Do not pay for a mechanic's inspection report. I've bought and sold maybe a dozen cars on Craigslist over the years. If I want a mechanic to look at the car, I'm going to choose the mechanic and ask you bring it to them....then I'm going to pay for it. Why? As the one paying the bill, the mechanic will tell me what's really up with the car. For the seller to have a report, I would give that zero value as a buyer.
Don't pay for a pro detail. Literally run it through a car wash and dry the entire car with a towel including inside the door jambs. Vacuum the car really well. Clean the inside of the windows.
If this car is a manual, it's going to sell before you even think the listing is up. If an auto, longer but will sell. People look for older Hondas because they are legos. Engine blows up? Pick up an engine from any of 5 models over 25 years and drop it in. There are conversion mounts for virtually anything. So if someone wants to put in an RSX-S engine in, they will.
Before you do any of this, go to Car Max and get a no obligation price. Then compare with what your ad gets for potential. If they're close, take down the ad and sell it to Car Max and avoid all the hassle.
Be ready for Craigslist flakes. Out of 10 inquiries I get, one sets up an appointment to see the car. Of 10 appointments, one shows up and is serious. Don't go out of your way. If you need to do something at 1 on Saturday and someone wants to look at noon, first...they're going to be late and next, they're going to be looking at it for 2 hours. Tell them you won't be home till 3. People will adjust. It's best to put right in the ad, at the bottom exactly this text:
**Yes, I still have it and will take the ad down when sold**
**No trades**
**Include your phone number so I know you're not a bot**
Long time craigslist people will laugh and understand that you've used craigslist. Another thing.....if you get a response using the word "item" anywhere in the response, delete it. It is a bot.
Payment is by cash and only cash. If the buyer needs to get a check for $4k, then you'll meet them at their bank where they'll cash their own damned check and hand you cash. To be safe, you can then go to the teller and ask them to convert the money into a cashieres check to you. This take the sketchy out of payment and yes, cashiers checks can be faked and some banks (like Wells Fargo) won't tell you if there check is good over the phone.
If anyone offers to send you a cashiere's check, they're a scammer. You can play with them if you want and when the fedex shows up with a fake, bogus check, tell them the envelope was empty and there's no check in it.
Decide ahead of time, based on inquiries and your car max number how low you'll go. If car max says they'll give you $3000, and you'd only go to $3500 or even be firm at $4k, do it. Remember that you can always cut your losses and go back to car max in what? 7 days, I think.