I've been looking to buy an older Honda Civic as my first car, and I found 2 in the area from private parties that look promising. One is a 98 Civic LX, 90k miles, clean title, the interior is clean, and the only thing that seems to be wrong with it is some clear coat peel and missing trim badges for $3,000. The other is an 02 Civic with 103k miles, clean title, slightly more clear coat peeling and the guy says it runs great he just needs to buy a bigger vehicle for his tools, also for $3,000. To me those seemed like great prices for the mileage in the current market, should I snag the deal if they check out or wait for the market to drop?
I would personally wait for the market to normalize. You should be able to get something less than 10 years old for $3k.
On the other hand, you don't have anything else so you might need to bite the bullet and $3k isn't the end of the world. I would still try to find something 2009 or newer.
Thanks for the advice. Although around here in the PNW it feels rare to see private parties sells cars under 10 years old, and especially for $3k, even pre-covid.
I'm sure you're right. Civics are really popular with youngsters, and as a result their price is very inflated.
Here is one with decent mileage for less than $3k:
https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/pacific-honda-civic-ex-coupe-low-miles/7343532845.html
$3k is a very tight budget, so you can't afford to be that picky about model. It's only your first car.
Oh cool! I'm in the PDX area so anything farther than 30 minutes is difficult. This is one of the cars I was looking at near me https://offerup.com/item/detail/1225981132?q=1998+Honda+civc&cid=5.1