stewartfan Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 So, here's the story: I've been looking at cars ever since I realized how much I loved BMWs about two years ago, at age 14. Here I am, a job and a lot of maturity later, and I still love me a good Bimmer, but I have come to terms with the fact that a BMW probably wouldn't be the best first car. So, I made plans to head into the LA area and look at cars with my mechanic uncle for today. After talking to my grandpa, he refused to loan me money if I did that. He suggested I look locally, which I actually hadn't done yet since our area is so small. I looked at the local classified ads, and found a 2001 Civic sedan, which wouldn't be my first choice in a Civic, but it was advertised at $4400. It had already been sold. Then, I called about an 02 Lancer for $3500, that had been sold already. After that, I called about a 96 Accord with a broken timing belt for $800 with 300k miles, and last, because it was least likely, a 2004 Silver EX coupe with 73k miles advertised for "$6000-8000." So I made plans to look at the Accord, and my uncle described it as a roach, but that if his garage was finished, he would buy it, fix it, and sell it. He has been known to do that a few times. While we were looking at it, the guy seemed really shady and overall disrespectful; on the phone and finally ended up basically rushing us off. We then decided to go check out the Civic. It was a very nice lady in her late 50s to 60s. She showed us around the car, which was in brand new condition inside and out, everything on it was perfect. What wasn't mentioned in the ad is that she had been told that the auto trans was going out and would need to be replaced. After looking at it for a bit, she offered us a test drive, and I didn't see why not, so she handed us the keys (My uncle and I) and let us take the car!! Partway through the trip, my uncle told me to gently swerve left and right. He then took the wheel and did the same (We were only going 30. haha) He noticed the sound only when turning right, so he thinks it's just the right front hub bearing. We went on our way, and I was ready to buy the Accord; I though it was going to be a great experience. After I'd decided on the Accord, I thought it would be the right thing to do to call the lady and tell her that I couldn't afford the car, no matter how much I would like to (My all-time favorite Honda body style, 04/05 Civic), and that it wasn't the transmission, but actually the hub bearing. She proceeded to ask what my budget was, and I replied, $3000 tops. She said she could do $3000!! So, as soon as my grandparents show up, I'm gonna head out and pick it up! I'm excited out of my mind!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xeryon Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 life lesson #1 - don't count your eggs before they hatch. if the car is not in your driveway you do not have it yet. if you do get it be sure to post some pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelSolSweetie Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 i had a e36 for $900 the other day got a 5 speed tranny for it for $300 auto tranny blew up right after we left guys house and i didnt feel like paying to get it towed 2.5 hours home so we gave it back the guy lesson: you can find bmw's for cheap and they are not as expensive to fix as people think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartfan Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 i had a e36 for $900 the other day got a 5 speed tranny for it for $300 auto tranny blew up right after we left guys house and i didnt feel like paying to get it towed 2.5 hours home so we gave it back the guy lesson: you can find bmw's for cheap and they are not as expensive to fix as people think Thank you! ^^ They'll go about as long as a Honda will, too. Albeit with a little more regular maintenance, but 300k is achievable. But anyway, I GOT IT! :DD I love it so much! I already have it painted with window paint, as there was a parade for everyone in my town to participate in since our football team is playing in the CIF final today! I was afraid I wouldn't like the stereo, but I love it, it's more than adequate for me. So happy right now; and I drove almost all day in town, and the needle for the gas moved about one tick, which is amazing! I only have 2 pictures of it now, but I will definitely put more up some other time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelSolSweetie Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 where do you get a bmw needs more maintance then a honda? lol and there are plenty of VERY well running e36s with 200+ k miles on them why are the photos edited all weird? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrIaN EG2 Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 you can find bmw's for cheap and they are not as expensive to fix as people think true story.. unless youre talking about a newer model like mine >__< and IMO i dont think 3k for a 04 bastard civic is a steal at all, only steal was your money getting stolen.. but thats just my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartfan Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 where do you get a bmw needs more maintance then a honda? lol and there are plenty of VERY well running e36s with 200+ k miles on them why are the photos edited all weird? Haha well there tends to be more there, so more goes wrong. But yeah, as long as they're taken care of, they don't need too much It was in a crappy area when I took the pictures. haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartfan Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 true story.. unless youre talking about a newer model like mine >__< and IMO i dont think 3k for a 04 bastard civic is a steal at all, only steal was your money getting stolen.. but thats just my opinion haha "bastard Civic"?? and what do