Sorry if this is the wrong thread, a google search for a similar question was posted here...

I'm in way over my head and it's a lot of money for me to impulse buy so I'm turning to you guys for some hopefully friendly advice.

Here's the car. *link removed*

I don't know much else other than what is posted other than when driving the car everything seemed to run smooth. turbo spooled up, idle'd good, starts fine, didn't overheat...

I'm looking for a daily driver that will last me quite a while but is still fun to drive. I don't plan on beating on this thing and will probably never redline it. is this a smart buy?

again, sorry if i sound like an idiot.

 

What's your knowledge on turbo Hondas? This is just a general question

 

absolutely none. I've owned two civics for the last 10 years and have done nothing but basic bolt-ons. I'm probably way in over my head, huh? I've been doing research for the last few days and was set on buying it, but when it came to actually driving to go pick it up all the doubts overwhelmed me...hence why I'm here. Need the experts advice.

 

another huge doubt is that i'm in illinois and will have to pass emissions, which I was told by the seller that it was a simple as swapping the ecu out with an non-vtec obd2 that'll plug right in. which doesn't sound like the case at all according to the threads i've been reading.

 

Simple answer:
Don't buy it
Researching this is going to take more than a few days. In your case your buying someone else project which can be good or bad. To risky in my opinion.

 

thanks for getting back to me. the initial excitement quickly turned into a bad gut feeling as soon as i started bouncing around on these forums. i mean, this very well could be a solid build as they are a "shop" but it's that giant what-if it's not that's killing me. i'm pretty sure i could read these threads for a year and still not comprehend any of it until i do the work myself. thanks again, man.

 

Np

 

Personally, I would almost never buy someone else's setup unless I knew everything about it. Furthermore, if you're new to turboing Hondas, don't even think about it. You will have nothing but headaches.

Being ignorant to turbo setups, the seller could easily pass off crappy parts or potential problems and you would be none the wiser. The best thing you can do is to start researching and learning, then once you're a certified expert, you can boost your own car or confidently buy someone else's. Check the FAQ at the top of the forum ...its a good place to start

Be skeptical of everything/everyone and about 98% of "shops" because only a select few people/shops actually know what the hell they're doing

 

I got headaches just reading about other peoples' problems haha. I'm pretty confident with stock repairs or pretty much anything that I can refer to a manual for, but turboing is a whole other beast. The FAQs and write-ups in this community are amazing and definitely boosted (har har) my hope for one day building my own setup once the confidence and bank account are ready for it. So many thanks all around.

The test drive is was pretty much sold me on the car in the first place. The sound, the power, and the sound...haha. But once I started asking the seller questions that I pretended to know what I was talking about (thanks honda-tech) the answers got a little vague and I grew less and less confident that I was making a smart buy.

Anyway, I hope this thread pops up in a google search for the next dude sitting in my shoes after browsing craigslist for a new car.

 

Honestly you could build something that you know whats going on with for about the same amount of money. I bet that ebay turbo hasent been rebuilt too, But you could do better.