Been looking for a cheap daily driver under 5k and kept seeing these early 2000s Civics pop up for like $2500-$3500. Thought they were golden just cause they're Hondas. Then I went down a rabbit hole on some mechanic forum and found out the automatic transmissions in those years are basically ticking time bombs. The torque converter locks up and shreds the whole thing around 120k miles, no warning signs. So now every time I see a cheap Civic with 130k on the clock I'm wondering if it's got that original trans or if it already blew. Does anyone know if the manual versions had the same problem or were those safe?
I drove 2 hours to Bakersfield last weekend for a 2002 Camry that the ad said had only 80k miles and was owned by a little old lady. Turned out the odometer was rolled back and the 'lady' was just some dude flipping junk cars. Wasted $60 in gas and a whole Saturday. Anyone else get burned by these fake grandparent stories?
My 02 Civic died at a gas station off I-75 last week. Towed it home, figured it was the alternator but didn't want to gamble $60 on a junkyard pull that might be bad too. Asked the guy at Pull-A-Part if they had a tester, he just pointed at a bench with a battery and jumper cables. Tested three of them in 10 minutes, walked out with a working one for $35. Been driving fine for 5 days now. Anyone else just learn this way later than they should have?
Last Monday the alternator died on the way to work, then on Wednesday the brake line blew out in a Target parking lot. Has anyone else had a car that just falls apart all in one week?
I was cruising home from work on I-10 near Baton Rouge when my 1998 Civic started making this grinding noise that got louder real fast. Then it just stopped pulling at all. Coasted to the shoulder and sat there for like 20 minutes before a tow truck showed up. The guy told me the transmission was shot and quoted me $1,500 to swap in a used one. I ended up finding a junkyard transmission for $200 and spent the whole weekend swapping it in my driveway with my buddy. It was a mess of ATF dripping on me and stripped bolts but it actually runs now. Has anyone else lost a transmission in a cheap car and had to decide if it's even worth fixing?
I was grabbing a quart of oil for my beater and this dude in line is bragging about rebuilding his Civic's engine for $200. Like, come on man, where are you getting parts? I just did a timing belt and water pump on my old Corolla and that alone ran me $280 with the cheap parts off RockAuto. Either he's leaving out the head gasket kit and machine work or he's counting duct tape as a repair. Has anyone else run into these 'yeah I fixed it for pocket change' guys at the parts counter?
Picked up a 2004 Corolla with a rebuilt salvage title for $1,800 and a clean title 2005 Civic for $3,200 a few months apart. The Corolla had a scratched up bumper and a replaced fender but the engine is dead quiet. The Civic had a clean record but needed a new alternator and a brake line within the first 2 months. Ended up keeping the Corolla cause it costs half as much to fix and insure. Anyone else had better luck with salvage cars than clean ones?
A guy on here a few years back said to always lift the spare tire cover and check for rust before buying any car under $5k. Ignored it on a 2002 Camry, and six months later the floor pan had a hole big enough to see pavement through. Has anyone else had a car rot from the inside out like that?
After burning through a set of no-name pads in under 6 months on my 2003 Corolla, I swapped to Wagner thermoquiets for $38 and they actually stop me now without squealing - has anyone else had way better luck with mid-tier brands over the ultra cheap stuff?
I bought a 2003 Ford Focus for $500 with 180k miles and it died in three months from a blown head gasket. Then I found a 2002 Honda Civic with 200k miles for $3500 from an old guy near Spokane who kept all the records. Should I stick with Honda for my next cheap car or is there another sub-$5k model that's just as reliable?
Drove out to see it near Buckeye and the seller pointed to the floor mats and said 'those are weeds, not my old french fries.' Has anyone else bought a car that came with free landscaping?
I was just driving my usual route to the clinic on Route 9 and glanced down and there it was, 200,000 miles exactly. Bought this car three years ago for $1,800 from a guy on Craigslist outside of Portland. It had 176k then and the AC blew warm but the engine sounded solid. It still runs fine even with the sticky thermostat and a cracked taillight I keep meaning to fix. Has anyone else had a cheap car just keep going way past what you expected?
I mean, I get it, a nice car feels good. My friend spent months saving up for this 2006 BMW 3 series with 140k miles, paid $4500 cash. It looked amazing in the driveway. But then within a month the cooling system needed work and a window motor died and the oil filter housing gasket started leaking. I've got my 1998 Honda Civic I found on Facebook Marketplace for $800 with 200k miles. I've put maybe $300 in parts into it over two years, just basic stuff like a valve cover gasket and some brake pads. It starts every morning and gets 34 mpg no matter what. Last weekend he asked me to help him figure out why his check engine light was blinking and I drove my Honda over there while his car sat on jack stands. Has anyone else seen people blow their whole budget on a nicer car and then just end up with a pile of problems?
I bought a 2004 Corolla for $1,800 back in March. Drove it for 4 months, no issues. Last week I was merging onto I-94 and the transmission started slipping hard. Took it to my buddy's shop and he asked when I last changed the fluid. I said 'never, the guy before me said it was sealed.' He laughed and showed me the dipstick covered in burnt black gunk. A simple drain and fill every 30k miles would have kept that thing going for another 100k. Now I'm looking at a $2,500 rebuild on a car I paid $1,800 for. Has anyone else gotten burned by the whole 'sealed transmission' myth?