[Arrecteve]

So I bought an 01 civic 70k miles on it about 45 days ago. Car was in good shape from what I could tell, clean title, no accidents, 1 owner, ran well. A couple weeks ago the heat shield started rattling so I brought it into the dealer even though the 1-month warranty had passed. The car was also squeaking/rattling which I thought was caused by a faulty hinge on the glove box and a loose piece of plastic in the rear cup holder.

When I took it into the Honda dealer I bought it from just 45 days ago they told me both heat shields were rattling so I had them pull them off for $56, no big deal. It's an urban vehicle so I don't need them. Almost everyone I know who has owned a civic has had a rattling heat shield.

Then they also told me that BOTH front struts are leaky and need to be replaced. They also told me that the lower control bushings need to be replaced. The service guy told me that he thought the struts would still be under the extended warranty but wasn't sure about the bushings. Unfortunately the warranty place is closed on Saturday so he's going to call me back on Monday and let me know for sure whether these things would be covered. He said that the squeaks and rattles I was hearing were due to the struts being leaky and also due to the bushings being loose/out of alignment. He quoted me $635 to replace both struts and $430 to replace the bushings.

I told him I just bought the car a month ago and hadn't even driven the vehicle 1000 miles yet and asked him why the dealer wouldn't have checked the car out before selling it with these problems. He looked up the car to see if it was a certified pre-owned, which of course it wasn't. Then he told me from what the computer says, the dealer only performed a basic safety check on the vehicle so the struts and bushings wouldn't have been checked before they sold the vehicle.

I really don't know what to do. This is really irritating that they think there needs to be over $1000 worth of repairs on a car I just bought. Does anyone have suggestions?

[lagunaEl]

how much did you pay for it

bushes and arms need replacing on very high mileage vehicles and I'm talking about 100k + cars

ur looking on average 80k for a wheel bearing alone

so are u sure its actually the genuine mileage


strut = shock absorber ? that should have been check on a safety inspection really

[wmtravelservice]

How much did you pay for it?
Find a way to temporarily stop the squeaking/rattling without spending much and try to sell the car again for more or break even and find a new one. Not worth the headaches IMO. That is why after owning 2 pre-owned cars... I have decided to NEVER ever ever buy a used car ever again.. New all the way.

[Arrecteve]

How much did you pay for it?
Find a way to temporarily stop the squeaking/rattling without spending much and try to sell the car again for more or break even and find a new one. Not worth the headaches IMO. That is why after owning 2 pre-owned cars... I have decided to NEVER ever ever buy a used car ever again.. New all the way.

Sticker price was 12,900 but I traded my other civic in and payed much less. Would it be normal for the dealer to not notice these things being broken? Is it normal for struts/bushings to wear out at 70,000 miles?

[JohnMitchel]

I'd be surprised if the whole strut needs replacing, usually it's the shocks that go. Springs can break as well but your mechanic said that they were leaking, which to me means the shocks rather than the struts themselves.

My car still has the original struts and it's 20 years old although it is on its second set of bushes.

[AAAESLLESO]

Sticker price was 12,900 but I traded my other civic in and payed much less. Would it be normal for the dealer to not notice these things being broken? Is it normal for struts/bushings to wear out at 70,000 miles?

No most dealers dont fully check stuff like that. Whether you know it or not you signed an as is no warranty doc in the finance room, but there is a way...... Go talk to your salesman, shake his hand and ask him if he is the salesman who is handling your sisters deal, "what deal" he says, then lie to him and tell him you sent your sister up there to see about buying a car. "no" he says, then tell him you asked her to see only him. Maybe she hasnt come there yet. Then just casually let him know about your problem.

AT 12,900 on that car he probably cleared a nickle($500.00 commission) and the dealer grossed about 2200 profit so they have a little room for bad PR prevention. If the salesman refers you to the sales mgr ask him to go with you. Trust me, they will feel uncomfortable as hell.

[adolfadsermens]

$12,900 for 01 Civic ?!!!

[Arrecteve]

$12,900 for 01 Civic ?!!!

Once again that was the sticker price not the price I paid.

[lagunaEl]

Once again that was the sticker price not the price I paid.

well what chuffin price did you pay[shocked] I only paid 7k (14$) for my beemer with 60k on the clock in pristine condition late 02 fully loaded uk spec.

70k you shouldn't have problems with the struts etc I recently had to replace my anti roll bar bushes at 106k nowt else

i'd get rid asap

how many owners

[Zugaxxsn]

Once again that was the sticker price not the price I paid.

I hope they at least gave you some Vaseline.

But on a somewhat more helpful note, I don't think there are much you can do. You bought the car "as is" so you should have checked that out before you bought it.

When I was researching buying a used Civic I was told that was the first thing I should look at because they are notorious for going bad early.

[AliceFromHouston]

That isn't a bad price it seems like.

What you wanna do is take the car to two more shops. See what they say. Find out who is lying or if the truth is being told. Mechanics can easily get a way with things that do not need to be fixed, because most people do not know.
Also, you will get two more quotes from these two different shops.

You will then truly find out what is wrong, and you will get better prices most likely as well.



If a shop tells you XXX and tells you a price, you can always say "Yeah, that is what my Honda dealer said and he gave me XXX price. Which could be the true price, or a made up price in hopes of finding a better quote.


Could even think about taking it to a Honda ricer/tuner shop. Should end up being a bunch of kids that still know what they are doing, but do it for much cheaper.

[icerrelmCam]

F. Honda.. drive Audi

Audi fahren macht spass ! [thumbup]

[Arrecteve]

Well I took it to another place and had them look at it and the mechanic said the charges were baseless. He showed me each of the struts and there was only a negligible leak on one of them. Then he showed me the control arm bushings and they were indeed tearing away from the frame a bit but he said they would last another 20-30k miles before they definitely needed replacement.

[nobodyhere]

Lesson learned. Car dealerships are full of crooks. Find a good local mechanic and use him from this point forward. I had a similar experience with a Ford dealership and I won't ever buy a Ford again.

[bestonlinepharmasy2]

Well I took it to another place and had them look at it and the mechanic said the charges were baseless. He showed me each of the struts and there was only a negligible leak on one of them. Then he showed me the control arm bushings and they were indeed tearing away from the frame a bit but he said they would last another 20-30k miles before they definitely needed replacement.

I'd get this mechanic to write what he said down and then go back to the dealership and say, WTF, why is there a difference between what you told me and what he tells me?