>2008 Honda Civic Hybrid
>180,000 miles
>Supposedly only need a catalytic converter
>Only asking $1500
Assuming thats the only problem. Would it be a good buy? a newish Honda with that many miles?
A new catalytic converter is around $200 bucks.
pic unrelated
Wisdom from my dad: If it was cheap, why wouldn't they do it themselves?
Move on, it's probably toast.
Used hybrid are always shit.
this
200 bucks would increase the value so hard if that's the only problem
that's a lot of miles for only 9 years. cats don't just die. they're killed by a poorly running engine. it's been dumping gas into the exhaust due to a misfire or the engine is fucked and there's massive amounts of blowby.
just get a clean civic for 3k that was driven less than 15k/year
Sometimes you can get genuine bargains. Here's some of my scores:
1. 1989(?) toyota corona hatchback. New belts, plugs, wires, fantastic interior and exterior, 220k KM, suspension had been redone. Cost me $400 because I found it on eBay and was the only person who bid. Got crashed into and lost it.
2. 1990 Mazda 121. Paid $600, used it for around 8 months before the clutch plate died. Pulled it apart, really couldn't be assed paying for parts, scrapped it.
3. 1993 Toyota Corona sedan (GF bought it on my command, I drove it everywhere), some old guy selling it for $1100. Had been in his garage his whole life. Less than 100k KM's, full service history at dealer, everything was just perfect, the only downside it was auto. I actually cried later that night when someone crashed into me, because that car was so beautiful. I've been looking for another one, but nothing of similar quality or price comes up.
4. 1994 (maybe 96?) Honda Prelude. Made my housemate buy this one. $1600, just had timing belt and water pump done, blew no smoke or anything, no troubles starting. Exterior was a 6/10, interior was 7/10.
After a week, the 4ws stopped working, which required me to resolder the joints (climbing into the back of a 2 door coupe, pulling the back seats off, unbolting the some stuff. Actually really hard job). 2 weeks later, the main relay started acting up. It would sometimes start, other times nothing would happen when you turn the key. Same story, resolder the joints. a month later the distributor rotor snapped, but was easy to replace. He ended up selling it sadly, because it seemed unreliable. I would've bought it if I needed another car at the time.
If you find the right ads, you can get a good car.
The two things I suggest are take off the oil cap, and see the colour inside. If you rub your finger in there, and the metal is still stained dark, avoid it. Also just a compression test.
Okay, but all those cars are 20+ years old.
Car in OP is 8 years and is asking the same money as the 20 year old shitboxes you have stories of.
>OP uses miles
He's probs an Amerifat
I'm Aussie, ours cars cost more and our dollar is less.
1.8 NA Miata in OK condition? $6k
Wise words. Thanks dad.
>yfw 2008 was almost 9 years ago
Fug i feel old
But what do we think about this?
>2002 Honda Civic
>181,000 miles
>$1700 bucks
is this TOO good to be true, im not sure how much these normally go for
OP here I guess I'll pass on it then
thanks lads
bump
Cats do die. They have an age limit. Doesn't have anything to do with the engine.
Looks like it's worth taking a look at. A good look at, but it seems reasonably priced.
no they do not you idiot, a proper running engine will keep the catalytic converter happy for a really long time. Any car 96 and up with a dead cat has some sort of engine issue.
You guys are fucking idiots if you believe my dead cat isn't pushing 380hp
check it out
If it has the original radio, go for it.
Not too bad, dont expect the battery to last too long, but if you drive it in ways that are easy on it it can last a few more years. Check it with an obd2 scanner, most likely it has other issues. But if it doesn't 1700 for a running driving car is good.
Not always. Sometimes they just use shitty cats that wear out at about 120k. Ive seen 3+ Mitsubishis with worn out cats and its a common issue on them.
Do you live in a state that emissions requirements are a problem?
If you do, Swiss cheese the upper side of the muffler.
I live in Connecticut
There are four ways to kill a catalytic converter.
1) Carbon Fouling, essentially you cover the catalytic surfaces with soot and as a result there are no active open sites of the catalyst.
2) Mechanical Damage, rocks and debris which attack the housing cause a fracturing of the ceramic catalyst support.
3) Burn out, the catalytic converter gets so incredibly hot that the catalyst sinters and the surface area becomes negligible.
4) Poisoning, the vehicle ran with gas which had a high sulfur content and as a result there is sulfur permanently bonded to the catalyst rendering the catalyst ineffective.
If you have access to hydrogen gas, you COULD repair a fouled or poisoned converter by filling the catalytic converter with hydrogen gas and applying a torch to the housing of the catalytic converter. NOTE: THIS METHOD IS DANGEROUS AS SHIT AND IF YOU IGNITE THE HYDROGEN GAS YOU MAY CAUSE AN INVISIBLE FLAME. Do this outside away from everything with welding goggles and appropriate protective clothing on. Also make sure there are no leaks from the converter prior.
Before you go and look at the catalytic converter you need to consider are there any engine fault codes? Most likely a bad MAP/MAS sensor and catalytic converter O2 sensor have failed which cause subsequent fuel dumping and converter murder. These sensors are relatively cheap, ~300$ for the both of them and also easy to access. After these have been replaced, then replace the CAT.
>There are four ways to kill a catalytic converter.
why cant i just replace it?
Also if I bring a friend with an OBDII Scanner would that help at all?