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Buying 93 SI HB that hasn't been run in 1 yr

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Old 07-Oct-2003, 01:56 PM
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Buying 93 SI HB that hasn't been run in 1 yr

Hi, I need ur help...

I am looking at an SI HB 135K that hasn't been run in a yr, cuz the owner is away in school.

It has been garage stored.

The battery is dead, but when I jump started it, it ran continuosly, engine still strong, but the engine oil is quite black

didn't die out, stall or anything

Is there anything I should be aware of for a car that hasn't been run for a long time?

The car is also quite low...since the midpipe scraped the ground when it backed out from the garage.

I am thinking of raising it a bit, change the battery and oil, or maybe replace the catback with something smaller

Also there is very minimal rust in the exterior (original paint)

but the bolts for the seats are kinda rusted.

Also the SRS light is on... (is that cuz the momo wheel, or the battery?)

Is there anything I should be careful about?

Thanx ^_^
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Old 07-Oct-2003, 01:59 PM
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sounds like a great deal, I say GO FOR IT.... only thing to watch for is mice or squirrels building nests and/or chewing the wires up.
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Old 07-Oct-2003, 02:09 PM
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yeah go for it if the only if the price is right ....

however the srs light being on is a good indication that they won't certify the car because of a tampered with safety device/.//
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Old 07-Oct-2003, 02:15 PM
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so i would have to replace it with the stock wheel for it to certify?

the price is $4800~5000 with cd/sub/momo wheel & ****, lowered, intake, exhaust, strut
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Old 07-Oct-2003, 02:23 PM
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no, I don't think the airbag has to work I dont think... put a stock wheel in there ($100 at a yard, or even ebay), and take out the SRS bulb in order to pass safety cheaply. but KNOW that you have no airbag!!!! not like an airbag helps, but just beware!
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Old 07-Oct-2003, 02:25 PM
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its a low mile Si hatchback... very desireable... the mods can be redone or whatever, so don't worry about shitty mods, but try to knock the price down a little... tell them its burning oil or something... lie about it.
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Old 07-Oct-2003, 02:48 PM
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ok cool thanx for the advice!!
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Old 07-Oct-2003, 08:00 PM
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Was this car on the autotrader? Teal w/ clear corners? Looks like a really good deal, I even called him up about it. Check all the belts, coolant, etc. If you pick it up make sure to change the coolant, oil, fuel filter, tranny fluid. Use the honda MTF in the tranny I was using in my GSR and it seems to be much smoother than whatever junk that was in there before. Might as well do the plugs, wires, cap and rotor while your at it. I would also suggest honda OEM parts, "performance" ignition parts wont help you out on that motor.
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Old 07-Oct-2003, 10:06 PM
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If you want to keep the motor instead of doing swap, do a major tune up, always alot of stuff to take care of when you getting a used car especially a mod. one.
If you need a stock steering wheel with airbag, pm me, I got a blk one in perfect shape.
Good luck
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Old 08-Oct-2003, 02:42 PM
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thanx for the advice guys ^_^

any suggestions for any good tune-up places?
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Old 08-Oct-2003, 03:24 PM
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Regarding the SRS light, Mine was on for God knows how long 'till one day i got tired of it and took off the steering wheel and the yellow SRS box where all the wiring is spiraled. Turns out those things break often and the dealership wanted $500 to fix it. I just opened the box and spliced & fixed the wire myself. My airbag is functional again and the light hasn't come on yet.
That same wire (shaped like a ribbon) caused my horn not to work, that's actually what annoyed me the most.
Where was I going with this... oh yeah, my car passed emissions testing without a problem despite the SRS light being on.
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Old 08-Oct-2003, 10:18 PM
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but it won't pass safety right?
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Old 09-Oct-2003, 09:10 AM
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how are we supposed to know if the car will pass safety, we haven't even seen it?
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Old 09-Oct-2003, 02:58 PM
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If the SRS light is on, it will still likely pass safety.
Suplemental Restraint Systems were more a selling feature provided as an option in the early 90's, not like today.
Lots of Civics didn't have them, that doesn't mean they were less safe.
Or take out the bulb like bbarbulo suggested
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Old 09-Oct-2003, 03:36 PM
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mourad, I had a car fail a safety once cuz the power locks didn't work... the doors would lock, but the power locks didn't work.

so you never know... I personally don't think they'll safety a car with the SRS light on but I'm not sure. To be safe, just take the bulb out to avoid a hassle.
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Old 10-Oct-2003, 01:17 AM
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Good luck getting it certified. That car HAD an air bag. That's why the SRS light is on. And if it does get certified, the mechanic will get into alot of trouble later if the insurance finds out. (can lose his lic)

bbarbulo, you are leading him to believe it's ok to get this thing. Gatherer is right about the tampering with a safety device. LiquidSOul is going to run into a really big problem if he ever has an accident with it (knock on wood), and the insurance finds out the air bag was removed, they WON'T cover the repair or the replacement of the car if it's a write off.

