Used Car Buying Advice

[AutoModellista]

I found a 1991 Honda Civic Hatch back with a DOHC Vtec engine. The car includes Steal Motor Mounts, and vibrates quite a bit. The body is straight, but upholstery needs to be redone. I want it, but, is it worth $5000??

[civic1784]

Get a list of what he's done to it, and insist on as many recipts as possible, and ask for a list of services that the car has recieved. I bet you can get it down lower. How is the body? Is it in good shape? Rust free? Check the rubber CV boots, are they cracked? Find out who did the swap, and in general, go over it with a fine toothed comb.

[Fred]

usually 5k for a vtec 4g civic is on the high list, so its expensive, but it allways all depends what else is on it, remember the for 1500$ you can buy a descent looking civic and for 3500$ you can do a motor swap with a brand new siR (well almost brand new) and actually use REAL motor mount and you wont break your driveshaft every weekend! I personnaly think that if the car vibrates and all that I would walk away and wait for a better deal to come. Remember that those siR civic are very popular and theirs allways a good deal slipping by once a while, you just have to allways be updated with whats going around for sale and also have the money ready cause you never know when a good deal will show up, and theirs nothing more anoying than to miss a good deal.
and to put you on the track for hope, my friend wanted to sell me his civic with a b16 all done up for 1200$ cdn, so if you think that car is really worth the money go for it, but if you have some doupt that kinda push you away, your probably right and you should wait

[AutoModellista]

Well, I passed up on the car. Thanks for the heads up. This sucks, I wish I knew more about cars in general, I don't even know how the hell motor mounts are supposed be, let alone were to look for rubber CV boots. I checked out the Tech forums, and now I know a little about the different engines types, but I really don't know anything. I’ve wanted to get a 4th generation Civic HB ride, ever since I was 12 back in 1991. I don’t know anyone in my area to help me with buying a good deal. Damn, I have a feeling I'm going to end up paying more for less any way I look at it.

[Fred]

well this site is the perfect place to learn lots of stuff, I say LOTS, I was a bit of a motor moron myself and now I almost feel like doing a motor swap myself, Im not lying, Im still a moron on how to figure out how the posting and tread works though :lol: .You souldnt feel bad about letting a deal go, why do you feel bad, its not like you own the car and you made a bad purchace, just let it go and wait for the next one, trust me those cars are everywhere, I've seen all kind of design for motor mounts, some of them works great but some I mean what they place in their poweraid, I've seen motor mounts made out of bounch of left over metal all weld in one piece, and honnestly for the money you save in making yourself a motor mount or buying a cheap made mount, your cona lose more money on replacement driveshaft, etc etc.. where about are you located at, how much money you entend to spend for a car and do you want it allready done up or you want to make it your own project car

[AutoModellista]

Well, as fate would have it, I made a deal with a different civic HB. This civic is clean and the owner is actually pretty cool, he's in the industry, and mentioned to give me deals with future maintenance and upgrades. Funny as it may be, he works right by my house. The civic has a b18a1. And $4000 is the deal. I should have it by later this week. YAY! But can I still post here even though I wouldn't have a VTEC???

[el_jelly]

Of course boy! And with that b18 under...ummm...thats sweet.

[jonGSR]

Steel motor mounts? That sounded awfully strange, and I would really like to see one of those crazy motor mounts that Fred mentioned! That's nasty! It's amazing the sh*t people do to cars when they are being cheap. I think $5000 was a lot for that car, regardless of condition. Obviously the owner pushed the car hard, just because of the swap, but who knows for how long. Maybe it was running NOS or something, you never know. But $5 G's sounded a bit high. Pat yourself on the back for letting that one get away.

[Fred]

plus now with a b18, save up some money for a turbo and you'll be the king

[AutoModellista]

Well, I am glad I made good a choice. Ok, so turbo works well with the b18a1. How much are the parts? Will it still pass smog with turbo? The owner said he would install a turbo kit for cheap. Would the pretty good gas mileage drastically be lost? How exactly does turbo work? Is there a link of some sort where I can read about it? I’ll show some pictures of the car as soon as I get it, hopefully by Thursday.

[civic1784]

You'll need to make sure that the engine is also from California. It ought to pass smog, as they are both OBD.

[Fred]

well like any other car, the more hp the more gaz it consume, so for a turbo, your pushing more air in your cylinder, theirfor you have to equal it with fuel, but turbos are still ok on gaz, Im not saying you wont see a difference, but it wont be that bad! and when I said starts saving I meant it! a turbo kit is not cheap, and a safe/powerfull turbo kit is even more expensive, hint* turbo timer boost controller blow of valve etc etc. but at least you have a good motor to start with! and for the guy saying hes gona give you all those deals, usually they say that so you buy it and then once you bought it their like huhh what I never said that, so dont get to excited

[el_jelly]

Another advice:be careful when mixing and matching parts together to save a couple of bucks, many people out there like to get everything used on ebay or something like. You won't know exactly how much parts have been on use or if they have been damaged and repaired. Usually the best is to go with turbo kits already made for an specific engine, for example F-max, Greddy and DRAG kits. All the parts are brand new and come ready to put on and eventhough their price seems high on the long run you will save more.

[Corran]

as for learning more about your new car, I know what it is like to be in your position. I recomend going to a book store and buying a couple of the Honda tuning books. Read everything you can on civics, get the magazines like Honda Tuning. Ask the dumb questions, we all had to ask them sometime. also, do everything yourself, if you can. Change your oil, do your own brakes, ect. If you get a shop manual, almost everything is easy, and you will learn the fastest that way.

[AutoModellista]

Yeah I am going to go to the library and check out some books, I really can’t wait to get the car. Most likely it will be next Friday. I think I am going to go with a Greddy kit when I get the money, I hear it’s better for passing smog.