loretts54

hello, RE: my post about my honda, 1988 civic 4 cylinder, 1.5.. according to the Gates website.. it is/was an intereference engine.

Hello everyone, Thanks for all the responses. So far, the Impreza is still in the running. The Carfax is a little intimidating and confusing. Any way to post a copy of this so perhaps someone can help me make sense of it. ? An accident is indicated, saying "Alert! Severe problems were reported by a state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). This vehicle does not qualify for the CARFAX Buyback Guarantee". There are items regarding the mileage, "Exceeds mechanical limits title", which I am interpreting as to mean that the odometer is five digit and rolled over, however, the mileage from the first owner to the third is off by four hundred miles. Maybe just a mistake on the part of the third owner, (My friend). The second owner was the body man who did the work, I think. Still getting more info on that. Any way to check with the PA DMV to find out what kind of accident? I want to have a mechanic go over it, not the guy who said Imprezas are problems. How do I check to make sure the unibody is solid? What do I look for or have a mechanic check for? As far as I know, is is a non-interference engine. Another thing someone said to me is that because of the R title, the car has no value if I went to resell or trade in. A dealer would not give me anything for it and it would be hard to resell should I want to. I appreciate all the input here. Thanks so much !!

Hello, I am new to this forum. I need to buy a car as my 1988 honda blew its timing belt. I am looking at a 1996 Impreza, 128,000 miles, 2.2 engine. A good friend is the second owner. The car has a salvage title. She bought it four years ago from an auto body man. It is a reconstructed vehicle and she said it had to pass state safety standards to get this title. SHe had a dealer go over it and they said she had a great car. That was four years ago. Since then, it has had a new battery, regular oil changes, new brake shoes on all four. She has put about 20,000 miles on it. No info on timing belt replacement. I took it for a ride and it seems like a great car. I looked underneath and saw possible oil leak issues, she said hasn't had to add oil between changes. On one of the pipes leading away from the engine the outer shell was rusted away, exposing a rusty inner pipe. I am assuming this is an expense waiting to happen. I was all set to bring it to the mechanic who worked on my car for 7 years to have him go over it, and when he heard it was an impreza, he said to skip it. He said they are problem cars, expensive to fix and have allot of issues. Can I hear from the forum about this? What experiences others have had? I am between a rock and a hard place and need a car, however, I need to know I am not buying more trouble. Owner says bluebook value is $3800 in good condition and she thinks $2200. is a fair price. I haven't offered anything yet, was going to get it checked out first. Should I even bother? I have the VIN and was going to spend the $$ to do a Carfax check also. Thanks