO is really well paired with the (Vtec) engine compared to the sluggish base model (non Vtec engine) automatics. If the car truly has 35k original miles it should be safe to assume the car has the original transmission. If that is correct you could possibly be driving that car (average miles per year 12k) ten years from now with both the engine and transmission still working properly.

You didn't mention what type of driving you intend to do. As a daily driver: yes it's well equipped to handle it.

As with any transaction the price is reasonable if the buyer and seller agree on it. Let's say at an average mileage of 12k per year and you were purchasing that car in 2003 (3 x 12 = 36) would you consider $6k a reasonable price? I would unless it had rust, collision, paint issues, engine or transmission replacement, fake miles.

Noted above. If that is the true mileage, original engine and transmission then my guess is the car was used as a vacation home car, rarely used second car, or just sat for a long time unused. 35,000 miles divided by 18 years equals roughly 2,000 miles per year.

Put it on a lift and inspect for rust, steering and suspension parts including bushings, timing belt is already past service life (in years) if it's original.
Tires may be dry rotted unless replaced. Run a hose over the entire car and inspect for interior and trunk leaks..remove spare tire from trunk well when testing for water intrusion. If it all checks out and you want to buy it ask the mechanic on a price for a Leak-Down test (test for compression loss and head gasket leakage). A leak-down is the best overall test for engine health.
Here's a used car inspection guide: https://www.dmv.org/buy-sell/used-ca...work-sheet.php
Here's more: https://www.google.com/search?source....0.5TKcNGsi5k8


Does Howdy Doody got wooden *****, man?

Yes, it's one of the easiest cars to maintain. Can download a free .pdf copy of the service manual.