Flamingnun

D17's are alright, but I've always found them a little meh in comparison. The B16's had more power, and revved upto 8,400rpm (10k in the EK9).

It's the underpinnings I'd be concerned about, early 90's Japanese cars are notorious for tinworm, especially in a remotely damp cimate.

Definitely. Get it checked out, or at the very least take someone with a modicum of mechanical knowledge along with you, read up on Civic buyers guides on enthusiast forums so you know what to look out for as well. If it's in relatively good condition, you're laughing. The engines are bulletproof, it's just the shell and consumable items you really need to be wary of.


I'm actually looking at early mk2's at the moment as a cheap RWD daily beater I can park anywhere and not worry about. They're kinda underpowered (like 120hp, on just over a tonne) but they've got a perfect 50/50 weight distribution. I've heard nothing but the utmost praise about their handling, plus DORIFTOS.

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shai_hulud

yeah you are right about the b series being a more powerful power plant, i'm just astounded at how well my friend's d17 has held up after the years of abuse tracking it and the like. and yeah, that is a sweet plan regarding the mk2 acquisition! fun times will be had for sure.

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"There are only three useless things in this world. Nuns' nipples, bishops' balls and an employer's praise without a raise."

Galt

Didn't catch what your latitude was, but any 20 year old FWD is going to present some potentially expensive complications - normally strut assemblies, CV joints and seals. The other concern would be engine wear and past maintenance. Anything near 200,000 miles is really gonna be a short life horizon for most any 4 cylinder unless it has received considerable conscientious care -particularly oil changes and timing belt replacement. Having a seller that's the anal sort and kept all of his Jiffy Lube or dealer service receipts beats the hell out'a buyin' blind. Anytime the seller is reticent or answers with "I dunno" or "I can't remember", he's probably lyin' and you'd be best walkin' away.

Daughter drove that Honda through college (which meant that Dad got to fix or repair every trip home). Hers was a hand-me-down from family where we knew the history. It was black (YES - hot as balls) and the first thing to take a shit was the A/C compressor. Even recycled and DIY, not cheap. That was at 165K - replacement lasted 5 years more. Standard tranny held up great, as did clutch - but that's totally driver dependent. I used to smoke my M.G's in one night if I got fucked up and played Niki Lauda comin' home from the bar (he used to race Stanley Steamers... back when I was a young man)., but little girl ran the same one for 6 years. Don't know your market, but anything that old I'd be closer to $600 tops - maybe another two if inspected.

What do you need it for? Does it HAVE to be bullet proof reliable, or can you get by with it sittin' in the drive for a few when somethin' takes a shit? Do ya wanna learn to DIY, or do you need something that's really cheap to fix or repair daily?

Two cheapest cars I ever owned to work on were both V.W.'s - first a Beetle, then a Rabbit. Used to be able to buy a whole engine for either for just a few hundred bucks - pop rivet some street sign sheet metal over the holes, slather on some tiger hair or Bondo and keep on keepin' on. Now-a-days, I look under the hood of Mama's Honda, and I can't even find a fuckin' spark plug. I'd kill for my old Rabbit diesel that I had back when Carter was screwin' the pooch. Could squeeze five people and got well over 40 mpg. Are we goin' backwards or what?

If you can find, and don't need the extra passenger room, look at some of the old 4 cylinder Jap pick up trucks. The suspension and steering was always stronger to start with 'cuz it was a truck, and often they shared or had slightly stouter version engines with the fuel efficient sedans. Stronger clutches and frames too, although the sheet metal is always an issue, but that's also the easiest to DIY fix even if you know dick about cars. Little bro' got 300,000 out'a his old Isuzu and the guy that gave him $200 for it is still driving it. Plus, they still have tighter steering and better handling even as beaters than the big three alternatives - and there's the gas mileage thing.

Pick ups rule 'cuz they obviously haul shit. They are often cheaper to insure. They are easier and cheaper to work on (the little ones - big trucks = big bucks), and they adapt well to off-raod and winter better - as long as you know what you're doin'. Just gotta be careful of an empty bed in the slippery stuff.

__________________
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
_________________

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

Sir-Ex

So it has 270k kilometers on it... which is like... about 160 miles if I can remember what the 1st link that popped up when I googled kilometers to miles told me.


The girl selling it was nice enough to pay for the inspection and I'll be finding out details tomorrow.

According to the internet, and a few adds I've looked at, the 1k price tag is right on, or lower than most ads for the same model of vehicle, so price-wise I'm not getting screwed if I decide to get it.

Tomorrow I learn.





ps: the VW rabbit is one of my favourite cars

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Ditch the cigs!!!!!!

