Is it okay to buy a high mileage honda??
 

I've been looking at 99-00 civic manuals and those with 125k+ miles cost about $6000. Those with anything below 90k miles are $11000. So I was thinking why not buy a civic with 125k miles?? What do you guys think??

I sold my 85 CRXHF in 1990 for a 286 computer and a 26" color tv. It had 275k miles on it and was still going strong. One clutch, three sets of tires, a few sets of rotors and a few thousand gallons of gas was all I put into it. But I was the original owner. I guess it matters how well it was treated.

Go for it! I've purchased 15+ Hondas by now, lots of them with over 200K. Watch for rust and check the tie rods ends and axles for wear, these can cost you hundreds to repair. Also, don't be afraid to remove the oil fill cap and check to see how stained the head is, a nice light colored head is a good indication of frequent oil changes. Also check that the transmission goes through the gears smoothly on upshifts and downshifts, cars that are driven hard will often grind into 3rd.

125k miles is only 200k km and I've driven every vehicle I own well past that. My Metro is at 202k km now and I bought it with 193k km on it.

I took my Dodge Spirit to 400k km before I got rid of it. I generally don't see anything wrong with high-mileage cars if they've been maintained relatively well.

I don't know awhole lot about Honda's, but one thing I do know is that 125K on a Honda is like any lesser car just getting loosened up and broken in.

My take would be: It all depends on who and how the 125k got on there. Some kid with a riced out car at 125k no. A guy with a kid or wife stock you bet. I know that those are generalizatons but that is just the way I feel.

But the real question is this:

Did the 286 have a math co-processor? :P

I feel the same way.

11k for a 99-00 with 90k is a rip off. When I was looking at a new 05 civic it was 12k.

Anyway, I think you're ripping yourself off insisting on such a new one, especially since the 96 is identical besides the bront end bumper/hood/fenders/lights.

Hell, dan is selling a very very nice 41k del sol for 4k, :p

Just don't rush, is what I'm saying.

Obviously you want to look at how it's been treated. Mechanically I bought a 1987 DX hatchback at 165,000 and mechanically I think it was just getting broken in. Never used any oil, got 40-45 mpg, ran great. It's issue was my daughter who drove it for 4 month's in Utah, came to Ca for the summer, left to go back to Utah, in late August, but never checked her oil or changed it. It finally lost it, in Mesquitte, Nevada. When I got their it had gotten low on oil, quit feeding the last bearing on the cam and the cam got so warm it torqued off.

I thought that was pretty good. Then when I got the engine out, the crankshaft was still Ok and so I just put new ring's, rod and main bearings and put a rebuilt head on. The car's at 225,000 and still going strong, still doesn't use any oil to speak of.

I think if you look in the oil fill and it's amber, like Bunger said, then you have a pretty good bet going. Fundamentally amazing reliability.

If you're willing to work on it, absolutely.

One other recomendation I would make would be to replace the water pump and timing belt, unless you can get pretty solid confirmation that they were done recently. Very inexpensive, high return insurance!

Excellent advice. I just replaced mine on the new engine so at least I know when it was replaced last.

my honda has 217k on the clock and runs like a champ taking abuse daily. granted i replaced the suspension and motor....

take the advice of what everyone else is saying. ensure a recent timing belt/water pump change and test the normal things: brakes, shocks, tranny, a/c for your area. you know the normal stuff. miles doesnt do much, its all about how it runs and the potential expenses you might recieve for maintenance.

It was the 40 mHz DX. I think the DX had a coprocessor and the SX didn't or was it the other way around? OS was Windows 3.1.:p

basically I'm either going to pick up a 99 or a 00 civic 5 speed manual dx. This month I'm overwhelmed with bills so I'm looking forward before Dec. of this year.

You're right. The DX has a math co-processor. Our first computer was a 386 SX 33Mhz. I later bought a 386 SX 16Mhz for myself so that I could run my BBS on it.

Compaq: I have a couple of thought's for you to consider.

If your planning on going to College, then unless you have a supplier, you are going to need to be extrordinarily fruggal. That being the case, instead of buying what you "want", why don't you buy something that will get the job done, as inexpensively as possible. You could get a 89-91 Honda, put $1000 into fixing critical things like brakes, water pumps and so forth and end up with a very practical, functional car to use while your going to school.

I have about $1500 into my 89 wagon, it get's pretty good mileage, it's dependable and functional.

You could do something like that and put the rest of your money in the bank, for your emergency repair fund and you'd have something you could drive until your finished with school and more gainfully employeed.

