Shogo

So I bought an 01 civic 70k miles on it about 45 days ago. Car was in good shape from what I could tell, clean title, no accidents, 1 owner, ran well. A couple weeks ago the heat shield started rattling so I brought it into the dealer even though the 1-month warranty had passed. The car was also squeaking/rattling which I thought was caused by a faulty hinge on the glove box and a loose piece of plastic in the rear cup holder.

When I took it into the Honda dealer I bought it from just 45 days ago they told me both heat shields were rattling so I had them pull them off for $56, no big deal.

Then they also told me that BOTH front struts are leaky and need to be replaced. They also told me that the lower control bushings need to be replaced. The service guy told me that he thought the struts would still be under the extended warranty but wasn't sure about the bushings. Unfortunately the warranty place is closed on Saturday so he's going to call me back on Monday and let me know for sure whether these things would be covered. He said that the squeaks and rattles I was hearing were due to the struts being leaky and also due to the bushings being loose/out of alignment. He quoted me $635 to replace both struts and $430 to replace the bushings.

I told him I just bought the car a month ago and hadn't even driven the vehicle 1000 miles yet and asked him why the dealer wouldn't have checked the car out before selling it with these problems. He looked up the car to see if it was a certified pre-owned, which of course it wasn't. Then he told me from what the computer says, the dealer only performed a basic safety check on the vehicle so the struts and bushings wouldn't have been checked before they sold the vehicle.

I really don't know what to do. This is really irritating that they think there needs to be over $1000 worth of repairs on a car I just bought. Does anyone have suggestions?

A-series

How much did you purchase it for?

2nd, I'd get a quote on the work that needs to be done (assuming none of it is covered under a warranty) from another shop. I'd actually take the car to another place for them to look at it.

Alfred5279

sounds like a standard trip to most mechanics. the 56 dollars he charged you wasn't enough for the guy.

did removing the heat shields solve the rattling problem?

if you hit bumps and it still rattles. it could be your struts. but from what i know, they should be good for another 20-30k miles. Stock struts should last for quite some time.

take a look at the strut and see if it does look like its leaking oil. let us know what happens.

Civic2Scooby

you bought a used car from a dealership that wasn't certified pre-owned...wtf were you thinking? paying dealership premiums without the benefits of the certified used warranty. 56 bucks is rape to remove heat shields. The most he should have charged is .3 hours. The price to replace those fronts is retarded. Trust me on this one, you don't want to get work done at the dealership unless it can only be done at the dealership, such as dealer specific parts and electronics. Struts/bushings etc can be done for a third the price. Hell if you want oem struts go buy them and then take them somewhere else to have them installed if you can't. Labor is the biggest cost 9/10. Trust me, I am an Acura Tech h:

shirley

50-60k is recommended change on shocks and struts ... they dont last as long as you think

and im in total agreeance with lee(civic2scooby) on this one. dont have the dealer do the non warranty work

Running925

obviously you didn't check the car out well enough before you bought it.

Omie

you didn't hear any of the noises when you took it out for a test drive

Shogo

Nope. Only heard one rattle on the test drive and it was the glove compartment. It was fixed before I bought it. Anyway I took it to another shop to get the oil changed and asked the mechanic and he showed me the struts and bushings. The struts were fine except for a minor leak in 1 of them and the bushings were indeed tearing away from the frame but he said I shouldn't worry about it and that they will be good for another 20-30k miles. As for the rattle I hear now I'm still thinking its got something to do with the glove box.

2gr84u

Its easy to point the finger at the place who sold you the car, but the truth is unless they absolutly forbid you from looking at the car, or even getting it looked at professionaly, anything you find wrong with will just fall under "look before you leap" trust me, ive made the mistake a few times now. Your car is almost 8 years old with some miles on it, there are going to be rattles, but if it IS the glove box, often times theres a screw that comes loose that causes the rattle, just pull it off and tighten it

white_n_slow

Even if the shocks are leaking a bit of fluid, it doesn't need to be replaced until the ride starts to suffer. If you notice the car riding a little more bouncy (like you drive over a bump and the car goes up and down a few times before settling out), then it's time to replace the shocks... until then, I wouldn't worry about it.

The bushings are a matter of preference. You can drive on toasted bushings. The handling will suffer, but if it isn't a big deal to you, it can be a "fix it when I get around to it" sorta thing. I drove on mulched bushings for a couple years... it caused one spinout when I was driving like a jackass, but if you drive like a normal human being, I don't think it's anything to worry about. Eventually they will get to a point where they need to be replaced, but at 70k, I doubt they're there yet.

As for interior rattles... it's a 8 year old economy car. That's just par for the course.

:edit: NEVER go to the dealership for service. They will pound you in the behind.