I had a chevy aveo hatchback automatic and it was so cheap but it never really broke down from anything that wasn't preventable lol. I drove it for 3 years with 1 break down at 140k miles (broken serpentine belt) I only got rid of it cause the doors were so flimsy it felt unsafe. Good first car though lol. My buddy had the manual hatchback and it was way more fun.
@@keshmo12 I bought an 07 sedan new off the lot because it was relatively cheap and I was desperate. It did last for the life of the loan, but not much longer. And I had to deal with M&T Bank the whole time. 🤢
That car almost cost me my life. Admittedly, we barely drove the car, but it had causes me to fishtail on the highway and I hit an 18 wheeler and ran into a guard rail. Only minor injuries, got very, very lucky. I was only driving it because my car, basically the car Eric is talking about, was leaking transmission fluid from the input shaft.
I have a bit of a buyer's remorse story. Early this year, I bought a 1972 MG Midget project car with a swapped Toyota 22R engine that was supposedly tuned to make 150bhp. I wanted an engine swapped Midget for years; I always thought you would get everything: speed, nimble handling, good mileage, style, etc. all in one package. I also figured 150hp in a 1500lb car: awesome! However, once I got it home, I spent months fixing wiring in a custom harness with no diagrams. I also repaired and tuned about 12 other ods and ends (alternator replacement, breaks, windshield washer system, carburetor, etc.). It's pretty much on the road now, aside from having a small break leak that happened on the third drive. But, despite getting to drive it, it's not living up to the expectations I had. It's fast and cool and fun, but for whatever reason, it's just not clicking like I thought it would. Luckily, I did not pay much for it, so if I still don't like it once I fully flesh it out, I can profit on the resale. Nevertheless, I learned that you should always haggle and always be careful whenever you meet your automotive heroes.
Ah, he’s learning how life really is. Sometimes the “cool” factor doesn’t pay off,haha. Some ppl aren’t lucky to even have something that nice for a first car-ish. It’s a good life lesson for him no doubt. Having a father that’s a mechanic is rare and should be a humbling factor in itself.
Been really fortunate so far. Every car I ever bought, or even had a part in the buying process, exceeded my expectations. Naturally, the cars with the lowest expectations have outperformed the most! 😊
@@truthislam6481No Cap, The VW dealership talked me into buying a 24 Jetta that didn't want or care for. The salesperson was being little emotionally manipulative in a passive way I really felt bad for the dude, then i said to myself, "This is a win-win situation". And I've regretted it since. I hate this car, it looks weird, it's not my cup of tea. I want a Golf, and I'm make more than enough money to get one.
Hopefully an HID/LED headlight kit, and the transmission fix will rekindle his love for the Civic! Plus he can say he worked on it, which is extremely gratifying!
@@darkboy1759 new headlights - wasnt impressed with my integras lights until i put HIDs in now I see fine and adding new struts made it far more fun to drive!
Having a small fleet myself, 6 and counting, I find myself in a similar boat. Not buyers remorse, but not feeling 100% about a vehicle when something goes wrong/bad. I always have something else to fall back on until I get it fixed, and sometimes I unconsciously take longer to fix something because whatever was wrong was off-putting. Headlights suck? I have better! Exhaust has a loud leak? I have quieter! throwout bearing starting to get loud? Not on the other 3 manual trans vehicles! Bottom line, show him how satisfying it is to fix something correctly and how to appreciate it. I bet after its fixed he is 85% back to loving it like he did when you got it, which is pretty darn good!
It really is a great life lesson. He gets the satisfaction of learning how to fix it right, and literally anything he doesn't like he can improve or change. Headlights suck? No problem, decent set of projectors and HID's, done deal. Maybe theres even some JDM parts he could swap on for that. Interior not up to his taste? Maybe grab some Integra or S2000 seats. Loads of possibilities for him with a Civic, and he has a father who knows how to do it right. What more could a kid ask for really?
Dealing with it right now with my '03 EP3 Civic Si. When I was in college (15 years ago...I feel old), I had a 2000 EM1 Civic Si that I absolutely adored. I had it for four years and put close to 100k miles on it, but it was unfortunately stolen just as I was getting ready to graduate. I've pined after getting another one since the day it was stolen. It's impossible to find EM1s in clean/non-riced condition for a good price, so I thought maybe the EP3 would scratch the itch. I found one for sale a couple years ago and decided to pull the trigger. I was in love with it for the first couple months, but now all I see are the problems--the underside is covered in wonderful southwestern Ohio rust, the timing chain and tensioners are at the end of their lives, etc. etc. I don't have remorse for the purchase of the car (it was cheap and all of the work I've put into it thus far hasn't cost much), it's more that I feel foolish when I think about why I bought it. I was chasing nostalgia and the EP3 doesn't remind me of my EM1 at all. I don't think I will ever be able to judge that car on its own merits. Now when I look outside and see it parked in the driveway, I just get depressed.
@James M Yeah, I've owned objectively "better" cars (more power, more amenities, etc.) in the decade and a half since, but I miss that car dearly. I've had two or three EM1s slip through my fingers over the years for various reasons, and the only one for sale anywhere near me is close to $20k (it is admittedly VERY clean and low mileage for the age). As the years go by, they get harder and harder to find. I've about given up hope at this point. Cherish your EM1!
@James M Better than the EP3 Si (or EP3 Type R for that matter!)... Both the EP3 & DC5 Integra (or RSX for Americans) have serious cost-cutting, and serious suspension geometry flaws. This was completely fixed on the FA5/FG2/FD2/FN2 generation Civic IMO -- cost-cutting sorted (much more of a quality Honda feel again), much more stable on the highway thanks to the extra steering caster & better geometry, just a better car all round IMO. I much prefer either the older generation or the new generation compact Hondas, I don't like the 2001-2005 era at all. While the DC2 & EK9 Type R (or EJ Civic Si Coupe B16) will always be the peak of handling, I think the either the FD2 or FN2 Civic Type Rs run rings around the EP3 for an everyday car. :)
My first car was a 6 year old white 1989 Honda Accord EXi 4 door. It was an awesome first car and a terrible purchase all at once. I bought it from the son of an insurance agent so that should have been the first clue. 3 months after getting it, the AC died. 3 months after that, the timing belt went. 6 months later, the engine had catastrophic failure of the ring lands. Having too little money to get out of the loan, I had to fix the thing a lot. (The AC stayed dead for the rest of its life as it would have been too much for a nice to have feature.) 2 years in and it started really getting those classic rust issues and that was just all manner of fun. Eventually, my harsh use of the car also cost me a transmission rebuild. In the end, the cost of the car initially and all the repairs, I should have just bought a new Civic off the lot. Or a much newer Accord. I did love that car and miss things about it to this day but boy, did I learn a lot about decision making. I had the car for 5 years so when I let it go for just over a grand, it had almost 400,000 KMs on it.
Sorry for his sadness. I know how he feels. However, it's also so refreshing to hear about a teen, a male teen, who really wants to drive a stick. So rare these days.
I will say that I admire that you work with your son(s) on their cars and help them. My dad traveled a lot (even though he was a mechanical engineer and a good about doing general car repair work at least on older cars--brakes, tune-ups, etc). But in the end it usually came down to either I got a book and figured out on my own or I had to pay someone because I I either couldn't figure it out, or didn't have the right equipment. He would verbally walk me through some things, but it wasn't the same. He was always with me when I bought cars (my "Beater" cars) to make sure they were at least safe and halfway decent and that I didn't end up buying some complete pile of junk, but I wish I had more time to work with my dad on cars. Most of what I know today I've had to figure out on my own from reading, having people show me, or watching videos (and when I was growing up, things like UA-cam didn't exist, and the Internet as we know it today was still in its infant stages so there was almost no info available "online" as there is now.
Brought my 2010 Lancer GTS manual to the dealer for some recall work and they had two Lancer Ralliarts on the lot. The sales guy comes out saying that they'd offer an awesome trade in on my GTS and I instantly bit on the bait. I went from a car that was paid off, drove spirited, and got good gas mileage to one that I had to pay a note, insurance went up a lot, and I was filling with premium fuel every other day. It was fast, basically being a "detuned evo", but the damn dual clutch transmission always defaulted to economy mode, always short shifting. Even when I'd put it in manual mode it would shift if it thought I was in gear too long. I was driving home from work one day thinking I either needed to sell it or wreck it, about ten minutes later I got rear ended and totaled it. I drive a manual diesel Golf Sportswagon now.
My first car was a manual transmission and I liked it for about one month. Then, I HATED the thing and never bought a manual shift car again. All my friends said it was cool to drive a manual....they all got automatics. My dad was a mechanic and he basically said, " Get your butt out there and fix it." I had to replace the clutch, bearings, the rear axle bearings and I had to learn to do all of that. I still do a great amount of my own work. Great video!
My 1997.5 Buick Regal GS. I needed a replacement for my 81 VW Rabbit and my dad showed the Buick. All I needed to hear was supercharged. I went to look at it, fell in love with it and bought it. Well, within a week I realized that the seats were not comfortable, the blind spot was insane, and that premium gas is very expensive. It suffered every w-body issue you can imagine, including worn impeller bearings in the supercharger. I drove it just shy of two years and I’ve never been so glad to get rid of a car. But that experience led me to the 97 Town Car that I absolutely loved.
R56 MINI Cooper! I know you know my pain Eric! Those videos were so hard to watch... because I already had been through it... BUT... you... and THAT CAR... taught me a LOT.
Hey, Eric! First truck at 16 was a '91 Ford "Exploder" - In a year or so, I had high/low idle issues, multiple tire blowouts (the old Explorer exploding tire thing), electronics stopped working, just basically garbage. Lots of other problems I've already forgotten. BUT it did teach me how to change a tire :) Next vehicle was a '97 Explorer my oldest sister owned. With this one I thought maintenance was the key since the first one came from an auction. The 97 Explorer lasted 345,000 miles and was STILL running with ZERO issues when I traded it in finally for my 2012 Grand Cherokee Laredo ten years later. I've kept the same mentality about maintaining everything myself that I possibly can and now have 135,000 miles on it as well. I will never forget the 91 Exploder though.
My buyer's remorse story is also a Civic! A 2002 LX sedan that has a "new clutch and good tires". It has a new clutch but the seller left the old release bearing in it, the old flywheel with bad hot spots, all the motor mounts are wasted, put gear oil in the transmission and the windshield or cowl has a bad leak in it somewhere I have yet to locate. That dude went on marketplace blast BIG TIME with the photographic evidence to prove it.
I had buyers remorse on that same gen civic. I sold my super reliable 96 civic to help a friend out and subsequently lead me to the worst buy of my entire life - 02 honda civic. 3rd gear grind, clutch pop out in 5th, didn't like how the seats felt, axle popped out on the way back from buying it, cooling fans wouldn't work unless I had the a/c on, and I mean the list goes on. I traded it in for a nissan versan 08 and then traded that one in for an 04 tl. LOVE the 04 TL. Can't believe how happy I was after I saw Eric did a whole series on it after the fact.
I had buyers remorse when I bought an 02 SVT Focus with a 6 speed. Wanted a manual so bad I scooped it up. About a month later the clutch slave cylinder went out and I needed to pull the whole transmission out to replace it and the clutch. It was a love hate relationship with this car when I first got it but learned a lot working on this car and fixing all the little and major things wrong with it.
F350 dually crew cab long bed. Was fun at first. Untill you realize how complicated a simple task like parking or doing a u-turn is. It has its purpose.. But stays mostly parked
That's exactly what I have. Fortunately I live rural. In town, (the county seat) the streets are wide and empty. I had to drive this monster into Denver not to long ago. Scared the crap outta me. I gotta get my Tacoma back on the road for going to the city.
@@ratdude747 They are work trucks. Expensive to keep on the road as a daily driver. 10mpg diesel, 3 gallons of oil- 100$-150$ oil change. Parts are 3x more. Tires are more expensive. doesn't ride like a Cadillac. When you park at min your tightly fitting a parking spot. Hope people dont park in certain spots or you will be doing a 16point turn to get out. I usually Park at far end of lot and take up atleast two spots so the nose doesnt stick into the drive path. I do like the truck though. Someday when finances settle down i will be able to modify it to my eye.
