Wisconsin S2k

The problem is, worst case scenario, you COULD be looking at several THOUSDAND DOLLARS to fix whatever it is that is causing the compression leak. So take your $18,000 price tag and add a lot more money on to that to fix the problem. And as stated, this could be a sign of abuse on the engine. Maybe oil deprivation who knows? Which means chances are shorter engine life, and who knows what else could go very soon?

Unless the guy is willing to sell it for $10,000, walk away. Walk very very very away.

Silver_S2000

...I would definently steer clear of this one...It's very easy to become "blind" once you get your heart set on a car...so much so that no matter what is wrong with the car you still want it...This, my friend, is a very deadly state of mind frame..You can end up paying WAY more then you would have if you had just waited another month or two to find a car that is in good health..This is deffinently not a car I would even consider...I beleive that if you decide to "this this car off the owners hands" (get it out of his hair) it will come back and bite you in the ass...I got my 2002 sebring silver s2000 with 40k on the ticker for 19 grand...this car is immaculant, not a single problem, drives like a dream, and I am confident taking it on long trips (even though the transmission had to be replaced over a grind shortly after ownership...it was covered under the extended warranty)..and I opted for the 2k extra extended warranty which paid for itself the 1st week of taking ownership...Seriously...Steer clear from this...and try not to get "blinded" into buying into those pretty rims and low miles...The engine is not in its prime...and is not worth your time..Good luck finding your next car

xviper

Why are you guessing at whether or not there is something wrong with this car and what it might be? The seller is not giving you specific compression numbers for you to look at. If he did indeed have a compression test done, he WILL have those numbers. If he did indeed have it done at a Honda dealership, they WILL have records of these numbers. And you say there is a CEL. This may have nothing to do with low compression in one cylinder. Rather than speculate on what this is, why don't you find out what this is?
If this is truely a bargain you just can't walk away from, rather than spending your time here getting "opinions" from a bunch of people who have no ability to see this car or do anything about it, why don't you spend the few bucks it takes to have the car checked out by someone YOU designate? Find out for yourself exactly what the compression is, what the leak down will tell you and what those CEL codes really are. I'll even bet ya that the place you have this done at will also give you a far better idea of what it will take to "fix" these things than a bunch of guys sitting behind keyboards talking to you on the internet. It time you took some reponsibility for this. Unless of course, 18 grand means nothing to you.

jasonw

I'm a little worried that the low compression is a sign that all divetrain components have been beat on hard. If you can get past that though, I'd say get a quote for a motor rebuild and see if you can get the car for (bluebook - rebuild cost - (pain-in-ass-premium)).