Hi there, so I'm new here to this forum, but I'm looking at a honda civic for sale that I kinda want to buy. And I've never owned a Honda before so I was hoping to get some good advice from people on here. So here's the deal.....
Its a 1992 Honda Civic LX. 4 Door, automatic (too bad, huh?), 200,000+miles. Starts up on first try, idles perfectly fine, and the tires are almost new, with a good inspection sticker till July.
But, it seems to be leaking oil from somewhere because its pretty well covered in oil underneath the valve cover and to the right, I think thats where to automatic transmission is on this car, and if thats what it was, then the top/front of the tranny is whats covered in old oil. Clearly the engine bay hasnt been cleaned in a long time, so the oil was the old caked stuff. After a few minutes of idleing it seemed to have some smoke come from behind the exhaust manifold? where the dipstick is. but nothing bad, kind looked like it was burning off spilt oil. I also noticed very faint smoke (whiteish) from the tail pipe. But nothing significant. Does this sound like a good deal to anyone?? I'd be getting it for 90% highway driving so i thought i'd be good for saving on fuel, like 30-40mpg ive read about that car. Any advice would be great, and sorry for the lengthy descript, but i wanted to be thorough. Thanks!

 

On an older civic like that it's probably going to be more like 29-30 mpg. I would ask about when the last time the timing belt was changed, clutch, and other major things, belt should be changed every 90-100,000 miles. Sounds like the car will need some work done to it and may need some fixer uping with the oil leak and amount of miles. Hopefully the leak is just the head gasket and not worn seals. I would ask about how much oil it burns through if it's more than a quart per gas fillup might want to steer away.

If your up for a project car, I would offer $500 cash in hand.

 

Thanks for the tip. Yeah, i'm pretty good with cars, but not really interested in a big project car, as i've already got too many projects going on in my life right now. The guy said its always been maintained, you can also see that there are pretty new spark plug wires on it, maybe newish cap/rotor too. cosmetically its pretty beat, from dents, rust isnt there at all except on one little spot by the wheel wheel.
hondas are pretty simple though i thought, im sure i can do all the belts, gaskets, etc, myself.
I had even though about a complete engine rebuild kit (pistons, rings, etc, no cam though) cuz ive seen them for only around 300-400 dollars.
also, this one guy over at ecomodders.com aeromodded his car to get his 92 civic to acheive 95mpg!! thats freaking awesome! only used coroplast. looks funky but for that kinda mpg, i wouldnt care!

 

You can buy a used replacement engine for that car WITH a tranny for around 300$. If youre looking for a cheap reliable beater, go for it. $900 is worth it

 

check brakes make sure all speakers work all glass is good no funny noises is KEY and all buttons windows locks etc.