That’s exactly how I feel now since I put some 12 wides and a spindle lift on my truck I can’t go anywhere without having to think about how I’m gonna do it before I get there
I know you don’t usually feature your family on the channel, but it would be awesome to see the two of you working together to fix the problems with his car.
I recently experienced buyer's remorse with a project car I bought. I knew it was rough, but it was worse than expected. As the rabbit hole of repairs got deeper, the buyer's remorse got stronger. But after the repairs were completed, I took it on a test drive, and the buyer's remorse evaporated. Maybe some repairs on your son's car will do the same for him.
I don't blame him. When I bought my first manual car, a 1988 Honda Accord, I got frustrated that I kept doing burnouts by accident at every stop light but I slowly got better at stick and love the car now.
2003 Subaru Forester which had a slow leaking head gasket. I had two option sell the car that never left me on the side of the road, or spend a lot of money to get the head gasket, timing components and water pump replaced by a mechanic. I took it upon myself to do all the work myself. There were plenty of resources that would help me along the way and 30,000 miles later, my car is tip-top. What I learned from repairing the Subaru is priceless and it will stick with me.
Never really with cars but.... I bought a Kawasaki KLR 10 years ago when I was doing a lot of city riding. It was great for a out 4 months but when I changed jobs and started riding highway again more I absolutely hated that thing, just gutless past 40mph. I was stuck with it for a couple years but I was never happier than the day it left.
You seem like a really good father, and coming from someone who did not have a good father, you should be proud of the difference you're making in your kid's life.
When I bought my first car, ‘99 SVT Cobra with a 5sp. T45, I went through something similar. Ironically with a slipping clutch and warped rotor as well, lol! It’s clunky/stiff, loud, and uncomfortable. But after addressing the issues, and coming to terms with the compromises of daily-ing a car of this nature. I fell in love with it harder than before!
As my first car I bought a Pontiact Grand Am GT. had all the options and a sun roof and it was a 2002 and I bought it in 2016 as my first car. I loved that car, I fixed everything that was wrong with it and it only had 38,000 miles! An older couple who owned a small car dealership owned it as their personal car. I quickly learned that a car is not meant to sit for a long time. Everything worked for the first few months. Things began to break over time. First the thermostat, then the water pump, then a missfire from spark plugs, etc. Everything was crammed into a car and i hated working on it. I sold it and got me a GMC sierra 2004. Man I love this truck. I had it since 2018 and It's so easy and cheap to work on.
My friend and former manager had a 1987 Honda Accord he'd brought back from the dead and souped up (coilovers, sway bars, camshaft, exhaust, a few other things), and I lusted after it for years. The day comes that he offers it to me (for way too much), and I jump on it...only to find out the wiring's been butchered and the engine's on its last legs. I had to replace the alternator, the radiator, the heater core (what a pain that was), the oil pan gasket, rip out the HID headlights and the audio system, and many many other things. It did teach me how to wrench and I got to do some mods of my own (converted from fuel-only OBD0 to fuel-and-spark OBD1), and I made lots of friends going to meets, but the thing was a money pit. Eventually it developed a top-end knock, but before that could get any worse, it met its end after an old lady in a Lincoln blew a stop sign and I T-boned her. I went so far as to go to the U-Pull-It and get a new front end to put on (from a car that had been stolen, funnily enough; the entire thing was painted in a thick and uneven coat of vomit green, and the VIN on the dash was upside-down and didn't match the one on the firewall), but trying to save it a second time turned out to be a fool's errand. The subframe was bent, and it just stopped wanting to run. I had neither the time nor the resources to fix either of those, so off it went to the great parking garage in the sky. And despite all that...I still miss it.
ERIC , buyer remorse is highly prevalent in purchase w/trade in . You trade in that ultra reliable car you depended on years rain or shine. You fall in love with a shiny stallion that caught your eye off road while driving your boring, slow and fading paint grocery getter. You buy it and after the thrill of newer car is gone and you find all the surprises that a car has that you havent serviced all its life. Sometimes a paint job or new set of rollers is a better solution to bring the thrill back again, especiallly for mid life crisis ..
11 years ago I bought a 2003 Range Rover HSE with 119,000km on it. I loved the look and the interior was like new. Even with the one year remaining on the extended warranty, it was nothing but problems. Had it for five years, and was glad to get rid of it.
I bought a 1996 Dodge Avenger in 2000. Looked fast, but this was deceiving and had low HP. It also threw engine codes frequently that were, according to the Dodge dealership that I took it to, usually O2 sensors. This was way before I could do anything on my own and was probably a catalyst for wanting to learn so, for that, I suppose there is a modicum of gratitude. That said, I will never buy a Dodge nor will I ever go to that dealer again!! Sold it after a few years and loved the Mazda 6s that replaced it and am now am in an F150 FX4 I’ve had for 8 years. I’m able to do much of my own work thanks to you and SMA!! I’m a long-time subscriber to both of your channels and very much appreciate all of your old content as well as new!!
I have an 03 5 Speed Civic as well, I had the same problem with not being able to see at night but I put in some LED headlights and it's a night and day difference. Also, please please please do a clutch change video for that car.
This really hits home... I'm currently dealing with the same gen; 2001 honda civic ex manual trans 160,000 miles, that in retrospect paid way to much for due to lack of knowledge and needing a car fast to get to work. It looked really good, garage kept barely any rust on it. The guy said runs and drives needed nothing, weeelp he covered up a failing head gasket by putting stop leak in it. I got maybe a few weeks of driving it until the symptoms started showing. The only silver lining is I've learned a hard lesson and alot about how engines work (but not why these apparently pop head gaskets easily.) Because the repair pretty much exceeds the value of the car I tried to tackle the job myself, especially because being near broke and not being able afford the legit fix anyway (quoted close to $2,000 for head gasket and timing belt). Learning overall the configuration of the components, the steps to do the job thanks to scouring forums to obtain a repair manual for free, youtube videos!, what to look for while doing the job, how the failure could happen, making sure the cylinder head is flat and not warped (which if it is I would be screwed because no machine shop near me, and the temp gauge did get high.) etc. But alas finding that my cheap harbor freight tools I have not really being good enough, the specialty tools needed, having the stress of not be able to fail because of my tight budget... And during covid making everything even harder... I gave up after half the job done. I saw some signs that someone has already taken this engine apart before because some things were missing, it being full of stop leak, having my savings drained. You get it. I contemplated if I had enough money, tools and knowledge, maybe just do an engine swap (and clutch while I'm at it) but my location doesn't yield anything and I learned that I think my engine (D17A2) was only put into like 20% of the civic on the road so they are harder to find/more expensive. I really wanted to love this car. It was supposed to be affordable and reliable, fun to drive for me and safe. It ended up slapping me in the face due to my ignorance/ being naive and trusting. But atleast I now know what's the worst thing to look for and check I guess. I wish I had a car guy/mechanic in the family. I'll probably wind up being one due to trial and error lol. Thanks :)
Good on you. I've only had two crappy cars since my teens and my current one is the definition of a cheap beater, but that's exactly why I love it. I can mod it, thrash on it, fix and or sell it and have no regrets. It's cheap, it has a heater and it's lasted me 7 years so far.
1981 Plymouth Sapporo. Bought it in 1984. Paid way too much for it, really overextended my then min-wage income, and came to discover that a "newer" vehicle doesn't mean a "problem-free" vehicle. 42 month payment plan and I was underwater on it literally to the last payment. I learned a lot from that purchase and to this day I do not purchase a new or newer vehicle from a dealership and I do all my own mechanical work.
All 4 of my kids learned on a stick, 3 have owned one. My oldest daughter's corolla 5 spd got rear ended and totaled, and she was HEART-BROKEN. We spent 2 months looking for a workable replacement, to no avail. Her new car, "Roxie," was an auto. But , as she lives in Michigan now i feel it was fortuitous.
my Chevy s10 has been a hunk of crap the whole time I've owned it. It's my username because I loved it the first week I bought it, but man a manual transmission got old FAST. Water leaks, interior squeaks, crappy seats, leaky intake manifold gaskets, AC leaks, you name it. I'm glad I got the opportunity to have this pile though, because I will truly cherish a different vehicle when I get one. Plus, now I'm not afraid to do ANY car repair task. Talk about EXPERIENCE!
17 years ago, my oldest daughter would cry when I made her drive our 03 civic hybrid with its manual transmission, but that was our only stick and she needed to learn. She loved her 00 Integra LS and it was an automatic, because it didn't distract her from her phone and her make up.. Well her younger sister was ready to drive, in 04, so she wanted her own stick shift, but it had to be yellow. She wanted a new RX-7 in yellow, but I got her an Integra. Because it was yellow, my oldest daughter liked driving it, to HS. Now, for the buyer's remorse, they've both moved out and I have been left with these small cars that I can barely get out of. I should have bought an Element with a stick.
My 1995 GMC Suburban with a TBI 350SBC, his name was Hulk, he was big, mean and green. Brought him back from the dead, but it soon became one thing after another after another after another. And the damn thing nearly killed me on at least three occasions. Never been so happy to get rid of a vehicle. I'll never work on another truck as long as I live.
I wish I was car savvy enough to diagnose things "on the fly" my son and I will eventually run across this bridge, and I hope I can be still be his hero like you are to yours
I had a case of buyers remorse with my 2007 4runner. I think the biggest thing for me was shelling out ~$11k for a vehicle. I hate debt but sometimes it is necessary I understand. I bought it with some work to do on it and when I tallied up all of the stuff I had to do, as I was driving home, it hit me. Extreme buyers remorse. But, as I fixed it slowly and over the course of a few weeks, I fell in love with it and I actually thoroughly enjoy driving it now more so than my 2015 Accord V6 manual with full bolt on mods and a custom tune. Crazy I know but I know the feeling of buyers remorse. Start fixing it and making it better and who knows, maybe he will turn around and love it again.
I’ve only owned 3 vehicles and loved each of them. My 03’ Corolla treated me greatly until the crash that killed it. My ‘16 4-door Yaris hatchback is doing its job greatly (cheap basic transportation). And my baby, my ‘18 F150 XL regular cab short bed.
I don't care at all what ANYONE thinks about my cars. Period. I recently had a boss of mine tell me I should get rid of my 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis that I bought new in 1996 and have owned for 25 years. He bought a new Corvette and lost his job. He asked me what he should replace that with.....you don't want me to answer that. I was 32 when I bought that car. They scoffed at that. 25 years later it still runs very well with 400,000 miles on the clock and I have had no car payments, EVER. Great video!
Another car I regretted buying was a 1980 Buick Skylark, after the warranty expired the problems began to the point where I could not trust the car to go out on weekends with the family w/o the fear of being left stranded on the side of the road.
He will learn to love his civic more through the hardship. I do not regret owning my 1998 EJ8, even though the engine died 2000 miles into owning it. His description of his enthusiasm turning to jaded came for me- with metropolitan traffic. What made the hardship worth it was how informative your 1997 civic no crank, no start vid was., it taught me alot about the D16 motors, as well as my own hands on with this guide. They really are simple, reliable, strong engines with even by today's standards- stellar MPG.
93 Legend GS. Car didn't start when I bought, starter wire was just disconnected. Steering wheel was cocked to one side, but later found out the damn thing was salvaged (young and uninformed at the time). Later on, head gasket was going as they are known to do.
1991 Ramcharger, daily driver when I was 19 for about a month. Loved it the first 2 weeks, then hated. Now it's a secondary vehicle and I love it again.
My first car buy(er remorse) was a 1974 Chevy Vega GT. To me, it looked like a miniature Camaro. The all aluminum engine block burned oil like it was fuel, and when it was quiet you could hear the body rusting. The spark plugs would fowl so frequently, that I would carry a spare set to change whenever needed. To solve the oil burning issue, you had to have steel cylinder liners installed in the engine by a machine shop. Once that was completed, the car was pretty reliable, under-powered, but reliable. I credit that Vega, and it's successor a 1978 Fiat 128, with teaching me to work on cars.. out of necessity.
Mine was a 93 Ford Ranger. It was one of those that would nickle and dime you. Got all of the minor stuff sorted out and running perfectly, then 4th gear went out of it. I had the transmission rebuilt and it was good for a few months. Even passed Pa inspection perfectly fine. Sadly I ended up totaling it in a wreck.
