Hi everyone, I don't own a civic yet, but I am looking at possibly buying a 2000 Honda Civic HX Coupe 5 speed manual with 118,000 miles on it. The only problem with the car is that it has a blown head gasket which is currently getting fixed. The guy selling it is sending in the head today to get checked out and is also replacing the timing belt and water pump as well as the head gasket. Should I pass on this car because of the previous blown head gasket? What other things can go wrong after the head gasket is fixed? Supposedly the paint and interior are in excellent shape. The car is Black. He was going to list it for $3500 is this a fair price? The Kelley Blue Book is between $2500 and $2900. Thanks for your help!

 

The HX is cool because it has lean burn. More mpgs. Some people have claimed up to 45-50mpg with these things.

Make sure it has the stock d16y5 motor in it. As long as the HG repair is done correctly, you shouldn't have any problems. If the HG is not done correctly, you can continue to have similar issues as before the HG was replaced (assuming it was bad). Coolant and oil mixing, air/pressure in the cooling system, burning oil/coolant, low compressi on/loss of power. If the car was overheated, the head would be checked for levelness.

Why is he selling it? Paying a mechanic to do the HG, tbelt, h20 pump is up in the 1.5k range. I wouldn't want to sell a car that is worth 2.5k right after dumping a bunch of money into repairs unless I had the money to jump to something much nicer and equally reliable. Have him contact you once the repairs completed and then go look at the car.

 

Exactly what cvcrcr said. A manual HX in good condition with the real HX engine is a great car to have if you're interested in mpg rather than going fast. The gaskets do just blow out sometimes and as long as the engine wasn't allowed to overheat severely, it will be OK. But I also wonder about his motivation to make expensive repairs only to then sell the car.