'99 Civic, Low Miles, Thoughts?

[Nebbers]

my questions to that person would be

any major problems with the car
why are you selling it so cheap

It's listed at $4200, which isn't really out of line, the $3700 was my hopeful price.

 

[Nebbers]

"After an immense amount of debate last night, we have decided not to sell the car. This decision was made entirely by my girlfriend, and I'm sorry to waste your time. I was not, and am still not satisfied with the decision. Please accept my apologies, and good luck with your vehicle hunt."

-- After agreeing on a price, a time of sale, running the VIN, me getting a cashier's check made out and transportation arranged to meet up. What the fuck is with people.

 

[mvbighead]

"After an immense amount of debate last night, we have decided not to sell the car. This decision was made entirely by my girlfriend, and I'm sorry to waste your time. I was not, and am still not satisfied with the decision. Please accept my apologies, and good luck with your vehicle hunt."

-- After agreeing on a price, a time of sale, running the VIN, me getting a cashier's check made out and transportation arranged to meet up. What the fuck is with people.

That's the thing that can happen with CL. Fortunately, that has not yet happened to me. Not much you can do though.

 

[Nebbers]

That's the thing that can happen with CL. Fortunately, that has not yet happened to me. Not much you can do though.

Guess I just don't really understand the thought process. Unless this was a scammer and he got nervous when I wanted too much information and decided to play along for a while and then back out to avoid getting caught, I don't know. No idea.

Hey, on the Lexus subject - this is certainly a bit older than what I've been looking at but any thoughts on the 1990 LS 400?

 

[HarryLui]

-- After agreeing on a price, a time of sale, running the VIN, me getting a cashier's check made out and transportation arranged to meet up. What the fuck is with people.

Doesn't sound like that car was look at by the mechanic of your choice, good thing you didn't buy it.

Spend the $70, have a mechanic look at it. That money will be well spent.

Timing belt interval for most car is either 60/100k, that will be a $600-$800 job. If you want something cheap and easy, consider a Saturn S-series. They uses timing chain, if the oil is changed and kept up, the chain should last the life of the engine.

 

[mvbighead]

Guess I just don't really understand the thought process. Unless this was a scammer and he got nervous when I wanted too much information and decided to play along for a while and then back out to avoid getting caught, I don't know. No idea.

Hey, on the Lexus subject - this is certainly a bit older than what I've been looking at but any thoughts on the 1990 LS 400?

Still gonna be rear wheel drive (which you indicated feelings against due to winter). Also will require premium fuel (so I've read) and not get great mileage.

Personally, they are among my options when I buy. If I do wind up with an ls400, it'll most likely be garaged in the winter in favor of a Jeep and a Chevy Impala (FWD).

 

[Doppel]

... all right, but what can I buy new for $4500?

See my point? I don't HAVE the option of spending any more than that right now.

I see your point. I just frankly would do my best to buy something new and throw that money into low payments over the next few years. I hate everything I see in the $4500 price range. If new really isn't an option, you need to consider fords or mazdas. A mazda at that price point is more attractive to me than a 12 year old civic with a ton of miles.

Strongly advise against Lexus. I don't care if it's reliable. It's a luxury car. The repairs will be more and the car will be older. When you are shopping on this budget used you buy a car that cost the least and/or has awful resale, that way you maximize what you get (and you want low years and low miles as far as possible). None of that is compatible with a luxury car.

 

[HarryLui]

Find yourself a maintained Saturn S-series.

 

[mvbighead]

Strongly advise against Lexus. I don't care if it's reliable. It's a luxury car. The repairs will be more and the car will be older. When you are shopping on this budget used you buy a car that cost the least and/or has awful resale, that way you maximize what you get (and you want low years and low miles as far as possible). None of that is compatible with a luxury car.

It's got both to do with the fact that it is reliable... and basically a fancy Camry. Buying a Lexus ES 300 is the equivalent of buying a Camry (with a V6) of the same year.

As for buying a car with a awful resale or costing the least, that means you're looking for a Cavalier or Dodge Neon. The cheap interior is going to be falling apart. The panels are most likely going to be rusted and not cared for. The car (being an econo-cheap-box) is more likely to have been parked in a driveway to endure all elements, and not be cared for the same as most individuals who would purchase something like a Lexus.

