Pro tip: That 2005 Honda Civic with the cracked radiator and 190k miles...

I saw a guy on Craigslist drop the price from $1,800 to $900 over six weeks, and now I'm wondering if a $400 radiator swap and some elbow grease turns it into a daily driver or a money pit... anyone actually deal with this year's cooling system issues?

3 comments

3 Comments

king.derek17d ago

You really think dropping $400 on a radiator and doing the work yourself is a bad deal on a car that cheap? A 2005 Civic is one of the easiest cars to work on, and the cooling system is basically just a few hoses and a radiator swap. At $900, even if you have to spend another $200 on a thermostat and some coolant flushes, you're still at $1,100 for a car that will probably run another 50k miles if you treat it right. Sure, it's a gamble, but what else are you getting for that kind of money these days? A busted radiator is a known problem, not a mystery engine failure, so it's not exactly a money pit.

patricia31717d ago

Yeah, you're spot on about the Civic being easy to work on. I actually did the exact same thing with a 2003 Corolla a couple years back - paid $700 for one with a blown head gasket (well, I thought it was the head gasket but it turned out to be a cracked radiator). Spent a weekend swapping in a $90 radiator from AutoZone and flushing the system a few times. Total cost was under $1,000 including new hoses and antifreeze, and that car ran perfectly for another 40,000 miles before I sold it. So yeah, if you can turn a wrench and the body's not rusted out, that $900 Civic is a steal.

king.andrew8d ago

Honestly, $90 for a radiator from AutoZone? That blows my mind. I was picturing this being a way bigger parts bill, like at least $200 or more just for the radiator itself. And then you only had to flush it a few times and throw in some hoses? Man, that Corolla story makes me feel a lot better about jumping on that Civic. If you can really get a reliable car on the road for under a grand total, that's a no-brainer.