Topic: Why I will never buy another used Honda

[74cb750]

Civic.

In the past 2 years I have spent more $ than I've earned keeping this POS on the road.
bought it with 105,000 miles, now has 175,000 miles.

Replaced:
front 2 calipers
motor mounts
3 drive shafts and the 3rd one is going again,
front bushings
complete front suspension
windshiled (developed cracks)
3 water pumps,
timing belt
now my mechanic tells me I need a new head! (something I wouldn't even attempt)
amd probably a few other things I have forgotten.

I really think honda is not keeping their reliability reputation intack.

That's it. no more honda civics.

The last 3 used ones (2002, 2002 and 2008) have been nothing but problems. Always thought they would be as good as the first 4 I had, but no. Guess I'll be looking at Fords or Toyotas to replace this car with.

[Stev-o]

I bought a used Honda, an S2000, and it was one of the best cars I ever had.
However, it only dad 7K miles, personally, I would not buy a car with 100K mikes, that's when parts start to wear out.

[70CB750]

It was probably neglected, ongoing maintenance is important.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I agree that it was likely neglected at some point during those first 100K miles.  I had a 1992 that ran forever.  I sold it with 100K or so miles to a friend, who drove it another 100K with no problems.  I adhered to the maintenance schedule like clockwork.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

My Acura Legend has 240,000 miles. Original owner. It needs, scratch that, could use some $$ spent on it. It is rough but VERY dependable. It's lifespan is limited. Won't spend a bunch of money chasing any more longevity. They all have 'their moment' of that fatal decision. At this point if I can't or am unwilling to repair only necessary things I will have to make that humane decision and put her down. However the tires only have 6,000 miles so it'll get more miles in the mean time. I figure any expense over $500 and it's totalled     

[74cb750]

I bought a used Honda, an S2000, and it was one of the best cars I ever had.
However, it only dad 7K miles, personally, I would not buy a car with 100K mikes, that's when parts start to wear out.

maybe that is part of my problem; not having enough $ to buy new

[74cb750]

I agree that it was likely neglected at some point during those first 100K miles.  I had a 1992 that ran forever.  I sold it with 100K or so miles to a friend, who drove it another 100K with no problems.  I adhered to the maintenance schedule like clockwork.

that is what i am saying, 1992, not 2002. Different.
I have to admit the first 2002 only lasted 10 days; was rear-ended by a subaru WRX , ended up under the pickup truck in front on me at a stop light.

[BobbyR]

I lease. The problems will belong to the next guy. I gave up crapping around with old cars. I pay 0 down on them. I have an AWD Fusion titanium with almost everything 360 per month.

[mrfish2]

Older cars (pre-2000 really) are built better in my opinion. I've been driving a 1999 Honda Accord for the past 7 or 8 years, have put over 100k miles on the car myself (it's got 209k total on it right now), and the only major work I've done was a new clutch, axles, and tie rods at around 195k miles. I plan on getting at least 275k out of this ride 

To add to this mentality that older is better: my dad literally drove the wheels off a 1995 Civic hatchback. It had around 215k miles when the little 1.6L (i think) engine kicked the bucket, but the loved that little car so he found another used engine from a junkyard and got another 100k out of that one! I think he only replaced the clutch once in it, but went through 2 transmissions by the time he was finally done with it.

[Djfob]

01-05 civics were the worse production years

[Desert-SOHC]

Our 2006 CR-V 4WD has 160K on the clock and hasn't skipped a beat and it lived most of its life in the mountains and in snow. Its time to rebuild the front suspension, but then it does have 160K on it.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

01-05 civics were the worse production years

Based on design, quality control?  Just curious.  I haven't owned a Honda cage in a long time.

[Stev-o]

I lease. The problems will belong to the next guy. I gave up crapping around with old cars. I pay 0 down on them. I have an AWD Fusion titanium with almost everything 360 per month.

I looked into leasing, it is not for everyone.  I drive too many miles and it would cost me. Plus, I dont want payments forever and you never gain equity. When I sold my Honda S2000,[that had been paid off for three years] I bought an Infinity G35 with cash, so no payments.

Bobby, on your current lease, how much will you owe when you turn it in?

[BobbyR]

I lease. The problems will belong to the next guy. I gave up crapping around with old cars. I pay 0 down on them. I have an AWD Fusion titanium with almost everything 360 per month.

I looked into leasing, it is not for everyone.  I drive too many miles and it would cost me. Plus, I dont want payments forever and you never gain equity. When I sold my Honda S2000,[that had been paid off for three years] I bought an Infinity G35 with cash, so no payments.

Bobby, on your current lease, how much will you owe when you turn it in?

I have bought 15,000 miles per year up front, which makes that part cheaper.  You cannot use the term equity in cars as you would Real Estate. Unless it is really an exotic maybe it can go up.

At the end I will owe nothing, if I am not over mileage which I will not be. I buy a "wear guard" policy for $300 one time payment. It covers $5K in dings, scrapes, wheels, tires and brakes.

I have an agreed on purchase price at the end of the lease. I know people who do this. If you like the car, and you believe it reliable you can buy it. There was no money down and you have had 3 years to try it out.

Leasing is not for everyone. I need cars that I can just get in and go. The days of laying under or over cars for hours have passed me by.

[DH]

My 96 civic ex has 218,000. It gets really decent mileage, sorry you got lemons. Been happy with ours so far.

[74cb750]

My 96 civic ex has 218,000. It gets really decent mileage, sorry you got lemons. Been happy with ours so far.

yep, like I said, yours is pre-2002. I also had very good luck with my 1985-1998 Civics. First one i had (1988) ran well until the the fenders, rocker panels, etc etc rotted out so bad it would have cost more to fix than it was worth. it had 258,000 miles on it when I retired it.

