damn. might be time for a different car

[thomsbrain]

My trusty 91 Accord Wagon with 187,000 miles has been a solid car and I really like it, but I just got an estimate from the mechanic that gives me pause: $1900!

The problem is it is due for a bunch of stuff at the same time: major scheduled service (told him to go ahead and do this), 4 new struts (all tires are cupping and things are getting floaty), and the dreaded Honda timing belt change. Individual quotes were about $300 for the major, about $800 for the struts, and about $800 for the timing belt. these don't seem too out of line as all are cheaper than the dealer, the struts cost over $100 each just for the part (I looked into it), and the timing belt is a huge job and also includes replacing a lot of other little bits and pieces. i know the dealer charges close to $900 for the belt job.

But my car is only worth $2000 or so and although i'm sure it has some life in it, i feel like i might be better off selling it ("Just had major service and new tires!!!!"), adding the money, and getting a newer car. Let someone else deal with the struts and the timing belt... At the same time, I need a fairly high MPG, fun-to-drive station wagon, and the accord wagon is one of the only cars that fits the bill in my price range. I also know where this car has been for the past 100K miles, and it is a solid little hauler, and while it has been driven hard, it has received all the scheduled maintenence, driven frequently and mostly on the highway, and not been abused.

So I dunno... 🙁 Very sad right now.

edit: oh yeah, i should mention that i'm a broke-ass college student who is more or less supported by my parents while i'm in school and one way or the other, they will be footing the bill for transportation for another 6 months or so until i graduate. they have made noises about a replacement car when i graduate, but far be it from me to push the issue when they have done so much for me. i owe them more for raising me than i could ever hope to repay, as it is!

 

[Ipno]

Yep dude, thats exactly why I traded in my 92 accord for an 04 hyundai accent.

 

[laurenlex]

New used-car time. You got your money out of it. Don't put another penny in it.

 

[ahurtt]

Yeah dude, don't spend $1900 on a 14 year old car. Either sell it for cheap. . .maybe you could sell it for like $500-$600 since it needs so much work. . .or just donate it to a charity and write it off as a tax deduction.

 

[Tea Bag]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
..and the dreaded Honda timing belt change..

Wow, was that the first time the timing belt was changed? If that's the case, I'm suprised it lasted that long and that's alot of miles for a belt (187K). Or mebbe that's a Honda thing.

I feel your pain - well not to the 1900 dollar extent, but my timing belt and two serpentines on my '95 eagle summit was over 300 on my car.. And that only had 100K.

Yup, looks like it's time. See if you can get another decent honda or something nice used around - be patient and don't jump and buy right away.

p.s - wagons own.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: ahurtt
Yeah dude, don't spend $1900 on a 14 year old car. Either sell it for cheap. . .maybe you could sell it for like $500-$600 since it needs so much work. . .or just donate it to a charity and write it off as a tax deduction.

why donate a junker to charity when theyd have to fix it, and could use the money to...buy a car that worked?

OP is right, he needs another car.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: Tea Bag

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
..and the dreaded Honda timing belt change..

Wow, was that the first time the timing belt was changed? If that's the case, I'm suprised it lasted that long and that's alot of miles for a belt (187K). Or mebbe that's a Honda thing.

I feel your pain - well not to the 1900 dollar extent, but my timing belt and two serpentines on my '95 eagle summit was over 300 on my car.. And that only had 100K.

Yup, looks like it's time. See if you can get another decent honda or something nice used around - be patient and don't jump and buy right away.

p.s - wagons own.

no, it's the second change. honda's require it every 90K. i bought it at 97K, and without a service history, i erred on the side of caution and had it changed. so it's actually at exactly the next 90K interval now. 🙂

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: xSauronx

Originally posted by: ahurtt
Yeah dude, don't spend $1900 on a 14 year old car. Either sell it for cheap. . .maybe you could sell it for like $500-$600 since it needs so much work. . .or just donate it to a charity and write it off as a tax deduction.

why donate a junker to charity when theyd have to fix it, and could use the money to...buy a car that worked?

OP is right, he needs another car.

