First Car Woes...

W

Wanna_be_Medic

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Hi guys,

I'm looking at getting myself a first car. I've been looking on OLX and Gumtree and have seen some great "deals".

My latest "deal" is a 1997 Honda Civic (the boxey European-shaped one). It's going for R25k.

But now after speaking to the owner he told me "The car needs new tires, a battery and the head gasket needs to be changed - due to one bolt is stripped on the head".

How much would these problems end up costing me?



Look forward to your help. :)
 
A lot. Don't even consider it. These are the faults the owner knows about. What is the clutch/transmission/driveshafts/cooling system/aircon like? On the other hand R 25k is quite cheap. Do you know any local small workshops who might be able to assist?
 
oh no, if you dont know much about cars get an approved vehicle, especially if its your first car.
 
First ask yourself why the head gasket needs replacing, why was the bolt stripped (very possibly this car has never serviced, or someone that does not have a clue messed around with it)

Needs a new battery basically saying it is just standing there, owner does not know what else is wrong with it.

Stay well clear of this "deal", it will only end up costing you money.
 
no no noooo!, dont, to the Dealer with you!, :-) at the dealer if something goes wrong you have leverage to sort it out.

Question is why does it need a new head gasket ? and how did the head bolt get stripped, head bolts dont strip unless you opened it and torque it by hand and not to factory spec, in any case they will have to re drill the bolt hole in the block then after a while it will come loose again.
 
Stay away unless you know anything about cars.

What you could do is ask the owner if you could have the car checked out by a mechanic of your choice before buying it.
 
My problem is: I have a budget of R50k cash. Haven't seen anything in any dealerships for that price.

But it seems this "deal" is a no-no. I don't even know what a "headgasket" is! :S


Thanks for the help guys.
 
Wanna_be_Medic said:
My problem is: I have a budget of R50k cash. Haven't seen anything in any dealerships for that price.

But it seems this "deal" is a no-no. I don't even know what a "headgasket" is! :S


Thanks for the help guys.
Click to expand...

R50K as a deposit on a new car would get you repayments of about R1100-R1300 on a new entry level car without residual.

Earlier this year I was in the market for R40K-R70K and could not find anything I felt safe to buy since I know very little about cars. Ended up buying a new entry level car and no regrets.
 
For that amount of Money you can get something decent hey.......... just a pitty my friend is taking my wifes Toyota Tazz 2002 Model 1.6i with Aircon and Power steering, its got on about 180 000 Km's but just had the gearbox replaced brand new, did a bumper too bumper on the Motor plan Xtender.......but I know there is a number of good cars still out there for that price range. If you really looking for something decent PM me maybe I can try and work out something for you.
 
The headgasket is a vital piece of equipment, that if it fails, can do untold damage to the engine.

To summarise

The spark plugs, fuel injection stuff is all connected to the top part of the engine, called the cylinder head
The bottom part is called the block and this where the pistons go up and down and make the engine move
The join between the cylinder head and the block is where the cylinder head gasket goes. It is a type of paper that is impervious to oil and obviously, must be damn tight to stop gases escaping
There are many extra holes in the cylinder head gasket to allow coolant/water to cool the engine
If this cylinder head gasket gets burnt due to overheating, then the seal will be compromised

If there is a broken bolt, then some person tried to overtighten a bolt at some stage and the bolt broke. It can be a mission removing it. But what did he do after breaking the bolt, did he drive the car? You do not know that, so give it a miss.

Try a more standard car like a boring Toyota or a Mazda
 
A quick search on AutoTrader returned just over 1,000 cars for R50K or less !
 
chrisc4290 said:
The headgasket is a vital piece of equipment, that if it fails, can do untold damage to the engine.

To summarise

The spark plugs, fuel injection stuff is all connected to the top part of the engine, called the cylinder head
The bottom part is called the block and this where the pistons go up and down and make the engine move
The join between the cylinder head and the block is where the cylinder head gasket goes. It is a type of paper that is impervious to oil and obviously, must be damn tight to stop gases escaping
There are many extra holes in the cylinder head gasket to allow coolant/water to cool the engine
If this cylinder head gasket gets burnt due to overheating, then the seal will be compromised

If there is a broken bolt, then some person tried to overtighten a bolt at some stage and the bolt broke. It can be a mission removing it. But what did he do after breaking the bolt, did he drive the car? You do not know that, so give it a miss.

Try a more standard car like a boring Toyota or a Mazda
Click to expand...

Aaah... Thanks for the explanation sir. :)
 
its a honda, and with what little you need to spend now, you will be a okay in the many years to come!
my 97 civic took me to mozambique--to beira in 2008!!

and dont stress too much.. the worst that can happen with jap cars, can be fixed by a simple engine swap for a few grands..
its really a no brainer!! get it!
 
You can have my Civic. It has new tires and is still covered by a service plan until 2015. You can have it for R180k.
 
buy the car and change your nic to Wanna_be_mechanic:D

you sure will gets lots of practice on it. rather avoid.
 
R50K budget is quite reasonable.
I got my Tazz for 49K with 110,000 KMs from a Hyundia dealership and it costs me R800 to service a year.

The car had a full service history. I even phoned the dealerships (where the service was done) to get the service history.
Be patient, you will find a good deal.
 
check with family and friends for a 2nd car in that price range...otherwise you are gonna pay and pay and pay...
 
Where are you based? Do you earn an income? Are you wanting to pay cash for a car or would you consider putting down the R50k as a deposit and then paying a car off monthly?
 
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