So this is my second post.
my first one involved various complaints about the used car i purchased two days ago. I paid 3500 bux for a 97 Accord EX with 96k on the engine in EMMACULATE condition. the transmission was jumpy and there were various squeeks coming from the engine compartment. i posted on here for some suggestions and got a lot of help - thanks again, especially to professorman.
well yesterday i took it to a mechanic and within 20 seconds of looking at the car (from about 30 feet away) he said, "go get ur money back". turns out the entire front end of this car was destroyed in a wreck but was never reported (cuz its not on carfax) and was rebuilt by halfwits in a backyard somewhere. i called the woman i bought it from and her story was she wired the money out of the country and was not going to grant a refund.
i knew, even before i bought it, that i would have to put money into the engine based off the way it sounded and the popping in the transmission but this mechnic is saying that with a patched up honda like this you never know what kind of things are going to start falling apart. is it worth fixing? is a post-accident honda that bad?
right now im looking at a full timing belt replacement (plus water pump and ac belt and power steering belt) which is something i had expected to have to do on a car with just under 100k miles. im getting quoted around 500-600 after labor.
the motor mount is loose and this guy is telling me it will be about 125 for the hydraulic pins that would hold it in place. so thats probably going to be 300-400 after labor.
finally the transmission needs a full replacement. so thats at least 1k to 1.3k.
all together its gonna be a little over $2000 to get this car into decent shape.
I have about 1500 dollars right now.
so here are my questions:

1) are those prices reasonable? i did some shopping around and they seem on the low end.
2) in what order should i have these fixed with my limited money? my gut says get the motor mount and timing belt done asap and drive the tranny into the ground (gonna take me a month or two to save up another grand for the tranny) which would cause more damage to let go?
3) how bad is it that this honda was in an accident? this mechanic damn near flipped out when he heard i got swindled this way. regardless of its shitty rebuild, its still a honda with under 100k.
basically i just spent my life savings on this car and i dont know which direction to go. sell it? take a chance and put 2k more into it and risk it crapping out on me in 5000 miles? or just drive it, popping transmission and all.

yea yea yea im an idiot for buying a car without taking it to a mechanic first. lesson learned. where do i go from here

 

Keep it.

- Buy a new motor mount rather than repair the current

- You should get a timing belt/water pump anyways (if you don't hit the mileage it's better to do it because of age)

- Motor mount you can install yourself it's not too hard at all you really can do 3 of the 4 yourself (the rear one is a pain to get to)

- transmission -> scope out a junkyard for you probably can snag one on here in Florida already


My honda was in a front collision but was repaired with OEM honda stuff (this was back in 1999) so it looks fine and drives fine.

I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Couple of options

1) MotorSwap
- you have a major maintenence (timing belt,etc)
- bad tranny
- get h22 and get more power and what not, it's what I'm looking at doing now

2) Always get quotes elsewhere, don't just take one guy's word for it

and

3) like you said, take a car to a mechanic first before you buy, you're taking your chances if you don't and if the person refuses it's probably for a reason

 

can i replace the motor mount in my driveway? doesnt that involve lifting the engine out? also how much does a new mount cost vs repairing the old one? and why would u suggest a new mount? just cause it was in an accident?


buying a used tranny from a junkyard would still cost me 200-300 right? plus then the labor to install it would be 400-500 right? thats almost 1000. i think id rather just have a pro do it and save myself the headache.

on an unrelated topic, what services should come with the timing belt change. i knwo the water pump is one, but ac belt? power steering belt? cams?

thanks

 

Yeah and if the lady BSed you on the history of the car I wouldnt count on the 96k mileage being correct either.

 

You said it was in EMMACULATE condition, but the mechanic noticed it was wrecked from 30 feet away? That seems like the mechanic was over exagerating.

