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#1
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A few questions for the experts
I have a very reliable '94 Accord sedan with 155,000 miles on it that I love
a lot. However, last week we rented a brand new Toyota Sienna for a road trip and I thought I was going to cry having to turn in the keys. :-) The Accord is 'the good car' in our family (the other two are dogs), but getting back into it after driving that van really drove home how much it has aged - not to mention the lack of air conditioning. We now find ourselves weighing the pros and cons of sinking $15K or so into a 'new used' vehicle as opposed to restoring the Accord. The Accord has been taken good care of - it's on its 4th timing belt, counting the factory one; it just got a new brake job (ouch); has always had frequent oil changes, etc... However, there are still problems that need to be addressed: * In spite of the brake job, we're told it still needs a new master cylinder (pedal goes to the floor) * Good-sized dent in door that I want fixed * A/C sucks * Miscellaneous things like new antenna motor, window tint, stereo Not all of these are mechanical problems, but I want this car to be nice again. So spend $5K or so getting the Accord spruced up, or buy a newer Honda, Toyota or Nissan in the $15K range? If you were in this situation, what would be the determining factor in making the decision? Btw, I had the A/C charged and it ran ice cold for a short time, then within a few days it started running barely cool again, plus the car overheated when it was on. I'm wondering how much it would cost to completely change out the whole system for a newer one. (That Toyota froze our asses off ... it was WONDERFUL.) Thanks much for any insight/opinions. |
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#2
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A few questions for the experts
Dee wrote:
> I have a very reliable '94 Accord sedan with 155,000 miles on it that I love > a lot. However, last week we rented a brand new Toyota Sienna for a road > trip and I thought I was going to cry having to turn in the keys. :-) > > The Accord is 'the good car' in our family (the other two are dogs), but > getting back into it after driving that van really drove home how much it > has aged - not to mention the lack of air conditioning. We now find > ourselves weighing the pros and cons of sinking $15K or so into a 'new used' > vehicle as opposed to restoring the Accord. The Accord has been taken good > care of - it's on its 4th timing belt, counting the factory one; it just got > a new brake job (ouch); has always had frequent oil changes, etc... However, > there are still problems that need to be addressed: > > * In spite of the brake job, we're told it still needs a new master cylinder > (pedal goes to the floor) > * Good-sized dent in door that I want fixed > * A/C sucks > * Miscellaneous things like new antenna motor, window tint, stereo > > Not all of these are mechanical problems, but I want this car to be nice > again. So spend $5K or so getting the Accord spruced up, or buy a newer > Honda, Toyota or Nissan in the $15K range? If you were in this situation, > what would be the determining factor in making the decision? > > Btw, I had the A/C charged and it ran ice cold for a short time, then within > a few days it started running barely cool again, plus the car overheated > when it was on. I'm wondering how much it would cost to completely change > out the whole system for a newer one. (That Toyota froze our asses off ... > it was WONDERFUL.) > > Thanks much for any insight/opinions. yeah, i have an opinion: if you had a brake problem, your repair shop replaced the brakes, but you still have the problem and they /didn't/ repair/replace the master cylinder, they don't sound like a place you should be going back to. ever. likewise, if they're quoting you $5k to fix this comparatively minor list of issues, they're /way/ over priced. the door can be "fixed" by replacing with one from a junkyard at comparatively modest cost. it's a great deal if you can find one the same color. or you can have the dent pushed out from the inside. won't look factory, but hey, do you want the car to look showroom? others know a good deal more about a/c than me, but it sounds like time to find an a/c specialist and have them sort it out. just re-gassing a leaking system is throwing money down the drain. take the opportunity to upgrade the system to r134a refrigerant. it'll cost a few bucks, but you'll be set for the next decade or so. everything else is trivial. |
#3
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A few questions for the experts
Let's start with the A/C the biggest problem with repairing or replacing an
A/C system is if there are any problems with leaks the majority of time you don't get another A/C service down for free so everytime you take it in to get it refilled your paying a base price of atleast 125 bucks that's not including any possible parts that need to be replaced and if you start getting in to replacing the compressor you could spend atleast another 200 bucks just on that part... On to steros... Speakers you get generally cheep with decent quality I just got some sonys that I'm extremely happy with for my 89 honda that only cost me 125 for all 4... If there's nothing wrong with the actually radio-player then you shouldn't have to look at spending too much on a stero but of course that's if you install it your self which is generally pretty easy If not then it all depends on where you take it If you get speakers that fit your car then you could probably ask your mech to do it for a ressonable price as long as he doesn't have to drill new holes are rewire anything I know that Best Buy installs steros but considering they don't carry many cheeper speakers i'm not sure it's worth taking there... As for the antena motor depending on which type it is you could be looking at a price of atleast 125 for that which isn't too bad because that comes with a warranty so that would be a one time deal... With the master cylinder that's a little messed up that they didn't notice that there was a problem when they did the brake job it's possible but not probable not sure what they qouted but shouldn't be more then 400 but depends on the labor rate in your state... The door, the other guy had a point with getting it from a junk yard but you might want to ask a few friends for a good auto body and talk to them about it If you ask them for options they should be able to give them to you and most places give you estimates with no charge just in the hopes of selling a job... So after going thru all the problems you listed your looking atleast 1000 and that's not including all possible problems in the future... You've got a few miles on this car and could be running into to trouble if you put 5000 in to this and then find something huge that you didn't expect... I love hondas and decided to look at their home page just because of this... They have the civic sedan for just under 15000 and that comes with a warranty which you won't have on your present car... My personal sugguest would be to go with a new car but i know how hard that can be putting a baby that you know and love to the side to start a new relationship with something else but at this point you can gamble that you won't have any big maintence issues with you present or run it into the ground and start with one that you can make last as long if not longer... |
#4
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A few questions for the experts
Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
>> So spend $5K or so getting the Accord spruced up, or buy a newer >> Honda, Toyota or Nissan in the $15K range? > >Safety considerations tip the scale to spending the $15K. I think I'd rather ram a red hot poker through my eye then own a minivan... but that's me -- Message posted via CarKB.com http://www.carkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...-cars/200607/1 |
#5
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A few questions for the experts
> I think I'd rather ram a red hot poker through my eye then own a
minivan... > but that's me LOL.. Not my idea of excitement either, but with two growing kids and two dogs, it's nice being able to stretch out a bit. Thanks for all the feedback, everyone. I guess we'll be checking out some newer vehicles. |
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