Buying new EF, anything I should watch out for?

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EFLove

New Member
I found a listing on Craigslist and have been in contact with someone who is selling a '91 Civic Dx. According to what she has told me the details are as follows.

  • Just re-painted about 2 months ago
  • Just swapped engine for a newer low mile D15 (variation unknown)
  • Car has 140K on the ODO
  • No A/C, was not swapped over to new motor
  • Manual transmission (4/5 speed unknown)
  • Lowered, not sure if the springs were chopped or replaced, will find out before purchase however.
  • Interior has some "normal" wear and tear, non-issue as I will be stripping interior, re-carpeting and replacing seats.
  • No Radio
  • CAI is installed
  • Unknown brand header installed
  • non-emissions compliant exhaust installed (comes with stock one)

So my question is, from people who have owned these cars and are very familiar with them. What kind of things should I look out for when I go to look at the car? What kind of price should I be looking at asking for given what is here? Anything else I should know before proceeding?

I plan on taking it to my certified mechanic that I've been going to for over 10 years that I trust with all of my cars and having him do a pre-purchase inspection for me as well so any unseen things will be revealed there.

Thank you in advance for you assistance and seeing as this is my first post on here, I'm looking forward to joining this community for further assistance as this project proceeds. ^_^
 
i didn't know honda was making new ef's.

anyway, get a receipt from where it's painted. check for any alignment issues. could be bent suspension. mare sure core support is straight and there is no welding.
 
What kind of things would identify a "hacked swap" I'm not too familiar with swaps. Looking for things like improperly mounted motor and hose fittings or what?

Wiring is really the biggest thing, and youll be able to tell if the wiring harness is in rats nest.
 
wiring wiring wiring... i have to get all mine redone cuz the guy i got mine off of didnt know how to wire :(
 
rust rust rust.. if the car is rusted to shit (the chassis) then its no good. if its wiring, it can be fixed. take a look at the rocker panels. and on the side of the pinch weld that you cant see run your fingers along it, to see if its rusted away. if it is, stay away from it
 
on my old ef the trunk always leaked so look for rust around the trunk and where the spare tire sits
 
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So I drove over to the chick's house last night and snapped a few shots of the key points for my records with my cell phone (so, sorry for the crappy quality).

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Small tear in the passenger side door, about 1-1/2 inches long.
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Carpet around the passenger side door is pulling out of the frame a bit.
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No Radio
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Uknown, but adjustable suspension!
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Something is missing from the dash on the left side of the steering wheel. Any idea what it is?
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Noticed that there was NO air filter tubing coming off the intake manifold...I'm wondering if this is re-routed because of the CAI or if it is actually not there. Anyone know?

There is also a crack on the passenger side of the windshield that does not appear to go all the way through the glass pane.

The front bumper is slightly miss aligned on the passenger side, but it's only about 1/8" off.

The paint looks amazing. I couldn't get any good pictures of the whole car, but from the outside the paint is PERFECT.

Rear hatch will not stay up. Probably need new hydrolic pistons. and the hatch leaks a little bit which has lead to what appear to be some very slight, and only superficial rust in the trunk down by the spare tire from what I could tell.

The only other minor bit is that the passenger side window crank has fallen off. She still has it, it still works, you just have to attach it when you want to roll it down.

So, overall I'm impressed, probably has to be the cleanest I've seen so far.

What kind of price would you all recommend I start with for negotiations? She wants $2000 for it. I was thinking of starting at $1300 since the KBB price is only $1100 in excellent condition. But it is in really good condition on the whole and she has a second set of wheels (will try to talk her into including them) and a second race exhaust.

If I can get her to throw in the wheels I was going to be willing to go as high has the 2 grand, but otherwise, I'm going to try to keep it below $1700, sound good?
 
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Something is missing from the dash on the left side of the steering wheel. Any idea what it is?
noname.jpg

Noticed that there was NO air filter tubing coming off the intake manifold...I'm wondering if this is re-routed because of the CAI or if it is actually not there. Anyone know?