Sir-Ex

one in my city at a dealership is going for $2000 same model. Another down in Ontario, $1000 but doesn't run. One in Calgary, $1200 but rusted exterior.

HMmmmmmmmmmmm I might still get it, especially considering I've impulsively spent thousands of dollars on things like new guitars and drums and computers... it's only a month's rent and some food.... hell I could suck a dozen dicks and buy another for that price...... hmmmMHmmmmmmm

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Smile

Ditch the cigs!!!!!!

Galt

Sorry, for some reason - even though our currency is backed by a huge vacuum of ignorance, I still don't quite get why the Canadian dollar is valued worse. At least you take a stab at balancing budgets. We just give it a nod and a wink and fire up the press. So anyway - didn't realize you were talkin' Canadian scrip, so the pricing sounds reasonable. In all seriousness though, if she hasn't had the timing belt replaced yet, you should plan on doing it ASAP if you'd like to keep this bad boy runnin' for a good while. When they go the valves that open and close by projecting into the little tiny combustion chambers at just the precise moment when the piston is out of the way and creates room for them -that gets all fucked up and the two try to occupy the same space at the same time. Then it's all physics - but in the end - car stop and you walk.

Also, a lot of jurisdictions only include safety equipment in their inspections, so the condition of the A/C may not be addressed at all. It may seem strange this time of year, but you'll want to make sure that the A/C at least blows cold, so if you can find a garage out of the weather, or get a nice global warming day, get 'er out in the sun maybe and let it run for a few. Normally you should feel noticeably colder air pumping out within a minute or two. If not, that might be the 2nd item on your list.

If the engine's still runnin' strong, doesn't blow a bunch of smoke on start up or heavy load (little too high a gear pullin' a hill), and ya keep the oil changes up, they are great little cars. If it's an auto, and ya can't determine if or when the tranny was ever serviced, that would be another better sooner than later expenditure. Consider it all an investment in your next 100,000 miles - still cheaper than anything new by a long shot.

Not to get too preachy, but I used to own a car lot (amongst a hundred other things) and there's nothing more self destructive financially than going in hock to buy a car - particularly new. Good on ya for stayin' within' what's in the pocket. I don't sense that you're that young, but it always bummed me to see kids bury themselves just to try and get what they thought was a flash car. It all turns to shit so fast, and they never wanna think about how flash it ain't after they smash it up or somethin' breaks and its just sittin' on the curb while they still have two or three years of payments to make.

I have three friends that are extremely wealthy, as in millions to tens of millions, and none of them buy new cars. Even the richest one, who will only buy Lincolns. He likes cigars and figures "why be a sucker, take all of that depreciation, when as soon as I light my first stogie it's wroth shit anyway". Every time I see someone getting sucked into the debt swirl I think of him. If the guys with millions think it's a stupid waste of money, why do people that can barely make rent think it's okay? Sad shit. Anyway - good luck with it. Hope all turns out well.

One last thing - if you guys are also being fucked with this ethanol scam, probably a good idea to at least run some injector/fuel cleaner through your tank. The ethanol leaves all kinds of nasty shit build-ups in there and it can really screw up your engine performance/gas mileage.

Might wanna watch advertising that kind'a money for a blow job. Crack ho's and meth heads are only gettin' a fraction of that here (so I'm told). Even with the exchange rate thing factored in, ya might start a stampede to the border. Just how good is that Canadian health care?

__________________
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
_________________

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

Flamingnun

But what spec civic is it?!

Three time F1 world champion, Nikki Lauda ?

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Sir-Ex

I'm gonna find out the spec today.


btw Galt, the Canadian dollar is worth more than the States these days. I'm gonna ask her about the timing belt too.

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Smile

Ditch the cigs!!!!!!

eldizle

I had a 94 civic dx hatchback for many years, great, reliable, economical vehicle.

A bit small, but if you're not planning on going to the hardware store for plywood and two-by-fours, it's passable. Camping equipment for two pushes the storage limits.

Hopefully it will be a less well-stocked model, and the panels on the dashboard will be covered by little pop-out disks. You can hide close to an ounce of pot in the one to the lefthand side of the steering wheel.

I don't know anything about that maintenance shit, just changing my oil and sparkplugs, i'll leave it to shai, nun and galt.

Or maybe i can make shit up, that always flies in bed

Galt

Yer not from around these parts are ya. Ya got a real perty mouth though...

F1 is a key on a laptop here, but F1 knows none of the following in the States that it has enjoyed in Europe, so I would not expect a U.S. citizen to catch that. Niki was my hero, after his accident at "The Ring" who couldn't help but root for him?

__________________
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
_________________

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

Galt

Well it's aboot time!

__________________
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
_________________

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)