I'm looking at a '95 Honda Accord LX, 70,000 miles, interior & exterior excellent, new tires, tune ups and oil changes done faithfully, single owner, garaged winters while owner was in FLA.
Standard Transmission.
NOTHING has been done to the car except a connector pipe between the muffler and somethng (can't remeber what the part was)

When shifting gears the shift doesn't occur until the clutch is almost all the way up - is that normal?

What maintenance is usually required around 70K miles? Brakes? Timing chain or belt? Anything else that you can inform me, tell me to watch out for and the like would be most appreciated. Thank you.

 

Timing belt will need to be done at 90K miles. It's always good to check all fluids. Make sure they have had any recall work performed. I think their were a couple, but the one that I know of is the balancer shaft oil seal. The recall was to put a retainer on there to hold it from coming out. If it wasn't done, then you will want to do that. It's not hard to do and the part only cost like $3 at your local Honda. I think it also comes with instructions. Also, make sure you get any records/reciepts they kept.

 

Thank you for the information. I have a few other questioins if you don't mind.

What is the cost of the timing belt change?

Does the clutch typically not catch when changing gears until it is almost all the way up or is that an indication of the clutch needing replacement?

About when do brake pads etc need replacement on this type of car?

 

Well, when doing a timing belt it's also a smart idea to replace the water pump and thermostat (since the coolant is already drained). The price will depend on if you can do the work yourself or if you need to pay to have it done. Parts for a timing belt job alone are probably going to cost 150. Parts would include valve cover gasket, timing belt, balancer shaft belt, timing belt tensioner spring, balancer shaft tensioner spring, water pump w/ gasket, thermostat w/ gasket, coolant. Since your going through all that you might want to check your spark plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor and replace if needed which would obviously cost extra. If you have someone else do it your probably looking at something around 500 or so, I don't know. I've done my timing belts and helped another H-T member do his.

I'm not sure about the clutch. I want to say I remember my clutch grabbing at the top as well. But I haven't driven an Accord in almost a year now so I can't say for sure.

When to do brakes is up to how hard you drive the car and what pads and rotors you choose to use. The front rotors are a PITA to change due to the fact they are hub-over-rotor. Replace the pads when the wear indicator gets close to the rotor or when you hear it start touching the rotor. At that time check the thickness and condition of the rotor and decide if it needs to be replaced at that time or if it can wait. Generally you will want to either replace the rotor or have it resurfaced when putting new pads on.

 

things that often go worng w/ 5th gen accords:

rust on around the wheel wells on the fenders
switch goes bad on divers side power windows (if it has power accesories)
abs will often go around 100k.....shops will want to charge $$$$$$$ to fix it
heat shield on the cat/down collector will rattle when accelerating around 1800rpms....honda used to sell a kit to deaden the sound, not sure about its availibility anymore

f22 is an interference engine, so you definantly wanna change the timing belt at the regularly scheduled periods......since your buying a used car with that many miles (dont worry, if taken care of it should last you 300K+), its not a bad idea to start fresh, just so you can restart everything, and put it at your own intervals

 

i've had the timing belt/water pump switch done twice (up to 180K in my 95 LX)

the first time i had it done in iowa and paid abotu $550 for parts/labor. had it done again 2 weeks ago in denver at a honda specialist for $470.

make sure the guy has swapped out the tranny fluid, if he hasn't - you should do that asap. also check out the brake pads, that's a cheap one but if you let it get to metal-to-metal with the rotors you'll have to replace them too.

 

It looks like we will have to pass on this one. The owner does not have plates on the car and we can't get it to a mechanic. He won't put it on the road with 'other' plates just to get it there - insurance concerns.

If anyone knows how to get this car to a mechanic legally and for a very small amount of money please let me know.

The list of possible repairs as best I can figure is:

Timing belt & water pump
Brakes
Clutch
Exhaust - these cars tend to have probs with the system
All seals - the car sits in the garage unused for 4 months/year-they are
probably dried up
That's just the short list of things a mechanic would look for and without checking the car out it could end up being rather costly - mainly because of the age of the car, not the miles.