95 -- making it pretty again

[sleek otter]

Hi everyone,

Feel a bit self-conscious posting as I'm not a car gal in that I don't work on my own car, ever, but I need some advice. I love my 05 Civic sedan. It was my first car (bought in '98) and I'm not ready to part with it. The motor is great and I've put much money into it over the years to keep it running well. Last fall it overheated so I had new head gaskets done (I think that's what it was) and of course had the timing belt after 10 years and when I imported the car from the US to Canada they made me do just about everything you can imagine.

Problem: the body is falling to bits. Rust on wheel wells and some on the front passenger door. Black vertical plastic on the outside of driver door coming loose. My cruise control button pops off periodically, the seat vinyl is ripped on the front and my front door opener from the inside has split but still works.

Is it too late to fix the rust? Is it worth fixing up the body when I think this car sells for only around 4K now? Is it only worth it if you do the work yourself? If I want to get this sort of work done, where do I go? An autobody shop?

Thanks for your help.

 

[deschlong]

Welcome to Canada.

Usually when a vehicle gets to the point you're at, the average person will scrap it. Trouble is, if there is nothing mechanically wrong with it, and you are content with its mechanics, fuel economy, etc., then by all means - it is a good idea to invest in the body and other broken bits. Some of those items are pretty quick do-it-yourself fixes: it's pretty easy to repair or replace a cruise switch and a door handle (though those sedan ones can be a pain to remove). The seat should be another fairly easy junkyard find - I've seen lots of good quality junkyard sedan seats.

Your biggest expense is going to be the body. Rust isn't cheap to fix, but it is possible. If you're not against getting your hands dirty, it is possible to lower the cost somewhat by doing some work on it at home before taking it somewhere to have new panels welded. One bonus is that if you're in Western Canada, the prevalence of salt on roads (greatly accelerating the rusting process) is diminished, so once you fix it, it should be a long while til it returns.

$4K is also a generous self-assessment of the value of your vehicle. I would estimate more in the CAD$1-2K range.

 

[sleek otter]

Thank you for your candid and helpful reply

"People" keep telling me just to get a new car but those good mechanics and a dose of nostalgia make me reluctant. I will get out of my comfort zone and see about fixing some of the broken bits. A trip to the junkyard will be a first for me!

Maybe I can handle the rust if the little plastic bits stop falling off! Still, I'll look into what it would mean to start working on the rust myself. I see old civics on the road all dolled up and wonder how they did that! Indeed, my car saw the bulk of its salt on the encrusted roads of Chicago. The first signs of rust appeared the year I moved here, in 05.

I got the 4k number looking online. Maybe some sellers were asking far too much. Makes me wonder if I'm over-insured. It also makes me think that sprucing it up would have to be a labour of love, not an investment. My mechanic, who specialises in honda's, told me a few years ago that he wouldn't fix the rust, but he's a practical guy with five kids. My vanity is duking it out with my frugality :-)

Thanks again.

Welcome to Canada.

Usually when a vehicle gets to the point you're at, the average person will scrap it. Trouble is, if there is nothing mechanically wrong with it, and you are content with its mechanics, fuel economy, etc., then by all means - it is a good idea to invest in the body and other broken bits. Some of those items are pretty quick do-it-yourself fixes: it's pretty easy to repair or replace a cruise switch and a door handle (though those sedan ones can be a pain to remove). The seat should be another fairly easy junkyard find - I've seen lots of good quality junkyard sedan seats.

Your biggest expense is going to be the body. Rust isn't cheap to fix, but it is possible. If you're not against getting your hands dirty, it is possible to lower the cost somewhat by doing some work on it at home before taking it somewhere to have new panels welded. One bonus is that if you're in Western Canada, the prevalence of salt on roads (greatly accelerating the rusting process) is diminished, so once you fix it, it should be a long while til it returns.

$4K is also a generous self-assessment of the value of your vehicle. I would estimate more in the CAD$1-2K range.

 

[pyropunker25]

....I love my 05 Civic sedan. It was my first car (bought in '98)....

wait

 

[FAC3L3SS]

Lol. The "0" is next to the "9" on the top row of your keyboard.

 

[95coupeEX]

Junk yard for the seat or have your current ones recovered, and a paint and body shop for the rust.

 

[lethal6]

Fixing the rust is definitely going to be a labor of love instead of investment. You are likely to put a couple thousand easy into a paint job if you want one that is going to last. You won't get that money back when you sell the car.

You have to decide if you want to spend the money for no return in the long run. That is part of being a car enthusiast. You can't expect to get most of your money back. You do it for love of the hobby.

 

[Robin...]

Post pics...

 

[sleek otter]

That does look a bit fishy.

I'm a very quick typist, just not always accurate.

 

[sleek otter]

Thanks again.

lethal 6, your perspective helped. I want to be a car enthusiast b/c it's cool but I guess I'm not. There are much more likely hobbies for me. If I had a bit more money, I would happily put it into the car for no return but if I'm honest, my priorities lie elsewhere (like with my mortgage . . . ). I need a reliable car for my job so I should probably put the rust and paint job money towards saving for a newer vehicle.