Rear hatch will not stay up. Probably need new hydrolic pistons.

that piece missing is a storage tray

and mine has the same problem with the hatch staying up i just put a golf club to hold it up lol
 
the hatch just needs new struts,the piece by the wheel is the sotrage tray..i think i have a spare. its black,the rip on the door panl is probably from shutting the seatbelt in the door..that motor is dpfi and has no actual filter on it..which is an easy fix..you can actually fix the window crank with a c-clip like it comes from factory..the rust in the spare tire well is normal for these cars..which comes from the leaky hatch which is also very common for these cars to do..the carpet all you have to do is pull the door sill up tuck it back in and put the sill back in..
but no way in hell would i pay 2k for a stock hatch like that..
id say 1200
 
the hatch just needs new struts,the piece by the wheel is the sotrage tray..i think i have a spare. its black,the rip on the door panl is probably from shutting the seatbelt in the door..that motor is dpfi and has no actual filter on it..which is an easy fix..you can actually fix the window crank with a c-clip like it comes from factory..the rust in the spare tire well is normal for these cars..which comes from the leaky hatch which is also very common for these cars to do..the carpet all you have to do is pull the door sill up tuck it back in and put the sill back in..
but no way in hell would i pay 2k for a stock hatch like that..
id say 1200

Thanks a lot for the info!

I was thinking exactly the same as you were for the price. I was thinking of starting at 1100 because that's KBB for the excellent condition with 140k on it and since she has already done about 2k worth of work to it that I would have to do with any other car I would be looking at I'm more than will to go even as high as 1500 if she won't drop to 12/1300. She also has a nice set of alloys that I saw sitting in her garage that I think go on it that if she throws in might make make me more willing to bump up my offer a bit. Right now it sits on the steelies with caps on it, good condition at least though.

What is the best way to fix the leaky hatch? Is it just the weather stripping? I think the rust is also really superficial, could probably just be sanded off and painted over without issue.

What do you mean by DPFI? I'm not familiar with the term, and does it still need an air filter or is it some kind of internal filter?
 
what he means by"DPFI" is that its dual point fuel injection. that means the car has 2 injectors instead of the si version which is "MPFI" multi point fuel injection (has 4 injectors). MPFI = more power... DPFI = better fuel milage....and for the intake you can just buy a used aftermarket one for cheap
 
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crawl under it and look for leaks. also check the engine oil and drive it, make sure you check under the hood after you drive it. i baught my crx and the bastard cleaned up all the oil leaks before i came n looked at it but after i drove it and checked it out again i saw what he covered up. also look behind the rear bumper thats a bad rust spot.
 
when I bought my first EF it was in about the same condition my AC still worked though, I paid $800 for it. i'd say 1k is fair (although the seller might not think so)
 
Ok, so I made an official agreement for sale today (I would say purchase but no money has been exchanged yet).

We agreed on $1300 because it really is in damn good condition aside from the 6 minor problems I found which can be fixed for about $400 total.

It actually does have a CAI like she advertised she just had not had a chance to put it back on since the motor swap and she had another car so she didn't drive it or miss having it installed.

She put the window crank back on while I was there, she just had to find the C clip for it.

The engine is in great shape. I drove it around for about 20 minutes to get it warmed up and revved it up to check for burning oil and even as it approached the rev limiter it never once smoked, and it started up without any fuss. No gaskets leaked or anything either.

She also has the receipts for both the motor swap and paint job and she definitely is losing money on this sale either way. so I'm satisfied.

I'm dropping a deposit off to her tomorrow for show of good faith while I wait for my remaining funds to transfer to my checking account while she uses it this week while her new car is in the shop having new wheels, brakes, intake and exhaust installed so I'll get it just in time for my birthday (which is next Monday, Dec. 28)
 
good deal, hope something dont happen to it while she drives it for a few days..lol that would be my luck
 
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