How to check out older car? Which car to keep?

My 1992 Honda Accord got stolen. I waited a week, then bought a 2001
Honda Civic. They found my car the next day. Now I'm trying to decide
which one to keep and I would like to ask people's opinions on this.

I think my old Accord is fine, they didn’t damage the car much. They
only stole items in the car and in the trunk, my laptop, iPod, etc.
They damaged the trunk opener, on the lower, front floor, it was
locked, so they destroyed it and pulled the cable to get into the
trunk. The windows are not broken, the igntion is not damaged, tires
and all parts are still there. I think these theives stole the car to
get the laptop and items in the trunk.

I like my new Civic, but it costs too much. I think I want to keep my
old car and sell the new car. I'm trying to think thru this and make a
decision on which one to keep.

My Accord has 400,000 miles, but it's working fine, passed smog 6
months ago and I can't see or hear any problems. (other than a dent or
2)

Question: I'd like to ask what could be checked in a car with 400,000
miles, to do what we can to make sure the motor is still working fine.
Should I do a compression check, on all cylinders? I'm concerned that
the oil pump may be going out. I’ve had low oil pressure a few times,
then it went away. Can the oil pump be checked? What else, for the
main engine, could be checked? What could go wrong?

I know 400,000 miles is a lot, but it could last another 100,000 and
it's not a good time to spend all my savings on a car, when I never
know if I could get laid off.

I’m not so concerned about "accessories" going out (power steering,
alternator, etc) because they can be replaced at reasonable cost.

What would be your advice on what I should have a mechanic check to
ensure the motor is currently working normally and hopefully would
continue to purr.

Thank you,

Kevin

 

400k miles is the most you can reasonably expect without major
systems failures. In fact, it's nearly double what you should reasonably
have expected. You've already saved enough to pay for that Civic.

 

Kevin, I would not keep the old car if it cost me any money at all
(other than ordinary maintenance) at this point. Oil pressure dropping,
the general worn quality of the vehicle means potential breakdown.

On the other hand, it very well could go another 100,000 miles.
Personally, I have found that when I am forced in to spending money (as
you thought you were the day before you got your old car back) it
usually winds up being money well-spent.

I would keep the new car. In either event, congratulations on your car
running that long. You must have done a fine job with maintenance.

RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen

 

[Applause]

A few questions:
How much did you pay for the 2001 Civic?
How much rust on the 92 Accord?
What miles per gallon are you getting on the 92 Accord? This by itself
is a decent indicator of how it is running. Though since you are
passing smog, I am optimistic about the MPG.

Is your Accord auto or manual? LX, EX?

Depending on the answers above, you may indeed want to do a
compression check. Harbor Freight sells an oil pressure check gage
with numerous fittings for $20; less fittings for $10. The shop manual
has a half-page description of the test you can do to check oil
pressure, and then two pages of steps to remove and inspect the oil
pump. If you care for junkyards, I expect you can easily find an OEM
oil pump with much less mileage for $20 or so. My local yard sells
them for $14.

 

are you familiar with high mileage hondas at all? [rhetorical]

bottom line - it depends on whether he's competent at diy repair and has
an appetite for such. you don't consider those points. you also don't
consider that the macpherson civic doesn't handle as well as the
wishbone accord. personally, i'd rank that right up there as a safety
consideration in favor of the accord.

 

how much do you like fixing stuff yourself? hondas are designed to be
easily maintainable and require very few special tools. you can
probably build a very decent tool kit and maintain this vehicle for some
considerable time on the same money as you'll be losing on depreciation
of the civic. and that civic doesn't handle as well.

as for the engine, if it works ok, doesn't burn too much oil and passes
smog, it'll probably keep on running. honda engines are incredibly well
designed and work excellently provided you don't cook them by waiting
for the radiator to crack and lose coolant. if there is one piece of
preventive maintenance that you need to keep an eye on, cracking of the
plastic radiator is it.

 

get some high mileage honda experience, then get back to us. thanks.

 

Rhetorical or not, I have some knowledge of high mileage vehicles
- Volvos, Toyotas, and I kept a Civic Si for 23 years. It only had 146k
on it when I sold it, but age matters as much as mileage. Unfortunately,
this guy's Accord is both extremely high mileage *and* old. A few
vehicles do get past the half-million mark, but very few of them are on
the original internals. Fewer still have the original accessory drives.
His odds of getting another 100k miles without a major overhaul are
about the same as they are of winning a brand new car by entering a few
drawings.