So granted, it'll be older... yes. But in most cases, it'll be a car that was cared for better than the likes of some old beater Cavalier.

Me personally, I would much rather have something like this:
http://omaha.craigslist.org/cto/2647827891.html

than something like this:
http://omaha.craigslist.org/ctd/2659729121.html

Sure, finding one in the right price range may be more difficult than finding a Cavalier, but the difference in the quality of what you get is worth it, IMO.

 

[halik]

focus ?

http://omaha.craigslist.org/cto/2667186284.html

Could never seem myself paying honda sucker tax, with the exception of the Si hatch (don't think there's that much mark up on them?)
http://omaha.craigslist.org/cto/2662308250.html

 

[Nebbers]

All right, well... here's what's around right now.

Saturn:
2002 SC2, manual - $2900

2001 SL, auto - $4000

1996 SC2, manual (that apparently has a clutch on its way out) - $1000

I'm guessing that last one is a bit too old for something like this. I haven't read enough about Saturns to really know much yet. Will do more of that tomorrow.


Ford:
2003 Focus, Manual - $4300

2003 Focus, Manual - $4500 (this one has a salvage title, they make it out to be a minor thing but I don't like the notion of that)

2003 Focus, Automatic - $4500, from a dealer

Same deal as with the Saturns, I don't know enough about them yet to really know if these are good or bad deals. Honestly think both the Focus and the Saturns look pretty goofy, but that's hardly my main concern right now.

----

Now, I know there's a decent amount of Honda inflation hate here. I'm not discounting that, trust me, it just seems from what research I've done that while the price may end up being inflated a bit they really are about the safest bet for reliability that you can possibly get in this price/year range -- IF you buy the right thing.

My understanding is this -- and the Accord and Civic from 1990-2001ish are what I've read about:

For the Accords, anything '96 and earlier is a great bet for a reliable car. The transmission problems and complete failures don't really seem to be common at all here.

'97 and later, up to past 2000 and out of my price range, any Accord with an automatic transmission is a fairly significant gamble and could have a transmission failure or at the least some pretty big problems with it, at an unpredictable mileage point. It could be fine past 180-200k, or it could fail before 100k. Seems chancy.

Now, with the '97 and later Accords with a manual transmission -- this doesn't seem to be the case. They seem far more reliable and not affected by the apparent automatic trans fuck-up that they made starting in '97.

Civics seem to have less of these transmission problems, but it's still a significant concern when you get into the '99-'03 models, from what I understand.

That said, here are a couple that seem to be the better deals right now:

1994 Accord, Auto - $3500

This one, honestly, though it's definitely on the older side, seems like possibly the best option. After all the reading I did I'd pick a 94-96 Accord w/ auto over a 97-00 of the same. This car also has relatively low mileage for a 94, and has two full sets of nearly new tires. As far as the aftermarket extras, I don't really care too much about that stuff. It's nice little perks I guess but not a big deal to me.

1992 Prelude, manual $2100

Definitely much older than I think I'm looking for. Price is pretty low compared to the rest of the options, but still... I don't know.

1995 Accord This one I'm just listing because I'm wondering how the fuck a car from 1995 only has 25,000 miles on it. Wtf? Owned by grandma and she only used it to get to the grocery store 2 blocks away or what? I don't get it.

1996 Civic, Auto - Listed at $4000, definitely too high. If he'd drop a thousand off that it'd be considered maybe...

There are quite a few more Accords and Civics, but they all are either far too old/new, fall into the danger zone with the automatic transmissions, or are really highly priced Civics. I don't think I see much else that's worth looking at.


So all of this considered, input? I'm expecting to get some flames against the Hondas again, but I honestly think that 94 Accord looks like a good buy if he drops the price a bit. Has full maintenance records, the extra tires, relatively low mileage for a car like that, and so on. If there were a newer Accord, around the 1999-2000 range that had a manual transmission and the price was right I'd rather go that route, but I don't think I want to look at an automatic there.

Something else to consider is that I've never driven anything with a manual transmission, period. I've seen it done, I've watched videos and read about it and I certainly don't think that I would have any problem getting the hang of it pretty quickly. It also looks like a lot of fun to me.

There really isn't much outside of these that seems viable. There's plenty from Pontiac, Dodge, Chrysler, etc but those seem like something to avoid from my understanding and my past experience. I'll never go near a Dodge, that's for sure.

