Hello all, I'm new around here and my purpose for joining is to get some advice on what to do with my 2003 civic hybrid. Here are the specs: 275,000 miles getting 38 to 43 MPG, the IMA light is on, 1 ball joint needs replacing, all the sway bars need replacing, needs a new valve cover gasket, and two new tires.

I'm not sure if I should cut my losses on this vehicle and try and sell it or put some more money into it. Plus how to you sell a car in this condition?

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this type of question but it seemed appropriate. If anyone has any words of wisdom I'm all ears.

Thanks

 

None of those repairs sound too expensive. Trying to sell the car in that condition would lose you a lot of money. The only thing that would concern me would be the IMA light. I wonder if it is on because the battery pack needs to be replaced. If that's the case the car is essentially totaled right now.

 

Question. Do the sway bars need replaced or do the sway bar end links need replaced? Sway bars are fairly expensive and sometimes a PITA to replace, end links are relatively cheap and pretty simple to swap out. A ball joint's not a huge deal, though it might be too much for some people to do themselves. Anybody with a basic tool set can swap out a valve cover gasket; they're pretty straightforward.

Honestly, if you go to a dealership, you're probably going to see less than $1,000 trade-in and I can guarantee the dealership will probably send your car straight to auction. A buy-here/pay-here type dealership or used car lot might keep the car, but I still don't see you getting much on trade. Private selling might be your best bet, but it's going to be tricky to talk someone into buying a car with 275k on the clock.