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I found a 2002 Honda Civic that was owned by an older gentleman who hardly drove it. It has about 36,000 miles on it and they are asking $4,900 for it. My question is this -- obviously the miles are very low for a car that age. But how much does the passage of time affect components? I would especially wonder if hoses and belts could become brittle with time.
I found a 2002 Honda Civic that was owned by an older gentleman who hardly drove it. It has about 36,000 miles on it and they are asking $4,900 for it. My question is this -- obviously the miles are very low for a car that age. But how much does the passage of time affect components? I would especially wonder if hoses and belts could become brittle with time.
I think this is the best way to buy cars. It's a good idea to change out all the fluids and filters and also have a couple thousand dollars available incase you need to fix something. It'll be interesting to see what others have to say about the potential "pitfalls".
I found a 2002 Honda Civic that was owned by an older gentleman who hardly drove it. It has about 36,000 miles on it and they are asking $4,900 for it. My question is this -- obviously the miles are very low for a car that age. But how much does the passage of time affect components? I would especially wonder if hoses and belts could become brittle with time.
Wow that's a great deal! Don't worry about any of the components. 2002 isn't too old. The only thing of concern would be the timing belt. But I am almost 100%sure the civic uses a chain. So that leaves just the serpentine belt to be changed. If you do decide to do that change the water pump and thermostat while your there. I'd also change the oils. Brake fluid, tranny fluid, power steering, engine oil. Really just all maintenance stuff that should be done when you buy a used car.
I would not recommend this. Age does just as much (if not more) damage to cars as mileage. Especially given the current state of the used car market, you'll probably be grossly overpaying for an out of date car with out of date safety & performance features, and something that will still have a lot of maintenance/replacement issues. Now $4,900 seems like a good price, if it's actually legitimate. I bet there's some kind of issue with it though... maybe it was in an accident? In 2003 I bought a 1993 Camry (supposedly one of the most reliable cars ever built) with 42k miles for $5,500, driven by an elderly lady who had to stop driving. I had a number of problems.
On a ten year old car like this, to save you trouble down the road, unless if you have proof that any of the following items were already recently replaced, I would automatically put on brand new tires (and get an alignment done right after), brakes (including the rotors), CV boots, timing belt, serpentine belt, water pump, radiator hoses (basically anything made out of rubber should be replaced), spark plugs, and battery. Do it now instead of waiting for **** to happen. I would get an oil change, transmission flush, radiator flush, power steering flush. I would also like to see documentation of regular oil changes (even if the car is sitting around the oil still needs to be changed periodically) or I would pass. It may even need new shocks. Basically, doesn't matter whether the car has low miles or high miles, on a 10 year old car I would plan on putting some money into it.
Last edited by vegaspilgrim; 05-19-2012 at 11:47 PM..
I found a 2002 Honda Civic that was owned by an older gentleman who hardly drove it. It has about 36,000 miles on it and they are asking $4,900 for it.
Even if this car was in Fair condition, the Blue Book is over $7,000. I say hurry and buy it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim
I would automatically put on brand new tires (and get an alignment done right after), brakes (including the rotors), CV boots, timing belt, serpentine belt, water pump, radiator hoses (basically anything made out of rubber should be replaced), spark plugs, and battery. Do it now instead of waiting for **** to happen. I would get an oil change, transmission flush, radiator flush, power steering flush. I would also like to see documentation of regular oil changes (even if the car is sitting around the oil still needs to be changed periodically) or I would pass. It may even need new shocks. Basically, doesn't matter whether the car has low miles or high miles, on a 10 year old car I would plan on putting some money into it.
I would Highly recommend you do NOT listen to this guy. While you can take the car to a dealership (or private garage) and get the tires, brake pads, rotors and hoses INSPECTED, I would not automatically just replace them just because they are 10 years old. For the price this is a GREAT deal, hell you can turn around and sell it the next day and make a couple of thousand dollar profit. Personally I have a 2003 Honda Civic LX with 120k miles on it, and although I did get the brakes, timing Belt, tires, water pump and battery replaced, everything else is original and I have no problems with the car. Even you you have to dump $1,000 into the car, it's still worth more than blue book value in fair condition. This assumes it's an 2002 Sedan LX, Automatic Transmission. And EX or something in excellent condition is worth even more. As for his "out of date safety" comment, you'd think the car is nothing better than a coffin on wheels, Safety standards haven't advanced THAT much in 10 years.
Last edited by TechGromit; 05-19-2012 at 11:56 PM..
We recently bought a 1998 Buick Park Ave, from an elderly retired couple, that had only 9200 miles on it. They only drove to the grocery, church, and doctors offices which all was nearby to them. We had a garage mechanic check it over and all we had to do was change the fluids. The rest of the car, being garaged, still was like new. Drives like a dream.
I found a 2002 Honda Civic that was owned by an older gentleman who hardly drove it. It has about 36,000 miles on it and they are asking $4,900 for it. My question is this -- obviously the miles are very low for a car that age. But how much does the passage of time affect components? I would especially wonder if hoses and belts could become brittle with time.
My brother was overjoyed when he inherited my grandfather's car. All I can say was that he was fortunate to be a mechanic at the time. He replaced the four tires which were dry-rotted, then all of the belts, many of the gaskets and the like.
What you have been offered is a decent, NOT a great deal IF you have teh money to deal with all of the issues that you might encounter. I would STRONGLY recommend that you have it inspected by a trusted mechanic.
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Rubber components are best replaced every 7 - 10 yrs (hoses, belts, and tires). You should be able to get this done fairly cheap ($300 + tires). I really appreciate my local parts jobber, as I get German hoses and belts for ~$2-$6 for my 35 yr old cars and trucks. I did finally have to change frt tires and a belt on my 1952 tractor... so you may be fine. (But Honda's are fragile, I would change out the hoses and belts and likely live for another trouble free 7 yrs.
I would not recommend this. Age does just as much (if not more) damage to cars as mileage. Especially given the current state of the used car market, you'll probably be grossly overpaying for an out of date car with out of date safety & performance features, and something that will still have a lot of maintenance/replacement issues. Now $4,900 seems like a good price, if it's actually legitimate. I bet there's some kind of issue with it though... maybe it was in an accident? In 2003 I bought a 1993 Camry (supposedly one of the most reliable cars ever built) with 42k miles for $5,500, driven by an elderly lady who had to stop driving. I had a number of problems
Terrible advice, buy the car. Have it inspected and enjoy it
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