I'm possibly getting a new car this weekend but wanted to check in on some people that know about them to see if its a good deal. I currently own a 1999 Jeep Cherokee that is lifted. I really don't want to get rid of it and will really miss it. Well with these gas prices I can't afford to keep it. Right now I'm looking at a 2002 Civic EX. Has 177,000 miles on it and is modded a little. The guy wants 3000. Want to know if this is a good deal and maybe some things I should keep an eye out for when I go look and possibly buy this weekend.

Here's pictures of it.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id...233&aid=253921

This is the list of stuff done to it that he emailed me and some other things.

"The mods the car has , shortram intake, race header, full exhaust cat back, neuspeed springs two inch drop, front strut bar, rear trunk brace, quick release steering wheel, racing steering wheel, slotted and cross drilled race rotors front only, del sol si wheels, new snow trax tires, short throw shifter, and milled head for increased compression ratio= more power. has a broken passenger mirror which is twenty bucks on ebay, cracked wind shield lower passenger side.(it passed inspection) has some small dings/dents and tiny spec of rust maybe but thats why im selling for 3,000.00 as is."

And here's my loved cherokee in case anyone here likes jeeps too.

 

well car looks like it's been in accident before....probably hence the quick release. But maybe you should check the whole SRS system to be sure. $3k for an 02 seems decent if there isn't too much rust or problems. Also, ask if he has done the timing belt yet... If not then its long past due.

 

Why would a quick release steering wheel hint of an accident? Anything else that hints you to that? And by check the SRS system you mean?

 

Partially because that's what i did. After my airbags blew I bought a Sparco quick release setup and been using it for a year. After airbags blow....lots of little parts need to be fixed and would end up costing alot. (Honda quoted me $3000 to fix everything) and in this case would be the cost of the car your'e buying. The front bumper/fender/hood seems to be off also. Checking the SRS sytem means checking the whole airbag system to see which parts works/doesnt work. $90 at the dealership.

 

Hm. Very good points. I'll be sure to ask him these things.

 

I'm going to break down what the owner has for a description, just to help you understand things for his car. I would recommend getting as much of the original equipment he/she has to replace a lot of the things they've done.

Short Ram Intake = No power gain, only more engine noise. (Depending on manufacturer, could also be a sub-standard filtration device.)

Race Header = Negligible power gain, and potentially increased engine noise.

Full Exhaust Cat-Back = No power gain, guaranteed increase in engine noise.

Neuspeed Springs = Decent aftermarket springs, but without a replacement damper you could foresee rough ride characteristics (or blown dampers).

Front Strut Bar/Rear trunk brace = Depending on manufacturer, these could either help slightly or be completely cosmetic items.

Quick Release/Steering Wheel = Makes me think it was in a collision where the airbags were deployed. Check CarFax, if possible.

Slotted and cross drilled race rotors front only = Makes me think they didn't notice the car has rear drums, and that the rotors will only decrease brake performance and pad life (the only way that style of rotor works, is with proper additional brake ducting).

Milled Head = Makes me think that the head was warped due to overheating/blown headgasket (can be a common problem for some).

Headlights = Cheap eBay projectors that are prone to fogging and low-visibility.

 

Well what attracted me to the car was that it was an 02 for only 3000. The mods what I saw at first were just a plus. But I can agree with what I imagine you guys are gonna say which is "built not bought." I've had my eye out for other civics of decent condition just haven't had any luck. So would you guys say this is a good buy or a problem waiting to happen? My budget is short and honestly this is priced at the top of it. I don't want to end up putting more money into it.

 

I would be skeptical purchasing a car like that. I would personally prefer buying a car that was much closer to stock condition, to hopefully assure a car in better mechanical condition. You have no idea if the current owner races the vehicle on the street, but modifications like those can potentially be a sign of it. Plus, with the "built not bought" mentality in mind... this owner didn't really "build" it very well. The modifications made, can be dwindled down to a negligible performance gain over stock trim.

 

He told me it was just his winter car and he has another civic that he has for the summer. Hm. This is looking to be too good to be true now. May just steer away.

