I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... Help?
09-29-2009, 01:49 PM
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I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... Help?
I'm in the market for a Civic. Saw a Civic EX 5spd going for 3k. It's clean title, but I did a history report and came up with some problems.
First of all, the ad says there are 108.5k miles on the car, but the history report shows 153 miles (not 153k, 153 miles). He replaced the transmission back in 2005 by the way.
Back in June 2004, the car has 74,380 miles on it so that would mean 34k miles difference from what he claims and the mileage from June 2004.
Second of all, the history report states that there was a duplicate title issued by the DMV in June 2009, not sure if that really means anything.
Any help or info would be great. The car looks great, and he claims completed maintenance on the car by the suggested service intervals...
What do you guys think? Title is clean by the way. No accidents reported, nothing, just the odometer issue and the duplicate title issue. KBB gives this Honda a suggested price of $3710.
First of all, the ad says there are 108.5k miles on the car, but the history report shows 153 miles (not 153k, 153 miles). He replaced the transmission back in 2005 by the way.
Back in June 2004, the car has 74,380 miles on it so that would mean 34k miles difference from what he claims and the mileage from June 2004.
Second of all, the history report states that there was a duplicate title issued by the DMV in June 2009, not sure if that really means anything.
Any help or info would be great. The car looks great, and he claims completed maintenance on the car by the suggested service intervals...
What do you guys think? Title is clean by the way. No accidents reported, nothing, just the odometer issue and the duplicate title issue. KBB gives this Honda a suggested price of $3710.
09-29-2009, 01:50 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
I think it was a faulty DMV reading, thats in my opinion... I'm pretty sure the actual mileage may be 108500 as he claims it to be rather than 153 (which is obviously rediculous). He's about 15 minutes away and I can take a look at the car tomorrow if you guys here at honda-tech think its okay.
09-29-2009, 01:52 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
And one more hing, autocheck gives it a rating of 74, between 17-45. Which is probably above average. It's a 12 year old car... 108k miles for a 12 year old car would make sense huh?
09-29-2009, 02:10 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
The people at the DMV can make mistakes you know. if you like it buy it. simple as that. that duplicate title thing may mean he lost his original title and they printed off a new one for him.
09-29-2009, 02:12 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
Duplicate title means the original has been lost, stolen, or mutilated. How long has the sellers owned the car? Pictures can be deceiving, so take a long and close look at it when you see it in person.
09-29-2009, 02:33 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
Hey guys, he sent me a link to the carfax report and it indeed proved that autocheck had a mistake. The 153 miles was when he bought it, the car had 153 miles.
Yeah, he admitted to losing the title, so he got a duplicate, so that shouldn't mean anything...
It looks great.. I guess I should go for it and take a look. It seems like a great deal...
its only 108,500 miles which is relatively low for a 12 year old car... so we'll see.
here are the pictures
http://bit.ly/YMIl7
http://bit.ly/KFUEo
http://bit.ly/3whRxR
http://bit.ly/2Y6w2w
Yeah, he admitted to losing the title, so he got a duplicate, so that shouldn't mean anything...
It looks great.. I guess I should go for it and take a look. It seems like a great deal...
its only 108,500 miles which is relatively low for a 12 year old car... so we'll see.
here are the pictures
http://bit.ly/YMIl7
http://bit.ly/KFUEo
http://bit.ly/3whRxR
http://bit.ly/2Y6w2w
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09-29-2009, 02:51 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
car fax is a joke !!!!!!!!! 3k for a clean ex 5spd 4dr thats black is a good price if he is asking 3k offer less and go from there
09-29-2009, 02:57 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
@eghatch4sale: what's wrong with 3k for a clean ex 5spd sedan? are you saying that i should offer less? lol. yeah 3k is pretty low imho. why is carfax a joke? autocheck gave me the wrong information... it wasnt dmv, it was autocheck but its okay that the problem occured.
09-29-2009, 02:59 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
Does anyone know the mileage on a 97 Civic EX? 97 ex has a d16 motor i think.. correct me if im wrong. mpgfacts doesnt say...
but its a 12 year old car so gotta account for wear on the motor.. hm. but dang 108k thats amazing.
but its a 12 year old car so gotta account for wear on the motor.. hm. but dang 108k thats amazing.
