If you find a Civic Type-R, and its left hand drive then it had been converted. Civic Type-Rs was never sold in the U.S. Most EK9 Civic HB in the U.S. were the DX trim line, its the basic model. Came with a 1.6 D series single cam engine, pretty good with gas mileage.
EK9 Hatchback stock engine should be around 200k pesos, if the engine has been swapped for a B16A (DOHC VTEC) then it may go around 300k.
If it has a swapped engine, then you can bet it had been raced or driven pretty hard. Thats the whole point of swapping engine in the first place
. Before I put my two cents on buying a used car, let me just say that I am no expert on this. However, there are tell-tale sign that the most mechanically inept can look for. Oil in the engine, especially around the valve cover, Head gasket area, distributor. If its around the distributor, might be a sign that the cam shafts had been swapped around or not stock (not good for mileage). Noises, high pitch squeal. It might be just a belt or maybe a pulley going bad. When the car is moving and you hear a grinding noise coming from the sides of the car, it is a sign has been lowered and ruined the bearings in the hub.
In the interior, look for parts like loose plastic panels in the door or seatbelt attachment point, on the side of the doors, and pillars. They should be snug and tight, it they are loose and you cant snap them back tight then the chassis maybe out of shape. A sign that the car has been in wreck. Maybe bad enough to bend the unibody chassis and should have been written off. For the exterior, look the car under a good light so you can tell if the paint tone are all even. Look for uneven color, these are repainted areas that have been fixed. Most sellers will spend a good bit of money to repaint cuz thats the first thing a buyer sees. But often times, these paint jobs are rush jobs and rusted areas arent properly fixed and just filled with filler (bondo). Overtime these filler will crack, therefore cracking the paint. Judging a car on the paint often times will not give an accurate assesment on the car condition.
Underbody, look for dents on the oil pan, scratches on suspension components. If the car has those, the owner likes to go off-roading with his car or drives in a pretty bad road. In addition, it may have been lowered. Look for worn out bushing anywhere, but especially around the tie-rod ends. Look for leaking CV boots. If it has a cut, the half-shafts might have to be replaced because an unsealed CV boot lets dirt in and generally ruins the half-shaft.
I'm sure there are many things that need to looked over that I havent mentioned but what I listed should give you a starting point. By the way, if the car is being sold by the car owner, try to see if the owner genuinely likes his car or somewhat hasitant to sell. Ask how often he changes oil, does he do it himself, what kind of brand of oil does he use (also ask for grade of oil he uses like 5-30w, etc). Often times, if you find a seller and knows a thing or two about cars and knows how to work on them will tell you any issues with the car. Notice I said most, not all.
If you feel intimidated, hire a mechanic to go with you. If you are set on buying a particular car, buy or borrow a maintenance manual for that car (Chelsea or Helms).
There's no perfect used car out there, some have their quirks. It just up to you if want to deal with that quirk. By the way, if you do find some issues with the car and still want it, that issue would be a good negotiating point. I'm sure you know that
. good luck