 

Anyone else please continue with any other thoughts or suggestions.

 

knowing that the OP is probably retarded and will likely get an SUV if gasoline prices drop again... I feel obligated to do the OP a favor and to have him avoid the heart ache of getting rid of his beloved truck to buy a civic only to go back to getting a truck again, but not the same one...


If the events in the middle east or north africa are of any indication, stability will come back to the middle east soon. With gaddaffi seemingly regaining control of his empire and saudi arabia quenching any potential for protest, I'd say it's safe to say gas prices will go back to $3 a gallon at least for some time. For the overall trend, like 10 years, I think gas prices will go up, but if you think 3 years is a LONG TIME (long enough for you to grow up and get sick of your truck) then I'd say, keep the truck cause in the short term future, I think fuel prices will go down once it stabilizes in the middle east/north africa.

 

Well my situation is I am going to school at Wyotech right now and am not retarded. I live close enough that i travel home most weekends so I use a lot of gas. Story is I was barely affording it when it was lower not so long ago. My saved up money was slowly depleting. So it will be nice to be somewhat financially comfortable for once. Wish I just had the money to take the jeep off the road and just buy a car but its just not possible for me. I also just got a job so that should help out my financial situation.

 

When i looked into buying a civic, I looked for one that had ZERO mods. Reason being is that everyone under the sun likes to mod a vic... and if they mod it, obviously they are gonna beat it to ****. And for the majority of the time, they don't keep up on the maintenance. If i were you, I would pass. I'm also gonna roll with toyomatt's input. if anything, this guy knows his stuff, and when he gives you advice about the car you're looking at, you'd be real smart to pay heed. In my opinion, I think the owner was most likely hard on this car. Plus, the panels do look off a bit.

 

I know I might get some flak for this, but try inflating your tires to their maximum pressure and drive 55mph instead of the speed you normally drive. Also, if and when you do inflate your tires, drive cautiously to make sure the handling characteristics or stability didn't change too drastically for the worse.

If you could improve your fuel economy from 19mpg to 23mpg, you might actually save enough money to make it through. I mean what kind of fuel economy are you getting at the moment? How are you driving the vehicle? Have you given your vehicle a tuneup, making sure you've replaced things like the PCV valve or adjusted the valve lash, checked your vehicle grounds, etc.?

To give you an idea:
At $4 a gallon (what we pay here in cali) if you average 19mpg, you'll pay $3158 in gas per year at 15K miles per year. If you improve that to 21mpg, only 2 mpg, same miles (15K), same cost of fuel ($4), you'll pay $2857 in fuel costs. If you can increase your fuel economy to 23mpg, same miles, same cost of fuel, you'll pay $2609 in fuel costs per year.

To give you an idea for comparison, with gasoline at $3 a gallon and you averaging 19mpg, driving 15K miles per year, your fuel costs will be $2368.. I know it sounds like I'm ignoring what you have to say, but as a person who has trouble letting go of possessions that I like, I'm trying to relate to your situation and seeing what's the simplest, most expedient and cost effective solution to your dilemma. Nothing would be worse than for you to buy a car and to hate it because it's not what you want but what you feel forced to have.

Have you ever bothered to calculate your fuel economy? If you have oversized tires, try to compensate for that in your calculations.

 

Right now I don't have my oversize tires on because I'm trying to save mileage and I do keep my tires, which ever set may be on, inflated properly. And being that it is an offroad vehicle I don't speed in it cause with my big tires they stick out to far and I don't need any extra attention. As of right now with my small tires I'm maxing out at almost 16 mpg. And that's a combo of both highway and city driving. That's just about what cherokee's are known to get stock. Every time I fill up right now it costs me just about $65 dollars. It's just too much for a poor college student like me. I see it as I'll get a good mpg car now and start saving up money to buy another cherokee in the future and I'll have an actual job then too hopefully and I would be able to build it the way I really wanted to build mine but couldn't afford. I kind of want a fresh start on it anyway because with everything I did on it it was a learning experience. Now that I've done a lot and learned a lot I can build my next one even better.

