I'm helping a family member evaluate a car for sale.
My long-time good friend is the one selling it - there will be no surprises. Here are the specs:

1998 v6 ex coupe - socal car, no rust, paint in good condition
142k miles
oem alloys & oem spoiler
no tranny replacement that i'm aware of
no body damage
good interior
maintained fairly well (on-time oil changes,etc)
4 newish tires

$3.3k (I am basically tacking on 10% above what carmax offered him).

I've read something about oil leaks from bolt holes.
I've also read that the tranny secret warranty affects 99-01...not this 1998 v6?

Is there anything that I'm missing? What do ppl think?

 

100% guarentee that transmission isn't doing too hot, that's those cars main weak points. Has he/she had it rebuilt?
For that price though I'd jump on it, those cars are pretty decent inside.

 

Nice price but that transmission would scare me..... If it has a rebuild like MuffinMan stated I would jump on it but I have heard quite a few horror stories about the 6th gen V6 transmissions.

 

The problem with internet forums is that the bad things get exaggerated to much. Yes, the 6th trannies suck. No, they are no where near 100% guaranteed to fail. Of all my friends and family that own either a 6th gen V6 or 3.2 CL (basically same tranny and same problem), only a handful of people have problems with the tranny. Three times as many people have had ZERO problems. And trust me, being half Asian means I know a hell of a lot of other Asians, and we alllll know how Asians love to drive Hondas and Toyotas...

Anyway. $3,300 sounds fairly priced. I haven't seen too many oil leaks on these cars, but most of the ones I've seen came from valve cover gasktes and oil pan gaskets. The tranny warranty doesn't officially cover 98 or 02 models, but some 98 and 02 models were repaired under that warranty. At 142,000 miles, you'd probably be out of luck anyways.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by philadd &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Three times as many people have had ZERO problems. And trust me, being half Asian means I know a hell of a lot of other Asians, and we alllll know how Asians love to drive Hondas and Toyotas...</TD></TR></TABLE>

lol, you said it, not us.

 

what's the blue book?

besides the transmission issue that price seems low to me.

i got a 99 lx 4cyl manual with 130k miles for $4800 about a year ago, and i thought it was a good find.

but now it's having some problems, so it may not have been that great of a deal

 

I'm a service advisor at a honda dealership and I garuntee that tranny will go out. we replace them everyday. you can get a rebuilt one for honda for about $3 grand and if you are out of the warranty extension you can ask for goodwill consideration but the would most likely deny it.

 

Thanks for everyone's input.

As it turns out, the price is going to be $3k even. This is what carmax offered my friend and that's what he is going to sell it for. So I think even if a tranny failure happens at some point, my relative should come out about even price-wise.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sam1am26 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm a service advisor at a honda dealership and I garuntee that tranny will go out. we replace them everyday. you can get a rebuilt one for honda for about $3 grand and if you are out of the warranty extension you can ask for goodwill consideration but the would most likely deny it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Where is Honda having the tranny's rebuilt? Is there one designated spot that Honda North America is rebuilding them? What might be the goodwill consideration? 1/2 of labor? 1/2 of entire bill? Total bill?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by philadd &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The problem with internet forums is that the bad things get exaggerated to much. Yes, the 6th trannies suck. No, they are no where near 100% guaranteed to fail. Of all my friends and family that own either a 6th gen V6 or 3.2 CL (basically same tranny and same problem), only a handful of people have problems with the tranny. Three times as many people have had ZERO problems. And trust me, being half Asian means I know a hell of a lot of other Asians, and we alllll know how Asians love to drive Hondas and Toyotas...

Anyway. $3,300 sounds fairly priced. I haven't seen too many oil leaks on these cars, but most of the ones I've seen came from valve cover gasktes and oil pan gaskets. The tranny warranty doesn't officially cover 98 or 02 models, but some 98 and 02 models were repaired under that warranty. At 142,000 miles, you'd probably be out of luck anyways.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Nice insight. Thanks.
Sounds like you might've been a service tech/advisor a few years ago.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xluben &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what's the blue book?

besides the transmission issue that price seems low to me.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is a friends deal.
Basically, he's selling the car for extremely low trade value. (what carmax offered)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RotaryBzzzz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

This is a friends deal.
Basically, he's selling the car for extremely low trade value. (what carmax offered)</TD></TR></TABLE>

oh, might want to change the alternator with a japanese unit, they mess with the tranny shift point when they are startin to go south.

98 also have a bucket issue, which will trigger the srs light

the paseenger seat back plastic also come loose.



3000=take it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by iam7head &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">oh, might want to change the alternator with a japanese unit, they mess with the tranny shift point when they are startin to go south.

98 also have a bucket issue, which will trigger the srs light

the paseenger seat back plastic also come loose.



3000=take it </TD></TR></TABLE>

IAM7 - GREAT INFO...thx

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Patman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lol, you said it, not us.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The only reason I can say it is because I'm an Asian (or at least part Asian) that drives a Honda.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RotaryBzzzz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Nice insight. Thanks.
Sounds like you might've been a service tech/advisor a few years ago.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Actually, I was a salesman. On slow days, or when we had too many salespeople on site, I would change clothes and work as an assistant to either the techs or the service managers.