Bought a 2008 accord v6 from my mechanic brother. He just put in another trans because of a radiator leak. The car was well maintained and In great shape. Drove it home to Mo. From Mi. Loved the car. Misfire code showed up and put about $800 into it (my labor) and a shop to find out in had low compression in one cylinder. Traded in on 2017 Camry. Very sad.
my buyer's remorse: 1992 Sentra SE-R. Wanted it so bad to a point where I didn't care, knowing it was neglected. Owned it for about 4 months, did whatever maintenance on it and eventually sold it. I would still want another one, but one that wasn't jacked up this time around.
I think this is a good opportunity to k20 or k24 swap it, it's really easy on these 7th gen civics, and reasonably inexpensive ($2000 if you know exactly what to buy). It'd also make for some pretty good content!
7th gen platform is not the ideal car to put a k series in. Most people put it in 5th,6th or 8th gen. The EP3 comes with a k series already, or go for the civic Si and pay a bit more
@@youngb1ood I don't follow. The 7th gen is the same as the EP3 & DC5 that come with stock with a K series. People seem to really like the EP3 Type R for some reason (which I don't understand TBH). As you say, either the older or newer cars are much better vehicles IMO.
My first car was a 2005 Honda Civic too. When I bought it , it was during the day , and the first night I drove it I found out that the entirety of the headlight control relays and the part of the board under the dash which deals with lighting was corroded and messed up. Like it looked like someone took wire strippers and attacked random parts of the wire harness. The corrosion on the board was so intense there were multiple shorts across different terminals. I felt so crappy about it , and how scummy it was for the other person to not mention the headlights are toast. Four bulbs later, spools of wire , solder, and corrosion remover and elbow grease later , it finally was legal to be on the road. I did all kinds of work to it and learned so much, it went from buyers remorse, to my favourite car for life. That car lasted me 5 years before handing it off to the next buyer, confidently being able to tell them that I did all the work to it , and that it should last them until the transmission goes. What a good car. Rest easy old civic.
my first car , a 91 Ford Taurus SHO , was something I had this with , replaced a clutch as well as a cable link ... and then the rear main started leakin , baaaaad... it was ultimately a handmedown from my dad , and we had it for 14 years before i got it. There was sentimental value there , but I couldn't deny the car had seen far better days.
79 Buick Riviera . My first car and bought it at a car auction for 500 then when I was 18yrs old. Engine blew on the way home. I did have buyers remorse on a 01 civic that was mickey moused salvaged repaired It rattled so much but I got to say I grown to love it since I purchased it for 800 and here 6 yrs later only thing I had do to it is besides regular maintenance was a broken windshield. Getting ready to put my 2nd timing belt on. Might not sound or look pretty but runs great and gave me 240k miles worth of worry free driving
Can't say I've ever really had buyers remorse on any vehicle I've ever purchased, I've always learned as much as i can about the mechanical aspects of whatever car i purchase and am usually able to fix it myself, other than that every car I've ever purchased has been rock solid in the reliability department so no complaints here lol
Eric, I purchased a 1970 Jeep CJ5, with the Buick V6, in 9/77. $ 2400 After 1 cold winter doing some snow plowing, breakdowns ( clutch cable twice), no wipers- rusted out. Poor heat - due to all the window glass & no insulation, heavy duty clutch pressure plate, heavy duty springs & suspension. It needed front brakes- which I did. it was always something. I sold it in April 1978 for $ 2400. The ride was v poor. Truck belonged on a farm to be used as a work truck. I had to walk away from it.
I had buyer's remorse twice. First time: 1967 Ford Mustang 6-cylinder 3-speed. It looked real good, nice interior, drove great, everything checked out. I knew it was a "federal" vehicle (not a government vehicle, just non-California) but also I had a connection with the BAR and had no concerns about addressing any issues with emissions testing. Later I discover the floor pan is completely rusted through on the driver's side -- from outside the car you can reach underneath and feel the carpeting -- and the cowl/windshield area leaks water into the interior quite badly. Should have done a full inspection but still the price was good and not too bad of a loss. I forgot to mention this to the next owner and feel a bit bad about that. Second time: 1986 Mazda B2000 pickup. It had 220,000 miles, but the price was low and I needed a pickup quickly and this one was referred by a friend. The owners said everything works including the AC and radio. The transmission and clutch were new (documents) and it drove nice. So I bought it and went on my way. Turns out it doesn't even have AC and the radio makes noise but is pretty much useless. Plus the interior was covered with ashes and reeked of nasty cigarette butts. Plus the cylinder blow-by was unbelievable, I had to use 20w50. This one is definitely my fault as well -- I put myself in a position to be desperate for a reliable pickup for a low price and this is what I get. Drove it for 4 years and only had to replace the clutch master cylinder, not too bad I guess. And the cigarette smell eventually went away after several cleanings and driving with the windows down all the time.
I have 7gen ep2 (European version with d16). Stick shift. Had the same transmission problem at the begining. Had to open it up and change all of the bearings (you know.. while we're in there) and ever since - no annoying sounds.
I had the opposite, I changed vehicles from a low compact to a small SUV and the first week going from gasoline to diesel, the heavier clutch in my hill heavy city started to make me loathe the car. But once I settled into it, learned my shift points I fell in love with the torque and the features.
2012 Silverado, loved the truck but gas mileage lower than I hoped for plus coolant leak, hung calipers etc. I did some work on it but everything is bigger and heavier. I just didn't feel like tearing apart things on a truck. So yes, I had some buyer's remorse.
I just recently picked up a 5spd ranger for my kid to learn on. Doesntvrun per say but hes got time to learn to fix it and then learn to drive it. Its rattle can black and we call it his humility vehicle.
I have a 2004 civic coupe, great car! I also had the input shaft bearing noise and I fixed it myself. Only other major problem was the headgasket because of an overheat. I fixed that myself also, but ever since then it has been a great car! Amazing mpg too.
Bought a 03 frontier for like 9k. Had low miles and was very clean. 3 months later the motor blew. My friend and I worked on it for like 3 months while I spent about 1200 on a used motor and other miscellaneous parts. Was definitely regretting buying it, but I learned a lot while pulling it apart and putting it back together. Buyers remorse BLOWS
Awesome to see your son having such an interest in fixing his car. He will appreciate the car(s) he is driving more and is, hopefully, mindful when using and maintaining them.
I was a few years older then your son. I had traded my first car that there was no issues with, 88 Honda Accord. At the time was the Fast & the Furious Movie and I found this 89 Honda Civic SI. I already lived on my own for a few years and thought it would be a good car. I needed something reliable because I worked early, long days. I didn’t really know anything about cars at this time. I had bought the car for a lot. I drove it off the used car lot and I got about 2 miles away and then my engine light came on. I had no idea about cars, I knew what an engine light was. I phoned the guy, owner who sold me the car and he told me that I would have to take it to a mechanic. And since that I signed for the car, I wasn’t getting my money back. I owned the car for less then 2 months and it spent 6 weeks at the shop. It needed a new cylinder head and needed to be re-wired from back to front because the person who wired the deck didn’t ground it properly and shorted out my taillights. I had just moved to this place not even a year prior so I didn’t really know anyone. I took it to the mechanic that the seller I bought the car from. $1000 dollars later the car was fixed. Not too long after more was going on, back in the shop it went. One of my co-workers at the time asked me where I bought the car from and I told him. He told me that he knew the guy in High School that I bought the car from and told me to never, ever buy a car from him, or his “business.” I found out that he would get damaged cars, make them look all nice and sell them. But there was major gremlins hiding. The mechanic got tired of seeing the car and sold me a year old vehicle for a decent price. Too bad he was very shady as well. I got the 3rd car and never had any issues. Many years after the Civic was come and gone. I was helping a friend shop for a vehicle. We went into a used car lot and I seen the logo of the business I bought the Civic from years early. After my friend talked to one of the sales people. I walked them out and reminded them of the Civic and not to buy a car from them. In their back lot they had damages cars and were doing the same thing. I hadn’t seen the owner of when I bought my Civic but that who vibe and what I seen was enough. So Civics, Preludes etc that all the young people wanted but were getting ripped off. She ended up buying a car from another dealer. Many, many years went by that I couldn’t buy a used car, that Civic put the fear into me. Being 15 years plus later now, I’ve learned a lot, what to look for and just because it has new paint, doesn’t mean its good. So for some of you who are getting into cars as early adults. Here’s some information. - Just because the car looks nice on the outside, make sure you get it inspected on the inside. - Once you sign, you own it. Don’t sign when you don’t know 100 percent about a vehicle. - Try to bring someone with you who is knowledgeable about cars. Don’t take what the person is telling you word for it, they are making money from you. - Bring a scan tool if you can. - Do all the research possible. You have the internet, use it. There are forums as well. - When something seems too good to be true, it probably is. - If a seller says “no” to an inspection(of your choice), mechanic(of your choice), test drive. Walk away from the vehicle. There are others out there. - Never be afraid to ask all your questions to a seller. If a seller has something wrong with it, walk away. - Run your hands along the body lines of the vehicle. If they don’t feel even, probably been in an accident. - If something doesn’t feel right, walk away. - Get a VIN check. For the couple of bucks it will cost is less then paying for someone else’s accident. I know the things that I am listing are different then buying a vehicle from a mechanic like Eric who is giving it to a family member. The things I am stating are from strangers, dealers, private sellers etc.
A few years ago a friend got me in touch with a guy selling a Nissan Double Cab. Thr car was a '94 and had been used for hauling construction equipment and such through rough terrain. It looked okay and I got lucky and knew a guy who'd owned it some years back. When the deal was done the buyers remorse was almost instant. I spent roughly 900 bucks welding the frame and floor and then the clutch gave out, all of a sudden. Having changed the clutch, with no lift, I was just done. Sold it at a major loss and haven't looked back. Although it was an awesome car when it ran it was a Lemon through and through.
2013 Ridgeline Sport, I was in a focus group that helped pick out different elements for the Ridgeline ;I bought the truck new and had more problems, leaking head and tail lights, AC compressor noise, so loud at stop light ,you could not hear the radio ; radio that could not pickup local stations, leaking bed trunk, terrible factory paint job and 12MPG yes 12 ; My full-size Dodge utility body work truck gets better mileage , all city driving. But I absolutely loved the way the truck looked, added Honda running-boards, was a member of the Ridgeline owners club , but the problems and terrible response from Honda dealer and corporate ( Honda is the new GM) , made me to trade in after 20 months and 15,000 miles. Bought a Subaru Outback and haven’t looked back. I was a diehard Honda man , owning many and I still own three Hondas 2003 CRV , 2008 Civic , 2012 Fit, but as they need replacement I won’t be going back to Honda after my customer experience. Luckily I got a great deal on the Ridgeline and didn’t lose a lot moving up to the Subaru.
Reminds me when I got handed the family Accord(1993) at 16, its a 5 speed and learning curve made me insecure , but when I did learn it. YOU COUILD NOT GET ME INTO A AUTOMATIC. It gave me more appreciation and hunger to know more about the car. That car was what lead me to autobody course(I painted her) and a Honda dealer tech for 6 years. Im glad my dad refused to get me a different car. I would not of learned any thing from an automatic.
I love those 4th gen CB's. Always wanted one but too bad my brother wrecked the 93 EX 5 speed my dad gave to him lmfao. Hopefully you still have yours up and running!
@@paradien yeah man, keep it. Those cars are too hard to come by in good condition now, but maybe that's just for me since I'm in the midwest Haha. Im glad to hear you still have it!
@@JohnKV97 I know, ive been trying to find specifically a 93 coupe with bordeaux paint and gray interior. I have a h22a4 that needs a cb home. No shortage of champain and midory ones here in south florida.
@@paradien yeah the H22 definitely deserves to sit into that CB chassis haha. But yeah when and if I do ever get the chance of having to travel to find a clean CB accord, I'll keep South Florida in mind. I mean, anywhere South in general lol.
I once bought a 6 year old Toyota pickup. I didn't check it over as well as I should have before I bought it. Turns out that it was burning oil, and the transfer case leaked. The clutch was also starting to slip. I traded it in on a new vehicle, and was given less than half of what I paid for it in trade.
