buying a car that sat for ~6 years?

[edi sucks]

I found a Civic with really low miles ('02 Civic, 52k miles) and when I looked it up in autocheck it looks like the last time it was registered in PA was '05. From that I'm guessing it's just been sitting for 5-6 years now.

It's tempting, as I'm in need of a DD. I don't have any experience with cars that have been sitting around though, so I really don't know what to look at. I'm guessing I'm going to need to change all fluids, probably replace the timing belt, and drive belts? I'm not sure if the pistons were sitting in the same spot the whole time or the car was started from time to time, if the car runs fine is this something to be worried about (leaks in the future?)

 

[brblx]

would rather have an '06 civic with 152k.

if a car is well-kept, age > mileage. and if this cat sat undriven for six years, it's not well-kept. so you have whatever abuse it got in the first 50k plus 6 years of degradation to every part of the car.

i could see it needing belts (timing and drive), hoses (def rad hoses, may need heater or other coolant, could have rotted vacuum or evap hoses); will certainly need tires, and the brakes are probably crap- even once you get them moving and the rust ground off the rotors, they probably won't function well and will be noisy.

anything else i missed that's rubber could be a concern. boots on suspension and steering components may be rotted and torn (or may tear once you get some mileage on it), control arm and sway bar bushings. lots of stuff that may not immediately present on problem, but will still cost you in the longrun. old junk gas, even after removal, could result in eventual problems with the pump, regulator, or level sender. sediment at the bottom of the tank can repeatedly clog fuel filters. acidic coolant may be eating away at things as we speak.

really i'm just playing the part of the doomsayer here, the car may do quite well for you after a few initial fluid changes. but it'd be best to just spend your money on something newer that's been driven more.

 

[halik]

Umm what makes you think it sat for 5 years? Is the mileage from 5 years ago ~50K?

 

[T2urtle]

^ agreed.

animals living in the car and its just too much of a gamble.

 

[Bignate603]

Cars don't age well if they sit and are never run. Unless you're willing to go over the car and replace every gasket that's started to leak, every rubber part that's dried out, flush the sludge out of all the fluids, replace or repair all the parts that have corroded and started to stick, you should steer clear.

This would probably make a decent parts car but I would expect some issues with it. Also, why was it parked 5 years ago? People usually don't park cars for half a decade that are running great.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Think these guys are a bit over worried. Its been 6 years not 30. I'd do everything you said and pull the spark plugs and put a bit of marvel mystery oil in each cylinder and let it sit over night. Then crank it with the plugs out a bit. Even that is probably overkill but won't hurt. Check to make sure mice haven't destroyed the wiring. That would be a huge PTIA.

How good of a deal is it? That is the question. Are they charging premium for because it has low miles or is it a steal because it has been sitting for 6 years?

 

[brblx]

i've worked a fair bit of jobs where i see the same model of car over and over again. and time and time again, the newer ones with twice the mileage (say, 4 years old with 25k a year) are in far better shape and require fewer repairs than cars that are old and low mileage (usually due to nothing but intermittent short drives)- a 9-10 year old car with 5k a year? fuck that shit, i wouldn't touch that with king tut's missing penis.

 

[Vette73]

If it did sit for more than a couple years it will need new tires, belts, ALL new fluids, and hoses right away. Let alone the AC has probable dried out.

 

[edi sucks]

Umm what makes you think it sat for 5 years? Is the mileage from 5 years ago ~50K?

I'm looking at autocheck (similar to carfax), and apparently the last time it was registered was 2005. A duplicate title was requested in 2010, and the car was put up for sale shortly after...

 

[edi sucks]

Think these guys are a bit over worried. Its been 6 years not 30. I'd do everything you said and pull the spark plugs and put a bit of marvel mystery oil in each cylinder and let it sit over night. Then crank it with the plugs out a bit. Even that is probably overkill but won't hurt. Check to make sure mice haven't destroyed the wiring. That would be a huge PTIA.

How good of a deal is it? That is the question. Are they charging premium for because it has low miles or is it a steal because it has been sitting for 6 years?

That's a great question..I don't know yet. I've got access to dealer auctions, this car is going up for sale this week. Historically, assuming it was in AMAZING condition it would go for around $5500-$6000 for this mileage.

