Is it bad idea to buy a car that is 15+ years old and high mileage? Looking at 2006 Honda Civic with 190,000 miles for $2800 from private party, the car runs and drives no mechanical issues.
Honda can last a long time. You must have a experienced and honest mechanic with a fancy scan tool look it over. That is the only way to know for sure. That car should be able to go another 100,000 miles easy. That is if the past owner has taken care of it, changed fluids and did all proper maintenance . Go on a site like repair pal and look up your car. You'll be able to check out what issues are documented and how many people reported them.
People love those old hondas and they still make parts for them because so many people still use them to race in and plenty of ppl still drive them. As long as a trusted mechanic checks it out and says its g2g then I would get it. But make sure you do one thing and that check the car for rust. A little surface rust is fine but if its starting to rust bad don't buy it.
In this market that qualifies as a pretty decent deal if the car is in good condition. Make sure a good mechanic verifies that it's OK.
I've made a practice of buying old, high-mileage cars for quite a while now and it's worked out well. (I do my own maintenance and repairs though so don't have to pay a mechanic to take care of every little thing that might be needed.)
Offer them $1500.
