Buying a Car [Advice]

[Mojo]

I'm looking to buy a car and need some help figuring something out. I know exactly what kind of car I want (Honda Civic Hatchback, 1992 - 2000,) and I've been able to find a few listings on autotrader.com for them in my area, although I have one problem. One of the cars I found (Cars For Sale: Car Details - AutoTrader.com) is very appealing to me, although when I ordered a CarFax report it came up as a total loss vehicle. What that means is the vehicle was in an accident and that it would have cost over 75%~ (this amount varies between insurance companies) of its pre-damaged value to repair it. The car ended up being sold at auction to the dealer who has it now (for how much I don't know.)

Either way, CarFax recommends that you have the vehicle inspected in cases like this. I'm not sure how to get this done, I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction.

Here's an excerpt from the CarFax report, if anybody who is willing to help me finds this useful.

Date: 		Mileage: 	Source: 		Comments:
04/02/1997 	15 		Ohio			Title issued or updated
				Motor Vehicle Dept.	First owner reported
				Irving, TX
				Title #4700513506

04/15/1997 			Ohio			Registered as lease vehicle
				Motor Vehicle Dept.
				North Olmsted, OH

08/03/1998 	13,410 		Colorado		Passed emissions inspection
				Inspection Station

08/03/1998 			Colorado		Title or registration issued
				Motor Vehicle Dept.	Registered as lease vehicle
				Littleton, CO
				Title #11D163398

03/09/1999 	24,011 		Colorado		Passed emissions inspection
				Inspection Station

04/20/1999 	24,021 		Colorado		Title or registration issued
				Motor Vehicle Dept.	Loan or lien reported
				Denver, CO
				Title #01W319166

03/26/2001 	38,971 		Colorado		Passed emissions inspection
				Inspection Station

04/03/2003 	49,500 		Colorado		Passed emissions inspection
				Inspection Station
				
04/05/2005 	66,565 		Colorado		Passed emissions inspection
				Inspection Station

02/12/2007 			Auto Auction		Vehicle offered for sale
				Littleton, CO		Damage Disclosure reported

02/14/2007 			Auto Auction		Vehicle offered for sale
				Littleton, CO		Damage Disclosure reported

02/22/2007 			Colorado		TOTAL LOSS VEHICLE
				Motor Vehicle Dept.	Title or registration issued
							to insurance company

02/22/2007 			Colorado		Title issued or updated
				Motor Vehicle Dept.
				Littleton, CO
				Title #664803

[Andarvi]

Well, you would go to the dealer, put dealer plates on the car, and take it to your mechanic so he can look at it. When hes done you just drive it back. Shouldn't take that long.

How much is this thing? What are the exact specs on it? I take its a 98 civic. Total loss cars that get repaired are never the same. Find out if the damage is mostly cosmetic and what mechanical repairs had to be done.

[Maguspk]

Are those prices in your sig what you made selling FFXI accounts? Jesus christ, that's a lot of paper.

[Mojo]

It's a 97' Civic Hatchback DX 2D with 99K miles on it. The KBB value for a dealer car of those specifications is $5100, although that's assuming excellent condition. The car definitely appears to be in excellent condition, from the pictures, but that doesn't take into account the fact that is was totaled. The KBB for a fair condition (I'm assuming what it probably is) for a third party seller is $2825, while Excellent is $3675.

Either way, the value of the car is somewhat low in the grand scale of things. I suppose what you recommended is the best approach, to take it for a test drive and to drive it to a shop and have it looked at.

And yeah, those are what I got for those accounts.

[Mojo]

Oh yeah, the dealer is asking for $3800. Also, how much do you think taking the car into a shop and having it looked at would cost?

[BlackOut]

Why exactly are you looking at the hatches anyway? It depends on what you going for with the car to be honest because if your looking for a reliable car to beat on hatches have a high chance of being modified because people like to tune them.

I work on hondas a lot but even still any car that has been totaled no matter how bad you want it you should really keep looking. The car fax goes from 66k miles to a blank record and you say you found it with 99k so theres alot of mileage not accounted for. Anyway just be weary with buying used cars, especially anything thats been in an accident. A decent diagnostic check runs for about $100 at the shop that I work depending on the car. I'd keep looking because EK hatches arent that hard to find

P.S: $3.8k for a rebuilt EK is a rip off completely. I could find a 100% clean bone stock for only 3000

[Furionstormrage]

Most shops will charge about $50 (in NC at least) to give a car the once-over and see if it's mechanically sound.

Even if they charged $100-$150, I would highly recommend that you get this done at a reputable shop, and found out exactly what they check beforehand.

I would want a shop to check compression, and the general shape of the brakes, hoses, belts, ignition system, cooling system, fluid levels (and if they are old or brand new, both could be an indication of neglect as some people will put new fluids in to cover up never changing them before), tire condition, and ensure that the PC isn't throwing any codes or was recently reset (so that a code would not pop up until after you buy it and drive it around for a couple days).

