and look behind the wheels. What you're looking for is the attachment points, where the suspension is attached to the unibody. Also the bolts where the bumper goes onto the structure, and (if you can get to them) the radiator support bolts.

If the car's been crashed, you'll find one or both of two things: bumps and ripples around the bolts and brackets, or weld seams where it's been "clipped". It might be handy to find one you know is good and look it over first, for comparisons. Also check inside the engine compartment for suspension attach points visible there. While you're at it, see if you can see the seams where the individual body parts were bolted together -- where the fenders go into the cowl, for instance. On a Honda, those should be straight or smoothly curved, with no ripples or tears.

Check the exhaust system hanger brackets. They should hang straight, not pulled out of vertical, and none of them should be broken, especially in a car with only 6K miles.

You're in Northern CA, right? Look out for underbody tar aka "undercoating". Covers a multitude of sins.

Check the fluids. At 6000 miles, all except possibly the engine oil should be clear and smell right -- no "burned" smell to brake, transmission, or power steering fluid, and the coolant should be translucent green, have a faint smell of glycol (like a cross between alcohol and paraffin), and be very slightly greasy to the fingers. Engine oil should still be somewhat clear; it'll be grayish. If it's solid black, cut your offer by ten percent. [In any case, if you buy the car, change the oil and filter immediately, then repeat every thousand miles for three iterations.] Check the serpentine belt for any rips, wear points, broken grooves, etc. Start the engine and listen to the bearings of each of the accessories -- water pump, power steering pump, alternator, and AC compressor -- using a rubber hose as a stethoscope. Does the fan have any nicks on the leading edge? Is the back of the radiator dented, with any of the fins crushed, or does it have wear marks on it? Does the electric fan motor run when it's supposed to, without bearing noises?

If you really want to get thorough, get the thing up on a lift, the kind that picks up the body and leaves the wheels hanging; you can also jack it, but the effect isn't quite the same. There should be no play at all in any of the wheel bearings, front and rear; grab the tire on a diameter and try to twist it out of plane. If you feel any movement at all, the bearings are damaged. Then spin the wheels; they should spin freely, with no sound at all. Hondas have ball bearings; there should be no sound but a soft swish. A rumble or buzz as the wheel turns indicates brinneled races and/or damaged balls. Now try to push or pull in and out. No movement, clicks, clunks, etc. allowed. Push left and right (forward and back as the car runs). A very little play is allowed here, but if you can see the wheel move, you don't want the car.

Now take the steering out of lock and pull one wheel through the full left/right motion. It should be smooth, with no catch points; any jerk or hesitation makes the steering box rack-and-pinion quesionable (a high-dollar repair). Repeat for the other side. Note that if you can pull the front wheels out of plane without moving the steering wheel, something in the steering gear is loose; find it. [Many such repairs are relatively cheap, if the mounting points are straight.]

Look at all four brake disks. At 6K miles, they should look nearly new; you might be able to see traces of the alternate-spiral finishing cut on them. In any case, no, repeat no, circumferential grooves or gouges allowed. If the rotors have patches that are "blued" from heat, or if the edge looks as if it's been heated, the brakes have been overused. Check the color of the brake fluid -- it should be nearly colorless. Check the pins the calipers float on. Can you see any wear outside the caliper itself? If so, the rotors are warped. [Note that, on a Honda, overuse of the brakes is disqualifying only if you're paying a lot for the car. If you're getting it really cheap, forget the brake check and do the rest of it -- then take it to a brake shop directly from the lot.]

While it's on the rack, check the boots on the CV joints (on the half-shafts from transmission to wheels). No cracks or leaking lubricant allowed, and the half-shafts themselves should not have any sideways play detectable by hand. The splines where the half-shafts join the differential should be smoothly worn and bright.

Next, look closely at the places where the strikers meet the latches on doors, hood, and trunk or deck lid. Also the rubber seals (weatherstripping) around the door. Hondas are built very nicely true; if the door latch strikers don't meet on center, or if you can see signs around the latches that the striker has been forced off center, worry. Also check the rubber bits and plastic parts that make the latches quiet and keep the door from rattling. A twist of the car will usually shear or dent those.

Don't sweat dings in body panels. Those can be straightened or replaced. It's the underneath stuff that makes the difference between a good car and a lemon. If you're stealing it, you can afford to play around with body parts.

One thing I've seen experienced people do: go to a wrecking yard and try to find a car like that that really has been wrecked. Amazing what you can see when the guy who owns the car isn't trying all that hard to make it look good.