Buying a used 2004/2005 Honda Civic Coupe (Help?)

[Chance24]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of doing some research and searching the prospective car that I would like to purchase. There's no car I want more than either a 2004 or 2005 Honda Civic Coupe. The EX trim is my preferred choice, but I won't mind a VP or LX trim if I can't find the EX at the right price, mileage, etc.

I tried to break down my post in about 4 bolded parts, just to make it easier if you guys would like to help answer some of the questions I have. Any insight or wisdom from you would be greatly appreciated.

Well, so I've been on Craigslist lately looking around as well as other sites like autotrader. One of the reasons I registered for this site is because I would like to see if there are other sites that I should utilize in my search for the car I want to buy?

I also came here because I was hoping I could gain insight so that I can wind up making the right used car purchase, and not get jipped, that sort of thing.
My dad knows a lot more about cars and he'll accompany me when I make appointments, get test drives, etc from the various private parties that I contact, so that's good. But I was wondering if there is anything I should be cautious about, look for first, place emphasis on when I'm doing a test drive or looking over a prospective vehicle I might purchase?
Also, how does taking the car to your mechanic exactly work? I mean, would the reasonable (typical) private seller allow you to do this prior to purchasing the vehicle or after you hand over the cash?


When I contact parties I try to gain as much information as I can about the vehicle. 1) The reason why they're selling the vehicle. 2) Whether they are the original owner of the vehicle. 3) Whether they compiled a list of service records for the car. 4) How old the driver is of the car. 5) Whether the car has been involved in any form of accident, such as a fender bender. 6) What the mileage of the car is (if not provided initially). Are there any other types of questions that I should ask private owners to get an idea of whether I should or should not purchase their vehicle?


Lastly, my dad said that I should look for a vehicle with mileage around 10,000-12,000 miles accumulated per year since it was released.

So. for instance, for a 2004 Coupe, I don't want purchase a car beyond 80K mile mark.
So for a 2005 Coupe, I don't want to go beyond the 70K miles mark.
Is this a reasonable standard to start to narrow the potential cars I should buy?


Again, thanks for any help. I greatly appreciate it.