Buying a 98 Civic Ex

[ufatbasted]

Found a 98 civic EX that was in excellent cond. 5 speed. 42,000 mi
Only a couple scratches and a small dent by the front bumper. Interior looks new. Garage Kept.
Power everything except seats, sun roof, aftermarket radio good tires.
Car drove and shifted awesome


Seller is second owner and has all service receipts.
Was asking 6500 I offered 5800 and we are settling at 6000 pending car passing my mechanics OK.

I'm right at KBB value the car.

Is this an OK deal?
What do I look out for in this model year?

Thanks

[ufatbasted]

Well I got it. Seems like a good car so far.

My only worry is the car is ten years old with 42,000 mi and the timing belt is original. Should the belt be changed by years or miles?

[javatrooper]

change it

[My cars hate me]

My girlfriend also had a '98 Civic EX with power everything and sunroof just as you described (yours a two door?) Watch, I bet you have it in hunter green. In my experience it was a damn good car (until she got rear-ended and insurance totaled it out.) It was smooth riding, fast running even at 115k miles. *sigh* such a young life taken before its time. Insurance paid out $4,300. Opinions on timing belts vary widely. The recommended service interval for normal duty (yours seems to be very light duty) is about 105k. It wouldn't hurt to check and see what it looks like, but a timing belt job can be expensive (and there's always the pressure to do the water pump too while you're at it.) One thing is fairly certain: If the timing belt goes, say goodbye to your valves and get ready for VERY costly repair (it might be cheaper to just buy another engine.) That's a little something those brilliant engineers designed called an "interference type" engine. Driver beware.