Considering buying a car from a dealer

I'm going to this local car dealership tuesday to check out this 97 honda civic hatchback. They want $3000 i'm gonna offer $2500.

What are some common issues with this car and what should I look for and ask about? Can a dealer lie about problems?

Help Veeky Forums i've never bought a car by myself before

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I mean, each individual car can have its own problems due to neglect. I guess check the timing belt/chain, frame, and gaskets. Obviously take a test drive too.

I tested a 95 Cougar that had almost no brakes and a stiff shifter. That fucker was over 3 grand.

I'm gonna test drive for sure, i wish I was a little more knowledgeable with cars, my only day off this week is tuesday and I basically need to get this car that day if its legit. The few relatives I have that are good with cars are gonna be at work when I'm test driving

>Common issues
I don't mean to sound like a dick but it's a 20 year old car being sold for $3,000 so expect some minor/moderate issues. I don't know much about civics but always inspect the car for rust and take a nice, long test drive to see if any issues pop up along the road.

>Can a dealer lie about problems
Yep. And most of them have no idea what condition the cars are actually in, if they have any problems, etc. They have one job and that is to sell the car by any means possible.

I highly recommend investing in an OBD II scanner to read any trouble codes on the car. For one thing, it lets you know if there are any issues with the car and when you inevitably find trouble codes, you can use that as a bargaining tool. A good scanner is only about $50.

Good luck.

Also, if you're really concerned about the condition of the car you can pay a third party to inspect it. It's called a PPE (Pre Purchase Inspection). They can run a couple hundred dollars though.

Keep an eye open for misfires, slips in the tranny, creaking suspension or any other odd rattles and noises.

>OBD II scanner

Pretty sure advance auto parts has one of these and will read it for free, but im also pretty sure that the employees are too fucking incompetent to know what the codes mean most of the time.

A dealer will do an oil change and maybe the plugs and tires (and they may be cheap shit).

There's a good chance it was neglected in every other aspect and was owned by a complete retard or five

jack up and check literally every suspension component for play

if they won't let you raise a car, or raise a car for you and let you wiggle the tires and tie rods, they're not worth your time

If it's automatic literally walk away. The transmissions are shit.

Check the oil. The d16y7 in those cars burn oil due to shitty piston rings ALL of the d series do it. Common problem. Check for leaks in the spark plug holes. Pull the wires out one by one and check for soaked oil due to bad tube seals.

Check transmission fluid (if it's auto) it must be pink and not any other color. If its brown it's need to be changed.

Check for rust obviously.
Timing belt you won't see because It's covered. Ask when it was changed last.