The charity can do whatever they want with it and they are getting it for free. They may sell it for scrap metal or they may donate it to a school or something for kids to work on in shop class. There are any number of things they could do with an old car, they don't necessarily have to fix it up themselves.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: xSauronx

Originally posted by: ahurtt
Yeah dude, don't spend $1900 on a 14 year old car. Either sell it for cheap. . .maybe you could sell it for like $500-$600 since it needs so much work. . .or just donate it to a charity and write it off as a tax deduction.

why donate a junker to charity when theyd have to fix it, and could use the money to...buy a car that worked?

OP is right, he needs another car.

well, the car does work great, as-is. i mean, i don't think anyone who drove it would even notice the struts issue, since even with dying struts, it still rides stiffer and more solidly than any american car from the same vintage. but i notice it because i've driven the car for so long, and the tires don't wear evenly anymore. the interior is extremely clean. no stains, no worn upholstry, no cracks in the dash. the engine pulls as hard as ever, starts the first time, every time, and it only stranded me once when the distributor died (ok, so it didn't start the first time when the distributor died 😉 ).

but the clear-coat on the roof is trashed (seems common with 91 hondas).

 

[Tea Bag]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain

Originally posted by: Tea Bag

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
..and the dreaded Honda timing belt change..

Wow, was that the first time the timing belt was changed? If that's the case, I'm suprised it lasted that long and that's alot of miles for a belt (187K). Or mebbe that's a Honda thing.

I feel your pain - well not to the 1900 dollar extent, but my timing belt and two serpentines on my '95 eagle summit was over 300 on my car.. And that only had 100K.

Yup, looks like it's time. See if you can get another decent honda or something nice used around - be patient and don't jump and buy right away.

p.s - wagons own.

no, it's the second change. honda's require it every 90K. i bought it at 97K, and without a service history, i erred on the side of caution and had it changed. so it's actually at exactly the next 90K interval now. 🙂

Yeah, that sounds about right, as I was 10K over on my scheduled maintenence (whoopsie)...

Well, if the body and what not is still in pretty good condition, and I'm guessing it it becuase you live in Cali- maybe you could wait it out and find something nice, or if you have some buddies (that know some buddies?) that have the equipment to help you do it (well, timing belts are going to be alot harder to get the proper equipment, like a timing light). You could think about fixing it yourself. Struts are a pain in the a55, but not impossible to install. Then you're just looking at cost for those.

 

[thomsbrain]

oh yeah, i should mention that i'm a broke-ass college student who is more or less supported by my parents while i'm in school and one way or the other, they will be footing the bill for transportation for another 6 months or so until i graduate. they have made noises about a replacement car when i graduate, but far be it from me to push the issue when they have done so much for me. i owe them more for raising me than i could ever hope to repay, as it is!

 

[mattocs]

Get yourself a nice Subaru wagon.

 

[montanafan]

I know what you mean. I have a '92 Prelude that's been a great car the entire 13 years. I haven't driven it much the last few years, but started using it more for short everyday trips lately because it gets so much better gas mileage than the '01 Tacoma I have. Only problem is it's developed a glitch in the transmission. Shifting into 4th doesn't always go smoothly, have to double clutch it then. Estimates to fix it are from $800-$1000.

I could sell it easily. People are always calling asking if I want to sell it, but it's still worth more to me than the lower price I could ask for it considering the repair the buyer would have to make. I'll just live with the problem until I can hopefully find someone to repair it at a lower price.

 

[Tea Bag]

That kinda throws a monkey wrench in things, huh?? Well, you got four options.

1) Drive it 'till it can't move under its own power (which will be quite some time considering the things that 'need' to be done)
2) Buy a new car. That's expensive and from my experiences, usually not plesant
3) Fix it at a shop. meh, for 1900 bucks you could get something else with lower miles I bet.
4) Get some people you know to fix it for you for part cost + a little extra. (cheap, but if they are crappy mechanics, I guess you aren't much better off, huh?) - that and in that region, I'm not sure how common it is. I can usually get serious work done for parts + 50 or 60 bucks from 'a friend of a friend', but like most people in my area - they don't touch imports.