I would like to stay at $3500 or below if at all possible without buying something that's risky. This is because that's what I have in liquid cash right now from the insurance claim on my last car. I am able to go a little beyond that, like $4500 tops, but it would be better not to. I'm in a bad situation with money in that I'm in a good amount of debt from credit cards and student loans, and I'm working on finishing a degree so I'm not pulling in a lot of money right now. This is why getting a loan on a new(er) car isn't an option. I just need something that will be likely to get me through the next few years without major problems. At that point I'll be done with school and nearly out of debt, by my estimation.

So thoughts? I really appreciate all the replies by the way. Even if it's Honda hate, I want to hear all the input I can get so I make the best choice I can.

---
Holy shit, that's a long post. Seriously appreciate everyone that takes the time to reply to this stuff.

 

[Nebbers]

Mazda:
2003 Mazda Protege - $4500, auto, 82k miles

1998 Mazda 626 - $4500, auto, 185k miles

2004 Mazda 6 - $4400, manual, 133k miles

2000 Mazda 626 - $2500, auto, 162k miles

Lexus:
96 Lexus SC300, $4750, 160k miles. This one has a Katrina title, says it wasn't in the flood but... yeah. Doesn't give me a good feeling at all.

Acura:
1998 Acura CL LX - $4000, manual, 108k miles
This one looks pretty nice, as far as looks go, I must say. Mileage is fairly low... and plenty of extras, new timing belt/tires/more. I don't know that much about these but this looks pretty nice to me... it's also in the middle of fucking nowhere.

then there's one more Saturn, 2000 SL1 - $4600, auto, 81k miles



Other than these and the above post, there are a million other Fords, Dodge/Chryslers, Pontiacs, Hyundais, and other things I'm pretty sure I want to avoid.

(Again seriously appreciate any and all input. Hope you guys actually enjoy picking through these a little at least.)

 

[Nebbers]

I should add that it seems people almost always list quite a bit higher than they'll actually take. I'm sure that's the case anywhere but maybe more so here than some areas. Like the 99 Accord I was looking at (before reading more about trans issues) was listed at like $4800 originally and he was going to sell at $3700.

That '94 Accord I listed first I asked about dropping it to $3000, haven't heard back yet.

 

[HarryLui]

Keep looking, there gotta to be better Saturn deals out there.

 

[Doppel]

I liked that protege. FWIW you can get a month long membership for very cheap at consumer reports to find the rating on these cars. Also check out truedelta.com for reliability info. That mazda6 seemed a really strong price.

 

[Nebbers]

Keep looking, there gotta to be better Saturn deals out there.

If all of these prices are truly as bad as people seem to think, then I think you guys underestimate how bad the situation is here. There is nothing else listed. The places I'm looking include the entire state of ND and a good part of SD, MN and MT. The closest city of any size at all is the Twin Cities and that's really not feasible...

Unless there's some magical place that has listings that I don't know about, there are like 10 used Saturns in the entire state listed anywhere. People don't put shit in the newspaper here. There are probably 15-20 listings for used cars in there total and half of them are almost new vehicles.

I've looked through literally every car listed online every day for near two weeks now and there hasn't been anything better. I do have to actually get something at some point :/

 

[Nebbers]

I liked that protege. FWIW you can get a month long membership for very cheap at consumer reports to find the rating on these cars. Also check out truedelta.com for reliability info. That mazda6 seemed a really strong price.

Not familiar with truedelta. I actually have a pretty good list of the top models from consumer reports, though I don't have the specifics of why. I've been checking out a few other sites too for common problems/complaints.

I'll look into the protege more. Really not that familiar with Mazda, my brother used to have a Protege and it had a lot of problems though, maybe just bad luck...

 

[Nebbers]

Doppel, curious what you think about the 2004 Mazda6 if I could get the price down a bit

in comparison to the Protege, I mean.

the Mazda6 actually looks really good to me. Plus it's manual, pretty new clutch too. The cd/stereo perks are nice too although not a primary thing for me at all, I can buy a $150 receiver and be set with any car. Price does seem good though.

 

[SearchMaster]

I had an '04 Mazda6 (wagon) automatic, we kept it for about 2.5 years. It never had a problem and we sold it because it was just too small for the family. I didn't care for the seat cloth, it just didn't seem like a very high quality but otherwise I enjoyed the car.

