tubbierainbows

okay i need help from some of you guys who really know what your talking about. i know a good amount about cars, but mechanically, not so much lol..

i currently drive a 4door ek, but i am selling it because i found a reallly clean 1992 civic vx in amazing condition! a dealer is selling it, the cluster has 59k miles but thats not original, the motor in it is "supposedly" not the original. it is a d15z1 original VX model motor and the cluster in the car came with the engine that currently sits in the vehicle. so 59k on the motor, unknown on the chassis.

the car has a salvaged title from theft, the only things that were stoeln were simple things.. (body parts, headlights, cluster etc..) and its being sold for 4950$ the dealer put it all back together and it looks great and everything works. now my issue is i need help inspecting the car, i dont have a mechanic who can do that for me. im skeptical it may hav underlying damage (this is a smaller dealer, i like this dealer but then again you cant reaaalllyy trust everything they say, theyre salesmen) what can i look for that will give me obvious red flags?
i understand if its really salvage title because of simple theft it will be a great buy, BUT i need to look further into, please help! thanks alot!

buy the way, i drove it and it drives wonderfully. everything works on the car, its very clean, engine bay is beautiful, and it pulls very nice ( i even redlined it and the car responded wonderfully and gave me no weird or sketchy sounds or feels)
please help, sorry for the long write up but i would appriacte a little advice, is this stupid? im sort of a civic enthusiast so even if you tell me im stupid for buying it ill still look into it until i know forsure its a bad descision..lol thanks guys

B_Swapped93

You'll be into it 5K after tax/fee's...could get a GSR/ITR swapped eg for that kind of money and would be a whole lot faster. Things to look for, compression test the engine take the valve cover off if you can see what shape it looks like under it. try and obtain service records/repair bills.

5K is nuts for a 92 vx considering it's the lowest trim level....pics of car ?

doctorake

Claims to know a lot about cars, says 4 door EK.


Pass on the vx, too much money for a salvage title.

Outrun

CX, VX, DX, Si.

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

^^
This

Salvaged title means its worth approx 60% less then a clean title. Id give the guy 1200-1400 for the civic.


Im still in amazement that someone is trying to get 5 grand not only for a salvaged title, but a car thats 22 years old!

IDK how clean it is. even if it had a clean title its not worth a 5 grand. Someone needs to kick that guy in the *****.

Ive got a clean 99 with a B20 swap, suspension, interior, etc and I doubt I could get 5 grand for my ride


Edit: If the dealer puts 3 grand into a 800-1000 dollar car, thats their own fault.
(LOL im not going to point out the irony here as just about every honda lover does the same thing)

instrument

yikes..ive seen type rs in decent shape for seven....please post pics when you buy this car....

94EG8

Some people actually Buy VXs for the mileage, it's also not that hard to get into one for 5 grand if you buy one that needs work.

OP are you in a state where rust is an issue? If so check for signs of poorly fixed quarter panels.

As far as the engine goes, remove the oil cap, look inside the fill hole with a flashlight, if it looks nice and clean chances are the engine is good. Check the coolant, is it clean? Is the wiring harness all factory and in good shape or is it hacked up?

These cars are pretty simple and most issues are pretty obvious if you know what to look for.

nebster66

^^^
Exactly!

tubbierainbows

south florida, sooo no snow but very humid.. the body is really clean though, it look great, and as far as the harness goes it looks factory. the engine bay like you said is very clean and simple lol. well the dealer was closed for the whole weekend until tomorrow, so i will be picking it up tomorrow if all goes well, thanks everyone

and yes, its a 4door ek.. obviously its not an "ek", its a 6th generation which is looked at as ek, even though its an ej. dont be that guy.....
you dont call a 5th gen si an "eh".. lol, you call it eg, cause thats what its known as

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

too many shady dealers in south florida.

I wouldnt buy a salvaged title 4 door for 5 grand, no matter how clean it is.

B_Swapped93

^And it's stock plus he'll have to pay tax+ dealer fee's etc....watch it be 5.5K or more if it cost's 6k you could pretty much K swap a car for that.


lol for that I could get a clean integra GSR.... no rust even in northern Ontario for about 4K. instead you've made some guy laugh is *** of at the stupidity of a kid that thing is worth 3K max ! and I dough you'll get any nice car complements at the gas station.

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

Usually a salvaged title means its been crashed before. Then some shop buys it for 200 bucks and tries to fix it.

Take a piece if aluminum foil, crumble it up, now try to get it flat again. salvaged titles are the same thing. Structural rigidity is compromised.


Ill sell you my civic for 5k, at least you know its clean and taken care of!


