purchasing 2003 EX Civic.. Help!

Found a 03 EX with only 11,000 KM "indicated"... The price seems very
fair but the tires look like much more that 11K.... The tires look to
me like the mileage isn't accurate....

My question is, is it possible the odometer/ speedometer was
altered?... The dash and screws holding dash together don't appear to
be ever removed... Is it possible someone could have disconnected the
speed sensing device at the tranny and driven without speedometer and
odometer for part of the time...

I don't know how these devices work and would like any input before i
decide to make the purchase... Would the car still function if this
was true and if so, can I check for some code at the ECU?....


thanks.. TJ..

wrote:

> Found a 03 EX with only 11,000 KM "indicated"... The price seems very
> fair but the tires look like much more that 11K.... The tires look to
> me like the mileage isn't accurate....
>
> My question is, is it possible the odometer/ speedometer was
> altered?... The dash and screws holding dash together don't appear to
> be ever removed... Is it possible someone could have disconnected the
> speed sensing device at the tranny and driven without speedometer and
> odometer for part of the time...
>
> I don't know how these devices work and would like any input before i
> decide to make the purchase... Would the car still function if this
> was true and if so, can I check for some code at the ECU?....
>
> thanks.. TJ..

The best thing to do is to write down the car's VIN code and look up its
history on carfax.com (for a small fee, but worth it). That should give you
an idea as to what the actual mileage is.

As for the tires looking older than 11K, perhaps the previous owner was an
aggressive driver. But I have heard that the OEM tires that were on this
version of Civic are not particularly good to begin with. If the car is
otherwise OK and you decide to buy it, I suggest getting new tires anyway.