Hi,

I will be looking to buying a Honda Civic 1.8 VTi (96-00 UK model) on Wednesday and I would some advice on what to look out for in particular with these cars. I'm not totally useless but not really mechanicall minded and would very much appreciate some pointers.

Thanks

 

darn i was trying to find the topic since they already talk about this but i cant find it. but u should look to see if the car has any dents in it or any rust. also check and make sure the car is running good. take a LONG test drive and make sure everythignis working. turn the a/c on to see if it cooling properly and u dont hear any funny noises. ask the perosn ur buying the car from when was the last time the car went in for maintance and stuff . look at the engine to see if u can spot any problem. and depending on the mileage see if he change the timing belt and stuff

 

It's really worth taking it to a mechanic and paying for a less biased opinion from someone who knows more about cars. Good to put it on the lift and check for rust or damage underneath as well as oil leaks, etc.

One easy check you can do yourself is take the oil cap off and look for sludge in the engine. If it's not clean in there that tells a lot about a poor maintenance history and likely future problems. Course someone could've cleaned it up.