[omgaggrohelpme]

Don't do it, I bought a 03 BMW that was totaled in 05 and ended up having to just trash it. The Car had a dirty title and I ended up having to just junk it and strip the parts. I then borrowed from parents and bought a real BMW.. I took it to a mechanic but not to a dealer BMW.. costed 255 for a full run down @ dealer.. 95 at the shop >_>; Paid 13k for it and ended up having it less than 9 months.

[Tyche]

I have a 95 Civic DX (not a hatchback), and it is so fucking beast, I love the 92-95 Hatchbacks. 250,000 miles or so on mine and it's never been to a mechanic for anything other than general mait.. 35+ miles per gallon on gas, and enough room to have sex and drive. I really don't think I could break this car if I tried. Oh, and get a stick!

[Brill Weave]

Agreed. If it was totaled in an accident make sure they check the frame. A lot of the time when a vehicle is "restored" like this one(being an older car, higher mileage etc) some corners are cut like instead of replacing the frame it's just welded back together. Is the dealer reputable? Or is it a random mom and pop place?

[Mojo]

Update:

I still don't have a car. I've decided to abandon the hatchback style, they're too difficult to find in my area and the ones that I do find are generally not too great. My aim has now shifted to seventh generation (2001-2005) Honda Civic Coupes (Sedans are acceptable too I suppose.) I'm trying to get one below $6000, which I think is perfectly reasonable to do.

I took a look at this car today.

Cars For Sale: Car Details - AutoTrader.com

The CarFax report is as follows.

02/20/2001		Texas			Registered as
			Motor Vehicle Dept.	personal vehicle
			Houston, TX  
 	
03/28/2001   	7   	Texas			Title issued or updated
			Motor Vehicle Dept.	First owner reported
			Houston, TX		Loan or lien reported
			Title #10130136967092615

03/13/2003   	36,727  Auto Auction		Sold at auction
						in Pacific Southwest Region
						Listed as a fleet vehicle

05/08/2003   	  	Dealer Inventory	Vehicle offered for sale
			Layton, UT

06/16/2003   	  	Dealer Inventory   	Vehicle offered for sale 

11/17/2003		Wyoming			Title issued or updated
			Motor Vehicle Dept.	New owner reported
			Title #04-0609020

05/28/2004   	  	Service Facility   	Vehicle serviced

12/30/2004   	  	Utah			Vehicle purchase reported
			Motor Vehicle Dept.	Registration issued or renewed
			Salt Lake City, UT	Passed safety inspection
						Registration updated when owner moved
						the vehicle to a new location
						Vehicle color noted as Silver

03/13/2005   	  	Utah			Accident reported
			Police Report		in Salt Lake County
			Case #93124		Vehicle involved in collision
						It hit a fixed object
						Front & left side damage reported

06/03/2006   	96,959	Dealer Inventory	Vehicle offered for sale

06/14/2006		Utah			Vehicle purchase reported
			Motor Vehicle Dept.
			Salt Lake City, UT

07/11/2006		Utah			Registration issued or renewed
			Motor Vehicle Dept.	New owner reported
			Salt Lake City, UT	Loan or lien reported
			Title #UT6010404	Passed safety inspection

07/13/2006   	97,019	Utah			Odometer reading reported
			Motor Vehicle Dept.
			Salt Lake City, UT
			Title #UT6010404

10/23/2006   	  	NICB   			Vehicle recovered after theft
						Inspected for damage

06/29/2007   	  	Utah			Registration issued or renewed
			Motor Vehicle Dept.	Passed safety inspection
			Salt Lake City, UT
			Title #UT6010404

06/24/2008   	  	Utah			Registration issued or renewed
			Motor Vehicle Dept.	Passed safety inspection
			Salt Lake City, UT
			Title #UT6010404

It has been in an accident and at one point was stolen. It drove fine, although there was a slight 'crunching' noise coming from I think the rear right area of the car. It was almost inaudible, it might have been my imagination. Either way, I think the advice on taking a potential purchase into a mechanic to have it looked at is sound, although I'm looking now on a good place to get this done (I don't have any personal friends that are mechanics.) I live in Salt Lake City, Utah, if that's helpful.

[Zansho]

Let's put it this way. You get what you pay for. You wouldn't go somewhere and buy something that's been known to have been through a bit of a rough spot, would you? I know I sure wouldn't.

Lots of the more.. how shall I say it.. shady dealers will buy cars off of auction blocks - repos, totaled, bad title, stolen and recovered, and what have you. Then, they'll take those cars, and SELL them to the general public (omg, look, NO CREDIT CHECK! I WONDER WHY!) passing them off as cosmetically OK but to the uneducated buyer, not mechanically OK.

Let's put it another way. You wouldn't buy a PS3 that had a history of being tossed around the house like a football and fell down a few times and got repaired with super glue, yeah? Even though it MIGHT play a few games, no telling how long that's gonna last. Same with the car. If it's shit, it's SHIT. Move on and buy something that will last you.