Wanna pick your brains!?

[03civicsi83]

I am looking at buying an '03 Honda Civic Hatchback. The car has like 200k miles on it. The engine has been replaced once. He only wants $800 for it, never wrecked no dings or dents the esthetics are in fine condition. Here is the problem .... He says the car runs and drives but burns water. There are no coolant leaks, furthermore when the car sits at idle it starts to smoke white smoke and runs hot but driving down the highway it does just fine. I am thinking from my limited knowledge one of a couple things ...... iether Head gasket, warped head, or a blown waterjacket maybe a crack in the cylinder wall, maybe just a damn dead water pump. any ideas? I would appreciate the input very much. I know it's hard to diagnose a problem with a vehicle without seeing it so if you have any questions that may help let me know. Has anyone ever heard of this before. I want this car but I want to make sure it will be dependable for my fiancee and I. we're just starting out on our own. This is our first place and just trying to do things on a budget. You guys seem knowledgable and honestly sincere and caring. I could just use the help to know what kind of repairs I may have to make on this car after I buy it. I mean damn these things go for around 8k used in this condition if still running, I know I have checked the market. Anyways I'll stop rambling and wait for some advice thanks.

[frisnosity]

R u planning on doing the work yourself? The cheap cost now might turn into expensive headaches later, But that could be something stupid like head gasket which isnt to bad. A leak down test im told would tell you whats wrong. If there is a cracked head or block, then ur up the river. $800 is hard to pass up. It might be a good car for a cool motor swap, B18 or H22 would be real cool. I just found a beater buick for me and my girl for $400 and it runs real strong and is clean. It just keeps have stupid problems due to age and wear. I would shop till u found a perfect deal.

[jclark]

A water pump wouldn't cause that.
You definetly have water getting into the combustion chamber.
No matter how it's happening, you'll have to pull the head to fix it.
Hopefully it's not a cracked cylinder,because then you'd have to replace the block. but It doesn't sound like that to me.
It's probably just a blown head gasket-that happens a lot from not
installing the head properly.
But once the head is removed, have it checked to make sure it's not warped.
They warp easily (if the engine has ever overheated).
Just make sure to reinstall correctlly, torqueing in the right sequence,
and useing new bolts if the specs call for it.
The alluminum heads are critical for correct installation procedures.
A lot of people don't do it right.