Man, what an accommodating father. I can completely understand the headlights, whenever I start driving my Z again I'm amazed how bad headlights in this country are. I'm sure he'll get over it in time though. Manuals or death!
2005 was a terrible generation for the civic. They got fatter and heavier, but they didn't do anything to help that. The prior generation and the generation after were much better cars. I think you're doing the right thing by having him hold onto it. I think we've all had a vehicle we liked initially, but tended up despising. Great life lesson.
I bought a 2007 Dodge Charger SE with the 3.5l v6. At the time, I knew very little about vehicles. 8 months after purchasing the car, the engine broke. It had a spun rod bearing, which I didn’t know at the time because I still didn’t know anything about vehicles lol. I took it into the dealership, and they said it needed a new engine or an engine rebuild. My warranty didn’t cover it because I couldn’t prove that I changed the oil, so basically I needed to fork over money I didn’t have to fix a broken car that I was still paying for. I started watching Eric the Car Guy and other channels on rebuilding engines, then slowly purchased tools and a rebuild kit. I took the engine out, and learned to rebuild engines lol! During the 2 years it was broken, I borrowed my brothers car until I finally fixed my car. I have since gotten rid of it, but had it not been broken, I would never have learned what I did, and it has saved me so much. My tools have paid for themselves over and over again. However, for those first 2 years, I had very bad buyers remorse hahaha!
So I've had a 2001 Civic since new that's been nothing but problems. But I did a lot of cool stuff to it, and out of necessity, learned how to wrench on it. Replaced the transmission 3 times. 1 new engine, 1 head gasket replacement. I still like the car, and I'm planning on keeping it for as long as I can. But after 20 years and almost 300K miles a lot of stuff is starting to go and bother me a little bit these days. But it still drives for now.
I still own my first ever car Granted i put sooo much money into it but it was worth it in the long run :) I hope some hid lights and transmission fix would spark new love in him, and the gratification in saying i did it myself is just amazing
I experience buyer's remorse on the second car i purchased. it was a 2012 Ram 1500 SLT with the baby v8, the 4.7 flex fuel. I loved the truck as i always wanted a truck due to me being really tall. then the hate started about 4-5 weeks later, the transmission gave out. it was in the shop for a month since the extended warranty didn't want to fix it due the aftermarket wheels on it (bought it like that) anyway finally fixed, then it started over heating. over the next year, ended up putting a new water pump in it, a new clutch fan. a new radiator. nothing would stop this truck from overheating, finally i said screw it sold it for a loss, and now i am happy again in a 2010 ram 2500 turbo diesel.
1991 Mitsubishi Montero. I was going to turn it into an over lander/camping rig until I realized it’s nearly impossible to find parts for it. Lesson learned...make sure the vehicle has part suppliers in the US.
My latest buyer's remorse, really turned to quite the opposite but took almost a year getting there. Last December I found a 1987 Ford Ranger 2wd long bed with 2.9L V6 and 5 speed. Truck is overall in pretty good condition, no major dents, a few minor scrapes but for being 33 years old its pretty good....I picked it up for $800. Needed brakes front and rear, an alignment, tune up, normal stuff for an older vehicle...add in that it sat for 4 years. It got a new high pressure fuel pump, fuel lines, etc. So, on the way home from picking it up, it had an issue where you'd suddenly just lose power, releasing the accelerator and applying it again usually brought it right back, kind of some weird stuff going on like that....had it at a couple different shops for other work, had them look at it and nobody could figure it out. I was getting upset because its a 33 year old truck and with all the records I have it showed that it had 116k on it. So after all this, all the work, I still had a truck that I really couldn't trust for anything as I never knew when it would suddenly just lose power on the highway. So it never left town, I'd drive it the few miles to work and around town a bit but it was making me sick not being able to figure it out. I'm on The Ranger Station forum, and thought for the heck of it, I'd post up what I had going on with the truck, what I had done already, etc. One of the members says did you change the O2 sensor. Well heck no, didn't figure it had anything to do with my problem. But I figured what the heck $44 for an O2 sensor, and $15 for the O2 sensor socket, and gave it a shot. I pulled the old O2 sensor out and the wires were bare up towards the sensor itself, and some broken pieces in the tip of the sensor, so obviously the sensor was bad and probably grounding or shorting itself out due to the missing insulation. I put the new sensor in and gave it a nice long test drive of about an hour. Took it out on the highway where it would struggle and lose power at speeds above 55mph. No problems at all, the O2 sensor fixed it, so happy now that I've got a great useful truck. It runs and drives great, although I need to have the tires balanced as I found out about a week ago after a 250 mile trip, but that truck got right out on the freeway and up to the 80mph speed limit on that trip did awesome and got 24mpg at 75-80mph on that trip...very happy with what started out to be a major regret in purchasing. Thanks to a Ford Ranger forum started by an offroad guy in 1999 to show off a truck he was building I got a $44 fix for my ailing truck....and I'm about 100% certain that was why the truck was parked all that time, nobody could figure out what had happened, I'm about certain the O2 sensor kept shorting out and sending bad readings to the ECM causing it to either shut off fuel or dump too much fuel. My jeep on the other hand I have buyer's remorse over. Yeah don't start with the its a Jeep crap. My 1st one had 232k of trouble free miles on it and it got beat on offroad all the time. My current one being babied since I've had it has given me more trouble in the 3 years I've had it than my previous jeep did in the 10 years I had it and about 1/2 the miles on my current one. I only bought it because of how well my other Jeep treated me, if I would have known of all the trouble I was going to end up with I wouldn't have got it LOL.
My one and only Dodge. A dealer demo Dakota - drove it off the lot & and discovered it had some undercarriage damage, which included the rear brakes. The dealer fixed it all N/C, but the car was plagued by various minor but annoying gremlins. Then I took it to the dealer for a service which included the trans, and after the first drive, the trans failed. They blamed it on a defective trans filter, but I didn’t believe them. Sometimes you just get a vibe your being hustled. Anyway, after the trans fiasco the car started stalling when cold. Went back to the dealer multiple times, and each time I got a shrug. By then I’d had enough and got rid of the Dakota. Definitely buyers remorse - no more Chrysler products.
I had this same issue with my 2003 Honda Civic LX. It was the first car I bought for $1200. It was auto and had 198k miles. I loved it at first, but then I was exactly like your son. It ran perfect and I got it to exactly how I liked it for not spending any money on it, but idk something just came about me and I didn’t want it anymore. If I could go back I would. I’d make that thing perfect again. First it was buyer’s remorse, now it’s sellers regret 😂
I fall in love with every POS I’ve owned lol. I did buy a rollback Cavalier that really made me not like it so much. I say that but was really impressed that it passed as a 1xxk mile car when it had 3xxk miles.
I was in the exact same situation when i was about 21 years old. I had purchased my first newer car in 2006, a 2005 Honda Civic VP 2dr, manual transmission and low miles. Had it about a year and for some reason, I started to hate that car. Sold the 05’ civic in 2007 and purchased a 94’ Civic Si hatchback to replace it. I loved the civic hatch and actually still own it.
My step grandmother taught me how to drive a stick shift when I was 13 on thier 80 acre vehicle storage lot. I've been driving sticks ever since. I currently have 2 Honda accord 6-speed manuals, 03 and 06.
When I bought my first car, I was absolutely in love with it, I searched up what car I wanted myself, saved up the money and went there and bought it. It was an absolute piece of garbage and the 1000€ I paid for it were absolutely a rip off but I loved it. A year later though my dad made me sell it because he thought it was too unsafe and that I wouldn't pass emissions with that rustbucket, which is probably true, so he made me sell it and I was already on the lookout for a replacement, I wanted to get a 2010ish VW Jetta (very boring car, but at least something I could ride with for a while) however my dad wasn't happy about that and actually drove me to a Mercedes dealership when I asked him to drive me to the VW dealership, and he pretty much made me buy a car right then and there. I ended up with a 2011 Mercedes C Class and I pretty much hated the car from the start. It was a nice car and all but it just didn't really sit right with me. I kept telling myself how cool it was to drive a Mercedes at such a young age, but in reality I felt really pretentious and I felt like poeple would just think I'm taking "dad's car" to work, so a year later I sold it for quite a good price and bought myself a 90s Honda haha
My buyers remorse 2016 wrx. I really wanted to get a legacy 3.5R but the dealership where I'm from only brings in subaru that are build in japan in which the legacy is strictly N.A. factory. What sold me was the manual transmission. But my buyers remorse started when it was announced that a new type are was comming a few months later. But since then I've learned to love it and have done some DIY mods like and IC Sprayer w/separate pump.
Oh, I always get buyer's remorse on everything! Even on a used Honda S2000 a dealer begged me to buy at wholesale (in 2009, economy took a dump and no one was buying toys). I did enjoy the hell out of it for 5 years, but always thought, "Why did I buy this thing?" BIG seller's remorse on my 1990 Honda CRX ... sold it to a friend, who promptly drove it through high water. :/
If your son is anything like myself, he will get bored driving anything after a while. It took me a while to realize that was the reason why I was changing cars every 3 yrs or so (and losing $$$ in the process). I changed the tactics - now I have two older, reliable vehicles that are my solid base, and three other "CL specials". Key is to have different vehicles all together - I have Acura TL, Tahoe, Roadmaster wagon, Camaro convertible and a Golf IV tdi manual. Yes, the maintenance & insurance is a bit expensive, but its cheaper than constantly losing money in buy-sell-buy cycle. And since I got that "fleet", I do not have desire to buy anything else...which is rare for me.
My then 5 yr old '95 Nissan Maxima, loved it to bits. The honeymoon lasted for a year and then it started mechanically breaking down, a lot. It's been to Nissan dealers, mom & pop shops and even a friend (BMW tech) of mine who couldn't figure out why this car was suffering so many failures. Such as the power steering, power windows, transmission, water pump, fuel pump...etc etc given it had no obvious faults, no rust, ECU checked OK. Creepy precursor to the Renault merger 😂
2000 Kia Sportage EX was a love hate relationship; 1. Not enough power out of the 2.0L w/4-Auto to pass anything. 2. Bad grounds, more bad grounds and then the bad grounds that left me on the side of the road. 3. A/C condensate drain that plugged up no matter how large it was made. 4. Spark plugs sealed in the top of the engine that uses a gasket more expensive than the 4 replacement plugs. 4. Kia dealerships were the worst here in NE Illinois during Y2K. The love items include 1. Body on frame construction. 2. Small turning radius 3. Full size spare tire. 4. Easy parking on city side streets due to a short wheelbase and manual 4WD. 5. Great visibility. 6. It could move a lot for stuff. In the end it was out of my life the day my title was received in the mail; it was traded in 2005 for a Legend Lime Mustang 4.0L V6-Automatic that evening. That is another story for another time.
Fun fact: if you put “buyer’s remorse” into Google Translate, you get Chevy Aveo.
or the Mitsubishi G4. Those two cars are H O R R E N D O U S.
I had a chevy aveo hatchback automatic and it was so cheap but it never really broke down from anything that wasn't preventable lol. I drove it for 3 years with 1 break down at 140k miles (broken serpentine belt) I only got rid of it cause the doors were so flimsy it felt unsafe. Good first car though lol. My buddy had the manual hatchback and it was way more fun.
@@keshmo12 I bought an 07 sedan new off the lot because it was relatively cheap and I was desperate. It did last for the life of the loan, but not much longer. And I had to deal with M&T Bank the whole time. 🤢
Lol
That car almost cost me my life. Admittedly, we barely drove the car, but it had causes me to fishtail on the highway and I hit an 18 wheeler and ran into a guard rail. Only minor injuries, got very, very lucky. I was only driving it because my car, basically the car Eric is talking about, was leaking transmission fluid from the input shaft.
I have a bit of a buyer's remorse story. Early this year, I bought a 1972 MG Midget project car with a swapped Toyota 22R engine that was supposedly tuned to make 150bhp. I wanted an engine swapped Midget for years; I always thought you would get everything: speed, nimble handling, good mileage, style, etc. all in one package. I also figured 150hp in a 1500lb car: awesome! However, once I got it home, I spent months fixing wiring in a custom harness with no diagrams. I also repaired and tuned about 12 other ods and ends (alternator replacement, breaks, windshield washer system, carburetor, etc.). It's pretty much on the road now, aside from having a small break leak that happened on the third drive. But, despite getting to drive it, it's not living up to the expectations I had. It's fast and cool and fun, but for whatever reason, it's just not clicking like I thought it would. Luckily, I did not pay much for it, so if I still don't like it once I fully flesh it out, I can profit on the resale. Nevertheless, I learned that you should always haggle and always be careful whenever you meet your automotive heroes.
