2001 Accord maintenance question / concern ...

By and large all extended warranties are a poor investment. First of all
they are not a "warranty" rather they are merely a mechanical breakdown
insurance policy. Most have a per-occurrence deductible and all of them
have "weasel clauses" to disqualify your claim and get out of paying. At a
car dealership the "extended warranty" contract is the single most
profitable item (percentage wise) in their inventory. Typically 100%
markup from cost. Statistically you are unlikely to ever have enough
qualifying claims to just break even with the policy's high up-front cost.
Also contrary to dealer claims, having a valid/transferable extended
warranty does -NOT- increase the wholesale trade-in value of your car.

 

By and large all extended warranties are a poor investment. First of all
they are not a "warranty" rather they are merely a mechanical breakdown
insurance policy. Most have a per-occurrence deductible and all of them
have "weasel clauses" to disqualify your claim and get out of paying. At a
car dealership the "extended warranty" contract is the single most
profitable item (percentage wise) in their inventory. Typically 100%
markup from cost. Statistically you are unlikely to ever have enough
qualifying claims to just break even with the policy's high up-front cost.
Also contrary to dealer claims, having a valid/transferable extended
warranty does -NOT- increase the wholesale trade-in value of your car.

 

Exactly so. "Extended warranty" is always a misnomer, just as "road hazard
warranty" is for tires. A true warranty is a period during which defects are
not expected, so the manufacturer agrees to pay for failures within the
stated limitations. As with all insurance the question is whether the buyer
can afford the most catastrophic events the insurance covers. It goes
without saying the average insurance buyer will pay more than they will
benefit - that's how insurance works.

Mike

 

Exactly so. "Extended warranty" is always a misnomer, just as "road hazard
warranty" is for tires. A true warranty is a period during which defects are
not expected, so the manufacturer agrees to pay for failures within the
stated limitations. As with all insurance the question is whether the buyer
can afford the most catastrophic events the insurance covers. It goes
without saying the average insurance buyer will pay more than they will
benefit - that's how insurance works.

Mike

 

All you need to do is what is in the manual. The vast majority of
things in there are cheap. .

My 97 accord requires a new timing belt at every 90K which is a
relatively expensive service. What does your service manual say? Is
yours due?

In terms of checking your brakes, that ought to be done when they
rotate your wheels. Thats because you need your tires rotated every
so often and its cheap to check when the tires are off the car. Just
takes a second!

$400 to check everything is rediculous! If you go through with it do
a test. Mark some part (like the wheels nuts or something) with chalk
in such a way that you can tell if they did the work (like took off
the wheels to check the brakes) or whatever.

Hey - I know some one who bought a very nice used accord from a new
car dealer. They told him that his tires needed balanced. He looked
at the rear tires and noted that there were no balance weights on the
rims. He had the new car dealer do the service and guess what. There
were no weights in the rear wheels. They never balanced them. Then
he gets into a long discussion with the service rep and he says that
long list of stuff that they say they do only means that they check it
and do it only if it is needed. Mind you though - every tire needs to
be balanced. Can you believe that. The #$@## new car dealer charge
an #$#@@ and a limb and then they don't even do the work that they
say they would do.

Heres another. Per my factory service manual when you change the
radiator fluid, the manual says to remove one or two bolts on the the
engine block. What happens is that when you drane the radiator fluid
through the drane cock at the bottom of the raidiator, there is a some
fluid that remains trapped in the engine block (a sort of low spot).
By removing the bolt, the trapped fluid dranes out the side of teh
engine. So I go back asking some of there service mechanics back at a
different honda dealer and they say the never (yep never) remove that
bolt. All they do is open the drain plug on the bottom of the radiator
and then put in new. Now its probably not a big deal because just a
little bit is left but gosh you would think it would be done right if
your paying the big bucks. By the way - replacing your own radiator
fluid is very easy to do (assuming you dont remove those 2 bolts).

 

You don't have to prove anything unlike what crooked dealers want you
to beleive. If you have, let's say, an engine problem, and it - the
engine - is clean inside, they cannot possibly blame you. On the other
hand, if a customer - and I've seen this many times - provides a bunch
of receipts, and the engine is sludged up, I -as an independent
inspector - verify lack of maintenance, and warranty work is denied.
Leo Russ
Independent Auto Inspector
www.anti-lemon.com

 

You don't have to prove anything unlike what crooked dealers want you
to beleive. If you have, let's say, an engine problem, and it - the
engine - is clean inside, they cannot possibly blame you. On the other
hand, if a customer - and I've seen this many times - provides a bunch
of receipts, and the engine is sludged up, I -as an independent
inspector - verify lack of maintenance, and warranty work is denied.
Leo Russ
Independent Auto Inspector
www.anti-lemon.com

