I have a 1997 Honda civic, manual transmission, red in color. So far I have paid $2820 for it on what was supposed to be a full $3500. I have owned it since March of this year. About 2 weeks ago, the front bumper fell off. As the car was still operable without it, I didn’t pay too much attention and continued driving the vehicle. It was running perfectly fine until 2 days ago, when I woke up one morning and it wouldn’t start. In addition to not starting, none of the lights turn on, with the exception of the dome light, which comes on very briefly and dimly and then shuts off again. It makes no noise whatsoever when I try to turn it on. I have attempted one jumpstart, which didn’t help. Can’t help but feel like I got somewhat ripped off here and like I should buy from a dealer instead of an individual in the future. Does anyone have any ideas what could be wrong with the car and how to fix it?

 

Dead battery defective battery or bad connections at the battery, or bad connections of the main ground wire (which goes from the battery minus post to the frame and the transmission). This kind of stuff requires a voltmeter to troubleshoot. Start by checking that the battery is live then probe your way around the circuit to see where the voltage is being lost.

Considering that the bumper fell off I'd say there's a fair amount of rust involved.