But I'll go to a body shop and ask for a quote before I make a final decision.

I suppose I can always come online and look at others' customizations!

 

[ImportFan1]

Welcome to the site. I see where you are coming from and having a hard time deciding on what to do with the car since you have had it for so long. I had my first car for 7 years before it was totaled and ever since I found the kid on here with it back on the road I have wanted to buy it back ever since.

As far as fixing the rust goes, my suggestion would be if you aren't going to fix it yourself, don't do it. It will cost to much for a car that its not worth it on. Put that money into either another reliable car or the mortgage. You can even find another car similar to what you have now but without the rust and be happy. As mentioned before, post some pics of the car.

 

[GiffyStyle]

Welcome to the site. I see where you are coming from and having a hard time deciding on what to do with the car since you have had it for so long. I had my first car for 7 years before it was totaled and ever since I found the kid on here with it back on the road I have wanted to buy it back ever since.

As far as fixing the rust goes, my suggestion would be if you aren't going to fix it yourself, don't do it. It will cost to much for a car that its not worth it on. Put that money into either another reliable car or the mortgage. You can even find another car similar to what you have now but without the rust and be happy. As mentioned before, post some pics of the car.

I agree. It would be worth it if you did it yourself, your already attached to the car, and there is nothing that will make you love a car more than fixing it yourself. But if life wont let you do that maybe it would be best to let her go....

 

[sleek otter]

Finally some pictures

It stopped raining so I washed my car and took some pictures. When I saw how the rust on the front door is spreading underneath the paint, I thought I should let go of the dream of fixing it. You can see it in the picture. On autotrader.ca someone is selling their 95 civic sedan for 7K. It looks beautiful never mind all the air intake mumbo jumbo stuff the owner did that I don't understand anyway. The advert says the car was never winter driven and always kept in a garage. Well, my civic did not live such a sheltered life!

It seems I cannot post attachments, so here is a link to a little photo share I created:

http://photoshare.shaw.ca/view/19645559378-1280642120-96546/

I guess I'll just keep driving my baby with the rust and save up for a new car. My mechanic thinks the car should run until 2015. The next car, probably a mazda 3 sport. People say they don't like how the car looks smiley in the 2010 generation. Yesterday when another friend said it not only looks smiley but like it's sticking its tongue out (the specimen we were observing had the block heater cord dangling out the smile) I realised why I like it; the car looks like a lizard, especially with the slanted lights. I really like reptiles. Honda has been good to me but I just can't warm up to the 2-tier dash and digital speedometer in the latest generation.

 

[lethal6]

A '95 for $7,000? That is WAY too high, no matter how much it was garaged!

 

[sleek otter]

LOL! That's what I thought. For 7K I could make mine look fantastic too :-)

 

[Naught260]

That rust really doesn't look so bad.

My suggestion? If you're going to hold onto it until you can afford something else anyway, why not learn to fix little things here and there to prolong the life of it. A lot of the stuff you mentioned will be fairly easy and cheap to fix on your own. Yeah, there's a bit of a learning curve, but it's not that hard. And I'm sure the members here will be happy to walk you through every step of the process.

 

[sleek otter]

Okay. That sounds like a good idea. I do like learning new skills and maybe it won't be so intimidating if I do it one thing at a time. I'll do some research for the first task and when I need help, I'll post a new thread with my question. Thanks. I'm feeling good about that.

 

[sleek otter]

Thanks again for the encouragement Naught!

Today I made my FIRST trip to the WRECKER. I overbought but in the end I did FIX the front door sash garnishes. All I needed were new clips. I ended up buying a whole sash for the back (not for the front b/c I couldn't find one in good shape) thinking the clip was fine but the sash was broken. However, I had picked up 2 front door clips along the way. The back clip with the sash I got broke when I took off the sash. In the end, I only needed clips and I made the two front clips work for both front and back. So happy! Good thing for the long weekend. It took all morning but was fun, especially in the slight rain with all the mud :-)

Confession: I also picked up 2 hubcaps because I know one of mine has a chunk missing. In the end, the paint on the "new" ones is worse than what I have so now I have 2 extra hubcaps. I think I can return them for store credit. I wanted the cruise control knob off one wreck but couldn't remove it. I've been fussing with my broken one (breaking it further in the process) and have a better idea now how to get it off the wreck. I'll go back.

I don't see myself welding any time soon but I am emboldened to try fixing the little things.

 

[babybird]

i do body work for a living, you need to get the rust fixt asap becuse it will only get worse

 

[lethal6]

Good to hear you are giving it a shot. The little things are what EVERY drive should know. It would save a lot of people a lot of money.

I think the cruise button is held on by 2 screws after you get the snap on cover off. Maybe it was 1? I remember having to remove it to get he airbag off. It has been a while since I have taken one off, but I remember it being very easy.