I say to hell with the struts. The only person that is gonnna know they are shot is you - and if it's a point A->B car, bah.. Who cares.
The belt will eventually cause you some problems down the road. Later probably then sooner. You could save your money and do it when you absolutely NEED to.

 

[Ramma2]

Drive it till it drops, then get a new car. You're not going to get much if anything if it needs that much work. Might as well drive it for as long as you can and delay getting a new car as long as possible.

And really, you dont NEED that work done. Spread it out. Have them do the scheduled service now. Then wait a few months and do the timing belt. Then wait a few more and do the struts. I doubt the timing belt is going to snap right this instant because you're at the mileage for the change.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: OBW96
Get yourself a nice Subaru wagon.

I'd love a Rex and it would fit my gear, but it's out of the question from a money standpoint, I think.

I think Tea Bag's probably on the right track that I may just be best off by just driving it into the ground from now on, if I don't replace it. Maybe just do oil changes from now on, and save the scheduled maintenence dough for the next car. My guess is it will keep running at least until I get out of school, without any other major work. A lot of stuff has been done in the last 100K or so -- muffler, water pump, distributor. i don't think anything is going to break for a while. i'll hope the timing belt has some life left in it. i'm sure honda has a lot of lee-way in their 90K intervals, since a broken belt is really bad news, and they wouldn't want to get blamed for the poorer belts breaking before the interval is up.

 

[psteng19]

There's no way it's worth $2000.
An EX auto in 'fair' condition was priced at $1900 at KBB.
An LX which is probably what you have is $1500.
Regardless, no one's going to pay anywhere near those prices.

Your best bet is to drive it until it dies and get another used late '90s Accord/Civic.

 

[IronWing]

Forget that the car is fourteen years old and only books at $2000; that doesn't fit into the equation at all. Look at the classifieds to get any idea of what you could buy for ~$1900. Then based on your knowledge of the car you have now, decide if you think it will provide better service after repair than the available replacements at the same price. When figuring out what a used car is going to cost you add at least $500 bucks to fix all the stuff (brakes) that were working just great fifteen minutes before you bought it (brakes, starter, battery).

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: psteng19
There's no way it's worth $2000.
An EX auto in 'fair' condition was priced at $1900 at KBB.
An LX which is probably what you have is $1500.
Regardless, no one's going to pay anywhere near those prices.

Your best bet is to drive it until it dies and get another used late '90s Accord/Civic.

a "Fair" EX auto in my area, with my mileage, and the appropriate items checked for that trim level Blue Books at $2335, not $1900.
my "Fair" LX auto with the appropriate items checked for the trim level Blue Books at $1900. that's about $2K.

I live on the west coast, in Santa Cruz, CA, where there are tons of Accord Wagons because everyone surfs, bikes, ski's, dives, or some combo of the above. The town is only accessible by various twisty highways that bring SUV's to their knees, and occupied by mega-hippies and college students, who will only drive SUV's if they have "Toyota 4Runner" badges on them. as a result, there are probably more honda, subaru, mazda, and toyota wagons here per capita than anywhere on the planet. Before moving here, I'd be lucky to see another accord wagon once a month. Now I see several every day. So the car is known here and people like them. Don't get me wrong, I'd be THRILLED to actually get KBB for it, but it's going to be worth a lot more here than in jersey.

Sorry, just gotta defend my baby. 😉 😀

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: ironwing
Forget that the car is fourteen years old and only books at $2000; that doesn't fit into the equation at all. Look at the classifieds to get any idea of what you could buy for ~$1900. Then based on your knowledge of the car you have now, decide if you think it will provide better service after repair than the available replacements at the same price. When figuring out what a used car is going to cost you add at least $500 bucks to fix all the stuff (brakes) that were working just great fifteen minutes before you bought it (brakes, starter, battery).

i know the brakes are cool, since i know when the rotors, pads, shoes, and master cylinder were all changed last. i have a couple years at least before anything needs work in that area. battery is about 6 years old, so it could conceivably need replacement. at this point, the starter, oil pump, and alternator are all original and are potential hot spots. i have changed alternators before, but the one in this car isn't very accessible and i probably wouldn't be able to do it myself.

so yeah, i'll run the numbers and see how much each route is likely to cost, and how much the car in question might be worth after a few years.