 

I know this isn't the right section for this car but since I already have a thread started I'll just post it here. How about this one guys?

http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/2258511439.html

 

That looks like a pretty good deal for the car. I would definitely say it's a better deal then the EM2, even though I'm a sucker for an EM2.

 

nice car on gas

 

Well I'm gonna keep my options open yet. I just remember that the guy did say that if we were to negotiate price he would take the wheels and tires off along with the steering wheel so maybe he did just put that racing one on for looks and still has the original. I'm definitely liking the 92 though. Only thing is that its a 4 door but I can deal with that. price seems a little high for it to me though.

 

Why don't you try inflating your tires to their maximum pressure, drive cautiously and see if your MPG improves.. I know that on my truck, when I inflated them to their maximum pressure, tires wore evenly and I gained 3mpg, going from 19 to 22mpg which is a huge increase just from tire pressure alone. Your tires aren't going to burst from inflating them to the pressure printed on their sidewall. Tires are burst tested all the way up to 300-600psi, with the rims failing before the tire does. Tires are incredibly strong. I inflate all my tires to their maximum pressures and while there may be some negative effects from doing this like potentially wearing out the bushing early, only things I've noticed is a rough ride. If you don't like how it rides or you feel the vehicle drives squirrely, you can always back down on the pressure. The best fuel economy gains can be made by inflating at the very least the front tires to their maximum pressure.

Oh and btw, the only way that 16mpg makes sense for your cherokee is if you do 45% highway driving, 55% city driving and my guess is, you do more highway than city driving. Replacing the $5 PCV valve could improve your fuel economy like it did for me. If you could increase your fuel economy from 16mpg to 19mpg, you'd reduce your fuel costs from $3300 to $2700 ($3.50 a gallon). If you were driving 15K miles per year, at 16mpg, $2.92 a gallon of gasoline, your fuel costs would be around $2700. If you don't see the magnitude of what I'm saying, if you can increase your fuel economy by only 3mpg, you would be paying the same in fuel costs now as you were 6 months ago.. I'm only suggesting these things because they're cheap and easy things to do to your truck in the interim and may or may not be enough for you to keep your truck. It's not the cost of the fillup that matters, it's how far you go with it.

Btw, according to fueleconomy.gov, people's own estimates is that the cherokee averages 18mpg if you're doing 60% highway driving and I wouldn't be surprised if you're doing more highway driving than city driving. At least three guys got 20-24mpg doing 80% highway driving in their 4WD '99 Jeep Cherokee.

 

new plugs, check the condition of your distrib. cap, rotor contacts, check for good resistance in ignition wires. Change PCV valve, check/replace air filter (replace with fabric K&N filter). Change trans fluid if its old or dirty. Maintain full tire pressure. Check for uneven tire wear (alignment and worn bushings) and replace suspension components as required.

Drive with slower acceleration and no hard braking.

Start there and your mileage will be much better.

 

Keep the Jeep, but you want to travel cheap, get a 4 door Hyundai Accent. It easy to insure and sips gas. It's so ugly no one will steal it, perfect for college.
I doubt you will find an unmodified Civic for less than $3000.

 

Might be able to get that civic if it has a salvage title... For a cheap car, could get a Tercel, corolla, Festiva, or some other economy car. Civics have a price premium for a reason.

 

words right outa my mouth.... ASK THE SELLER IF HE HAS THE ORIGINAL STEERING WHEEL, Plus look at the Pass air bag and compair the shade of the dash board... if it was in an accident and the Pass bag was deployed that might be why the window has a crack... check for the SRS light on the dash board, turn the key on and look for the lights on the dash to make sure they come on, If no light then its safe to say he removed the bulb, also why did the headlights get replaced? also the front bumper is held up by supports under the headlights,look to see if they are there or cracked.....
Either way Good luck and dont rush into it, I have made many mistakes rushing into buying cars... Just weigh out your options and what your going to need to fix it and then sit back and decide what you wanna do...

 

Did you take your car in when Honda was doing a recall on all 01-03 model civic?? they wouldn't have charged you anything.