Advice needed - is this a good price 01 Civic Si>

[JohnB]

I would like to see some other peoples comments...is this a good deal, or are the km too high...

2001 Civic Si
Good shape
$4,000
245,000km

Id have to get new tires for it, new water pump, and new timing belt...I think these items would cost about $1,000 or so...

Is this car a good deal...? Because Ive seen some 2002 LX models with 130,000km for around $6500...

(Also Ive read that the vtec in this car isnt as durable as the regular non-vtec Civic engine...so with this many Kms, its not good...)

Thank you very much for your comments...

Google pic of similar car:
http://www.thecarconnection.com/images/gallery/1117_image.jpg

[JohnB]

Bump please, can someone please comment...

[feet_]

not bad price.

i remember about the same time last year, these cars were going for 9k-13k

did the timing belt snap already, if so walk away. engine is toast.

if not. the guy prob selling cheap because he knows all the labor involved to fix it, and doesn t want the hassle.

[kleptodathief]

look for a better deal...unless u plan to rice it up!:cheesygri

[manixc]

not bad price.

i remember about the same time last year, these cars were going for 9k-13k

did the timing belt snap already, if so walk away. engine is toast.

if not. the guy prob selling cheap because he knows all the labor involved to fix it, and doesn t want the hassle.

+1 get a mechanic to check it out.
$4000 seems to good of a deal

[ES_Revenge]

I'm sure the VTEC engine is just as "durable", however getting the full power out of these type of engines requires revving them very high. If the previous owners did this on a regular basis, you'd have an engine that was driven very hard and that may be why it may not last as long as a non-VTEC engine, where most owners probably don't drive the cars hard and the non-VTECs don't usually rev as high in the first place.

Careful with your estimates though. Unless you know those prices are for sure. Timing belt/water pump alone can be around $1000. Tyres are going to add a good bit more, especially if you're not buy el-cheapo tyres (which you shouldn't do).

245,000km is a lot and with the service required I wouldn't really say it's a "good" deal, but it's probably just around average.

[Illidan]

+1 get a mechanic to check it out.
$4000 seems to good of a deal

I agree that whenever you buy a used car, it's best to have a mechanic to look at it. Especially this is the "Si", you never know about the driving habits of the owner...

However, I disagree that $4000 seems to be too good of a deal. Anyone who has been keeping up with used car prices and understands the used car pricing economy will know that used car prices are falling like rocks, across all lines of vehicles, due to many factors. Come one year, used car prices will be even lower than today (in general). Rising dollar (even if it's just at par), lowered MSRPs, higher incentives, higher cash rebates, lower finance and lease rates, (for new cars) all play a huge factor to the upcoming used car market. You can test this for yourself. Bring your car to a dealership for an appraisal (pretending to trade it in). Record the value. Go back in 2 weeks and get an appraisal again. You'll see that the decrease in value is quite dramatic, if you pro-rate it over 12 months, as compared to prior years.

Finally, 245,000 seems to be very high. For a 2001 vehicle, that's averaging 41,000Km per year. What does he do with the car? (FYI, average expected mileage for a Civic is about 18000 to 24000 per year). Also, I wouldn't worry too much about the whole "VTEC" thing for this particular model. Afterall, the VTEC version only produces 11 more horsepower than the non-VTEC ones......

If I were you, and I have to get an old Civic, I would aim for a low mileage LX (the Si doesn't have much to offer aside from the puny added HP and stiffer i.e. less comfortable suspension).