 

[HarryLui]

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/cto/2670739166.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/2670208863.html

More cars on Minneapolis.

 

[hanoverphist]

id rock that prelude personally. at 170k miles it has a bunch of life left in it, and it seems to be a stock vehicle, which is a rare find for that car. they also clean up well. easy to get speed out of if you want to. fun cars to drive. the 90s were great for honda, solid engines and gokart drives.

 

[hanoverphist]

Acura:
1998 Acura CL LX - $4000, manual, 108k miles
This one looks pretty nice, as far as looks go, I must say. Mileage is fairly low... and plenty of extras, new timing belt/tires/more. I don't know that much about these but this looks pretty nice to me... it's also in the middle of fucking nowhere.

id get this if i had the cash. lots of upgrades all around, the h22 engines are good as well. 68k on it says that it will need some things in the next year or two tho. this would be a solid car to get if you liked the style. its got tuner written all over it, but realistically the car has a solid engine with headers, intake and exhaust, upgraded suspension and new axles. id love to see cars of this caliber pop up in CL here in az.

 

[Nebbers]

id get this if i had the cash. lots of upgrades all around, the h22 engines are good as well. 68k on it says that it will need some things in the next year or two tho. this would be a solid car to get if you liked the style. its got tuner written all over it, but realistically the car has a solid engine with headers, intake and exhaust, upgraded suspension and new axles. id love to see cars of this caliber pop up in CL here in az.

That one honestly has been making me drool a bit. If he's willing to go a bit lower I'm pretty tempted. I've been buying cars solely for reliability and never really had much that'll get the panties wet, heh. That one seems to cover both of those aspects...

Also looking at the '03 Protege, haven't heard back on that one yet. I'm a little confused because it's listed as 'Automatic' but in the actual description he typed out, says 5-speed. I understand there are some sort of auto-manual hybrid transmissions that exist with no clutch but I don't think this model is one of those... so I'm not sure if the Automatic was a misclick, or what.

 

[spaceman]

simple reality of situation
gonna have to do work to any car,any make u purchase at some point
buy the deal, not the car within reason
parts are dirt cheap for dom's
not gonna get much of an import for the $
id be looking at everything from taurus to old legacy wagons, hell even some buicks/etc.
provided vitals check out..u do due dilligence and youll be ok
buy the car with best condition u can find for the $
an old ladies buick might not sexy but for that coin u could snag one for under 4k with under 100k
ive seen lates 90 examples MINT w 50k going for less($2700)
keep an open mind
stay away from euros
4k gonna get u a turned out import,rusty POS unless u got family etc..a good HMD(hand me down)

 

[Nebbers]

simple reality of situation
gonna have to do work to any car,any make u purchase at some point
buy the deal, not the car within reason
parts are dirt cheap for dom's
not gonna get much of an import for the $
id be looking at everything from taurus to old legacy wagons, hell even some buicks/etc.
provided vitals check out..u do due dilligence and youll be ok
buy the car with best condition u can find for the $
an old ladies buick might not sexy but for that coin u could snag one for under 4k with under 100k
ive seen lates 90 examples MINT w 50k going for less($2700)
keep an open mind
stay away from euros
4k gonna get u a turned out import,rusty POS unless u got family etc..a good HMD(hand me down)

Maybe it's largely anecdotal evidence, but paying anything significant for a used Buick, or a Taurus, etc seems like a bad idea. I used to drive a 96 Regal, because I got it really cheap from someone I know. I liked it okay but the engine just locked one day out of nowhere. Mileage was not high at all, and I'm positive they took good care of it and maintained it properly. One owner for all of its life, died at like 140k. While they had it, they fixed several things (not standard maintenance) that probably cost a few thousand over the course of its life before I bought it.

Parents have owned 2 Ford Tauruses, and they were constantly fixing things. Major leaks, stuff that wasn't like replacing a transmission but it added up for sure. My ex had a Taurus as well and had problems all the time.

So even if I'm able to get a car like this for like $2000-2500, I'm most likely going to be spending enough on stuff that's very commonly a problem in them, bringing that up to the price of something that's very likely to run for twice the mileage in the long run. It doesn't seem like a good option to me...