Is this car worth the money? 95 civic cx hatch
 

Well after having several civics, most 01-04 and one EK, i am looking at a 95 civic cx hatch. i found it this weekend on the backlot of a honda dealer. i always like browsing after hours on an early saturday evening and i happened upon a teal 95 civic cx hatch. my first instinct is always to see if the car is unlocked and it was. first i look at the odometer....230,xxx miles...wow....but to my suprise the interior is in fantastic shape....door panels are good, carpet is good, dash is good, back seat is good...only flaw is a wear mark on the air bag and a tear in the drivers seat...whoever had it sowed it back up...obvious flaw but bareable for a short time till i find something to replace them with...car also had the a/c option added from Honda......anywho....back to the exterior of the car.....there are some dings here and there on the car...nothing too hideous....small and i do mean small spot of surface rust on the rear quarter...above the fender opening...other than that no rust anywhere...body looks solid, hasnt been wrecked....i pop the hood...clean engine bay....no mods....

so lets fast forward to where i call the dealer this morning...i call and ask for the guys name who was on the paper on the car and he wasnt there...im curious as to what they want so i just tell them i want to talk to a salesman...i get this deep voiced dude and he was like let me call you back...im on break at this time so im like okay...he calls me back and says he wants 2,800 for the car and i say theres no way...its a 95 with almost a quarter million miles on it...his response is if i wont pay it he will take it to the auction and find an Indian who will...(no offense to any other race) that there rubbed me the wrong way to begin with so i wished him luck and hung up. i called back at lunch and the guy whos name was on the paper was in....i said i want to pay cash...ur bottom dollar...he calls back and says 2 grand plus tax, doc fee, blah...he tells me the car has had things done to it and gives me the previous owners name and number...i call him on my last break and ask for the downlow on the car.....turns out this guy is a honda mechanic of some sort....motor has been rebuilt...machined .40 over...new pistons, rings, water pump, timing belt, new style headgasket...it has a 99 tranny and new clutch, new brakes, all within 20,000 miles. i call the sales person back and make a counter offer of 2 grand cash and i walk away....IS THIS CAR WORTH 2 GRAND? hopefully ive given you enough info.....any help would be appreciated.


Modified by NinetyNineSI at 7:19 PM 9/20/2004

I wouldn't buy something that has had something rebuilt on it such as a motor or transmission unless they are some ASE Honda Certified blah blah blah been doing this for 15 years kinda guy.

Drive it, see how it feels, etc...

Just wondering why the hell would he want to take a D15B8 and bore it, plus rebuilding it...not really worth it IMO. Too much $$ plus time and effort for a motor that it's worth to begin with.

Re: (Dimi)
 

Sounds good to me.
Ive seen less go for more.Should be a great daily driver or a race car eventually.
Sounds like its been taken really good care of.

Re: (Dimi)
 

no it isnt

Re: (PyroProblem)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PyroProblem &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sounds good to me.
Ive seen less go for more.Should be a great daily driver or a race car eventually.
Sounds like its been taken really good care of.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Having a motor needed to be rebuilt PLUS having a new transmission in there doesn't mean he took care of it. For all we know, the previous owner was m4d tYt3 JDM y0 and blew the motor. He figured out he can be faster with an EX transmission. Plus, he rebuilt it by boring the block and getting everything nice and fresh. Hrmm...no one rebuilds a motor and gets a newer transmission ONLY to baby it.

Re: (Dimi)
 

or maybe, he didnt treat it like crap, and the engine and transmission still went bye bye... maybe the newer transmission was easier to find, and maybe he didnt wanna get a new engine, so he just rebuilt his...

Re: (numbnuts22715)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by numbnuts22715 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">or maybe, he didnt treat it like crap, and the engine and transmission still went bye bye... maybe the newer transmission was easier to find, and maybe he didnt wanna get a new engine, so he just rebuilt his...</TD></TR></TABLE>

When you baby a Honda, the motor and transmission doesn't go bye bye at 225k. My dad's friend has a 1991 Honda Accord LX with 466k. Original motor and tramission. Owned it since it was brand spanking new out of the dealer.

When you romp on motors and transmissions, that's when they need rebuilds or replacements.

When you do hear your grandma telling you that she needs to swap her motor and transmission because all of a sudden then died? Not going to happen. ESPECIALLY when taken care of.

anyone else?

Re: (NinetyNineSI)
 

drive it yourself, have a 3rd party mechanic inspect and if its all good, take it. sounds like a good deal if everything checks out.

Re: Is this car worth the money? 95 civic cx hatch (NinetyNineSI)
 

Unless the car is ABSOLUTELY IMMACULATE inside and out, I wouldn't consider it.

I can see a motor going at 225K. This is still a massive amount of mileage--about 100k more than when a domestic motor would be long dead.

For that money, I'd want absolutely every war item on the car to be relatively fresh.

edit--forgot to say: I picked up my well-maintained, 2-(adult) owner, 112k mile 92 cx for a grand. The body has dings and some usual Honda cancer in the rear fenderwells (now ghetto-repaired). Overall, it was a very solid car for the money.

I know my price was exceptionally low, but his is pretty damn high.

Re: Is this car worth the money? 95 civic cx hatch (gamby)
 

Rebuild motor = Risk

Unless u or ur friend know they person otherwise I wouldnt~!

Just my 2 cents.

Re: Is this car worth the money? 95 civic cx hatch (Elisha481982)
 

motors can die from lack of maintenance as well as abuse...

Re: Is this car worth the money? 95 civic cx hatch (Zackyt)
 

i say keep lookin... i just got a descent deal a 97 cx with 95k on it for 3300 from a dealer so its got a warranty and what not

damn... i bought my 93 cx with 120kmi for $2200. it was 100% stock, fine interior, but a 6/10 body (no dents, but dings galore, paint faded)