95 Civic VX - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Daox · 04-08-2009, 02:20 PM

Its not mine, but its literally right down the road. Great car with super low miles, but high price.

1995 civic vx hatch very clean. 43k 5 speed

95 civic vx hatch

Ryland · 04-08-2009, 07:10 PM

how rusty? and any idea if the dealer would go down on price?

Daox · 04-09-2009, 09:54 AM

If anyone is seriously interested, I can swing by and ask, take pics, etc.

Ryland · 04-09-2009, 10:16 AM

$4,000 is more then I can afford for an other VX, seeing as how mine is sitting unused at my parents and should be staying there for most of the summer, but when they were at the bottom of their price range, the last time gas was cheap, I saw them selling with more miles for more money.
How ever you are about 4.5 hours away and people are always asking me where to get a car like mine, so if it's not out of your way and you feel like getting more info, I wouldn't mind knowing more about it.

Daox · 04-10-2009, 02:14 PM

I swung by the lot last night. The car interior appears to be in pretty good shape, no major fading from being in the sun. It has been repainted (not all that well either). You can tell the wheel wells were bondoed along with the tell tale rusty attachment point for the rear bumper on the rear wheel well. I didn't bother talking with the salesman.

oldertech · 04-11-2009, 10:55 PM

Hi,

Thanks for the posting and followup visit. Think the deal is legit considering the rust? I called the guy. It's a 10 hour drive from here.

Scott

Daox · 04-13-2009, 01:54 PM

Well, the rust has been painted over. You can't see it unless you look between the bumper and body (rear fender). But, you can tell that it will come back and probably fairly soon. It does appear to be a stock VX, and the main problem these days is finding an unmolested VX. Also, I didn't get a chance to look under the hood so I'm not 100% that there hasn't been an engine swap done. The car did look completely stock though, no fart can on the back. IMO though, you can get a Civic shell for pretty cheap, and find yourself a VX engine, rebuild it, and put the whole gambit on the road for well under $4k. However, this is already done for you. I did just see an HX a while back for $3500 that was in pretty good shape, but it had 130k miles on it. So, is it worth it? Eh... I think its overpriced.

oldertech · 04-13-2009, 02:37 PM

Daox,

Thanks for checking this out. Makes a huge difference when someone can report, thus saving a long drive. Sounds kind of iffy to me. IF I were to find a low milage car that had original paint and bodywork, a higher price would be justifiable. A lower milage car just has less creaks and groans, in theory.

My partner and I have brought one 225K VX back to life, and after driving it and finally experiencing leanburn (Calif to 49state conversion,) I'm hooked. I'm currently driving a standard transmission Cobalt, and while I can get 36mpg, it's not the same as tallying up the mileage and pulling that 50mpg figure. Leanburn gives you more control of the compromises between getting there quickly and getting there economically and I love it. While the HX is a consideration, the other perk of the VX is the amazing hatchback design and the ability to carry huge amounts of stuff when needed.

I could find a fifthgen shell and do one up like you say, but right now, that quest for the low mileage, always-garaged, driven by the littleoldlady car is intriguing. I can dream. Should I build one from scratch, it would be fun also. Rust and bodywork are the biggest challenge for me, so I'd like to avoid that.

A best friend of mine said don't buy cars that have lived north of I-80, as the salt eats them from the bottom up. It's probably a good rule. It's sad. However, if you can keep an eye on that car and see if the price changes, it would be great. There was one on CL north of me just a few hours in Iowa asking $3500 for a car with 170K and no AC. I may consider that one still if its really clean and not rusted.

Scott

oldertech · 04-17-2009, 11:21 PM

I found this one on Cars.com at $4,500. Any thoughts? I'm many miles from there but may have a friend I can catch a ride with. Do cars in Houston rust out like cars in the north with salt water so close? I haven't contacted the dealer yet.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...eadExists=true