Edit: nevermind... I have a grand in suspension, a grand in interior, and close to a grand with rollers...

not to mention the B20 I just spent 2 grand on building.


My car is going down with the ship

94EG8

The car the OP is looking at is salvage title due to theft, not an accident.

That really isn't true in every case. It's pretty easy to do enough body damage on a car like that to write it off and not really damage anything structural.

speedjunkie_g35

I have seen several VX's sell in the range of 4k. Only paid a grand for mine so I couldnt justify paying that much.

GOLF BRO

Where did you buy an VX for only a grand?? I've been looking for one forever and can't even find one!

speedjunkie_g35

Pensacola, fl. It had a qtr panel that needs replaced so I was able to get down from 2500. I unfortunately didn't know much at the time of purchase about a vx. I bought a hatch with every intention of being a track car so I could learn about boost before I dropped a 2jzgte in my lexus gs300. I drove my vx around for a year getting 45 mpg city before I swapped a gsr in. I would love to find another in mint condition now that I know more about them just to be able to keep stock.

tubbierainbows

thanks everyone for the responses, here ill post some pics of the ad

the last pictures shows the car after they got it form auction, with salvaged title..

as now it sits on full tein coils all around, has a good in-dash and new speakers all around, and sub, and obviously the dealer prettied up the engine bay so its quit a bit cleaner in person,but basically thats the vx im looking at.. haven't purchased it yet, but i plan on knocking a good amount of the price off cause yes 5k is toooo much even for a vx. But thanks guys for your opinions they helped!

tubbierainbows

and heres a decent picture of the front end and drivers side as well.. like i said, very clean all around

tony_2018

Not worth it at the dealer. It doesn't matter if the prepped it with all that crap. Its a salvage title. Even if you put full coverage on it, totalled the car you're not gonna get that full 5k back.

94EG8

It looks nice, but it's got the wrong front fenders, they're off a DX/EX/Si

jeffcat

Surprised? Stock Civic VX's go for $8000 all the time on Ebay if they are in good shape. Hell, they just sold an Arizona car with 59K on it....all original but with a cracked windshield and some minor blemishes for $8000. People want STOCK VXs and they are incredibly difficult to find as they are either destroyed by ricers/engine swappers or have succumbed to way too much rust and left for dead.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-Honda-Civic-VX-Hatchback-3-Door-1-5L-/221266431275?item=221266431275&forcerrptr=true&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item338481cd2b&nma=true&si=hx6HvV91d6TaUtBOyvlQ6ff1EX0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
With that said, $5K is a bit steep considering it is salvage. I would say though that if it is straight, and everything runs well I wouldn't rule it out. Check the MPGs it gets. It may indicate a blocked EGR passage or failing O2 sensor. The 5 wire O2 sensors are very expensive, but if you look hard, you can find it for $180. After that, as long as it's in good knick...I'd keep it in mind...more than what I would pay as I start low and rebuild to save money, but if it's in good shape and the title can be brought back to life, then I wouldn't deter you from thinking about it.

jeffcat

An Integra doesn't get 65mpg in stock form.

jeffcat

Trust me...it's a massive pain. I've been stalking for one the past month(nationwide for 49 state legal) and I've seen maybe 30 total...of that 30, probably only a dozen were stock and unmolested or destroyed to engine swaps/teenagers. I found one last week, but it's in pretty rough shape, but does run and drive and that's about all you can ask for. If you are interested, I know a guy that has a VX, but it needs a MASSIVE amount of body work. He is selling it for $500, but the engine is strong, but needs a tranny. He said a friend of his has a VX tranny and the original VX wheels if you are interested. The guy specializes in VX's. It was just more of a project than I wanted to tackle, but the engine alone is worth at least $500, so you can't really lose on the deal.

jeffcat

Yep. The front fenders on the VX did NOT having molding holes for the middle of the door moulding strip that you see.

Also, I see no front chin spoiler under the bumper that the VX had. Another suspicious part is the rear window wiper. If I remember correctly, VX's did NOT have the rear window wiper. Everything else seems ok as long as it's stamped D15Z1 and isn't a Cali car.

fleabag

If you're buying this car for the gas mileage, $5000 is too much because in that price range, you can buy yourself a used '04-'09 Prius with 200K miles. The Prius CLEAN TITLE will get better gas mileage, be faster, lower maintenance and more reliable than the Civic VX. The fact that the car has a salvage title makes it worth so much less. If you hate Toyotas then you can get a Civic Hybrid or a Insight in that price range as well. When the battery goes, fork over like $1300 and assuming you didn't buy the CVT version, you should have a decent long lasting car from there. CVTs are fine only if they're maintained.