 

@90K, you need to replace the timing belt, and you better do it because
if it breaks you will not only enjoy a tow truck ride but also it may
cause damage to valves and possibly head and pistons. Now, if the
dealer quoted $400 for this work, it's very reasonable, otherwise they
are crooks.
www.anti-lemon.com

 

@90K, you need to replace the timing belt, and you better do it because
if it breaks you will not only enjoy a tow truck ride but also it may
cause damage to valves and possibly head and pistons. Now, if the
dealer quoted $400 for this work, it's very reasonable, otherwise they
are crooks.
www.anti-lemon.com

 

Not necessarily so. Manufacturer's (NOT aftermarket) warranty may not
even be after profit nearly as much as geico and suchlike since the
company wants you to buy another vehcile from them, and unless you are
satisfied - I am not talking about weird breed like
gm/chrysler/ford/jaguar/rover/etc. owners - you will not do that. And
let's face it, they make money on new car sales, and dealers - on
trade-ins AND new sales so a few bucks off of warranty is less an issue
for them. Also, they - manufacturers - pay a fraction of what AM
extended warranty would for parts and labor so they can afford to cover
more and be more generous overall.

 

Not necessarily so. Manufacturer's (NOT aftermarket) warranty may not
even be after profit nearly as much as geico and suchlike since the
company wants you to buy another vehcile from them, and unless you are
satisfied - I am not talking about weird breed like
gm/chrysler/ford/jaguar/rover/etc. owners - you will not do that. And
let's face it, they make money on new car sales, and dealers - on
trade-ins AND new sales so a few bucks off of warranty is less an issue
for them. Also, they - manufacturers - pay a fraction of what AM
extended warranty would for parts and labor so they can afford to cover
more and be more generous overall.

 

What you are saying is partially true. I've been doing mechanical
inspections primarily for extended warranty for almost 20 years, and I
can tell you that ANY aftermarket warranty is likely to be money thrown
away. OEM warranty is different but there are many little things that
need to be taken into consideration. For a basic well built (!!!) car
like, let's say a Civic, warranty is almost definitely a waste but for
an upscale luxury vehicle stuffed with hi-tech expensive extras it may
make sense since 1. a possibility of breakdown increases with
complexity and 2. almost any repair will cost you as much as the
warranty itself or more.
Visit these pages for some info on extended warranty, maintenance,
etc.:
www.anti-lemon.com/faq.html
www.anti-lemon.com/lookatthat.html
www.anti-lemon.com/misconceptions.html

 

What you are saying is partially true. I've been doing mechanical
inspections primarily for extended warranty for almost 20 years, and I
can tell you that ANY aftermarket warranty is likely to be money thrown
away. OEM warranty is different but there are many little things that
need to be taken into consideration. For a basic well built (!!!) car
like, let's say a Civic, warranty is almost definitely a waste but for
an upscale luxury vehicle stuffed with hi-tech expensive extras it may
make sense since 1. a possibility of breakdown increases with
complexity and 2. almost any repair will cost you as much as the
warranty itself or more.
Visit these pages for some info on extended warranty, maintenance,
etc.:
www.anti-lemon.com/faq.html
www.anti-lemon.com/lookatthat.html
www.anti-lemon.com/misconceptions.html

 

I once had one. I used it on a minor repair. I remember having to
leave my car at the shoppe an extra 4 hours because the mechanic had
to fuss around getting authorization to do some service.

Thinking about all that is involved it has to be expensive. The
price of the insurance includes the following:
a) Actuaries salary to analyze the risk to the insurance company
b) Salaries of individuals needed to honor claims and to
detect/prevent fraudulant claims.
c) Buildings / employee insurance to pay and house all those employees
d) Oh - yeah need some money from which to pay claims.

I am curious - when you analyze a car and come up with a conclusion
that the car has not been properly maintained: Are you paid per hour
or are you paid a fixed sum? How does that rate compare to the labor
rate they will pay for the actual repair?

 

The OP said 96,000 *KM*, not miles. He still has another 50,000 KM (or 2
years) before it's time to replace the timing belt.

 

The OP said 96,000 *KM*, not miles. He still has another 50,000 KM (or 2
years) before it's time to replace the timing belt.

 

I have a folder with receipts for the oil, filter, etc. I keep very good
records. This is ALL that is required by law.

G-Man

 

I have a folder with receipts for the oil, filter, etc. I keep very good
records. This is ALL that is required by law.

G-Man

 

I believe the timing belt interval on this car is 105,000 miles for normal
usage and 60,000 for severe.

 

I believe the timing belt interval on this car is 105,000 miles for normal
usage and 60,000 for severe.