09-29-2009, 03:37 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
If you need a car,,, and it dont smoke, Knock, clutch dont slip, and it runs good and A/C works!!!! I say make an offer around 2500 and go from there,,,,, does Nada have a value published on it???? My 95 is @ 200K!!!!! be sure to check CV Joints and the Rack & Pinion boots for leakage,,,,
If you find too many problems,,, either pass,,,,, or offer less money based on needed repairs JMHO
If you find too many problems,,, either pass,,,,, or offer less money based on needed repairs JMHO
09-30-2009, 04:48 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
Went down to check out the 5spd. Everything was perfect, just the rear bumper on the passenger side was damaged (it's just loose and has a super small bump). He's the original owner..
Only problem is the car is from Chicago, IL... The air there is quite moist so I think that's the cause of a lot of rust... There's rust on the metal parts of the engine, the nuts, and the bolts...
The metal parts of the engine that is exposed is only about 20% rusted, pretty much all the nuts are rusted, and the other parts... But it's really not that much rust.... Most of the rust is only seen on the nuts that are exposed that are mounted on the body/chassis.
What do you guys think??
http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto...-main_Full.jpg
^That's a picture of an engine, that's about how much rust is on the engine... That's not the engine itself, im just telling you guys how much rust there is... I'm saying that's about 20% rusted.. It's a little more than the picture shown but its around there...
Only problem is the car is from Chicago, IL... The air there is quite moist so I think that's the cause of a lot of rust... There's rust on the metal parts of the engine, the nuts, and the bolts...
The metal parts of the engine that is exposed is only about 20% rusted, pretty much all the nuts are rusted, and the other parts... But it's really not that much rust.... Most of the rust is only seen on the nuts that are exposed that are mounted on the body/chassis.
What do you guys think??
http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto...-main_Full.jpg
^That's a picture of an engine, that's about how much rust is on the engine... That's not the engine itself, im just telling you guys how much rust there is... I'm saying that's about 20% rusted.. It's a little more than the picture shown but its around there...
09-30-2009, 04:51 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
Oh yeah, the car itself is amazing... It sounds great, the body itself is great being a 1997 car, the rear bumper is the only problem wrong with the body... It's like falling off just a tiny bit, but i think that probably is a easy fix.
09-30-2009, 07:08 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
Is the bumper falling from rust ???? Do all the body panels have matching vins on them ????
09-30-2009, 07:13 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
just take it for a drive make sure it runs right and if does get that **** man.
looks good and for 3k its not too bad
looks good and for 3k its not too bad
09-30-2009, 07:32 PM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
No the bumper is not falling from rust. Everything is clean except under the hood.
Look at this post.
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/what-do-you-guys-think-about-5spd-civic-ex-2655615/
Look at this post.
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/what-do-you-guys-think-about-5spd-civic-ex-2655615/
10-01-2009, 01:47 AM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
Dude your getting a good deal on this ex. All your worries are simple problems that can be looked over. Like you said its 12 years old going on 13
Remember had the economy not taken a dump; you probably wouldnt find this pricetag on it.
Remember had the economy not taken a dump; you probably wouldnt find this pricetag on it.
10-01-2009, 07:17 AM
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
There's going to be rust no matter where it's from. At least the ones I've seen. I wouldn't worry about it.
But instead of asking this over the Internet with no pictures, do yourself a favor and take the car to a trusted mechanic. It'll cost you $50-$100 for an inspection. Well worth it if you're this worried.
But instead of asking this over the Internet with no pictures, do yourself a favor and take the car to a trusted mechanic. It'll cost you $50-$100 for an inspection. Well worth it if you're this worried.
Last edited by p nut; 10-01-2009 at 07:24 AM.
10-01-2009, 07:25 AM
#22
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Re: I'm looking at this 1997 Civic EX. Should I buy it? There are some problems... He
i would offer him a bit lower then hes asking and see what he says. low miles and a relatively nice car. if he takes a low bid your stealing it. GL on the buy
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