Should I buy a 280k EF Hatch?

[HondaNation301]

This is my first post...I feel that in order to get good answers some background info should be given, so please and thank you for the read.

I'm 18 and a senior in high school who plans on moving out in August this summer. I already have a Honda to drive that's my dads (Auto) . However I won't be able to take the car when I leave. I got in touch with someone who will sell me their 90 model EF with 280k for $600. It's drivable and drives it daily. Now I KNOW anything on the car could go bad and it WILL need work if I want to stay reliable, no doubt. I feel it's an good deal for me but what could I do from there to make sure I have some sort of good setup in August when I move out? The car will not be daily driven until then, I'll drive my dads. I was thinking I could save for a d16 (d15 in now) or rebuild the current motor. I'm not looking for lots of power right now just something reliable. I make about $500 a month with my part time job right now and currently have $1000 right now. Is it worth the investment?

 

[Killa_CiViC]

I recently refurbished my brother's 1990 CRX Si (with 170k miles).... Minus the cost of the car and my labor, it took about $2000 in parts to replace all the suspension bushings, four rubber brake hoses, four shocks, front wheel bearings, front ball joints, a/c compressor and condensor and recharge, valve adjustment, valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, distributor o-ring, front and rear main seals, timing belt, water pump and coolant....

Labor cost would have been extraordinarily high... figure 30+ hours labor at $70 per hour (which is actually a cheap labor estimate) is well over $2,000 labor. He bought the parts, and I'm taking his motorcycle in payment for my nights and weekends.

Older cars are great, but repair costs can quickly snowball out of control, because while you're working on them, you often find other things that need serious attention too, or things brake while you're working on them...for instance, I'd never intended to replace my brothers brake hoses or front wheel bearings, but the brake lines practically crumbled when I unbolted the brake calipers. while I had the knuckles out installing the ball joints, I noticed just how bad the wheel bearings were.

Aside from that, the plastic and interior parts are old and very brittle, so you may find many things just crumbling because of their age.... a 1990 EF chassis was very likely manufactured 25 years ago, after all.

 

[Bhikku]

I'd see if they have service records, receipts of maintenance, etc.