The wife and I are in the market for a new vehicle so we’re going to trade in one of our 2 old vehicles but we can’t decide on which one would be best to get rid of.
The Facts:
one 1998 Honda Civic EX, 2door, Manual, 81K miles, Runs great but there’s a bit of rust under the left passenger side door, a bit of hail damage, and it was stolen a few years ago so the air bags have been disengaged (probably just needs a fuse to fix)
one 2001 Honda Civic LX, 2 door, Automatic, 120K miles. A few dents here and there but it needs about $1k in mechanical work.
We want to start a family so the 4-door is more practical to keep. But the 98 has less miles and doesn’t need any immediate mechanical attention. Also, my wife can’t drive a stick.
as a trade in value we were trying to get $1k for the 98 and $2k for the 2001 (this was before we knew it needed so much work)
For every bit of rust that you can see, there is probably about 5 times more that you can’t see, so the '98 Civic has probably lost some of its structural integrity. That may not matter much in everyday driving, but in the event of a collision, that car may fold-up like a piece of cardboard as a result of that degradation. Combine that with non-functioning airbags, and that would not be a good vehicle for somebody with children…or even somebody w/o children.
And…if your wife can’t drive a stick shift, that would certainly be somewhat limiting in the long run. To me, it is obvious that you should get rid of the '98 model, and fix-up the '01 model.
I hope that, in addition to the $1k in repairs that the '01 needs, you are aware of the schedule for changing the timing belt, which–IIRC–is every 90k miles or 7 years, whichever comes first.
If the timing belt has never been changed, it is seriously overdue, and this puts the engine in danger of essentially self-destructing. If the timing belt has never been changed, it needs to be done…yesterday.
I emplore you to NOT assume that the airbags might just need a fuse to fix. As Texases suggested, they’re more than likely not there anymore.
Get rid of the '91… those airbags that no longer exist truly do save lives… and the lack of one could cost you yours. You may find that no dealer will give you a trade in value for the vehicle (they won’t want it), and you may have to consider unloading it privately. Please inform any potential buyer that the airbags are inoperative and may be missing. As a matter of fact, document that on the bill of sale. Normally I advocate “Let the buyer beware”, but this is too serious an issue to ignore.
Inoperable is still…inoperable…and that situation leaves you and your passengers with limited protection in a car that is not up to modern standards of passenger protection–even if it did have functioning airbags.
Ask Scotty Kilmer, at scottykilmer.com which he thinks is the better of the two. BTW, chances are 10 to 1 the air bags are GONE! In my opinion, I would hang onto the lower mileage older Honda because it’s a manual transmission Honda. Why? Ask Scotty - nationwide trusted mechanic for forty-five years. And, his advice is FREE.
I had an 88 Chevrolet Beretta (2 doors) when we started a family. Try putting an infant seat in the back of a small 2 door car and then getting the baby into the seat, it’s not fun. Fortunately my wife was driving a Taurus station wagon at the time. That was the last 2 door car I owned. Keep the larger 4 door sedan, you will need the space. These days a $1000 bucks is about 3 car payments.
It’s difficult for me to put much credibility into Scotty Kilmer. From changing a timing belt on an older interference engine beater while ignoring the water pump/tensioners to a gallon of Lucas oil conditioner to a gallon of lacquer thinner in the fuel tank to fix a converter and repairing a modern era A/C by bypassing all electronics/switches and drilling a hole in the evaporator case for a universal thermostat are procedures that could be considered on shaky ground at best.
@wesw, I guess you aren’t really familiar with the Redskins of that era. There was a running argue meant all over DC about who should be the starting QB for the Redskins, Kilmer or Jurgensen. I was in the Sonny camp. But Kilmer was a great leader. The team would follow him anywhere.