When I had my accident with my car, the first thing the insurace wanted to know was wether or not the airbag went off. I asked why? They said 9/10 times, an older Honda will be considered a write off if the airbag deploys......reason??....the airbag is really expensive to replace, and if it went off, that means there must be some significant damage to the car. (I had a 5th gen)

The airbag was also the first thing that the adjuster looked for when he came to see my car.

My friend had the same problem with is Sunfire. He got into an accident (about $4000 worth of damage)....the cars value in the book is $9500. The adjuster came by and noticed that the car was supposed to have an airbag (can tell by the vin #). He made sure that he wrote that in his report. A few days later, my friend got a call from his insurance stating that they were not going to fix it because a safety device was tampered with........and to kick a guy while he was down, 2 weeks later, he gets a letter in the mail saying his coverage for the car was being cancelled.......why? Why do you think?


Insurance is not stupid like they used to be. They will look for any reason to deny a claim, or to deny coverage altogether.

Yes, a Momo wheel might look nice, but it's not worth the headache later if something goes wrong.

As for......

Lots of Civics didn't have them, that doesn't mean they were less safe.
Maybe not, but if the car came with a particular safety device....ie....antilock brakes, airbags (one or two of them)....ect....the insurance will deny a claim if they find out they were tampered with.

Plain and Simple.
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Old 10-Oct-2003, 01:42 AM
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By the way, they can also deny a stereo theft claim on the same grounds, even though the airbag might not have nothing to do with the theft.

Like I said before, they will look for ANYTHING to help them deny a claim, and to help themself's save some money.

Unfair for the owner? Maybe, but the insurance is using the rules to thier advantage.

Do yourselve's a favor......go read your insurance policy. You will find a part that deals with this. At the end of all the technojargon, it will also say that "any ommisson will be considered valid grounds to deny a claim, or coverage altoghter". Which means that even if you didn't do it on purpose...ie, lie about the airbag (or anything else for that matter), they will still hold you responsible for the "ommision", and you'll be up ****'s creek without a paddle.


As for my friend with the Sunfire, he had to buy a new car out of his OWN money, and then later found out when he went looking for another insurance company, that he had a "mark" on his record about the "airbag/ommision" thing.

he now has an 87(?I think that's the year?) Dodge Omni, and pays almost $5000 a year for it, for BASIC corerage. (he has a clean record, and he's 31.......that was the best rate he was able to find.) I called that fuqked.


That Civc doesn't look as attractive as it did before, now does it?


Just trying to help you guys out. If you don't want to listen, then....

Just don't come here later to complain about what happened, ok?
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Old 10-Oct-2003, 01:47 AM
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/\ /\ /\ /\ /\
Corrrectted some speeelling.

I hope I got all of them. If not, too bad.
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Old 10-Oct-2003, 11:52 PM
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Funny we're disucssing this SRS light, cause today I bought a new car that had its SRS light on, my dad brought it to the mechanic to get it certified and he said he can't do it.

So I talked to the owner of the car (my cousin) and he told me that when the car got into the accident (before he bought it) the airbags deployed and were replaced but never hooked back up. So he told me to take out the light so the SRS goes off lol.

So since my mechanic wouldnt certify it my dad and my cousin brought to acura woodbine cause thats where the car was serviced, my dad was told that since the airbags were deployed once they don't have to be put back in, so Im prolly not going to hook em up because a lot of time recycled airbags dont work properly. If I want an airbag Ill just buy myself a jdm steering wheel or something.

Yea but Im pissed cause I was sposed to get this car today, but now I gotta wait til tuesday or wednesday before it gets back from acura. ergh
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Old 11-Oct-2003, 10:09 AM
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Thanks for the input PULOVR. Here's a bit of my own history with airbags and accidents:
My SRS used to come on occasionally when I turn the wheel too much. I think it was cold by the cold weather (metal shrunk and cables snapped) Then it gradually became more and more solid until eventually it was always on.
Now, at the same time my horn stopped working so I assumed there was no power going up the steering column.
Get this... I got into a serious accident a few months later with my car - serious enough for both the guy behind me and in front of me to have their airbags pop. Mine didn't, it wasn't attached.
My Ins. company never asked a thing about it, my damage was roughly $4500 and they swallowed all of it. My premiums didn't go up 'cause I managed to twist the story to my advantage. A few months later - aside from driving like a grandma to avoid having that happen again, I decided to fix my airbag. The dealership quoted me something ridiculous so I took matters into my own hands and fixed it as I described above. My SRS light is now off, my horn works, and I believe my airbag is ready to protect my face from a steering wheel imprint.
My point is, I'm a little surprised as to how extreme the insurance company is going in the case of your poor friend, but I have had the complete opposite experience with mine. I honestly took all the stuff out of my car after the crash because I never expected to see my civic again, it was pleasantly shocking to hear they were gonna fix all of it. I guess I got lucky?
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