02AccordSE

Yeah, well.....I have egg on my face after pushing my father-in-law into a 00 Accord SE with 125K on it less than one week before I found out about this. Wish I could turn back the clock. He's now looking underneath every day watching for oil.

Anyway, over the weekend, I went into a local Honda dealer to see what my car is worth in a trade. I was gonna trade it on an 06 EX-L with 70K. They offered me 3500. That pretty much made up my mind on the repair.

They were also holding strong at 20 grand for the 06. uhhh no thanks.

I think it's time to try something else.

trunk_munkey

What's with all the Honda hate. Stuff is going to happen with any car manufacturer. I just sold my 00 accord before getting my CRV. It had 240K and I loved it. I never had anything but standard repairs to do. Sorry to hear about your problem. You said you had 4 cars so you should know **** happens with cars. There are so many variables as to why things happen over time. Think of it this way, you have 2000-40000 explosions happening per min inside your motor. Do the head gasket and see what happens.

02AccordSE

Maybe if I had got at least 200K out of it I wouldn't have been so bitter now. I have seen 91-93 Accords go 500KM without a blip. I bought my Honda's brand new for the very reason, I wanted to treat them well and hopefully they serve me well. I did my part, but the car didn't do it's part. Yes, I guess I'll have to chalk it up to bad luck on the one I got, but we'll see how much longer the 2000 lasts before I pass final judgement. My cousin in Florida's 1997 also gave up the ghost last year, she has to be driving my grandmother's chrysler minivan now. Chrysler's may eat tranny's for lunch, but after you finally fix them, they keep going. Know what I've been driving since this happened? A 1994 Intrepid. Starts every morning in -12 weather, no problem.

when my car is only worth 3500, I don't think I'll be doing a 1500 head gasket which is a 50/50 chance it might turn out to be a 3500 motor job. no thanks, I'm done. Mostly why I'm really bitter is I've been car payment free now for three years on all my cars and should have at least been another two. I'm forced into car payments now no matter what I get.....yes even if I fix the damn thing, I'll be paying my credit card for a few months. If I'm gonna pay, it may as well be a car I actually want and isn't some used motor patch job.

Even if I know it's mostly likely a fluke with my particular car, I feel I still have the right to be upset about it.

zeeman

iTrader: (1)

man, there are sooooo many worse cars out there.

My dads 1997 taurus went through 3 transmissions in the 6 years he owned it. When he sold it for $300 it only had 140,000 kms on it.

My moms 1999 contour has been through 4 batterys, 2 alternators, about 3 fuel pumps a batch of o2 sensors now.

Cars break, thats the nature of mechanical parts.

It sucks that you feel like you got screwed, but I'd say you had a good run with the car. I mean you got 150,000kms of major-trouble free driving, you paid the car off and you do still have the option of fixing it and having i'm sure another 150,000kms of major-problem free driving.

deckard

I feel your pain.
I had the same situation occur to me with my brand new 95 civic dx se at 250K kms.
I had the head gasket changed twice till they figured it was the block.
I should have gone to the dealer first, this was a known problem with Honda and they were doing goodwill & 50/50 repairs at the time.
since I started at an independent garage I had to keep going till I dealt the car away to another enthusiast.

Over the years I have found out the rule of thumb for auto euthanization.
if the repair is over half the cost of the current replacement value of the car it is time to put down the paddles and cover the newly deceased.

Putting another engine in your car is only a heart transplant it doesn't mean you love the car any less. At least you get to inspect/ upgrade the heart before it goes in.

Financially all cars/vehicles/machines are a burden, some less than others.
You just have to decide how far you are willing to stick your neck out.

Good luck!
Honda still makes a great product, ask anyone.
Just don't buy US built, Delphi supplied Hondas.

02AccordSE

The Intrepid I spoke of has had three transmissions too. The only reason though is chrysler used these plastic linkages in the trans that kept melting. They finally upgraded to a steel kit like 5 years later. Other than that, some worry free driving too.

I agree the car has been good thus far and I have an emotional attachment to it as well. I brought my daughter home from the hospital in that car but I'm not about do two a couple head gaskets when it's in fact the block. karma and experience tell me to cut my losses. To date, that is an opinion that years of being a "car guy" have taught me.

trunk_munkey

Just to get this straight, you'll do 3 transmissions but not a head gasket?

02AccordSE

no, you still have it crooked. If it was the head gasket, I already said more than once, I would have done it already. I don't buy that it's the head gasket and since I won't know until it comes apart, I'm not interested in risking that it's not the head gasket and already be half way into a $3000 repair.


Besides, aren't the Japanese supposed to be all that? Isn't the reason everyone buys Honda and toyota because domestics need three transmissions in 8 years. I guess we've learned different in the last month or so not just at my level, but globally. I didn't do the first two trannys on the Intrepid, I actually bought it knowing it needed the third for $2800 it's been trouble free for over 7 years after that for both me and my father-in-law.

When you pay 30K plus for a Honda brand new based on quality reputation, it should be better than that, I guess that's also why they hold out for top dollar on the used lot as well.

Anyway, we've come full circle here. I'm done with the car, this is now nothing more than a warning to others and lesson learned.

zeeman

iTrader: (1)

a warning that cars do break.

****, I remember working at nissan, brand new and up to 3 year old altimas and sentras were going through 1-3L of oil within weeks due to a poor engine design. We were replacing engines like crazy, but that doesn't mean all Nissans are crap.

Just b/c a car possibly needs a headgasket after 150,000kms doesn't mean the quality of the car is poor. You're jumping to conclusions and thinking worst case scenario b/c chances are it is ONLY a headgasket, but you're allowed your opinion. Someone along the lines has planted a seed in your head making you think its gunna be a $3000 engine job.

I'm not sure where replacing an engine is gunna cost $3000 (prolly @ honda) b/c I can guarantee you that it won't cost that much unless you're buying a brand new engine from honda, in which case it'll probably cost even more than that.

So if a lot of GM's (specifically the V6's) have headgasket issues and Intake Manifold Gasket issues does that mean all GM's are crap? No, it just means GM messed up that engine design and i'm sure has done everything to rectify the problem with their new engines.

I'd say 8 years out of a car is pretty good, most people don't even keep their cars that long, so in my opinion, you're ahead of the game with this car.....but thats just my opinion.

02AccordSE

Point(s) taken. I would probobly have a different opinion if me and my buddies could wrench a new motor in the garage over a weekend. The plastic intakes that crack on GM's are a known issue. Even mustang 4.6 plastic intakes are crap. Most cars have their common issues and once you get past them, usually you're good to go.

Nissan, I don't consider in the same category as Toyota, Honda......I've owned Nissans and my best friend is a Nissan used mgr for over 12 years, so I know the stories......Nissan is a distant second. Mazda is better than them IMO AND without the higher cost to buy.

I'm glad you and everyone is so confident it's only a head gasket and yes if it was only that, it would still be a one owner, well maintained honda but I'm not gonna stick around to find out.

The fact is that it's not a seed planted in my head that it's automatically a motor job, I know how to calculate risk and the risk calculator in my head says it's not worth it given what the wholesale value of the car is.

If it's only a head gasket and all my efforts were not in vein, then anyone is welcome to come give me $4400 and take the car and get another 15 years out of it. Otherwise after tomorrow, stick a fork in it cause it's done.

Sumol15

Why is this still a relevant thread? The guy isn't going to change his mind folks, he's looking for a reason to get a new car and this is it. Let him do so.