aha09

is it better to by a car from a independent dealer or from a private
party?

i'm planning to get an old honda civic under $3000 (hopefully). i'm
not sure of the things i should check for, but i will take it to a
mechanic.

i'm in the alexandria, virginia area.

any advice would be appreciated.

oh,yeah.....my plan is to drive it back home to los angeles sometime
in august.

G-Man

I got a private sale '94 with 72k on it for 4k. Do you homework. Carfax,
etc. Mine was owned by two people and had full dealer records.

I would not by a car that I could not check it's service record.

Things to remember:

Timing belt change with waterpump that is a MUST at 90k will cost you $400+
if it hasn't been done.

Make some hard turns in a parking lot and listen for bad CV joints.

Look behind the front wheels for grease...bad CV boots.

If possible, pay a mechanic you trust to look at it. Money well spent.


G-Man


"aha09" <aha09@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:8a48cb76.0403311645.4a53a130@posting.google.c om...
> is it better to by a car from a independent dealer or from a private
> party?
>
> i'm planning to get an old honda civic under $3000 (hopefully). i'm
> not sure of the things i should check for, but i will take it to a
> mechanic.
>
> i'm in the alexandria, virginia area.
>
> any advice would be appreciated.
>
> oh,yeah.....my plan is to drive it back home to los angeles sometime
> in august.

Bill B. Johnson

In article <8a48cb76.0403311645.4a53a130@posting.google.com >,
aha09@yahoo.com (aha09) wrote:

> is it better to by a car from a independent dealer or from a private
> party?
>
> i'm planning to get an old honda civic under $3000 (hopefully). i'm
> not sure of the things i should check for, but i will take it to a
> mechanic.
>
> i'm in the alexandria, virginia area.
>
> any advice would be appreciated.
>
> oh,yeah.....my plan is to drive it back home to los angeles sometime
> in august.

You can do it either way. You should run a carfax report on it regardless
of whether you buy it from an dealer or from a private party. If you
decide to buy to buy from a dealer, visit the Honda shops in your area and
buy from one of the Honda dealers. Honda dealers are suppose to have their
mechanics carefully check out trade-ins. They only sell the ones on their
lots that pass all of their tests. They sell to independent dealers and on
the wholesale market those trade-ins that DON'T pass their tests.