 

[Viperoni]

Wouldn't go for it, for all of the reasons listed above.

 

[Rezist]

I let my car sit for 6 months and it's tires got quite a rattle and I even moved it a bit so it wouldn't sit in the same spot. They only have 30,000 KM's.

Also if the person has a company vehicle and only room to park one vehicle at there home you end up with a vehicle that's always sitting.

 

[HarryLui]

Look for another running car.

 

[JCH13]

For a project car or something you want to re-hab and eventually make a DD sure. For something you want to throw some quick work at and DD right away, I'd be nervous, but it's possible that it would be okay. I would not want to rely on it as my primary DD until I had run it through its paces.

In additing to what has been mentioned... sitting for 6 years there may be some serious funk in the interior, especially if anything has been living in there. The tires will almost definitely have taken a flat and/or dry rotted, you'll need new ones.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Its ok for 6 years. I am getting a car that has sat for 16 years in a heated garage. But it is a classic car and it is getting a clean crank without the spark plugs to get rid of the oil build up.

If the car was kept inside, and the tires look not degrated, I think you got a deal.

 

[CraigRT]

I would pass unless price was phenomenal. Mind you I can do all the necessary repairs myself, and that says something. For a basic knowledge DIYer I really think that car is probably a pass.

 

[exar333]

Many people drive cars that are not registered; I would suggest finding out if it actually sat for the time it was not registered or not. It may have been owned by someone out in the country or something that never got tabs for it. Saying the car sat for 5-6 years is possible, maybe even likely, but it may not be a concern either.

 

[Lotheron]

Hmm, maybe it was a military vehicle that got shipped overseas for 5 years, then they brought it back when they came home?

I find it very hard to believe that the car sat for 5 years.

 

[exar333]

OP - go check the car out. It should be pretty obvious if this sat for 5 years or not.

 

[zCypher]

If it really sat unused for that long, screw that. I moved out of province a couple years ago and left my car for almost 6 months, only being moved once in a while for me by someone. In the past year I've been haunted by suspension/steering gremlins, I had to change all kinds of things and it's not over yet.

It's really bad for a car to sit and not be used at all. Pretty much negates the low mileage.

 

[7window]

thats why a 69 mach or boss that had 5000 miles went for 500k last auction

 

[thedarkwolf]

If your suspension has things going wrong with it after sitting 6 months they were already about to go bad when you parked it.

 

[Meghan54]

Its ok for 6 years. I am getting a car that has sat for 16 years in a heated garage. But it is a classic car and it is getting a clean crank without the spark plugs to get rid of the oil build up.

Huh? What oil buildup? If that car has sat for 16 years, oil buildup is not what you're going to find in the cylinders.....what you'll find are absolutely dry cylinder walls, dry crank bearings, dry camshaft bearings, dry valve lifters, dry everything. Every drop of oil has long since been pulled down into the crankcase from gravity.....start that engine without any prep work and you'll give it years of wear in just a few seconds.

(Hint: This is why when an engine's built, the cylinders and pistons are lubed and assembly lube is used everywhere else that would have metal-to-metal contact on starting.)


If you, the OP, buy the car, I think you'll find it will start to have issues later as you use it. And not just isolated to mechanical issues, such as scarred bearings, cylinder walls, and the like. You'll probably also start to get oil and/or coolant leaks from gaskets that have dried out so much they've lost their ability to seal the passages/galleries they were intended to seal.

Remember, the gaskets used to seal the oil and coolant passages within the engine depend upon being constantly wetted with their respective fluid to keep the gaskets pliable and "swollen", so years spent dry will create dry, brittle, and poorly sealing gaskets throughout the engine.

Get ready for a never ending battle with leaks, at the least.

 

[JCH13]

thats why a 69 mach or boss that had 5000 miles went for 500k last auction

I'm pretty sure a 1969 Mach/Boss has a bit more of a demand from collectors than a 2002 Honda Civic.

 

[Meghan54]

thats why a 69 mach or boss that had 5000 miles went for 500k last auction

I'm pretty sure a 1969 Mach/Boss has a bit more of a demand from collectors than a 2002 Honda Civic.

Really. Kind of disingenuous, or a typical uninformed and ignorant teenager argument, to compare an extremely rare, desirable, and highly in demand muscle car from over four decades ago to an eleven year old econobox.