That would be a lot better use of your resources, in my perspective.

p.s. I had a 70 Ford Custom (really a cheapy Galaxy), I paid $200 for, drove for 2 year's and sold for $300. It was ugly, it had a severly bent rear axle, the passengers side was all dented-broadside, I used garden green spray paint on all of the rust spots, about every 2 month's, but it got me to where I needed to go, to work and to go to school. Oh, the front seat had a heavy foam cushion, so that I didn't sit on the floor, the radiator had a crack on one of the tanks, so I had to put in a can of Pepper about once a month, but it worked. Food for thought

More excellent advice. When I was going to college I had a $300/mo car payment, $150/mo insurance, $865/mo rent, and only around 25mpg.

If I could do it over I would have gotten roommates, a cheap $600 car (Toyota, Honda, etc.) and not worked full time.

But then again Compaq only seems to want a brand new (or almost new) car. If you're really afraid of something breaking, consider that the cost of an older car plus repairs will still be cheaper than getting a car made in 2000.

Hell, you could buy an older civic and get a NEW (less than 60k) engine put in it for around $1000, if not less. If I lived closer I'd do it for you for less than that.

If you want cheap and reliable, look for an ancient Volvo! I prefer working on those because there's so much room around the engine you can just crawl in there with it. Safe as hell, too, considering that I'm talking about cars that were designed right about the time I was born. And in SoCal you could definitely find one without rust. The transmission of choice is a 4-speed manual that has an electrically operated overdrive (no kidding...you clutch and push a button to engage fifth) followed by the true 5-speed manual. Mine was a 85 740 wagon with the naturally aspirated four cylinder and the funky manual, and it was good for 28-30mpg on the highway in the hands of a moronic 17 year old. Come on, you know you want one ;)

One of the reasons I sold my altima was because I wanted a newer car. If I wanted to keep fixing stuff i would of have been left with the altima.

Next, I NEVER made car payments, even on my altima. And I plan to do the same on the civic. I'm almost there with the money, I just need a couple more months and I'll have enough. On the altima my insurance was $98 a month, hopefully with the civic I hope it will be around there. I'll be upgrading to a better car that has a stick and that wastes less gas and is less problematic.

That could be a big problem. Thanks to their popularity with the ricer crowd, rates on those things can be pretty steep. I think theft is the biggest driver.

I'll talk to my insurance agent about lo jack and anything else that can lower my premium.

Yay for sports cars that get 50mpg, :p

you're not making any sense:p

My car is classified by my insurance company as a sports car.

ROFLMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!1111111111111111111!!!!!!!!one!!!!!!!!!

How much do you pay a month and do you have collision or just liability?

I have no idea why you're laughing so hard, it was designed with that purpose in mind. Anyway, my total insurance is something like 2200 a year.

wow, that's $183 a month. I was only paying $1176 a year with the altima. Hopefully the civic won't be more than $125 a month for insurance.

Well, when you are 17 and first get your license and live in one of the states with the highest insurance in the country and the least options for insurance then there's nothing you can do about it. It has very little to do with the car.

I checked online and the civic's premium was only $20 more for 6 months than the altima. So I think it will be $110-125 a month when I buy one since everyone likes to steal stuff from them. I'm thinking of not putting tints, getting wheel locks, lo jack and alarm with ignition disable.

No ones going to steal your steel rims, :p

I'll still put wheel locks on them to show I mean business.

You wouldn't believe what my dad does to his accord.
He has alarm, key w/ chip inside, lo jack, and puts a club on the steering wheel. LOL

Haha, they're prolly just laugh at you for being a fool, they need the rims on to dump the car and it's not like they're stealing dx brakes.

Get a boot if you're looking to scare people, but the crx guy with the boot had his stolen anyway.

Anyway, you're best shot at not having it stolen is the fact that is has no desirable parts on it.

I leave my doors unlocked because at most inside the car someone could steal my $10 cd player and doors unlocked = windows/door not messed up, and if they're looking to steal the car doors unlocked = please pop my hood and see my 8 valve engine.

LOL, you leave your doors unlocked how crazy is that.

Why not?

SVOboy, you think a lot like my Grandpa. He always said they would just break things if they had to and it probably would even slow them down much by locking the doors.

My gramma leaves her house and her car open. Heck, everyone around their does.

Anyway, I've picked up that attitude from a lot of CRX people on honda-tech. I've seen cars get stolen out of garages guarded by dogs, cars with boots stolen, cars with no wheels, 20 kill switches, murderously loud alarms, everything.

My best defense is having nothing worth stealing.

Same here; I never lock my doors. I even had a TV in my back seat for about 6 months one time. It was broken and I couldn't even get someone to steal it.:p I saw a good bumper sticker once. "This car is protected by poverty, nothing worth stealing."