Hello my name is Rob. I am considering purchasing a '98 Civic EX 2 door 5 speed w/ VTEC. The car is in good shape and has 115k. The engine ran strong. Also has a moon roof and power everything. Body has no rust but has numerous small dents and scratches. Radio dosen't work either but that's all the neggitives thus far. My question is the guy is asking $5,900. For you experts here is this a fair price? Any specific things I should ask or look for with this car?

Thank you all in advance for any suggestions or advice.

P.S. - I've never owned a honda before and I am looking forward to some great gas mileage!

 

Well, I bought mine for $4,500 its a 97 Ex Power Everything, and most of the body was in mint condition, 120, 000 miles on it, but don't worry bout the miles too much, Honda is RELIABLE. I'd say try talking them down and get the upper hand, after all u should have the advantage cus that person wants to get rid of it...

J.M.O.

 

thanks for the advice corye03. You got a great price! I think $5,200 is my limit. I hope to get the wife to see it tomorrow, if she likes it I'll make the offer. The only thing is it has hubcaps, not rims. I sure wish it had a nice set of rims. One other barganing advantage is the windshield has a chip, that should lower him down a 100 too.

Keep the comments comming!

 

I paid $5500 for my 97 civic EX from a dealership. It has 85,000 miles, automatic tranny and is in MINT condition. I just bought it a couple of weeks ago so I would think that you have some bargaining room.

 

I'd stay away from Hondas man if you're considering buying a car. They are one of the most unRELIABLE cars out in the market right now. Yugos are probably more dependable than them. As for their FUEL ECONOMY, it's horrible. H2s are less of a hog than these beasts. The MODDING FACTOR is outright pitiful. The AFTERMARKET scene HASn't DEVELOPED at all with these vehicles. And finally the PRICE on these cars is astronomical. Stick with something that looks nice and is easy on the wallet like a Fire Bird or Corvette.

 

dude...yer smokin ****

 

Thanks all for the words of advice. I took the wife to see it on Sat and she approved. I had them wash it before we got there so we could really see the body. There are a lot of small dents from hail and car door dings. I was a bit dissapointed in how many dings it had. Also it looks like is has been in a accident, I seen the passenger side head light mount tabs were both broken indicating a frontal crash. The car hood may have been repainted, and very poorly at that. The hood definately needs repainted. Asside from that it ran strong. I am going to offer $5k walking away price if my car fax looks good. I'll keep you all posted.

 

I'd walk away now, there's lots of other Hondas out there that are accident and multi-small-dent free.

 

I don't know if you will see this before you buy the car. But check into the Timing Belt. That could be a major setback in your Honda experience if it hasn't already been done. Make sure he takes about 500 bucks off for that. If the clutch is original, no matter how many miles it has on it (In My Opinion) take off 400 bucks for that. If it's a dealer, then they don't know it's history. I made a mistake of purchasing my 95 EX 5 speed, just to put 1100 bucks into it for a timing belt and clutch after 7 months. If it's an individual, with any car purchase, see if they have any maintenance papers on it. The worst thing you can do is to purchase a car that has been abused. That's just my spare change, thought I would throw it out there. Other than that, my Civic is just as good on gas and power as it did when I bought it and it's at 160,000 miles now.

 

Thanks guys for all the comments and advice. I am currently looking at another civic (you may have seen my new tread). It is apparent that the previous owner had put on some after market rims (because now there are only some cheap hubcaps) and mods to the stereo (looks like someone has done a fast R&R of the stereo and I see wires all over in the trunk as if there was amps and a sub back there). I am not as determined to get this one because the more I think about the body issues the more I'm detracted. Oh and I should have said before that this is a dealer not a private owner. We'll see how it goes. I'm leaning twards ngoti8tor's advice and just looking for something that hasn't been in a accident. I'll post tomorrow how things are looking.