Vent: my $700 Civic threw a rod 40 miles after I flipped the title
Bought a 98 Civic off a guy in Modesto for $700, drove it home fine, drove it to work two days later and it started knocking hard at a red light. Pulled the dipstick on the shoulder, metal flakes everywhere, so I towed it back with a $60 U-Haul dolly and now I'm deciding between a $400 junkyard motor or parting it out. Anyone parted one of these out and actually cleared more than they paid for the car?
My buddy did this exact thing with a 97 hatch a few years back, paid $600, rod went through the block about a week later. He pulled the motor and sold the head, trans, ECU, and the little stuff like door panels and tail lights on Craigslist over like two months. All in he cleared maybe $1,100 after fees and hauling the shell to the scrapper, BUT it took forever and his garage was full of Civic parts the whole time. The junkyard motor route is quicker but you're rolling the dice again on a 25 year old D series that could knock just as fast. If the body and interior are clean I'd part it, if it's beat to hell just swap the motor and send it. Just know parting out is a part time job for a couple months, not a weekend flip.