Honda Civic HB VX. Good buy?

[GearHeadDriver]

Unbelievable. I've been talking to the owner since Sunday and he wasn't in a hurry to sell his car. I went over some final details with him yesterday morning. It's been 24 hours later and the car was removed from Craigslist and now he won't answer my messages. He seemed like a nice guy from the start. Drat!


I found these cars instead. Are they any good?

http://eauclaire.craigslist.org/cto/4970574266.html

http://newhaven.craigslist.org/cto/4977491366.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/1995-honda-civic-vx-3000-obo-31601.html

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281661620113?item=281661620113&autorefresh=true

 

[HeX]

The VX in Menomonie seems sketchy. Unknown true mileage and Ive mever heard of a speedometer not eorking in 5th gear so I have no idea how thats possible. That kinda panel rust will require nee panels thus added costs.

The New London VX owner is nuts to ask for $4000 for a civic with 322k miles regardless of the nice appearing paint job & clean interior. Pass!


The VX on EcoModder would be my choice of the 3. It appears clean, is kept reasonably original with acceptable exceptions, may have some minor common leaks, but an EcoModder owner is more likely to have babied it being that only those of fuel efficient minds are members of that forum. Check it out.

 

[GearHeadDriver]

Did you notice the car is leaking oil? I texted the seller and he said it's most likely a head gasket. Maybe I should offer him $2200 for it.

 

[lethal6]

"Most likely a head gasket" or is a head gasket? That's a deal breaker to me. It is more than likely looking at machine work and possible rebuild if the car was overheated to the point of warping. I would pass unless you have the extra cash for the possible larger than normal expense needed in the near future. It's too unknown to me. I would pass on all of those recent ones.

BTW craigslist for most people is first come first serve. I know that is the way it is with me. Unless someone wants to put a substantial down payment for me to hold it, I am not waiting for them to figure out if they want it or not. First one to drop the cash in my hand gets it. Goes for parts and full vehicles. Been burnt too many times and don't risk it anymore.

 

[GearHeadDriver]

Radiator has been fixed. The cap was in be shape he says. The tranny is a rebuilt VX he bought from a Teams Shop. He's going to check the stamp to see what company it came from. Tranny only has a couple thousand miles on it. Everything else on the car is stock.

Suspension is aftermarket and the AC belt is off, but all the components are there he says. As it says in his post, he has the suspension.

HeX, you still think this is reasonable? I think it could be if I get him around $2200?



lethal6 - Thanks for your input. I kind of have the extra cash, but I obviously don't want to waste it. I just want to buy a VX asap and sell my current car.

A rebuild kit for the engine is around $300. I have friends that could easily take out or put an engine back in my car if it was really urgent. Not sure if they could rebuild one though.

Here's a complete engine - http://www.ebay.com/itm/92-93-94-95-HONDA-CIVIC-1-5L-SOHC-VTEC-E-OBD1-ENGINE-ONLY-JDM-D15B-VTEC-E-/231526296766?rmvSB=true

 

[HeX]

I agree with all of Lethal6s points. I personally dont like to buy a car with a "likely" head gasket issue unless i intend to imnediately rebuild or swap the engine. Just tooo many potential setbacks there. You want a car you can buy and drive now not something with an immediate worry.

If thats an acceptable riskfor you then there are other questions. Anyone with a respectable suspension brand will just name it. Just saying "aftermarket" tells me its likely a poor quality brand or generic ebay crap. If you already plan to drop in suspension then use it as a haggling chip. IF it drives very well i still wouldnt offer more than $1800 due to the potential head gasket issue.

 

[GearHeadDriver]

I assumed it was an Eibach, but you're right, he doesn't name it directly.

I offered him $1800 with the possibility of him keeping some of the extra spare parts.


Another CL listing: https://newhaven.craigslist.org/cto/4977491366.html

 

[GearHeadDriver]

The guy replied and said 1800 is too low. He said the parts are $150 and it shouldn't cost more than 4 hours of labor to replace the gasket. I'm working on the price with him.

 

[GearHeadDriver]

The guy finally offered me 2200 if I can get it to him before the weekend. Shipping is $525.

I honestly think I can do this.

I think this is kind of worth it?

 

[lethal6]

NEVER take a sellers word on how much something should be to replace. He is going to say what ever he can to get that car gone and most of them only give the minimal amount of information that still saves their butt if something goes wrong after the sale.

That may very well be the case to replace the head gasket, but if there are more things to it, like the head being warped because it got too hot, there will be more charges to redeck the block and head. Plus the other internal unknowns that come along with having a car overheat badly. It is possible that it is just leaking and needs replaced without it having overheated, but that is usually not the case with blown head gaskets. Does he say why he is getting rid of the car? Could be that he knows something major is wrong and isn't looking for the expense to replace an engine so he is dumping it on the next poor sap. Happens all the time unfortunately.

It may not be the case, but be fully prepared to replace a full engine. Worst case scenario, because of all the unknowns at this point. If a full replacement is a possibility you are willing to undertake, and the rest of it looks like a good deal to you...go for it.

I personally would pass, too many unknowns and more than I would be willing to dig into. Desperation and/or impatience is the worst way to into buying a vehicle. As you are finding, there are a lot of them out there and if you take your time the right one will come along.

By the way, the ebay engine linked is $700 without shipping included AND they don't even show you the pictures of the actual engine would be receiving. "Sample (stock) photos are shown. You will receive a motor similar to the ones you see in the pictures." <--- I would never buy something that you can't even see before hand. That is crazy that people buy from sellers like this.

So to put that in perspective: say you buy the car for $2200 and the engine is shot. Then you buy one like the one pictured for, lets ball park at $900 shipped. You are now at $3100 for the car plus the install and what ever might be needed. Is that worth it? Not to me it wouldn't be.

 

[GearHeadDriver]

I got the guy down to $2150. We both agreed to use PayPal so there was protection. He was really nice on the phone and full of a ton of information about the car.

The shock turned out to be Eibach. His reasons were very simple. Several OEM ones blew out and he decided to do a direct replacement since it was the cheapest alternative.

We talked for about 30 minutes. I felt pretty satisfied with the information I was getting from him.

Thank you for everyone who helped in this situation. I fully expect the car to have some problems. I'll handle each one as it comes.

I'll keep you all updated!

 

[HeX]

For your sake, I really hope is just a simple early-stages head gasket leak. Good luck, buddy. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[GearHeadDriver]

Thanks! I will return with an update.

Here's some more pictures if anyone is interested.

http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/SampsonNation/library/Honda Civic VX 1995

 

[GearHeadDriver]

Can anyone explain why some VX models have body side moldings and some do not?

I have called Honda twice and they tell me each time that the VX does not come with them and if any moldings are on the car it's an aftermarket product.

If that's so, why does the VX have a huge recessed molding in the door and fender panels?

 

[lethal6]

People put them on later. To my knowledge, Honda is 100% correct. They didn't offer side moldings on the VX models.

You can buy side moldings all over the net for cheap. The aftermarket ones just stick on with 3m tape.

The recess is there because they didn't have "shaved" panels from the factory. Kind of like how there is a harness for power door locks on some models that didn't even have them. Or the fact that a gauge cluster with a tach is drop in/plug and play from a model that had one.

 

[lethal6]

I moved your latest posts into their own thread. You have already bought the car so this thread is done. If you have questions about the car you bought, please post them in their correct forum sections, and if you have anything to add as you upgrade/build the car put them into the thread I just started for you http://www.clubcivic.com/forum/threads/my-1995-honda-civic-vx.227838/

Good luck with the build!

thread closed.