(...)

 

Although I do have to say, it seems that with Honda, if the part costs
60 cents, it takes 6 hours to do the work. If you can do the work in 10
minutes, the part costs $600.

Or have I just had bad luck?

Honda 4 cylinder auto engines are absolute jewels. Hook it to a manual
tranny and have a car that'll run until you die.

 

i think you're just still pissed about your cabin filter. what they
don't need, unless you have a vtec head, is any special tools for the
engine except the pulley holder. that's most unusual. same for a lot
of the suspension/transmission stuff. you need some know-how, but
that's not the same thing.

the auto transmissions on the older hondas aren't too bad either.

 

i think you're just still pissed about your cabin filter.[/QUOTE]

No, I've said this for many years.

 

My experience is that age makes more of a difference to today's
imports from the land of the rising sun than mileage does. I.e., look
for things like rust, or deteriorating rubber in the suspension etc.

On the other side, the insurance for the new car is going to be more
than that for the oldie, and if you live somewhere where they have
property tax for cars, same thing.

Then there's the issue of whether the predictably greater reliability
of the new car makes a difference, or is it ok if your car has to
spend a day or two in the shop every once in a while.

And finally, which car do you like better?

 

You folks must be keeping those half-million mile Hondas a Big
Secret, huh? I mean the ones with no rebuilds, still running the
original accessory drives.

Ah, usenet...

 

no guy, you're the one that choosing to remain ignorant. a high mileage
honda is no big deal - in fact, it's routine. and replacing an
alternator every 150k miles is no big deal either. although i have to
confess why that's a judgment criteria for a honda but not detroit
garbage that doesn't last even half as long is where you're losing me.

 

No, he isn't losing you. You were lost a long time ago. You conveniently
choose to ignore what you don't want to see and cling to that which you do
want to see. Day after day after day in this very newsgroup I see post after
post after post detailing Honda problems. Main relays, timing belts, oil
pumps, cv axles, and these are in Hondas that do NOT have millions of miles
on them. While Honda builds a very fine automobile and they are above
average in most areas - they are NOT the super cars you try to make them out
to be. They have their problem, multitudinous in nature judging from what I
read here. So pull your head out and stop trying to aggrandize Honda and
depreciate all others. It just makes you sound stupid.

DaveD

 

so, let's hear your analysis of comparable chevy, ford and chrysler
vehicles, their componentry and longevity. thanks.

 

Ok you asked for it...I have and 82 F250 300I6 with 180,000. Had to rebuild
the carb, finis. 94 F250 7.3L 165,000 miles. Had to replace injectors... 79
IH Scout II 195,000miles. pinion seal. Just what I have now without delving
too deep into my long term memory. I will mention that my 83 Civic had about
150k on it when it threw a rod. Not the car's fault, the driver was
negligent about the oil level. It went through two teen age boys also. 85
Honda Civic 105k and had to replace the motor. Although, I have serious
doubts as to the validity of the diagnosis that resulted in the engine swap.
All verhicles, Hondas included, have had wheel seals, axle seals, cv joints
replaced several times. Just one of the benefits of having a car/truck in
Alaska...

DaveD

 

selective memory! love it. i "remember" my first car. million miles,
original engine, the gas tank filled up every 30 miles with 150 octane
and i sold it to the local hot rodders.

yeah, inability to run with oil means the car was real crap and that
qualifies you to criticize all hondas forever.

wow, pretzel logic - how convincing!

 

As usual - you jump to a conclusion based on absolutely nothing. YOUR memory
may be selective but I still own and drive the above mentioned vehicles. So
don't tell me about selective memory when you know not about which you
speak.

Once again you leap to a conclusion, read only the parts of my post that
suits you and reply with an assinine statement. I did not say that Hondas
were crap, as a matter of fact I stated that they were above average
vehicles but not the "supercars" you constantly try to prove. Whom are you
trying to convince? Yourself perhaps.

Now this is a very intelligent, thoughtful statement. It shows me exactly
how deep your thought processes run and the level at which you think.

DaveD

 

In the UK, we have a consumer magazine that is advert and bias free, it
makes clear that the most reliable cars are Honda, followed very closely
by Toyota. Merkin cars are at the bottom of the list.