dogbiscuit

I recently found out that my nasty Lincoln continental is fixing to blow a head gasket. So i have to get a new car soon.

i ran into a guy who has a 1993 Civic EX coupe, with 155,000 miles and he is the original owner.
The car has new exhaust and a new clutch, and is in pretty damn good condition it shifts smoothly through every gear.

One big problem i see. It has old tires on the front that are dry rotted, bumps on the sidewalls, and they dip in the middle of the tread. When i get this car up to about 70 mph it starts floating like crazy, very different from my lincoln.
I was told by my mechanic to check the tie rods and bearings. I jacked the car up and try to feel any play in the front suspension. which there was none.
Do these car's feel loose like this naturally or do u guys think getting new tires will fix this problem. I asked the owner to at least get the tires rotated and see if that helps with the floating. "He doesn't notice it floating because he's driven it for 12 years." He is going to check into that for me.

I also noticed that one of the bolts that hold the tie rod in place is bent under the A-Arm like something has hit it. would that be the problem, but it seems it only tightened it more, nothing a new bolt couldn't fix.

I still think its the tires and for only $2000 this car isn't to expensive
Since you guys know way more about this car than me what else should i look out for in buying?

dogbiscuit

I just talekd to the owner and he is having them rotated tonight and i will be testing it tomorrow to see if that has the blunt of the problem. still any experience with this could help?

Kista20

that seems a bit much to me but then it's just me... A lot of miles but it should be able to go 200,000 or so without any major problems if it's been properly maintained. The problems do sound like the tires and it sounds like it could use a new set. I'd probabally pay the 2 grand if he put new tires on it but if not try to talk him down. I wouldn't buy a vehicle with 155,000 miles unless I knew the owner really well. Mine has 147,000 miles and it's been great but then it did have 70,000 when I bought it. But what are your plans for the car, daily driver or you gonna swap the motor? I know a lot of people buy high mileage cars because they can buy them a lot cheaper and they are just going to swap the motor out anyways.

dogbiscuit

what i want the car for is just for school, i still live at home and go to college. and my car only gets 21mpg as is. i don't plan on modding this car at all, unless its for better mileage. i just need something that will be easy and cheap to repair when needed to be fixed. My current car i have put 30k miles on it in 3 years. i have about 3-4 more years of college left and when i graduate i will be purchasing a new vehicle. I just need this thing for its mileage and reliability, to last me through college without major repairs. he's done standard maintaince on it "oil change, wash etc"

This guy has worked with my mother for years, and isn't some guy on the street trying to rip me off. he will not go under $2000 but for its condition it values around $2300-$2500. If its only the tires causing this problem i figure i can get new ones soon and will purchase the car.

anymore thoughts?

Uncle Ben

I think 2k is a fair asking price. Don't let poor tire condition or the "floating" scare you off. Faulty tires usually play a major role in the driving condition. From your information, it seems like a pretty fair deal IMO.

dogbiscuit

Thanks Ben, this car runs great and i really like it, but my dad's hate for anything un-american except honda ATV's is getting to me. i just need lots of friendly support buying a car isn't something easy.

Are there any things i should look out for with this car before i purchase, the control thing has caught the blunt of my attention. what else should i, inspect

dogbiscuit

I am buying the car this weekend, after driving it with the tires rotated it was like driving a different car. can't wait to get some new wheels and tires on the sucker.

blackeg

2 grand is a good deal .

when my 93 ex got stolen last year with 143k miles, my insurance company appraised it at just under 4500 bucks.