[scrapvalue]

I lease. The problems will belong to the next guy. I gave up crapping around with old cars. I pay 0 down on them. I have an AWD Fusion titanium with almost everything 360 per month.

That is $4320 a year.   I can do a lot of work to my vehicle for that amount of money.
$360 is enough for a new set of tires every month.
A top end job every 3 months.
Complete brake job every month.
Crate motor 3 times a year.
A transmission rebuild twice a year.

I understand how it can work for some people, but when you think about how much work you can have done to a vehicle for that kind of monthly payment, it's definitely not for me.

[BobbyR]

I lease. The problems will belong to the next guy. I gave up crapping around with old cars. I pay 0 down on them. I have an AWD Fusion titanium with almost everything 360 per month.

That is $4320 a year.   I can do a lot of work to my vehicle for that amount of money.
$360 is enough for a new set of tires every month.
A top end job every 3 months.
Complete brake job every month.
Crate motor 3 times a year.
A transmission rebuild twice a year.

I understand how it can work for some people, but when you think about how much work you can have done to a vehicle for that kind of monthly payment, it's definitely not for me.

Granted.

It depends on who does the work. A set of tires in this area costs about $200 per tire. My K8 tires cost about $100 a piece and if I did not mount them myself it would be a lot more.

If I bought the car new I have to put several thousand down and make monthly payments for 5 years I suppose.  At some point you can owe more than the car is worth.

I used to keep my cars 10 to 17 years doing all the work myself. There comes a point in your life when you can enjoy what you worked for.

Some people love their money too much and they deny themselves the fruits of their labors. I know very, very well life can turn on a dime and money can't fix some things. So, why not enjoy what you have, while you can.

I will be retiring soon, so I was thinking about buying a Smart Car or something like it to run around Town in the Winter and rainy weather. I would use the bike in the Spring Summer and Fall. 

I still have some thinking to do.
 

[scrapvalue]

I lease. The problems will belong to the next guy. I gave up crapping around with old cars. I pay 0 down on them. I have an AWD Fusion titanium with almost everything 360 per month.

That is $4320 a year.   I can do a lot of work to my vehicle for that amount of money.
$360 is enough for a new set of tires every month.
A top end job every 3 months.
Complete brake job every month.
Crate motor 3 times a year.
A transmission rebuild twice a year.

I understand how it can work for some people, but when you think about how much work you can have done to a vehicle for that kind of monthly payment, it's definitely not for me.

Granted.



If I bought the car new I have to put several thousand down and make monthly payments for 5 years I suppose.  At some point you can owe more than the car is worth.



 

actually, that takes place as soon as you drive it off the lot unless you made a huge down payment.

I found out a long time ago, that that warm fuzzy feeling ends way before the payment book does.

[BobbyR]

Exactly.  What I am actually paying for is the depreciation. You have to be very careful leasing. Some are really low mileage with big upfront payments. My neighbor ran Dealerships. He checks the deals for me.

Leasing is not for everyone.

[ofreen]

My Acura Legend has 240,000 miles. Original owner. It needs, scratch that, could use some $$ spent on it. It is rough but VERY dependable. It's lifespan is limited. Won't spend a bunch of money chasing any more longevity. They all have 'their moment' of that fatal decision. At this point if I can't or am unwilling to repair only necessary things I will have to make that humane decision and put her down. However the tires only have 6,000 miles so it'll get more miles in the mean time. I figure any expense over $500 and it's totalled 

Three weeks ago I drove our old faithful '88 Mazda 626 we bought new to the wrecking yard and got $125 for it.  At just under 250,000 miles it still ran well and was getting 32 miles per gallon - but only 200 miles to a quart of oil.  Pretty sure the oil was going through the head on #1.  Not every time, but on some start-ups it would put out a truly impressive blue cloud that persist for a mile or so.  Tires were shot, struts gone, wipers only worked when they felt like it, fan motor only worked on high, clear coat flaking off from an old repair, trunk leaked like a sieve, the list goes on.  Kind of felt guilty abandoning it to be picked over, and then ultimately crushed, ground up and sent to China to be turned into #$%*ty steel.  But what the hell, I'm right behind it.  All things must pass.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Greg, words can not express my sympathy to you. That has to be as hard as putting down an animal! Just hope you get another 150K outta the F!

If it's not too hot next week I may drive her on another 300 mile round trip to work. Using maybe a quart at 2000 but the head gasket may be having an issue that is sporadic. It'll take to puffing occasionally and the smell is oil and coolant and the idle alternates between 1000 and 1500, up and down, up and down. An anomoly for these older Legends.

If you can't work on them yourself or you're tired of the fight it's time to make that decision.

[Stev-o]

Imagine the hit Jerry's gonna take on that new corvette he bought last year?! 
Of course, without those 3 wives, he's prolly got money to burn!

[ofreen]

Greg, words can not express my sympathy to you. That has to be as hard as putting down an animal! Just hope you get another 150K outta the F!

Thanks Jerry, I appreciate the understanding.  What made it worse was it had been sitting out back for over a year not being run.  I put a battery in it and it started like it had been running the day before.  No blue cloud either.  You have it right. Was just like plugging Old Yeller.

[BobbyR]

My condolences Greg. My first car was a 55 Ford. More rust than paint, but I drove her proudly. A VW Beetle hit me head on. She did not make it.

I sometimes go to cruise nights and there is a dude with the exact car. I feel your pain.