 

yep motor mounts just require you to brace the engine - wooden block + jack + jackstands and you can unbolt it and fix it yourself

get an OEM mount most are like $30 and one is $50? (driver side i think)

you could also consider a rebuild on the tranny, that might be fine and be under 1000, go to a transmission shop and ask there


water pump/timing belt/not sure what all else, it should be up in the Accord FAQ

 

what the mechanic noticed was that the drivers side front panel didnt line up exactly with the door. its barely noticable but he picked it out immediately. additionally no stickers under the hood was another indication of its falsity. i should have picked up on that one. but when i was talking about condition i was talking about dents, scratches, damage to the upholstry, ac working, radio working, etc.

plus when i carfaxed it the car was at 93k in august of 06. now its july of 07 and its 96k. driving only 3k in one year? that should have been another indication. it probably sat on her lawn till she got her scumbag boyfriend to buy some frilly **** to make it look good to get a sucker like me to drop my life savings. @#$% ! ! !

 

Not really Rock, probably owned by an old person. Same with cars with lots of mileage haha

I think I (20 yr old) have put on 15k within 6 months on my car, some people barely touch 10.

It was probably a fender bender.

New hood
New Fenders
Maybe new rad and what not

transmissions go bad, etc

not too horrible

 

Personally... I think the mechanic was over-exaggerating. never take one persons opinion as fact, always get atleast 2 more opinions.

I also dont think it's not possible to only put 3k on a car in one year. My great grandmother only puts maybe 2k on her car in a year.

If you have tool, time and some common sense I think you can do the timing belt yourself. I did a write-up on how to do it, it's in the FAQ, first link in the Engine section I think. It's not the easiest but with some time, mostly general hand tools and carefully following a manual or my write-up (if you have the same car/motor) you should be able to do it and save yourself probably 300.

Like TheMuffinMan said, the motor mounts can be done yourself, not hard at all. Just the rear mount is a pain to get to.

Also, what "hydraulic pins" in the motor mounts that hold them in place? I don't know what he is talking about there.

Don't freak out so bad, I think the mechanic is way off. If you don't feel you can do the work yourself, go to another shop and have them look at it and compare with they say to what the other mechanic said, don't even mention you took it somewhere else, just let them come to their own conclusion. Maybe after drop the fact this other guy looked at it and see what they say, maybe they know this guy to be somewhat of a scammer.

 

May I inquire about your age? If this car isnt neccasary, I would look into an H22 swap right away. If your not too compentent with cars, why not take this oppurtunity to learn how. Get some books, some poeple that know what they're doing and get wrenching. You will learn a lot in short amount of time if you just bite the bullet and start taking stuff apart.

Theres books out there that will teach how to rebuild engines, trannys and anything else that you need to know.

 

yea it is totally neccesary. i have been taking the bus to work since i moved down here last november and this was to be my cheap transportation. additionally, i dont really have the free time or the money to invest in a project like that. not now anyway. plus, not being from down here, i dont know anyone with the tools or the expertise you would need to repair this properly. i appreciate the suggestion though.

 

here is how I look at working on cars for those who don't have the tools for the job.

Take a look at how much it's going to cost you to have someone else do it. Then look at how much it would cost you to buy the parts and the tool required to do the job. Which one costs more? Chances are you can buy the parts and tools for the timing belt job and still do it cheaper than paying someone else. Sure, it's an involved job and takes time, but if you are willing to learn how to do things to the car I'm sure you can do it.

 

my uncle is telling me to sell it now.
cut my losses and start the car search over again.
he still hastn seen the car in person but he knows enough about it to make a judgement call. so once again, if there are any more answers out there, how bad is it that this car had a front end collision. if you look really hard you can see spot welding. the radiator is not for a honda (but it works great) and probably had somethign to do with the aftermarket intake system. i just dont want to put 2k into this car and have it cost me another 4 down the road. i want this to be the last major repair. things like cv joints or rotors or alignment are expected but i dont want some stupid abs system crapping out or suspension or anything like that. my gut says to keep it and try to make it work but i cant afford any more huge repairs like this set that i am currently facing.
i bought the car for 3500 and its bluebooked at 5800. if i put 2k into it i will be just under KBB for the car. anything more than that is gonna be stupid.

 

Up to you really.

Motor Mounts - $80 for all of them
Tranny - $500-800 depending on what you do
Major Maintenence - $800

Get a second opinion from another mechanic

 

So what do you want to hear? Either fix it or get rid of it. It is that simple.

 

swap it or ditch it.