First things first!

[drumpet15]

I was wondering: If I buy a used car, I don't want to start upgrading the engine and doing a bunch of exterior mods if the car is going to die or something. What should I get looked at and/or fixed when getting a used car? I want to make sure the car itself is in awesome condition before I put money into it.

[crxlvr]

well best thing to do before you buy the car is run a carfax on it, then if all checks out take the car to a reliable mechanic who can give the car a once over for you and point out any problems it might have. that should give you a good start.

[hypedave]

I just purchased a 89 Honda Civic DX a couple of months ago. I have done the following so far:

1.) Replaced Front CV Boots
2.) Changed All Filters
3.) Changed Transmission Fluid, Brake Fluid
4.) Replaced Valve Cover Gaskets, Grommets and Spark plug Wells
5.) Replaced Spark Plugs
6.) Changed Brake Pads and Brake Fluid

I'm about to get the following done this week.

1.) Replacing Oil Seal
2.) Replacing Timing Belt and Water Pump
3.) Replacing Alternator Belt
4.) Replacing Air Conditioner Compressor Belt
5.) Replacing Power Steering Belt
6.) Replacing Spark Plug Wires
7.) Getting New Tires

After this major tune up i'll work on the suspension and body work. And then when the summer hits again. I will get the A/C fixed on it.

I'm not saying do like me and go changing everything on the car known to man, but in my situation when I bought the car, the CV Boot were already bad and for me when I replace stuff I like to get everything near it cause I have a great mechanic thats cuts me a really nice deal so I might as well get my bang for the buck ya know.

It's hard to get a Timing Belt put on for $150.00 and that includes the same service that you would get from a Honda Dealership for $1000, yes Honda wanted to charge me $1000 to replace a timing belt.

So back to what I was saying, your best bet is to find the weakest items under the hood and replace those or of you have some money to throw away like me, get a major major tune up done on that puppy and not worry about that stuff for the rest of the year and just focus on keeping your fluids up to par,

thats all I can think of right now

[drumpet15]

Cool, thanks!

[drumpet15]

Does anyone else have any great advice?

[prototype80]

take the car for a test drive for like 30 minutes, usually after the engine warms up its demons will start to show theirselves. getting it checked out by a mechanic is probably the best thing to actually do.