Ah, he’s learning how life really is. Sometimes the “cool” factor doesn’t pay off,haha. Some ppl aren’t lucky to even have something that nice for a first car-ish.
It’s a good life lesson for him no doubt. Having a father that’s a mechanic is rare and should be a humbling factor in itself.
i know it's pretty off topic but does anybody know of a good place to watch new tv shows online ?
@Kaleb Reign I would suggest Flixportal. You can find it by googling =)
@Salvatore Joey Definitely, I've been watching on Flixportal for since march myself :)
@Salvatore Joey Thank you, I went there and it seems like they got a lot of movies there :D I really appreciate it !
@Kaleb Reign No problem =)
Been really fortunate so far. Every car I ever bought, or even had a part in the buying process, exceeded my expectations. Naturally, the cars with the lowest expectations have outperformed the most! 😊
I experience buyer's remorse on EVERYTHING I buy... hmm
Me 2!
I agree, but it isn't what I have chosen but the 'stealership' experience that leaves a nasty taste smell!
@RuFing Crazy no he was just saying something was 'fishy' 😂
I just have buyers remorse for cars and houses I buy. My Taurus, I didn't get buyers remorse until many years later.
@@truthislam6481No Cap, The VW dealership talked me into buying a 24 Jetta that didn't want or care for. The salesperson was being little emotionally manipulative in a passive way I really felt bad for the dude, then i said to myself, "This is a win-win situation". And I've regretted it since. I hate this car, it looks weird, it's not my cup of tea. I want a Golf, and I'm make more than enough money to get one.
Hopefully an HID/LED headlight kit, and the transmission fix will rekindle his love for the Civic! Plus he can say he worked on it, which is extremely gratifying!
Better idea. Swap the GSR engine into the civic and I'm %100 sure he will be pleased.
@@darkboy1759 new headlights - wasnt impressed with my integras lights until i put HIDs in now I see fine and adding new struts made it far more fun to drive!
Having a small fleet myself, 6 and counting, I find myself in a similar boat. Not buyers remorse, but not feeling 100% about a vehicle when something goes wrong/bad. I always have something else to fall back on until I get it fixed, and sometimes I unconsciously take longer to fix something because whatever was wrong was off-putting. Headlights suck? I have better! Exhaust has a loud leak? I have quieter! throwout bearing starting to get loud? Not on the other 3 manual trans vehicles!
Bottom line, show him how satisfying it is to fix something correctly and how to appreciate it. I bet after its fixed he is 85% back to loving it like he did when you got it, which is pretty darn good!
It really is a great life lesson. He gets the satisfaction of learning how to fix it right, and literally anything he doesn't like he can improve or change. Headlights suck? No problem, decent set of projectors and HID's, done deal. Maybe theres even some JDM parts he could swap on for that. Interior not up to his taste? Maybe grab some Integra or S2000 seats. Loads of possibilities for him with a Civic, and he has a father who knows how to do it right.
What more could a kid ask for really?
Dealing with it right now with my '03 EP3 Civic Si. When I was in college (15 years ago...I feel old), I had a 2000 EM1 Civic Si that I absolutely adored. I had it for four years and put close to 100k miles on it, but it was unfortunately stolen just as I was getting ready to graduate. I've pined after getting another one since the day it was stolen. It's impossible to find EM1s in clean/non-riced condition for a good price, so I thought maybe the EP3 would scratch the itch. I found one for sale a couple years ago and decided to pull the trigger. I was in love with it for the first couple months, but now all I see are the problems--the underside is covered in wonderful southwestern Ohio rust, the timing chain and tensioners are at the end of their lives, etc. etc.
I don't have remorse for the purchase of the car (it was cheap and all of the work I've put into it thus far hasn't cost much), it's more that I feel foolish when I think about why I bought it. I was chasing nostalgia and the EP3 doesn't remind me of my EM1 at all. I don't think I will ever be able to judge that car on its own merits. Now when I look outside and see it parked in the driveway, I just get depressed.
@James M Yeah, I've owned objectively "better" cars (more power, more amenities, etc.) in the decade and a half since, but I miss that car dearly. I've had two or three EM1s slip through my fingers over the years for various reasons, and the only one for sale anywhere near me is close to $20k (it is admittedly VERY clean and low mileage for the age). As the years go by, they get harder and harder to find. I've about given up hope at this point.
Cherish your EM1!
@James M Better than the EP3 Si (or EP3 Type R for that matter!)... Both the EP3 & DC5 Integra (or RSX for Americans) have serious cost-cutting, and serious suspension geometry flaws. This was completely fixed on the FA5/FG2/FD2/FN2 generation Civic IMO -- cost-cutting sorted (much more of a quality Honda feel again), much more stable on the highway thanks to the extra steering caster & better geometry, just a better car all round IMO. I much prefer either the older generation or the new generation compact Hondas, I don't like the 2001-2005 era at all. While the DC2 & EK9 Type R (or EJ Civic Si Coupe B16) will always be the peak of handling, I think the either the FD2 or FN2 Civic Type Rs run rings around the EP3 for an everyday car. :)
having to hear something broken rumbling everytime you drive is really disappointing because your always reminded of whats broken.
My first car was a 6 year old white 1989 Honda Accord EXi 4 door. It was an awesome first car and a terrible purchase all at once. I bought it from the son of an insurance agent so that should have been the first clue. 3 months after getting it, the AC died. 3 months after that, the timing belt went. 6 months later, the engine had catastrophic failure of the ring lands. Having too little money to get out of the loan, I had to fix the thing a lot. (The AC stayed dead for the rest of its life as it would have been too much for a nice to have feature.) 2 years in and it started really getting those classic rust issues and that was just all manner of fun.
Eventually, my harsh use of the car also cost me a transmission rebuild. In the end, the cost of the car initially and all the repairs, I should have just bought a new Civic off the lot. Or a much newer Accord. I did love that car and miss things about it to this day but boy, did I learn a lot about decision making. I had the car for 5 years so when I let it go for just over a grand, it had almost 400,000 KMs on it.
Sorry for his sadness. I know how he feels. However, it's also so refreshing to hear about a teen, a male teen, who really wants to drive a stick. So rare these days.
"I love this car so much!"
*suddenly starts running rough and throwing codes*
"I hate this car so much"
I will say that I admire that you work with your son(s) on their cars and help them. My dad traveled a lot (even though he was a mechanical engineer and a good about doing general car repair work at least on older cars--brakes, tune-ups, etc). But in the end it usually came down to either I got a book and figured out on my own or I had to pay someone because I I either couldn't figure it out, or didn't have the right equipment. He would verbally walk me through some things, but it wasn't the same.
He was always with me when I bought cars (my "Beater" cars) to make sure they were at least safe and halfway decent and that I didn't end up buying some complete pile of junk, but I wish I had more time to work with my dad on cars. Most of what I know today I've had to figure out on my own from reading, having people show me, or watching videos (and when I was growing up, things like UA-cam didn't exist, and the Internet as we know it today was still in its infant stages so there was almost no info available "online" as there is now.
Brought my 2010 Lancer GTS manual to the dealer for some recall work and they had two Lancer Ralliarts on the lot. The sales guy comes out saying that they'd offer an awesome trade in on my GTS and I instantly bit on the bait. I went from a car that was paid off, drove spirited, and got good gas mileage to one that I had to pay a note, insurance went up a lot, and I was filling with premium fuel every other day. It was fast, basically being a "detuned evo", but the damn dual clutch transmission always defaulted to economy mode, always short shifting. Even when I'd put it in manual mode it would shift if it thought I was in gear too long. I was driving home from work one day thinking I either needed to sell it or wreck it, about ten minutes later I got rear ended and totaled it. I drive a manual diesel Golf Sportswagon now.
Shhh I won’t tell anyone you intentionally stopped too fast so the poor guy behind you could hit you
My first car was a manual transmission and I liked it for about one month. Then, I HATED the thing and never bought a manual shift car again. All my friends said it was cool to drive a manual....they all got automatics. My dad was a mechanic and he basically said, " Get your butt out there and fix it." I had to replace the clutch, bearings, the rear axle bearings and I had to learn to do all of that. I still do a great amount of my own work. Great video!
2010 Nissan rogue. Was able to get out of the situation without losing my shirt, but it was difficult.
My 1997.5 Buick Regal GS. I needed a replacement for my 81 VW Rabbit and my dad showed the Buick. All I needed to hear was supercharged. I went to look at it, fell in love with it and bought it. Well, within a week I realized that the seats were not comfortable, the blind spot was insane, and that premium gas is very expensive. It suffered every w-body issue you can imagine, including worn impeller bearings in the supercharger. I drove it just shy of two years and I’ve never been so glad to get rid of a car. But that experience led me to the 97 Town Car that I absolutely loved.
R56 MINI Cooper! I know you know my pain Eric! Those videos were so hard to watch... because I already had been through it... BUT... you... and THAT CAR... taught me a LOT.
Hey, Eric! First truck at 16 was a '91 Ford "Exploder" - In a year or so, I had high/low idle issues, multiple tire blowouts (the old Explorer exploding tire thing), electronics stopped working, just basically garbage. Lots of other problems I've already forgotten. BUT it did teach me how to change a tire :) Next vehicle was a '97 Explorer my oldest sister owned. With this one I thought maintenance was the key since the first one came from an auction. The 97 Explorer lasted 345,000 miles and was STILL running with ZERO issues when I traded it in finally for my 2012 Grand Cherokee Laredo ten years later. I've kept the same mentality about maintaining everything myself that I possibly can and now have 135,000 miles on it as well. I will never forget the 91 Exploder though.
My buyer's remorse story is also a Civic! A 2002 LX sedan that has a "new clutch and good tires". It has a new clutch but the seller left the old release bearing in it, the old flywheel with bad hot spots, all the motor mounts are wasted, put gear oil in the transmission and the windshield or cowl has a bad leak in it somewhere I have yet to locate. That dude went on marketplace blast BIG TIME with the photographic evidence to prove it.
I had buyers remorse on that same gen civic. I sold my super reliable 96 civic to help a friend out and subsequently lead me to the worst buy of my entire life - 02 honda civic. 3rd gear grind, clutch pop out in 5th, didn't like how the seats felt, axle popped out on the way back from buying it, cooling fans wouldn't work unless I had the a/c on, and I mean the list goes on. I traded it in for a nissan versan 08 and then traded that one in for an 04 tl. LOVE the 04 TL. Can't believe how happy I was after I saw Eric did a whole series on it after the fact.
I had buyers remorse when I bought an 02 SVT Focus with a 6 speed. Wanted a manual so bad I scooped it up. About a month later the clutch slave cylinder went out and I needed to pull the whole transmission out to replace it and the clutch. It was a love hate relationship with this car when I first got it but learned a lot working on this car and fixing all the little and major things wrong with it.
F350 dually crew cab long bed.
Was fun at first. Untill you realize how complicated a simple task like parking or doing a u-turn is.
It has its purpose.. But stays mostly parked
That's exactly what I have. Fortunately I live rural. In town, (the county seat) the streets are wide and empty. I had to drive this monster into Denver not to long ago. Scared the crap outta me. I gotta get my Tacoma back on the road for going to the city.
And to think one of those is a dream truck of mine... I'm sure the fuel economy doesn't help it leave park either. Probably a killer tow rig at least?
@@ratdude747
They are work trucks. Expensive to keep on the road as a daily driver. 10mpg diesel, 3 gallons of oil- 100$-150$ oil change. Parts are 3x more. Tires are more expensive. doesn't ride like a Cadillac. When you park at min your tightly fitting a parking spot. Hope people dont park in certain spots or you will be doing a 16point turn to get out.
I usually Park at far end of lot and take up atleast two spots so the nose doesnt stick into the drive path.
