Ok, I need all of y’all’s advice here. Let me describe my car and see if it’s worth me fixing or just go for another one and then we’ll get to the other questions.

I have a green 93 EX 5 sp w/ 120k miles on it. Yeah, she’s led a tough life with me all thru college and law school and now that I’m working, she need a LOT of TLC. The current problems include:
1. A/c doesn’t work
2. Brakes are SHOT, rotor damage is occurring as we speak,
3. I suspect the water pump is dead,
4. Probably needs a timing belt change,
5. Inside door handle is in 5 pieces,
6. Right side turning light (front) is cracked out,
7. There’s a dead wasp that’s been stuck in between my back window and the carpet for close to 4 years (decompose, m/f’r!)
8. Needs an alignment,
9. Rock chips....whoa, yeah, there are rock chips.

Outside of that, the car’s straight! ; ) But seriously, it doesn’t look like a junker and it still drives reasonably well.

My question: with all of those problems, should I just scrap the car and look anew? Even if I just deal with the first 4 (which are the most important), is it still going to be more cost effective to hit the dealerships?

Sigh....the Green Hornet may be coming to a rest....

Thanks all! I look forward to your questions and comments.

JC

 

i would hook it up if i were you remember what doesnt kill you or your car makes you stronger. besides thats the best thing about hondas you can beat em bring them back from the dead. besides its mostly cosmetic **** you know what you have to do bro hop to it. right everyone!

 

Haha, thanks for the encouragement. It has been a great car, but it may be time to move on. Of course, the front runner for a new purchase is a new HOnda.

But, I guess what I was trying to ask is whether all of those repairs will cost more than the value of the car itself. If that's the case, then I might be ditching!

 

hook it up. lot of that stuff is minor and small work:

 

It's simple really. Pass the Bar - buy a new(er) car and enjoy life. I think you really need a/c in TX no?

Results just came out for California last weekend... If you haven't taken yours yet, I wish you only good luck...change that JD to Esq.

Also: all that stuff is about $500-600 bucks...except the A/c...could be a biggie but who knows...

 

At least your clutch isn't listed as being a problem.

Get the brakes fixed, and get the water pump / timing belt looked at soon. You can live without air conditioning. The alignment will only cost ~ $60.

Mechanically speaking, your Honda has a lot of life left in it. It just needs some minor repairs done to it at this time. I'd get it fixed up (without the AC), drive it through the summer and fall, and sell it next winter or so. When the potential buyer wouldn't necessarily care about the AC, and next year's cars are on the lots.

 

Rotary, thanks for the luck, but I already passed (Texas and Mississippi)!!!!!!!!
I still wake up thinking about that bastard.

So, funds will start coming, but, naturally, they ahve to compete with student loans. Have you taken/passed yours yet? Good luck, either way!

And Heat, as for not fixing the A/C, well....I don't know when the last summer you spent in TX was, but Houston NEVER cools off. It was 80+ this morning at 8:00 and that's actually cool. It'll be 100+ in a few weeks time and I can't drive during the day in a suit with no A/C, I'll look like a wet dog!

How much does the A/C deal run anyway?!? Y'all have me scared.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by coastrat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
And Heat, as for not fixing the A/C, well....I don't know when the last summer you spent in TX was, but Houston NEVER cools off. It was 80+ this morning at 8:00 and that's actually cool. It'll be 100+ in a few weeks time and I can't drive during the day in a suit with no A/C, I'll look like a wet dog!

How much does the A/C deal run anyway?!? Y'all have me scared.</TD></TR></TABLE>

IMHO:
If you're on tight budget, I'd say keep the car and fix minor stuff. At least you have no complaints about the engine.

Rotor can be replaced for like $30 a piece from local AutoZone or PepBoys. Timing belts and Water pump probably will cost you around $150 (If you do it yourself). Alignment is around $60 and probably another $100 to get the interior and exterior fixed. So total will be approximately $400 to fix your problems right now (minus the AC).

AC can cost you anywhere from $50 to $400, it depends on the problem. Go to local shop and find out the problem.

All the price above are approximately only. I might be mistaken.

Good luck ...

J

 

Hey, thanks to everyone for all the input. It seems, obviously, that the best way to go in fixing this car is to do it myself. Luckily for me, I live with my cousin who has tools for everything twice over. So my next question is: where can I get good detailed instructions on how to perform all of these repairs (esp. for the water pump and timing belts)? I'm talking step-by-step stuff here. Remeber, I'm a lawyer so if I try to do this myself, I may end up with a lawnmower instead of a car!

 

Either buy the shop manuals, or pick up a Haynes manual.

You can get the Haynes manual from Autozone, among other places. I'm not sure where to go for the shop manual.

 

Offtopic

Hey Coastrat...congrats on your bar passing(s). Here's something that might save you $8-12k if you have alot of student loans.

If your still in grace period with your student loans (or even post-grace regular repayment) you can consolidate your student loans to a MUCH lower rate via Citibank or Iowa Student Loan.

http://www.studentloan.com (citibank - 3.0%)
http://www.studentloan.org (Iowa Student - 2.46%)
It's worth it...on my loans of ~24k, i'll be saving ~3.5k over 10 years...

related article: http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCAT....html