Hi, I'm new here. I have worked on many cars in the past, but not on a civic before. I'm helping a friend buy a car and I found a potential car from a private seller.

98 Civic LX
115k miles
Clean title
$4k

First off, does this seem like a good deal? The timing belt has not been replaced so that will be the first thing to do.

What are common problems with cars from this year? Anything in particular I should watch for when I'm testdriving?

Thanks

 

you can use kbb.com to find an estimate price of how much the car is worth and autos.msn.com to see check the reliabilty of it.

 

i'd try and get them down a bit and if you do get it change the water pump too and use oem honda parts

 

I just bought a 99 EX 4 door sedan with 140k miles that had some minor body damage and a leaking main seal. I paid $2800 for it. I could have argued it down a bit but I think we both walked away satisfied.

When buying a car I usually start with a relatively low fair condition value (assuming the car isn't in immaculate condition), have the car inspected by a trusted mechanic and simply deduct all non-maintenance repair work from the kbb.com fair condition value. That's usually my offer and the seller can take it or leave it. If you have cash in your hand during the sale then the seller will usually take the offer and run so be prepared to hand over the cash.

Just keep in mind that tires, brakes, shocks are maintenace while a failing transmission or a puddle of leaking oil under the engine is not. Make sure the seller is there during the car inspection so when the mechanic says you need something then the mechanic can show both of you the problem. This keeps the seller from making allegations that you were acting in bad faith.

www.carfax.com in advance if you can. I also run the vin through the National Insurance Crime Breau to make sure its not stolen. Its free.

https://www.nicb.org/cps/rde/xchg/ni.../vincheck.html

Good luck!

 

One thing i always do when checking out an older vehicle is:

remove the oil filler cap on the valve cover and start the car up. i put my hand over the opening and if there is a little too much air pulsing out of the opening, it may indicate bad ring seal and could be fixed by replacing the PCV valve or something but could also mean a rebuild is in the future.

a little pulsing is normal for any vehicle, but if you can feel the air with your hand more than a foot above the opening is usually a bad sign. if further investigation is needed, you could always perform a compression check to verify further.

 

Don't forget to watch out for... VTAK!!!!!