I do like the truck though. Someday when finances settle down i will be able to modify it to my eye.
A beast....an expensive beast
That’s exactly how I feel now since I put some 12 wides and a spindle lift on my truck I can’t go anywhere without having to think about how I’m gonna do it before I get there
I know you don’t usually feature your family on the channel, but it would be awesome to see the two of you working together to fix the problems with his car.
I recently experienced buyer's remorse with a project car I bought. I knew it was rough, but it was worse than expected. As the rabbit hole of repairs got deeper, the buyer's remorse got stronger. But after the repairs were completed, I took it on a test drive, and the buyer's remorse evaporated. Maybe some repairs on your son's car will do the same for him.
I don't blame him. When I bought my first manual car, a 1988 Honda Accord, I got frustrated that I kept doing burnouts by accident at every stop light but I slowly got better at stick and love the car now.
2003 Subaru Forester which had a slow leaking head gasket. I had two option sell the car that never left me on the side of the road, or spend a lot of money to get the head gasket, timing components and water pump replaced by a mechanic. I took it upon myself to do all the work myself. There were plenty of resources that would help me along the way and 30,000 miles later, my car is tip-top. What I learned from repairing the Subaru is priceless and it will stick with me.
Never really with cars but.... I bought a Kawasaki KLR 10 years ago when I was doing a lot of city riding. It was great for a out 4 months but when I changed jobs and started riding highway again more I absolutely hated that thing, just gutless past 40mph. I was stuck with it for a couple years but I was never happier than the day it left.
You seem like a really good father, and coming from someone who did not have a good father, you should be proud of the difference you're making in your kid's life.
My Dad had me shift the gears in his 64 Dodge truck when I was 5 yrs old and I loved and still love stick-shift transmissions.
When I bought my first car, ‘99 SVT Cobra with a 5sp. T45, I went through something similar. Ironically with a slipping clutch and warped rotor as well, lol!
It’s clunky/stiff, loud, and uncomfortable. But after addressing the issues, and coming to terms with the compromises of daily-ing a car of this nature. I fell in love with it harder than before!
As my first car I bought a Pontiact Grand Am GT. had all the options and a sun roof and it was a 2002 and I bought it in 2016 as my first car. I loved that car, I fixed everything that was wrong with it and it only had 38,000 miles! An older couple who owned a small car dealership owned it as their personal car.
I quickly learned that a car is not meant to sit for a long time. Everything worked for the first few months. Things began to break over time. First the thermostat, then the water pump, then a missfire from spark plugs, etc. Everything was crammed into a car and i hated working on it. I sold it and got me a GMC sierra 2004. Man I love this truck. I had it since 2018 and It's so easy and cheap to work on.
My friend and former manager had a 1987 Honda Accord he'd brought back from the dead and souped up (coilovers, sway bars, camshaft, exhaust, a few other things), and I lusted after it for years. The day comes that he offers it to me (for way too much), and I jump on it...only to find out the wiring's been butchered and the engine's on its last legs. I had to replace the alternator, the radiator, the heater core (what a pain that was), the oil pan gasket, rip out the HID headlights and the audio system, and many many other things. It did teach me how to wrench and I got to do some mods of my own (converted from fuel-only OBD0 to fuel-and-spark OBD1), and I made lots of friends going to meets, but the thing was a money pit. Eventually it developed a top-end knock, but before that could get any worse, it met its end after an old lady in a Lincoln blew a stop sign and I T-boned her. I went so far as to go to the U-Pull-It and get a new front end to put on (from a car that had been stolen, funnily enough; the entire thing was painted in a thick and uneven coat of vomit green, and the VIN on the dash was upside-down and didn't match the one on the firewall), but trying to save it a second time turned out to be a fool's errand. The subframe was bent, and it just stopped wanting to run. I had neither the time nor the resources to fix either of those, so off it went to the great parking garage in the sky. And despite all that...I still miss it.
ERIC , buyer remorse is highly prevalent in purchase w/trade in . You trade in that ultra reliable car you depended on years rain or shine. You fall in love with a shiny stallion that caught your eye off road while driving your boring, slow and fading paint grocery getter. You buy it and after the thrill of newer car is gone and you find all the surprises that a car has that you havent serviced all its life. Sometimes a paint job or new set of rollers is a better solution to bring the thrill back again, especiallly for mid life crisis ..
11 years ago I bought a 2003 Range Rover HSE with 119,000km on it. I loved the look and the interior was like new. Even with the one year remaining on the extended warranty, it was nothing but problems. Had it for five years, and was glad to get rid of it.
I bought a 1996 Dodge Avenger in 2000. Looked fast, but this was deceiving and had low HP. It also threw engine codes frequently that were, according to the Dodge dealership that I took it to, usually O2 sensors. This was way before I could do anything on my own and was probably a catalyst for wanting to learn so, for that, I suppose there is a modicum of gratitude. That said, I will never buy a Dodge nor will I ever go to that dealer again!! Sold it after a few years and loved the Mazda 6s that replaced it and am now am in an F150 FX4 I’ve had for 8 years. I’m able to do much of my own work thanks to you and SMA!! I’m a long-time subscriber to both of your channels and very much appreciate all of your old content as well as new!!
I have an 03 5 Speed Civic as well, I had the same problem with not being able to see at night but I put in some LED headlights and it's a night and day difference. Also, please please please do a clutch change video for that car.
This really hits home... I'm currently dealing with the same gen; 2001 honda civic ex manual trans 160,000 miles, that in retrospect paid way to much for due to lack of knowledge and needing a car fast to get to work. It looked really good, garage kept barely any rust on it. The guy said runs and drives needed nothing, weeelp he covered up a failing head gasket by putting stop leak in it. I got maybe a few weeks of driving it until the symptoms started showing. The only silver lining is I've learned a hard lesson and alot about how engines work (but not why these apparently pop head gaskets easily.) Because the repair pretty much exceeds the value of the car I tried to tackle the job myself, especially because being near broke and not being able afford the legit fix anyway (quoted close to $2,000 for head gasket and timing belt).
Learning overall the configuration of the components, the steps to do the job thanks to scouring forums to obtain a repair manual for free, youtube videos!, what to look for while doing the job, how the failure could happen, making sure the cylinder head is flat and not warped (which if it is I would be screwed because no machine shop near me, and the temp gauge did get high.) etc.
But alas finding that my cheap harbor freight tools I have not really being good enough, the specialty tools needed, having the stress of not be able to fail because of my tight budget... And during covid making everything even harder... I gave up after half the job done. I saw some signs that someone has already taken this engine apart before because some things were missing, it being full of stop leak, having my savings drained. You get it.
I contemplated if I had enough money, tools and knowledge, maybe just do an engine swap (and clutch while I'm at it) but my location doesn't yield anything and I learned that I think my engine (D17A2) was only put into like 20% of the civic on the road so they are harder to find/more expensive.
I really wanted to love this car. It was supposed to be affordable and reliable, fun to drive for me and safe. It ended up slapping me in the face due to my ignorance/ being naive and trusting. But atleast I now know what's the worst thing to look for and check I guess. I wish I had a car guy/mechanic in the family. I'll probably wind up being one due to trial and error lol.
Thanks :)
Good on you. I've only had two crappy cars since my teens and my current one is the definition of a cheap beater, but that's exactly why I love it. I can mod it, thrash on it, fix and or sell it and have no regrets. It's cheap, it has a heater and it's lasted me 7 years so far.
1981 Plymouth Sapporo. Bought it in 1984. Paid way too much for it, really overextended my then min-wage income, and came to discover that a "newer" vehicle doesn't mean a "problem-free" vehicle. 42 month payment plan and I was underwater on it literally to the last payment. I learned a lot from that purchase and to this day I do not purchase a new or newer vehicle from a dealership and I do all my own mechanical work.
All 4 of my kids learned on a stick, 3 have owned one. My oldest daughter's corolla 5 spd got rear ended and totaled, and she was HEART-BROKEN. We spent 2 months looking for a workable replacement, to no avail. Her new car, "Roxie," was an auto. But , as she lives in Michigan now i feel it was fortuitous.
my Chevy s10 has been a hunk of crap the whole time I've owned it. It's my username because I loved it the first week I bought it, but man a manual transmission got old FAST. Water leaks, interior squeaks, crappy seats, leaky intake manifold gaskets, AC leaks, you name it. I'm glad I got the opportunity to have this pile though, because I will truly cherish a different vehicle when I get one. Plus, now I'm not afraid to do ANY car repair task. Talk about EXPERIENCE!
17 years ago, my oldest daughter would cry when I made her drive our 03 civic hybrid with its manual transmission, but that was our only stick and she needed to learn. She loved her 00 Integra LS and it was an automatic, because it didn't distract her from her phone and her make up.. Well her younger sister was ready to drive, in 04, so she wanted her own stick shift, but it had to be yellow. She wanted a new RX-7 in yellow, but I got her an Integra. Because it was yellow, my oldest daughter liked driving it, to HS. Now, for the buyer's remorse, they've both moved out and I have been left with these small cars that I can barely get out of. I should have bought an Element with a stick.
My 1995 GMC Suburban with a TBI 350SBC, his name was Hulk, he was big, mean and green. Brought him back from the dead, but it soon became one thing after another after another after another. And the damn thing nearly killed me on at least three occasions. Never been so happy to get rid of a vehicle. I'll never work on another truck as long as I live.
I wish I was car savvy enough to diagnose things "on the fly" my son and I will eventually run across this bridge, and I hope I can be still be his hero like you are to yours
I had a case of buyers remorse with my 2007 4runner. I think the biggest thing for me was shelling out ~$11k for a vehicle. I hate debt but sometimes it is necessary I understand. I bought it with some work to do on it and when I tallied up all of the stuff I had to do, as I was driving home, it hit me. Extreme buyers remorse. But, as I fixed it slowly and over the course of a few weeks, I fell in love with it and I actually thoroughly enjoy driving it now more so than my 2015 Accord V6 manual with full bolt on mods and a custom tune. Crazy I know but I know the feeling of buyers remorse. Start fixing it and making it better and who knows, maybe he will turn around and love it again.
I’ve only owned 3 vehicles and loved each of them. My 03’ Corolla treated me greatly until the crash that killed it. My ‘16 4-door Yaris hatchback is doing its job greatly (cheap basic transportation). And my baby, my ‘18 F150 XL regular cab short bed.
I don't care at all what ANYONE thinks about my cars. Period. I recently had a boss of mine tell me I should get rid of my 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis that I bought new in 1996 and have owned for 25 years. He bought a new Corvette and lost his job. He asked me what he should replace that with.....you don't want me to answer that. I was 32 when I bought that car. They scoffed at that. 25 years later it still runs very well with 400,000 miles on the clock and I have had no car payments, EVER. Great video!
Another car I regretted buying was a 1980 Buick Skylark, after the warranty expired the problems began to the point where I could not trust the car to go out on weekends with the family w/o the fear of being left stranded on the side of the road.
He will learn to love his civic more through the hardship. I do not regret owning my 1998 EJ8, even though the engine died 2000 miles into owning it. His description of his enthusiasm turning to jaded came for me- with metropolitan traffic.
What made the hardship worth it was how informative your 1997 civic no crank, no start vid was., it taught me alot about the D16 motors, as well as my own hands on with this guide. They really are simple, reliable, strong engines with even by today's standards- stellar MPG.
93 Legend GS. Car didn't start when I bought, starter wire was just disconnected. Steering wheel was cocked to one side, but later found out the damn thing was salvaged (young and uninformed at the time). Later on, head gasket was going as they are known to do.
1991 Ramcharger, daily driver when I was 19 for about a month. Loved it the first 2 weeks, then hated. Now it's a secondary vehicle and I love it again.
My first car buy(er remorse) was a 1974 Chevy Vega GT. To me, it looked like a miniature Camaro. The all aluminum engine block burned oil like it was fuel, and when it was quiet you could hear the body rusting. The spark plugs would fowl so frequently, that I would carry a spare set to change whenever needed. To solve the oil burning issue, you had to have steel cylinder liners installed in the engine by a machine shop. Once that was completed, the car was pretty reliable, under-powered, but reliable. I credit that Vega, and it's successor a 1978 Fiat 128, with teaching me to work on cars.. out of necessity.
