I'm looking at my first Accord for my son going to College. It's a 1991 Accord EX, one owner, and appears to be well taken care of with quite a few service records. No body problems at all except some rust over each rear wheel, and perfect interior. A couple of things are wrong with it. 1. The steering wheel shakes quite a bit, doesn't feel like wheel balance. It does not get worse as you go faster, bnut it's constant. 2. The antennae is broken, don't know if it's a power anrennae not going up or a msat broken off. 3. The AC was supposed to be fixed 6 montha ago, but it blows hot all the time. Almost seems that the temperature control is not working, thus whether the AC works is disguised by the temperature set to high heat even when turned to cold. 4. The passnger power window seems to bind and go slow half way down, but it does work up and down. I like the car and would like to buy it, but would like to know what I'll be expecting in terms of additional cost over the purchase. Excuse me if this this type post is inappropriate, but again I have no experience with Hondas and thought I'd ask.

Thanks,
Mike

 

welcome to the accord...

1) the steering wheel shaking. that sounds like the tie rods are worn out. the way to check is to get someone in the car, and move the steering wheel back and forth (about 3in.). and get down and look at the tie rod boots. if you see play with one or both then it should be changed. i have no idea on price.

EDIT: or if it is just under braking, it could be the brakes warped, or a bad motor mount. you'd have to go into more detail about it to figure it out online.

2) antenna is probably the motor, which goes for like $50 on ebay i think. accords are notorious for that problem. it usually happens if temperatures are below freezing and water gets in there and holds the antenna down. then the motor continuously trys to put up the antenna for however long you are driving.

3) the A/C could be the actual temperature ****. i'm not sure how the 91's work, but my generation (94-97) the ***** break all the time. it also could be the valve that lets heat in, which just requires a cable adjustment behind the dash. when i got my accord, the dash had already been messed with and wasn't put back together correctly, so when i turned it to full cold, the cable was out of adjustment and didn't close the heat valve all the way.

4) accord windows, heh. you can take off the door panel and try adjusting the rails that the windows slides on, on each side, and also try adjustment the window regulator. the regulator could also be bad and damaged, therefore it doesn't hold the window correctly. after adjustment, (or no adjustment) I HIGHLY recommend you go to the local auto parts store and get some Silicone Lubricant Spray. spray it down the window seals like twice a week for a while, then once a week, and slowly decrease intervals. if you do this repeatedly, it will increase the window performance astoundingly.

5) love the accord. the rust spots. if you are not worried about body work, paint carefully around that whole area (including the back) so water will not continue to deteriate it. accords love to rust in that one spot, due to water setting right there.

if the car is just for normal daily driving, and the engine is taken care of, the car will last for a good 300,000+ miles. i've heard of ppl going into the 500K area.


[Modified by lightningd, 10:19 PM 4/5/2003]


[Modified by lightningd, 10:21 PM 4/5/2003]

 

I appreciate the info. The car has 170,000 miles on it, but as I stated it appears well taken care of (service records for oil changes, brakes, exhaust etc.). I'm now trying to figure what to pay for it. It I can get it for $1,500 or less, does that sound safe ?

 

if i was getting it for your purpose, and if the engine is very taken care of, then i'd get it!!!

i'd also put synthetic oil in it as well. a lot of ppl say why because it's so old? but i've done a lot of research on synthetics, and it worth it.

 

Older engines with lots of miles have a harder time holding synthetic oil. I wouldn't worry about that.

Steering wheel shaking? Possibly in need of an alignment.

I'd say if you can get it for $1,500 then you should absolutely buy it! Great price!

Anything that runs is IMO worth $1K, so $500 more for a car that's been well taken care of is a good deal

 

i bought a crx with 170k 15yrs ago ....best car i ever had , or was that the best ***** i ever had anyway its all good

 

Thanks guys. I'm going to buy it for $1,500, and they're fixing and aligning the front end before I get it. Thanks again for the helpful thoughts.

 

true dat. if it does leak synthetic, then one can try moving up to the higher weighted oil. if that's a no go, then conventional oil it is.