imported_BlitzSix

Ok well I'm not sure how many of you will remember but basically I bought a 93 hatch as a daily.

Worked great for 4 months until one day it decident to die. After wasting hours of diagnosing a shop said that the timing belt skipped (not snapped) and now the car has no compression. I decided not even to bother checking what the problem was since it would cost more to fix than the engine is worth anyways.

It's also worth noting that the car only had 212000 km on the chassis and aparantly only 150km on engine. The timing belt was aparantly done at 120k or so on the engine (when it was put in). Note that, I paid top dollar for the car (2G, and it has tons of rust) since I thought engine was in mint shape and that it would run forever. I didn't care about the body since it was a beater.

So, I decided that isntead of selling it as is for like 500 and taking a 1500 loss, I would just keep it and swap another engine in the summer. This way I would just spend 500 on it and only lose $500 and learn a bit.

So then I needed anotehr car, so I bought this 92 Civic. It has 202k and honestly ran *mint*. THen like 2 weeks after I bought it it decided to die. It was ****ed up because I was running errands all day, and then as I go the furthest I been from my house all week it dies. I just turn it off, go in the house to drop off a package, and try to turn it back on 2 misn later and it doestn start.

It has no spark so as everyone else I thought it was the dizzy... I bought a new one from ******** and swapped it still no start. No idea what it was now so I got it towed to a shop.

They call me and say that the new dizzy I bought is ****ed so I got it exchanged (the guys at ******** are amazing, and exchanged it for me immediately and went out of their way to help me).

But that wasn't it. Aparantly, the new dizzy I got that was an exchange did make a diff and was working now but there was still another problme.

*hours* of diagnostics later they say my ecu is ****ed. I paid 160 for the ECU (used... is this a good price or did they rip me off?) and for 3 hours of labor (they said they spent a LOT more on it diagnosing). SO like 400 after tax. PLus 180 for the dizzy. Now it's also throwing a CEL. great.

THe guy honestly said that these ECUs don't like ever fail...he thought I was ****ing with the wires and shorted it or something. But no, I have no idea how it happened. Anyone ever have one of these fail on them? I like to know what could have caused this...

SOrry for the long post but thanks for reading my rant. It seems that people buy the ****tiest condition hondas don't touch them ever and they run forver. But no, when I buy it, and pay more than avg for it because I look for one that is a good runner and will stay alive forever, then take amazing care of it with tune ups, frequent oil changes, etc... and baby it... it dies on me in the most ****ed of ways.

~Vadim.

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

ECU do fail at times... sometimes it's a water leak, sometimes it's someone diagnosing **** incorrectly (say for example doesn't disconnect the battery when they should), or sometimes for no good reason.

because Hondas are worth so much based on their reputation a lotta ****ing *#$*%)@*% buy these cars, turn back the odometer and resell them to suckers like you (no offense, you prolly aren't much of a mechanic so you can't possibly know what to look for). another reason is, a lot of idiots get these cars before you and thinking "it's a honda, it'll run forever", they beat the living daylight outta the cars and don't maintain them. then they turn around and prolly sell them for the same amount they bought them for, and you end up getting it in the rear end.

anyways... since you're not too handy, I honestly think you'd have better luck with a newer-ish domestic like a late Escort or early Focus... maybe a Cavalier or Grand Am... you can get them dirt cheap at auction or on special days at repo depot down off the Gardiner - the westward direction. (some distance before the 427)

chris_si98

What did I tell you on msn?

"could be your ecu" LOL.

Oh man..

imported_BlitzSix

Lol yeah chris it's true

bbarbulo: I see what you're saying... I'm not a mechanic, but I do know some stuff about cars... the thing with used car buying is that you have to take the word of the old owners... for example, the first car drove perfect... I mean you can't tell if the timing belt was done or not by driving the car right? Same thing with the second, it honestly ran mint, until it just stopped working because of the ECU.

Also both owners said they maintained teh car perfectly with oil changes, so like what else am I giong to do you know? There is no way for sure if they did it or not, but this second car doesnt burn a drop of oil so I do believe that maitenance was done.

Where exactly is the ECU located so I can make sure that it's properly tucked away and water can't get to it?

Also why are you saying I"m not handy with cars?? Like yeah I can't diagnose a complicated problem like that but I'm sure most poeple of this forum can't either.. I've done plenty of DIY stuff on my 240 and the Civic, I like to think I know what i'm doing somehwawt? And why would I have better luck with a domestic??? Domestics sucks (form perfsonal & freind experiences) I'm lost as to why you think it would be better

chris_si98

ecu is located on the passenger side kick panel (the panel on the door side below your glove box)

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

of course the owners are gonna say they took care of the cars. they're not gonna say... ummm yeah I beat this thing daily, revved it to redline with a cold engine, used the cheapest oil I could get and never changed the filter... then I had my buddy who works at jiffy lube change my timing belt. I'm selling the car cuz it's a peice of **** and I'm afraid it's gonna fall apart soon. I know it's rusted really badly, and really worth about $600... but anyways, gimme two grand and we'll call it even.

don't listen to the owners for ONE second. the only thing a previous owner should do is provide the used vehicle package so you can see there is no liens, and if there are any... then maintenance records and reciepts. besides that, everything they say is just background noise for the savvy used car shopper. the car speaks volumes about the current and previous owners. is the interior coffee stained, dusty and the carpet salt-soaked from many winters of slush. is the oilfilter OEM or is it some cheap mastercraft garbage? is the air filter dirty? is the engine bay filthy? how does the trunk look, is it clean and organized or is the spare tire sitting loosely and the jack is missing? are the clutch and brake pedal covers worn right through the rubber and the seats ripped (indicator of many many many city kms - so if the clock shows 200K, the odometer is likely turned back). do all the tires match, have nice even wear and are a good brand name? anyways... point being, the car speaks for itself. you don't need the owner to tell you lies.

you know how many times I've gone to see a car that's a single owner, or long time second/third owner, and they say original paint.... yet I can clearly see evidence of recent body work? I ask them about the paint in a specific area and they deny anything being done? or I see aftermarket headights or tail lights (TYC cross canada replacement instead of Stanley) and they say everything is original, no accidents. you know straight up it's a lie.

anyways, me saying you're no mechanic is not an insult. you're right that most ppl aren't. but don't mistake yourself for a real car guy just based on the fact you can change an alternator and flush your own coolant. anyone can unbolt parts and put new ones in it's place. what seperates a good mechanic from someone who merely works on cars is the knowledge about cars (not just the ability to remove & replace). trust me, most ppl who work as mechanics aren't good mechanics either.

while domestics suck from an enthusiast standpoint (and I won't debate the fact they suck) when you need a daily driver, they're not a bad choice for several reasons. main reason being, what you pay for a 1995 Civic these days can easily get you into like a 2000-ish compact domestic. that means, less years, fewer jerks driving it (different demographic from Honda drivers), less rust, more knowledgable mechanics, cheaper parts and more junkyard parts available... also means if you gotta spend $500 on something, you're spending it on a car that won't rust away in 2 years, but you can keep it and drive it for another 4-5 years... so the parts you gotta dump into it are amortized over a longer period of time. that rust you think is bad now, how do you think it's gonna look in 2 years? you might not have a quarter panel left in 2 years...

imported_BlitzSix

Thanks for the pointers, I appreciate teh detailed reply....it's not that I was insulted, it's just that I was confused as to why you recommended domestics just because I'm not a mechanic. I see your point But IMO I would still rather drive an older Honda... even though I have had bad luck with mine I feel much more confident about owning one compared to a domestic.

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

i don't blame you, I'd rather push my honda home than drive a domestic pos