you mean by my money getting stolen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airjordan223 Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 looks like you got a pretty good deal. dont rice the thing out now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartfan Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 looks like you got a pretty good deal. dont rice the thing out now I think so! And trust me, that's the LAST thing on my mind. I love the look of a stock car, and I know that's not really what most of the forums online are about, but that's my plan. I was only planning on upgrading the sound system, but that was before I listened to it, now I don't think I'll want to, as a headunit is a PITA to install on one of these cars, and I would only do that so I could have an iPod hookup. Other than that, I'm happy with the "performance" and the looks of it. I tried squishing a bug on my screen, but it didn't work as it was part of your sig. hahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airjordan223 Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Actually installing a new stereo for these isn't that hard. Just a few bolts and tabs and the trim piece comes out and then you can take the stereo out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartfan Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 Actually installing a new stereo for these isn't that hard. Just a few bolts and tabs and the trim piece comes out and then you can take the stereo out. Is accurate? If so, that's too much for me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airjordan223 Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 haha no, check out the comments: "This is way too much overkill for this installation. People should search for the following video to see how to remove the centre console allowing installation : "2001 Honda Civic EX center panel removal"" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartfan Posted December 13, 2010 Author Share Posted December 13, 2010 haha no, check out the comments: "This is way too much overkill for this installation. People should search for the following video to see how to remove the centre console allowing installation : "2001 Honda Civic EX center panel removal"" Ok, then that'll be probably the only thing I do change. Haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannaBstuntin Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 Looks good man. GL with it. Hopefully you dont have any problems with the tranny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartfan Posted December 14, 2010 Author Share Posted December 14, 2010 Looks good man. GL with it. Hopefully you dont have any problems with the tranny. Thanks! And I sure hope not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airjordan223 Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 yeah tranny problems are terrible. at first you know that something is not right, and then youre like wait is that a.....noooooo thats gotta be a....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartfan Posted December 29, 2010 Author Share Posted December 29, 2010 Just thought it was worth it to mention that, after reading through various parts of this thread, I want to mod my car a little bit. Really, all I would do is a spoiler like the one that comes on the special edition EM2s, and some other rims (Not until I need new tires, though...which will be a while.), maybe lightly smoked headlights, and matching foglights, white, front seats, either RSX or Si 7th Gen, stereo (Head unit, since I have to use an FM transmitter, which fades in and out, even though it's one of the best ones out there...), tint, about 50 on the rear side windows, and rear window, and then some sort of tint on the front side windows, but seeing as I live in CA, it shouldn't really be too dark. Maybe, if no wiring work is required, some high-quality LED taillights that look stock, just with LEDs inside. Ugh! I shouldn't have looked at those pictures...Good thing I really don't have any excess money right now, plus my grandpa (Who loaned me the money) would probably kill me...haha. Otherwise, I'm loving it! Except that it's a little less perfect cosmetically than I thought at first (scratches here and there that I didn't notice at first), but at $3000, it might as well be almost totaled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xeryon Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Nothing wrong with wanting to customize your car to your liking. just don't do led tail lights, please. the best part about not having any money is that you can't blow it on something spur of the moment. use the time it takes for you to save up to do a lot of window shopping to make sure you not only get the best price for what you want to buy but that you truly do want what you are doing and not making a mistake. always remember, a modification to a car is entirely money down the drain. very few things you do to that car will increase the value, many will decrease it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartfan Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 I know this thread is old, but I wanted to update! A little over 4 months later, and I am still madly in love with my car. I was planning on getting an iPod adapter that connected to the stock H/U, but then decided that a new H/U would be more financially logical. I have also had an OEM Honda spoiler for some time, but I just haven't been able to install it, since I have no experience drilling into cars and that kind of stuff, and my uncle has been really busy for the past few months. So, it is sitting at his house currently. I will attach a photo of the new Head Unit! I know it's a fairly low-end unit, but for what I want to do (Keep the stock speakers), it's great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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