I have a 95 Honda Civic VX Hatchback. It has a 1.6L 4 Cyl. VTEC, and a 5 speed manual. It has 356,xxx miles. I have owned the car for 4 years and it has always ran like a top. Recently the distributor went out and I do not have the money to repair it. On top of that for about the past 6 months the clutch had been slipping. So I am looking to sell. If it were any other non running car I would slap $350 on it and call it done, but I know how popular this car is. I have had a few offers of $500, but not wanting to leave any money on the table I thought I might get the opinions of some people who know. What do you think this car is worth? Visually its not too bad, few dents and a little rust. Like I said the engine always ran well, 40+ MPG, regular oil changes, etc.

 

At 356,000 miles this car isn't worth much at all. You really should just keep it and fix the minor problems.

The engine should be a D15Z1 (sounds like it is, according to your gas mileage), since that's what comes in a VX. It's a 1.5L VTEC-E engine.


What exactly is wrong with the distributor so that the whole thing needs to be replaced?

 

Not sure exactly, not much for the mechanical stuff. The mechanic said that everything was so old he couldn't get it apart. Like the bolt that holds the rotor in place is stripped and such. He told me that I'm looking at $300+ to fix that. Then like I said with the clutch, it's only a matter of time, and the mechanic said for that repair I'm looking at about $600. So that's $1000 that I just don't have. I love my little red car and hate to get rid of it. It's just that is what I am forced to do.

BTW Good call on the engine, I looked at it today and that's exactly what is in there. No idea why I thought it was the 1.6L.

 

$300 to fix the stripped rotor bolt? That's a bunch of BS. Same thing happened to me. Just buy a new bolt from Honda (only a couple bucks), and drill the old one out (with the distributor out of the car... I used a vice to hold it in place by the bracket). Took me probably 20 minutes to drill out the bolt, and that's because I was being extra careful. You have to use a bit that's smaller than the hole the bolt is in so that you don't damage the threads. Once I drilled in about 1/4 of the way into the bolt, the bolt loosened up and I unscrewed it with my fingers. Changed the rotor and then put the new screw in. Good as new.

You need to go to a different mechanic, this guy sounds shady.

 

I'd buy it for $500 now if you were near here. The VX engine had roller rockers, I believe. Nice design, GREAT gas mileage. It would make a nice little daily driver.

Honestly man, shop around for a different mechanic. Search around the internet for a local car forum, find some local shop connections if you have to. There are people who will do the work much cheaper than that.

 

yeah that mechanic is way high, mine would only cost me parts and a few dollars for letting me use his rack. get connections and itll save you a ton.DIY

 

i'd keep it and fix it.