Mine was a 93 Ford Ranger. It was one of those that would nickle and dime you. Got all of the minor stuff sorted out and running perfectly, then 4th gear went out of it. I had the transmission rebuilt and it was good for a few months. Even passed Pa inspection perfectly fine. Sadly I ended up totaling it in a wreck.
2005 Civics with the D17 are known for input shaft bearing noise. They are also pretty slow. There are a couple videos on how to replace the bearing.
Bought a 2008 accord v6 from my mechanic brother. He just put in another trans because of a radiator leak. The car was well maintained and In great shape. Drove it home to Mo. From Mi. Loved the car. Misfire code showed up and put about $800 into it (my labor) and a shop to find out in had low compression in one cylinder. Traded in on 2017 Camry. Very sad.
GMC Canyon, looks awesome drove great. After a short time, the dash creeks and squeaks, stupid airbag lights. He gon.
my buyer's remorse: 1992 Sentra SE-R. Wanted it so bad to a point where I didn't care, knowing it was neglected. Owned it for about 4 months, did whatever maintenance on it and eventually sold it. I would still want another one, but one that wasn't jacked up this time around.
I think this is a good opportunity to k20 or k24 swap it, it's really easy on these 7th gen civics, and reasonably inexpensive ($2000 if you know exactly what to buy). It'd also make for some pretty good content!
oh yeah would be a fun little ride
You can just buy a EP3 for that or less and not have to deal with swap woes.
Those d17s are slow asf
7th gen platform is not the ideal car to put a k series in. Most people put it in 5th,6th or 8th gen. The EP3 comes with a k series already, or go for the civic Si and pay a bit more
@@youngb1ood I don't follow. The 7th gen is the same as the EP3 & DC5 that come with stock with a K series. People seem to really like the EP3 Type R for some reason (which I don't understand TBH). As you say, either the older or newer cars are much better vehicles IMO.
My first car was a 2005 Honda Civic too.
When I bought it , it was during the day , and the first night I drove it I found out that the entirety of the headlight control relays and the part of the board under the dash which deals with lighting was corroded and messed up. Like it looked like someone took wire strippers and attacked random parts of the wire harness. The corrosion on the board was so intense there were multiple shorts across different terminals.
I felt so crappy about it , and how scummy it was for the other person to not mention the headlights are toast.
Four bulbs later, spools of wire , solder, and corrosion remover and elbow grease later , it finally was legal to be on the road.
I did all kinds of work to it and learned so much, it went from buyers remorse, to my favourite car for life.
That car lasted me 5 years before handing it off to the next buyer, confidently being able to tell them that I did all the work to it , and that it should last them until the transmission goes. What a good car. Rest easy old civic.
my first car , a 91 Ford Taurus SHO , was something I had this with , replaced a clutch as well as a cable link ... and then the rear main started leakin , baaaaad... it was ultimately a handmedown from my dad , and we had it for 14 years before i got it. There was sentimental value there , but I couldn't deny the car had seen far better days.
79 Buick Riviera . My first car and bought it at a car auction for 500 then when I was 18yrs old. Engine blew on the way home. I did have buyers remorse on a 01 civic that was mickey moused salvaged repaired It rattled so much but I got to say I grown to love it since I purchased it for 800 and here 6 yrs later only thing I had do to it is besides regular maintenance was a broken windshield. Getting ready to put my 2nd timing belt on. Might not sound or look pretty but runs great and gave me 240k miles worth of worry free driving
Can't say I've ever really had buyers remorse on any vehicle I've ever purchased, I've always learned as much as i can about the mechanical aspects of whatever car i purchase and am usually able to fix it myself, other than that every car I've ever purchased has been rock solid in the reliability department so no complaints here lol
Eric, I purchased a 1970 Jeep CJ5, with the Buick V6, in 9/77. $ 2400 After 1 cold winter doing some snow plowing, breakdowns ( clutch cable twice), no wipers- rusted out. Poor heat - due to all the window glass & no insulation, heavy duty clutch pressure plate, heavy duty springs & suspension. It needed front brakes- which I did. it was always something. I sold it in April 1978 for $ 2400. The ride was v poor. Truck belonged on a farm to be used as a work truck.
I had to walk away from it.
I had buyer's remorse twice.
First time: 1967 Ford Mustang 6-cylinder 3-speed. It looked real good, nice interior, drove great, everything checked out. I knew it was a "federal" vehicle (not a government vehicle, just non-California) but also I had a connection with the BAR and had no concerns about addressing any issues with emissions testing. Later I discover the floor pan is completely rusted through on the driver's side -- from outside the car you can reach underneath and feel the carpeting -- and the cowl/windshield area leaks water into the interior quite badly. Should have done a full inspection but still the price was good and not too bad of a loss. I forgot to mention this to the next owner and feel a bit bad about that.
Second time: 1986 Mazda B2000 pickup. It had 220,000 miles, but the price was low and I needed a pickup quickly and this one was referred by a friend. The owners said everything works including the AC and radio. The transmission and clutch were new (documents) and it drove nice. So I bought it and went on my way. Turns out it doesn't even have AC and the radio makes noise but is pretty much useless. Plus the interior was covered with ashes and reeked of nasty cigarette butts. Plus the cylinder blow-by was unbelievable, I had to use 20w50. This one is definitely my fault as well -- I put myself in a position to be desperate for a reliable pickup for a low price and this is what I get. Drove it for 4 years and only had to replace the clutch master cylinder, not too bad I guess. And the cigarette smell eventually went away after several cleanings and driving with the windows down all the time.
I have 7gen ep2 (European version with d16). Stick shift. Had the same transmission problem at the begining. Had to open it up and change all of the bearings (you know.. while we're in there) and ever since - no annoying sounds.
I had the opposite, I changed vehicles from a low compact to a small SUV and the first week going from gasoline to diesel, the heavier clutch in my hill heavy city started to make me loathe the car. But once I settled into it, learned my shift points I fell in love with the torque and the features.
2012 Silverado, loved the truck but gas mileage lower than I hoped for plus coolant leak, hung calipers etc. I did some work on it but everything is bigger and heavier. I just didn't feel like tearing apart things on a truck. So yes, I had some buyer's remorse.
I just recently picked up a 5spd ranger for my kid to learn on. Doesntvrun per say but hes got time to learn to fix it and then learn to drive it. Its rattle can black and we call it his humility vehicle.
I have a 2004 civic coupe, great car! I also had the input shaft bearing noise and I fixed it myself. Only other major problem was the headgasket because of an overheat. I fixed that myself also, but ever since then it has been a great car! Amazing mpg too.
Bought a 03 frontier for like 9k. Had low miles and was very clean. 3 months later the motor blew. My friend and I worked on it for like 3 months while I spent about 1200 on a used motor and other miscellaneous parts. Was definitely regretting buying it, but I learned a lot while pulling it apart and putting it back together. Buyers remorse BLOWS
Awesome to see your son having such an interest in fixing his car. He will appreciate the car(s) he is driving more and is, hopefully, mindful when using and maintaining them.
I was a few years older then your son. I had traded my first car that there was no issues with, 88 Honda Accord. At the time was the Fast & the Furious Movie and I found this 89 Honda Civic SI. I already lived on my own for a few years and thought it would be a good car. I needed something reliable because I worked early, long days. I didn’t really know anything about cars at this time. I had bought the car for a lot. I drove it off the used car lot and I got about 2 miles away and then my engine light came on. I had no idea about cars, I knew what an engine light was. I phoned the guy, owner who sold me the car and he told me that I would have to take it to a mechanic. And since that I signed for the car, I wasn’t getting my money back. I owned the car for less then 2 months and it spent 6 weeks at the shop. It needed a new cylinder head and needed to be re-wired from back to front because the person who wired the deck didn’t ground it properly and shorted out my taillights. I had just moved to this place not even a year prior so I didn’t really know anyone. I took it to the mechanic that the seller I bought the car from. $1000 dollars later the car was fixed. Not too long after more was going on, back in the shop it went. One of my co-workers at the time asked me where I bought the car from and I told him. He told me that he knew the guy in High School that I bought the car from and told me to never, ever buy a car from him, or his “business.” I found out that he would get damaged cars, make them look all nice and sell them. But there was major gremlins hiding. The mechanic got tired of seeing the car and sold me a year old vehicle for a decent price. Too bad he was very shady as well. I got the 3rd car and never had any issues. Many years after the Civic was come and gone. I was helping a friend shop for a vehicle. We went into a used car lot and I seen the logo of the business I bought the Civic from years early. After my friend talked to one of the sales people. I walked them out and reminded them of the Civic and not to buy a car from them. In their back lot they had damages cars and were doing the same thing. I hadn’t seen the owner of when I bought my Civic but that who vibe and what I seen was enough. So Civics, Preludes etc that all the young people wanted but were getting ripped off. She ended up buying a car from another dealer. Many, many years went by that I couldn’t buy a used car, that Civic put the fear into me. Being 15 years plus later now, I’ve learned a lot, what to look for and just because it has new paint, doesn’t mean its good.
So for some of you who are getting into cars as early adults. Here’s some information.
- Just because the car looks nice on the outside, make sure you get it inspected on the inside.
- Once you sign, you own it. Don’t sign when you don’t know 100 percent about a vehicle.
- Try to bring someone with you who is knowledgeable about cars. Don’t take what the person is telling you word for it, they are making money from you.
- Bring a scan tool if you can.
- Do all the research possible. You have the internet, use it. There are forums as well.
- When something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- If a seller says “no” to an inspection(of your choice), mechanic(of your choice), test drive. Walk away from the vehicle. There are others out there.
- Never be afraid to ask all your questions to a seller. If a seller has something wrong with it, walk away.
- Run your hands along the body lines of the vehicle. If they don’t feel even, probably been in an accident.
- If something doesn’t feel right, walk away.
- Get a VIN check. For the couple of bucks it will cost is less then paying for someone else’s accident.
I know the things that I am listing are different then buying a vehicle from a mechanic like Eric who is giving it to a family member. The things I am stating are from strangers, dealers, private sellers etc.
A few years ago a friend got me in touch with a guy selling a Nissan Double Cab. Thr car was a '94 and had been used for hauling construction equipment and such through rough terrain. It looked okay and I got lucky and knew a guy who'd owned it some years back. When the deal was done the buyers remorse was almost instant. I spent roughly 900 bucks welding the frame and floor and then the clutch gave out, all of a sudden. Having changed the clutch, with no lift, I was just done. Sold it at a major loss and haven't looked back. Although it was an awesome car when it ran it was a Lemon through and through.
same here......its a 2005 civic. sold my 95 integra for it. regretted it as already had to replace the headgasket. live and learn.
2013 Ridgeline Sport, I was in a focus group that helped pick out different elements for the Ridgeline ;I bought the truck new and had more problems, leaking head and tail lights, AC compressor noise, so loud at stop light ,you could not hear the radio ; radio that could not pickup local stations, leaking bed trunk, terrible factory paint job and 12MPG yes 12 ; My full-size Dodge utility body work truck gets better mileage , all city driving. But I absolutely loved the way the truck looked, added Honda running-boards, was a member of the Ridgeline owners club , but the problems and terrible response from Honda dealer and corporate ( Honda is the new GM) , made me to trade in after 20 months and 15,000 miles. Bought a Subaru Outback and haven’t looked back. I was a diehard Honda man , owning many and I still own three Hondas 2003 CRV , 2008 Civic , 2012 Fit, but as they need replacement I won’t be going back to Honda after my customer experience. Luckily I got a great deal on the Ridgeline and didn’t lose a lot moving up to the Subaru.
Reminds me when I got handed the family Accord(1993) at 16, its a 5 speed and learning curve made me insecure , but when I did learn it. YOU COUILD NOT GET ME INTO A AUTOMATIC. It gave me more appreciation and hunger to know more about the car. That car was what lead me to autobody course(I painted her) and a Honda dealer tech for 6 years. Im glad my dad refused to get me a different car. I would not of learned any thing from an automatic.
I love those 4th gen CB's. Always wanted one but too bad my brother wrecked the 93 EX 5 speed my dad gave to him lmfao. Hopefully you still have yours up and running!
@@JohnKV97 I do, its my favorite car. I often tell people who want to buy it from me, no deal thats my coffin.
