95 Civic VX found. Help/advice/info needed.

[VolcanicDragon83]

95 honda civic vx (mint) - $3200

http://providence.craigslist.org/car/553713128.html

First of all, hi! This car looks pretty good, but I'm suspicious about it. I emailed the person saying that I knew the muffler wasn't stock, and asked what else wasn't stock on the car. I also asked if he was the only owner and why he was selling it. I so far have not gotten a response.
I'm definitely suspicious of the presence of the black side bumper rails. I know the VX and CX models did not come with that. The wheels are also not the stock alloy wheels as far as my knowledge. If you have any advice, insight, or information on these discrepancies and the price please let me know. Thanks everyone!

[Danronian]

Looks to me like it's a modified VX.

It has Integra wheels, and a big exhaust.

Looks like the door paint doesnt match the rest of the car. To me, I would guess the fender and door were hit, and since the doors and fenders with red paint and moulding is easy to find in the junkyard, that is what was installed.

TO me, non-matching paint and modifications makes this car worth less than $3k. 90k miles is tempting, but these cars easily last over 200k miles with no trouble, so don't try to limit yourself to looking at ones with such low miles. Try to expand your search.

Good luck. Shopping for a Honda is difficult due to their popularity with young people who modify them.

[101mpg]

Make sure that the motor & tranny haven't been swapped, either. I'd a) bargain the price down - sometimes a fender bender is just that and small modifications like the incorrect (but correctly fitting) door and fender are okay, b) have a mechanic you trust inspect the vehicle, checking for correct VINs on engine, tranny & vehicle, and c) get a CarFax report. Not too expensive but CHEAP insurance.

You COULD have a good vehicle on your hands, but the presence of the obviously different muffler (which will likely need to be replaced, possibly other exhaust issues) means maybe the VX got riced up and not in a good way. VXes often have parts changed to make them faster, unfortunately, instead of more fuel-efficient.

Check the VIN to make sure it's a VX, too - someone here recently got a CX because someone told them it was a VX and it wasn't.

[Danronian]

I would rely on the carfax to tell you what kind of car it is, and where the car started out in life, but DO NOT rely on them to tell you about it's entire life.

I've had cars with clean car fax reports that have had multiple accidents (all evident to myself, since I'm familiar w/body work), and one that was actually stolen, recovered, and never reported. I also have a friend who had an accident where the car was nearly totalled, which was repaired at a dealer, and that never showed up on the car fax either.

I would read-up on what to look for to spot body work, and major damage, and just try your hardest to look at it yourself. Getting a mechanic you trust to look at it is best, but when searching for a VX, they never seem to be local...

[GasSavers_TomO]

Start HERE to check and make sure the car was at least originally a VX and double check the Engine code. Most of the time if a person that wants speed gets a hold of a VX the first thing they do is swap out the transmission after throwing a fart can on there and some different wheels.

If everything checks out and the drivetrain is unmolested and it truly is a VX, go HERE. That will point you in the right direction to getting a good VX.

[GasSavers_Ryland]

If it's just a muffler, you can get a stock one for about $140-170, if it had the exaust from the Cat-back replaced then add another $120.
Ask if he has the stock rims, alwas ask for other stock parts as well.
I think if you do a quick little search you can find an photo of the vx engine bay, go to look at the car well informed as to what the stock air intake, stock valve cover (on top of a stock engine!) and then you are more likely to notice if something else is out of place, maybe Tomo could add photos like that to his VX info page?
personaly I think his asking price is a bit high, so wait, if it's still there in a week contact him again, if you go look at it and don't take cash with you make sure that you can go get cash right away, personaly I alwas take as much cash as I am willing to pay as people selling cars get frustrated with people who want it but never come back with money.

[VolcanicDragon83]

Thanks for the responses. The seller has not responded to my email yet (bad sign on non stock parts, etc?) I'm going to give him a few more days to respond and then will try to contact the person again. I will keep you posted.
By the way, wouldn't certain performance parts be perfectly fine for gas mileage? I'm not too good with cars, so correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like a performance intake and exhaust wouldn't affect gas mileage poorly as long as you don't drive it fast and hard. Am I right, or what is wrong with having a performance exhaust and/or intake? Would that be the same if it's just the muffler? Thanks.

[GasSavers_Ryland]

air an exaust fallow the laws of fluid dynamics, and just like you need larger lungs to blow air thru a tuba then you do to blow thru a penny wisle, a larger exaust either needs a larger engine, or one that is turning really really fast with alot of exuast flowing out of it, for it to flow properly, this is part of why vehicles that are tuned for racing are really uncomfertable to drive on the street, and why they aren't alwas "happy" unless they are running fast, of course aftermarket intakes and exaust don't alwas help that much if you really are racing unless they are designed well, they often just make the car sound bigger, or more powerful.
it's a simaler idea with alloy rims, check out the weight of alloy rims sometime, some of the popular rims without tires weigh more then my tires and rims weigh together, but wow do they look fast!

[Danronian]

With my VX, the OEM intake gave me about a 3 MPG increase in MPG and a smoother running/driving car overall. Also made my car a LOT quieter without that huge aftermarket intake on it.

[mkiVX]

it is a vx
it has the chin spoiler
and it has the nipple over the rear windshield wiper
the door has been replaced
but hell it looks decent