I am 29 and i have been a bus man for years. I decided to get a license and now i have one I now am looking to buy my first new car. What is a good price to pay for a 1995 honda accord? i am only looking to buy a good commuter that will last me a few years, until i have enough to buy a new car. I heard hondas were great so i want to start with them. here are the specs. It is from a private seller.

It's Green
4 cylinder
5 speed manual
have nearly all service records
clutch master & slave cylinder replaced
new intake
new power steering pump
starter
car is in immaculate shape
drives great
runs great
very dependable
283 kms
there's a little rust circle back wheel no bigger then a loonie
and it's not insured so i cannot test drive it.
Her reason for selling is because her and her bf has too many vehicles and their landlord is getting upset

What is a good price for this car? I offered $1600 and she said yes right away, i'm wondering if there is a catch, usually when someone agrees to an offer right away it is usually a big ripoff for the buyer, however i am a new car buyer and i do respect all car sellers and would not try to pay the real total value of the car. Of course i would agree to give them some profit. So roughly how much would this car be worth, should i pay $1600? I am aware that i get what i pay for.

Your help is very much appreciated. Thank you for your replies.

 

That sounds like a pretty good deal IMO. I'm curious as to why the intake was replaced.
The things I would be concerned with are the timing belt, verify when this was last replaced, the clutch itself, and if the front rotors are in need of replacement(they are a captured design which requires dis assembly of most of the front suspension). Best bet, would be to have it towed to a mechanic familiar with 1990-1997 Accords and have them give it the once over.

If you have a compression tester for gas engines, you can do a quick check to see if any of the cylinders are dead. Usually a hunting or rough idle(after warm up) will indicate if something is not right. These are interference engines, if the timing belt broke the pistons will smack and bend the valves.
Overheating issues also occur from improperly bled cooling system, which in turn can cause a blown gasket.

When you go to start the car turn it to ON and look for the check engine light. If it does not light up you cannot check the codes, and/or the owner may be trying to hide something. Check for codes by looking under the glove box door, there will be two blue connectors the one with two wires is the one you will need to jump with a paper clip. Turn the car to ON and the check engine light will blink if there are any codes. Record the blinks and look up the code.

 

Just for clarification:

When the jumper MAD_MIKE described is not jumped, the Check Engine Light should come on for two seconds after starting the car, and then shut off. If it does not come on, this means the bulb is either burnt out, has been removed (usually a sign that the owner knows there is something wrong with the car and wants to hide it from you), or is otherwise not working (not exactly a good sign). If the light stays on for more than two seconds, then that means the Engine Control Unit (the electronic circuitry that is essential to making the car run properly) is bad or has detected a problem. If it does stay on, you can read a code from the Engine Control Unit, which will indicate what it believes to be the issue. This is done by jumping the Service Jumper MAD_MIKE described, and then reading/decoding (counting) the flashes given on the Check Engine Light (the light will only flash if the jumper is inserted). A long flash is a count of 10, and a short flash is a count of 1; you can then look up the code on this forum or the rest of the Internet. If the Check Engine Light does not illuminate (flashing or otherwise) while the Service Jumper is jumped, then this represents a problem as well. Technically, if the Check Engine Light came on while the Service Jumper was not jumped, and the Check Engine Light stays solid while the Service Jumper is jumped, then this is likely an issue as well.