@@paradien yeah man, keep it. Those cars are too hard to come by in good condition now, but maybe that's just for me since I'm in the midwest Haha. Im glad to hear you still have it!
@@JohnKV97 I know, ive been trying to find specifically a 93 coupe with bordeaux paint and gray interior. I have a h22a4 that needs a cb home. No shortage of champain and midory ones here in south florida.
@@paradien yeah the H22 definitely deserves to sit into that CB chassis haha. But yeah when and if I do ever get the chance of having to travel to find a clean CB accord, I'll keep South Florida in mind. I mean, anywhere South in general lol.
I once bought a 6 year old Toyota pickup. I didn't check it over as well as I should have before I bought it. Turns out that it was burning oil, and the transfer case leaked. The clutch was also starting to slip. I traded it in on a new vehicle, and was given less than half of what I paid for it in trade.
Man, what an accommodating father. I can completely understand the headlights, whenever I start driving my Z again I'm amazed how bad headlights in this country are. I'm sure he'll get over it in time though. Manuals or death!
2005 was a terrible generation for the civic. They got fatter and heavier, but they didn't do anything to help that. The prior generation and the generation after were much better cars. I think you're doing the right thing by having him hold onto it. I think we've all had a vehicle we liked initially, but tended up despising. Great life lesson.
I bought a 2007 Dodge Charger SE with the 3.5l v6. At the time, I knew very little about vehicles. 8 months after purchasing the car, the engine broke. It had a spun rod bearing, which I didn’t know at the time because I still didn’t know anything about vehicles lol. I took it into the dealership, and they said it needed a new engine or an engine rebuild. My warranty didn’t cover it because I couldn’t prove that I changed the oil, so basically I needed to fork over money I didn’t have to fix a broken car that I was still paying for. I started watching Eric the Car Guy and other channels on rebuilding engines, then slowly purchased tools and a rebuild kit. I took the engine out, and learned to rebuild engines lol! During the 2 years it was broken, I borrowed my brothers car until I finally fixed my car. I have since gotten rid of it, but had it not been broken, I would never have learned what I did, and it has saved me so much. My tools have paid for themselves over and over again. However, for those first 2 years, I had very bad buyers remorse hahaha!
So I've had a 2001 Civic since new that's been nothing but problems. But I did a lot of cool stuff to it, and out of necessity, learned how to wrench on it. Replaced the transmission 3 times. 1 new engine, 1 head gasket replacement. I still like the car, and I'm planning on keeping it for as long as I can. But after 20 years and almost 300K miles a lot of stuff is starting to go and bother me a little bit these days. But it still drives for now.
In addition to the buyers remorse, he's also a teenager. Those are prone to be not happy... (we all went through it!)
Amen!
Especially during these difficult times, no work means you don't have the money to fix the car.
@@PuchMaxi That's right. I'm fortunate in that regard, at least at the moment.
I still own my first ever car
Granted i put sooo much money into it but it was worth it in the long run :)
I hope some hid lights and transmission fix would spark new love in him, and the gratification in saying i did it myself is just amazing
I experience buyer's remorse on the second car i purchased. it was a 2012 Ram 1500 SLT with the baby v8, the 4.7 flex fuel. I loved the truck as i always wanted a truck due to me being really tall. then the hate started about 4-5 weeks later, the transmission gave out. it was in the shop for a month since the extended warranty didn't want to fix it due the aftermarket wheels on it (bought it like that) anyway finally fixed, then it started over heating. over the next year, ended up putting a new water pump in it, a new clutch fan. a new radiator. nothing would stop this truck from overheating, finally i said screw it sold it for a loss, and now i am happy again in a 2010 ram 2500 turbo diesel.
1991 Mitsubishi Montero. I was going to turn it into an over lander/camping rig until I realized it’s nearly impossible to find parts for it. Lesson learned...make sure the vehicle has part suppliers in the US.
Ive been following you for so long, I never knew you were a grandfather. Congratulations !
Yeah, his oldest son that lives in NY has a child. He's mentioned it a few time over the years.
Yep same here. I’ve never heard him say he was a grandfather
I often get remorse when I watch someone elses automotive channel.
Ezza the car guy is one of the best, the original if you will.
Thanks Ezza 👍
My latest buyer's remorse, really turned to quite the opposite but took almost a year getting there. Last December I found a 1987 Ford Ranger 2wd long bed with 2.9L V6 and 5 speed. Truck is overall in pretty good condition, no major dents, a few minor scrapes but for being 33 years old its pretty good....I picked it up for $800. Needed brakes front and rear, an alignment, tune up, normal stuff for an older vehicle...add in that it sat for 4 years. It got a new high pressure fuel pump, fuel lines, etc. So, on the way home from picking it up, it had an issue where you'd suddenly just lose power, releasing the accelerator and applying it again usually brought it right back, kind of some weird stuff going on like that....had it at a couple different shops for other work, had them look at it and nobody could figure it out. I was getting upset because its a 33 year old truck and with all the records I have it showed that it had 116k on it. So after all this, all the work, I still had a truck that I really couldn't trust for anything as I never knew when it would suddenly just lose power on the highway. So it never left town, I'd drive it the few miles to work and around town a bit but it was making me sick not being able to figure it out. I'm on The Ranger Station forum, and thought for the heck of it, I'd post up what I had going on with the truck, what I had done already, etc. One of the members says did you change the O2 sensor. Well heck no, didn't figure it had anything to do with my problem. But I figured what the heck $44 for an O2 sensor, and $15 for the O2 sensor socket, and gave it a shot. I pulled the old O2 sensor out and the wires were bare up towards the sensor itself, and some broken pieces in the tip of the sensor, so obviously the sensor was bad and probably grounding or shorting itself out due to the missing insulation. I put the new sensor in and gave it a nice long test drive of about an hour. Took it out on the highway where it would struggle and lose power at speeds above 55mph. No problems at all, the O2 sensor fixed it, so happy now that I've got a great useful truck. It runs and drives great, although I need to have the tires balanced as I found out about a week ago after a 250 mile trip, but that truck got right out on the freeway and up to the 80mph speed limit on that trip did awesome and got 24mpg at 75-80mph on that trip...very happy with what started out to be a major regret in purchasing. Thanks to a Ford Ranger forum started by an offroad guy in 1999 to show off a truck he was building I got a $44 fix for my ailing truck....and I'm about 100% certain that was why the truck was parked all that time, nobody could figure out what had happened, I'm about certain the O2 sensor kept shorting out and sending bad readings to the ECM causing it to either shut off fuel or dump too much fuel.
My jeep on the other hand I have buyer's remorse over. Yeah don't start with the its a Jeep crap. My 1st one had 232k of trouble free miles on it and it got beat on offroad all the time. My current one being babied since I've had it has given me more trouble in the 3 years I've had it than my previous jeep did in the 10 years I had it and about 1/2 the miles on my current one. I only bought it because of how well my other Jeep treated me, if I would have known of all the trouble I was going to end up with I wouldn't have got it LOL.
My one and only Dodge. A dealer demo Dakota - drove it off the lot & and discovered it had some undercarriage damage, which included the rear brakes. The dealer fixed it all N/C, but the car was plagued by various minor but annoying gremlins. Then I took it to the dealer for a service which included the trans, and after the first drive, the trans failed. They blamed it on a defective trans filter, but I didn’t believe them. Sometimes you just get a vibe your being hustled. Anyway, after the trans fiasco the car started stalling when cold. Went back to the dealer multiple times, and each time I got a shrug. By then I’d had enough and got rid of the Dakota. Definitely buyers remorse - no more Chrysler products.
I had this same issue with my 2003 Honda Civic LX. It was the first car I bought for $1200. It was auto and had 198k miles. I loved it at first, but then I was exactly like your son. It ran perfect and I got it to exactly how I liked it for not spending any money on it, but idk something just came about me and I didn’t want it anymore. If I could go back I would. I’d make that thing perfect again. First it was buyer’s remorse, now it’s sellers regret 😂
I fall in love with every POS I’ve owned lol. I did buy a rollback Cavalier that really made me not like it so much. I say that but was really impressed that it passed as a 1xxk mile car when it had 3xxk miles.
I was in the exact same situation when i was about 21 years old. I had purchased my first newer car in 2006, a 2005 Honda Civic VP 2dr, manual transmission and low miles. Had it about a year and for some reason, I started to hate that car. Sold the 05’ civic in 2007 and purchased a 94’ Civic Si hatchback to replace it. I loved the civic hatch and actually still own it.
My step grandmother taught me how to drive a stick shift when I was 13 on thier 80 acre vehicle storage lot. I've been driving sticks ever since. I currently have 2 Honda accord 6-speed manuals, 03 and 06.
When I bought my first car, I was absolutely in love with it, I searched up what car I wanted myself, saved up the money and went there and bought it. It was an absolute piece of garbage and the 1000€ I paid for it were absolutely a rip off but I loved it. A year later though my dad made me sell it because he thought it was too unsafe and that I wouldn't pass emissions with that rustbucket, which is probably true, so he made me sell it and I was already on the lookout for a replacement, I wanted to get a 2010ish VW Jetta (very boring car, but at least something I could ride with for a while) however my dad wasn't happy about that and actually drove me to a Mercedes dealership when I asked him to drive me to the VW dealership, and he pretty much made me buy a car right then and there. I ended up with a 2011 Mercedes C Class and I pretty much hated the car from the start. It was a nice car and all but it just didn't really sit right with me. I kept telling myself how cool it was to drive a Mercedes at such a young age, but in reality I felt really pretentious and I felt like poeple would just think I'm taking "dad's car" to work, so a year later I sold it for quite a good price and bought myself a 90s Honda haha
My buyers remorse 2016 wrx. I really wanted to get a legacy 3.5R but the dealership where I'm from only brings in subaru that are build in japan in which the legacy is strictly N.A. factory. What sold me was the manual transmission. But my buyers remorse started when it was announced that a new type are was comming a few months later. But since then I've learned to love it and have done some DIY mods like and IC Sprayer w/separate pump.
Oh, I always get buyer's remorse on everything! Even on a used Honda S2000 a dealer begged me to buy at wholesale (in 2009, economy took a dump and no one was buying toys). I did enjoy the hell out of it for 5 years, but always thought, "Why did I buy this thing?" BIG seller's remorse on my 1990 Honda CRX ... sold it to a friend, who promptly drove it through high water. :/
If your son is anything like myself, he will get bored driving anything
after a while. It took me a while to realize that was the reason why I was
changing cars every 3 yrs or so (and losing $$$ in the process). I
changed the tactics - now I have two older, reliable vehicles that are
my solid base, and three other "CL specials". Key is to have different
vehicles all together - I have Acura TL, Tahoe, Roadmaster wagon, Camaro
convertible and a Golf IV tdi manual. Yes, the maintenance &
insurance is a bit expensive, but its cheaper than constantly losing money in
buy-sell-buy cycle. And since I got that "fleet", I do not have desire
to buy anything else...which is rare for me.
My then 5 yr old '95 Nissan Maxima, loved it to bits. The honeymoon lasted for a year and then it started mechanically breaking down, a lot. It's been to Nissan dealers, mom & pop shops and even a friend (BMW tech) of mine who couldn't figure out why this car was suffering so many failures. Such as the power steering, power windows, transmission, water pump, fuel pump...etc etc given it had no obvious faults, no rust, ECU checked OK. Creepy precursor to the Renault merger 😂
2000 Kia Sportage EX was a love hate relationship; 1. Not enough power out of the 2.0L w/4-Auto to pass anything. 2. Bad grounds, more bad grounds and then the bad grounds that left me on the side of the road. 3. A/C condensate drain that plugged up no matter how large it was made. 4. Spark plugs sealed in the top of the engine that uses a gasket more expensive than the 4 replacement plugs. 4. Kia dealerships were the worst here in NE Illinois during Y2K. The love items include 1. Body on frame construction. 2. Small turning radius 3. Full size spare tire. 4. Easy parking on city side streets due to a short wheelbase and manual 4WD. 5. Great visibility. 6. It could move a lot for stuff. In the end it was out of my life the day my title was received in the mail; it was traded in 2005 for a Legend Lime Mustang 4.0L V6-Automatic that evening. That is another story for another time.