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Car off road for 9 years: get it roadworthy again or scrap it?

Coda II

getting there slowly
Nothing special, a Honda Civic, but not high miles and no problems when it last ran (from memory).
Have no immediate use for it so wondering what to do. Is it likely that everything will have seized to the point of it taking a chunk of time/money to get it going again or will a fluid change and a new battery see it running in no time?

Given s/h car values currently, is it more likely to repay the effort of disposing of it as a runner, or move it on as a non-runner and let someone else sort it out and sell it on? My guess is that it is still good enough not to go straight to scrap but I may be wrong.
 
If you sell it as it is you will get the lowest price they can squeeze out of you. If it can be up and running and MOT’d for minimal cost you’ll likely get a much better deal, but I guess it depends what needs doing.

Its not going to be quite the same, but I have a Yaris that sat on the drive unused for almost two years since March 2020 that I’ve recently revived. It needed a battery unsurprisingly, and I changed all the rusty brake discs and pads and did a basic oil, plugs and filters service myself for very little time and expense. After that it sailed through the mot and is probably worth more now as a result than WBAC would have given me to tow it away.

I’d expect a Honda to be similarly solid and not difficult to revive, as long as there’s no structural rust or major mechanical issues. Do you know a friendly mechanic who can look it over and give you an opinion?

I probably spent more time cleaning green slime and bird muck off mine than I did with actual mechanical work, but with some decent cleaning products and a new stereo and mats it looks really good now, and will be fine for my kids to learn to drive in.
 
What age and spec Civic is it, if its old, then they seem to fetch good money. honestly I would change the fluids and see if it will start, if it runs put it in for an MOT and see where you are then. Our current '99 civic sat for 3 years with no head on the engine, put it back together and drove it 5 miles to the MOT station, it failed on an engine/torque mount I had forgotten to bolt back up (honestly the brakes were shocking but they passed).
 
Plugs out, turn engine over manually. Turns over fine, it should be fine (fresh oil and filter needed and new plugs); but turn over with the fuel pump fuse out too, to build up oil pressure before you properly turn the engine over

You'll need to drain the fuel tank and add fresh fuel too

Doesn't turn over, scrap it...

Belts will NEED changing though so bear that in mind...!
 
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If try and get it started and if it does run, then take it to an MOT station to see what it fails on. Depending on the costs I'd make a decision after that.

I've got a Honda motorbike in the garage that hasn't run for 10 (or maybe 15!) years which I'm planning to do the same with once I retire and have some spare time.
 
As Hifilover says, take out the plugs and see if it will turn over slowly (put it in a high gear and push a bit). You might even try spraying some WD40 or similar into the plug holes and letting it sit for a few minutes. If it is not seized and turns, see if you can turn it over manually a bit to get the oil to go around the various areas of the engine. Then, with plugs still out, maybe use the starter to turn it over a bit quicker for a few seconds. Then plugs back in and see if it fires. Just ideas...what I'd do.
 
And if it fires, probably shut it down soonish, don't rev it. It'd be a shame for the timing belt to snap and trash the engine.
 
As Hifilover says, take out the plugs and see if it will turn over slowly (put it in a high gear and push a bit). You might even try spraying some WD40 or similar into the plug holes and letting it sit for a few minutes. If it is not seized and turns, see if you can turn it over manually a bit to get the oil to go around the various areas of the engine. Then, with plugs still out, maybe use the starter to turn it over a bit quicker for a few seconds. Then plugs back in and see if it fires. Just ideas...what I'd do.

WD40 has silicone in it which IIRC is very bad for catalytic convertors, probably best just chuck some light oil down there and turn it over with the plugs out.
 
Worth doing a quick search to find if the engine is interference/ collision or not i.e. if the cambelt snaps will the valves hit the piston?
 
Plugs out, turn engine over manually. Turns over fine, it should be fine (fresh oil and filter needed and new plugs); but turn over with the fuel pump fuse out too, to build up oil pressure before you properly turn the engine over

You'll need to drain the fuel tank and add fresh fuel too

Doesn't turn over, scrap it...

Belts will NEED changing though so bear that in mind...!

And tyres and probably discs and pads.

And if been stood on concrete, check the brake lines and 'zorst.

Unless you absolutely love the car (like it's a type R), weighing it in or selling to a dealer who has access to mechanics at cost price is a better alternative; it'll lose you a lot of money. Even a 13-year old Honda hatch can be a money pit.
 
And tyres and probably discs and pads.

And if been stood on concrete, check the brake lines and 'zorst.

Unless you absolutely love the car (likeit's a type R), weighing it in or selling to a dealer who has access to mechanics at cost price is a better alternative; it'll lose you a lot of money. Even a 13-year old Honda hatch can be a money pit.

Yup; there's all that. But key is to see if the engine will turn over first; everything else is secondary to that really...Agree though; tyres & brakes will be fubar
 


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