advice on car maintenence options for Honda accord

[danlightbulb]

Hi all.

In December 2015 I changed my 200k mile, 2003 model diesel Mondeo for a 2003 model, 133k mile 2.4 petrol accord. It cost £1400.

Despite giving the car a very thorough test drive, after a few months of ownership I had realised there were some issues.

1. Rust coming through the rear arches.
2. A pulsing through the brake pedal (warped discs?)
3. A clutch pedal/CMC that became very noisy.
4. It consumes 1 litre of oil per 1000 miles, no smoke.
5. The clutch release bearing started to squeal. The clutch judders slightly on pull away.
6. Tyres slowly losing pressure over about a week.

Despite these issues it passed the MOT with no advisories.

My whole reason for changing cars was that the Mondeo was costing me over a grand a year in maintenance costs. This car was supposed to allow me to cut these bills, and I took a £500 per year hit on fuel costs by moving diesel to petrol as well with this car.

I don't know what to do for the best. Do I minimise spend as much as possible even though these problems are annoying when driving the car (especially the clutch pedal noise). Do I get rid, although that will cost me money to change and any other car might cost me maintenance too? Or do I bite the bullet and spend a few hundred on it getting some work done (although some things on that list need a lot more than a few hundred spending).

Any advice guys from those of you who run old cars?

Thanks.

 

[tom_e]

Hi all.

In December 2015 I changed my 200k mile, 2003 model diesel Mondeo for a 2003 model, 133k mile 2.4 petrol accord. It cost £1400.

This car was supposed to allow me to cut these bills, and I took a £500 per year hit on fuel costs by moving diesel to petrol as well with this car..

In all honesty that was never really a sensible move was it. You just swapped one old car for another.

Might be time to grab some tools, a Haynes manual and get your hands dirty that's one way to save some serious cash as the cost of most work is labour parts are usually not too eye watering.

It's worth having a chat with your garage of choice and getting some rough figures to sort the issues before anything else, without knowing roughly how much you'll need to throw at it it's just guess work on whether it's worth swapping or fixing.

 

[danlightbulb]

The Mondeo was end of life, starting to have problems with the suspension and electrical gremlins. Plus I wanted an estate for more boot space.

I have already done one job myself. I replaced the clutch fluid. This helped the clutch feel and must have been way overdue. But I cannot do much myself due to a lack of skills, tools and a lack of time. And risk. If I was to try dismantling the clutch CMC and end up in a mess I'd be screwed and not able to drive the car. There is no Haynes for this car.

I could get the clutch and CMC done for about £600. CMC on its own will be around £200. The rust could be patched for £400 for both sides but then would probably come back. And trying to solve the oil consumption problem would definitely be out.

I could have a loan and get something newer but I'm trying to save for a house deposit so spend minimisation is the order of the day.

 

[Uriel]

Unfortunately car running costs are realistically:

Depreciation or maintenance - pick one but get a proportion of both. The advantage of newer cars (with warranties etc) is the costs are more predictable. Both cost money in their own way.

If you want to go the bangernomics route you either need to be very lucky, very handy under the bonnet or have a tame and friendly mechanic willing to give you a hand (or recommend the car in the first place).

I've unsuccessfully tried to jump from one old car to another. I won't do it again unless I'm desperate.

 

[Uncle_Gravy]

Rust on the arch seems to be a common one, since we have some bubbling on ours.

But besides from that, at 160k miles the only thing to go wrong which is very recently is the Brake master cylinder is leaking.

I can't comment on anything else since ours is an auto.

 

[danlightbulb]

The rust got a lot worse very quickly. It was only spots when i bought the car. That's the main thing stopping me spending any money on it because due to the rust I don't know how much longevity the car has.

The car had a full service history which I looked though when I bought it. However a closer look in the time since has revealed that there isn't much by way of substance in the service history, despite it being a folder full of stuff.

 

[radderfire]

Is the rust cosmetic or structural?

Have you tried asking at a Honda owners club?

 

[Armageus]

1. Rust coming through the rear arches.

Take it to a bodyshop for a quote / expert opinion - rust can be dealt with, but the question is how long before it occurs again - will it be worth the repair cost.

2. A pulsing through the brake pedal (warped discs?)

As it didn't even get an advisory for it, then I wouldn't worry about it at present - find out about the other things first, and then decide whether to spend money changing the discs.

3. A clutch pedal/CMC that became very noisy.
5. The clutch release bearing started to squeal. The clutch judders slightly on pull away.

Could be connected, but get a quote for both, and probably a new clutch as well (if everything has to come apart anyway). Get a quote, and then make a decision, but bear in mind you could just as easily buy a different car, and end up with the same issue. Clutch is always going to be a potential issue on a used car - the only way to avoid that is to check for proof of a clutch change.

6. Tyres slowly losing pressure over about a week.

Might be nothing, or might be a concern. How old are the tyres? Do they look perished e.g. rubber old and cracked. If they are then, likely just a case of replacing the tyres. If they are reasonably new, then may be an issue with the wheels e.g. internal corrosion or possibly cracked. Are the wheels in good condition or are they badly kerbed etc?.
If the tyres look good, then pop to a tyre fitter and get them to take a couple of tyres off and have a look - often they can try to reseat them, and use a sealing compound.

4. It consumes 1 litre of oil per 1000 miles, no smoke.

There are a few possible reasons for this, and apparently it's quite common - have a read here: http://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...ion-problems-2003-2007-honda-accords-2963428/

Easiest fix to try is to replace the PCV, and/or change to a slightly thicker oil e.g. "for higher mileage engines". Check what is advised on some owners forums first though. The alternatives of replacing Valve stem seals or Oil control piston rings, probably won't make financial sense.

My whole reason for changing cars was that the Mondeo was costing me over a grand a year in maintenance costs. This car was supposed to allow me to cut these bills, and I took a £500 per year hit on fuel costs by moving diesel to petrol as well with this car.

I don't know what to do for the best. Do I minimise spend as much as possible even though these problems are annoying when driving the car (especially the clutch pedal noise). Do I get rid, although that will cost me money to change and any other car might cost me maintenance too? Or do I bite the bullet and spend a few hundred on it getting some work done (although some things on that list need a lot more than a few hundred spending).

It's a difficult one, as moving from one used car to another you rarely know what problems you are going to inherit from someone else - after all it's a quite common reason for people to change cars (i.e. to get rid of a problem, or an upcoming big bill). Whilst you do have to draw the line with when to bite the bullet and get rid of a car, it's rarely a good idea after having spent money fixing it - as in theory you have just reduced the chance of at least that part going wrong again for a while.

 

[danlightbulb]

Cosmetic on the rear arches, coming through from the back its a common problem on these.

I'm part of a Honda forum. The consensus is that spending £400 won't solve the problem for very long and it will come back. However the owners forums are generally enthusiasts who will have the entire panel replaced at a cost of thousands.

With the Mondeo, although it cost me money in maintenance, it was always obvious what the problem was. A part would fail and so I'd get it replaced. With this current situation the actual problem isn't 100% known. I could end up replacing the CMC and it turns out I need a new pedal. I could have all my tyres reseated and it turns out the wheels are porous.