Thinking of purchasing, have a few questions :)

trowe2trowe2 Band Wagon
in General Civic Wagon Discussion
Hello potential new friends of mine! I'm thinking about picking up an 89 civic wagon 4WD here locally in Knoxville TN. It is currently on craigslist (so surely I get first choice) and I know it has sat for a bit of a while. it is a 3 owner car, because I know the second owner and I'm talking to the third and everything they have told me have checked out so far. Right now, the claim is that there are no issues with it, and that the rear end was serviced the guy simply didn't have enough time to put the driveshaft back in (I am a Honda guy, so driveshafts are uncharted territory for me). How hard would that be to deal with?

There is a little bit of damage on the drivers side front fender, but I don't care so much about outward appearance so much as I do underside appearance. Besides the wheel wells, where does the rust most typically come up? I plan on bringing a jack with me to really give it a good look over, but I would just like to scrutinize the especially bad problem areas.

The only bad that I know of so far is that it has 280,000 miles on it. What implications if any does this have on this car and its D16A6 motor? I know that these old hondas are nearly bullet proof if taken care of, but what would be the first thing you'd expect to be bad on a wagon (engine and transmission wise) with this much use?

All comments are very much appreciated!

Comments

  • BillBoardBillBoard council member
    first question. what is the asking price?
  • trowe2trowe2 Band Wagon
    BillBoard wrote: »
    first question. what is the asking price?

    He's at 1600 right now but I plan on talking him down a hundred or so more. I'm going to take a look at it tonight so any responses before then would be appreciated
  • truckslammertruckslammer Moderator
    If it has had any respectable amount of maintenance I would buy it. That is pretty cheap on a hard to find car based on what you have posted. Other than the wheel wells I see rust on the hatch below the license plate. Do it!
  • skittlenipsskittlenips Wagonist
    One place to look: Remove the little storage "cups" in the rear storage area, gives you a good way to inspect the other side of the rear wheel wells. Also check for rust around the rear corner lights, and possibly remove the corner inner plastic covers to inspect the back side of the tail light area. Some small bubbling of paint on the outside in that area could mean much worse rust hiding in the rear quarter panel/wheel well area.

    But that does seem like an excellent price, unless it's completely beat and rusty.
  • trowe2trowe2 Band Wagon
    Good feedback, this are all thoughts running through my head as well. I'll definitely be giving it a really quick run through and I appreciate the rust finding tips
  • 503Wagon503Wagon moderator
    The driveline is pretty easy to put back in, even if you don't have the "correct" bolts. I've replaced most of mine with generic metric replacements and Locktite. Fenders are difficult to come by in good shape so minor damage is whatever. I might have missed but is it a manual or auto? If it's a manual check every gear on a test drive including reverse and super low. Listen for any clicking noises in those two gears. Also check I to interior condition because most of the wagon parts are wagon specific so you can't just go out and buy a lot of things sadly.
  • trowe2trowe2 Band Wagon
    503Wagon wrote: »
    The driveline is pretty easy to put back in, even if you don't have the "correct" bolts. I've replaced most of mine with generic metric replacements and Locktite. Fenders are difficult to come by in good shape so minor damage is whatever. I might have missed but is it a manual or auto? If it's a manual check every gear on a test drive including reverse and super low. Listen for any clicking noises in those two gears. Also check I to interior condition because most of the wagon parts are wagon specific so you can't just go out and buy a lot of things sadly.

    Good to know about the drive-line. I may have actually found a fender though...

    It is a manual, and honestly I don't think I'd drive anything else haha. But its good to know which are the problem gears.
  • 503Wagon503Wagon moderator
    I wouldn't call them "problem gears" I just happened to have an issue with mine so I figured I'd pass along the info.
  • trowe2trowe2 Band Wagon
    I know on some cars some gears are just naturally prone to failure. What is even the point of the low gear? For towing and hauling perhaps?
  • trowe2trowe2 Band Wagon
    Of course, its been my luck lately, the guy totally flaked on me :/ sigh...

    Hopefully I can see it tomorrow.
  • trowe2trowe2 Band Wagon
    Well, sorry for 3 posts in a row, but the guy flaked on me because he was showing it to someone else and they ended up trading a 240 for it? oh well, the search continues.
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