A few questions for the experts

I have a very reliable '94 Accord sedan with 155,000 miles on it that I love
a lot. However, last week we rented a brand new Toyota Sienna for a road
trip and I thought I was going to cry having to turn in the keys.

The Accord is 'the good car' in our family (the other two are dogs), but
getting back into it after driving that van really drove home how much it
has aged - not to mention the lack of air conditioning. We now find
ourselves weighing the pros and cons of sinking $15K or so into a 'new used'
vehicle as opposed to restoring the Accord. The Accord has been taken good
care of - it's on its 4th timing belt, counting the factory one; it just got
a new brake job (ouch); has always had frequent oil changes, etc... However,
there are still problems that need to be addressed:

* In spite of the brake job, we're told it still needs a new master cylinder
(pedal goes to the floor)
* Good-sized dent in door that I want fixed
* A/C sucks
* Miscellaneous things like new antenna motor, window tint, stereo

Not all of these are mechanical problems, but I want this car to be nice
again. So spend $5K or so getting the Accord spruced up, or buy a newer
Honda, Toyota or Nissan in the $15K range? If you were in this situation,
what would be the determining factor in making the decision?

Btw, I had the A/C charged and it ran ice cold for a short time, then within
a few days it started running barely cool again, plus the car overheated
when it was on. I'm wondering how much it would cost to completely change
out the whole system for a newer one. (That Toyota froze our asses off ...
it was WONDERFUL.)

Thanks much for any insight/opinions.

 

yeah, i have an opinion: if you had a brake problem, your repair shop
replaced the brakes, but you still have the problem and they /didn't/
repair/replace the master cylinder, they don't sound like a place you
should be going back to. ever. likewise, if they're quoting you $5k to
fix this comparatively minor list of issues, they're /way/ over priced.

the door can be "fixed" by replacing with one from a junkyard at
comparatively modest cost. it's a great deal if you can find one the
same color. or you can have the dent pushed out from the inside. won't
look factory, but hey, do you want the car to look showroom?

others know a good deal more about a/c than me, but it sounds like time
to find an a/c specialist and have them sort it out. just re-gassing a
leaking system is throwing money down the drain. take the opportunity
to upgrade the system to r134a refrigerant. it'll cost a few bucks, but
you'll be set for the next decade or so.

everything else is trivial.

 

Let's start with the A/C the biggest problem with repairing or replacing an
A/C system is if there are any problems with leaks the majority of time you
don't get another A/C service down for free so everytime you take it in to
get it refilled your paying a base price of atleast 125 bucks that's not
including any possible parts that need to be replaced and if you start
getting in to replacing the compressor you could spend atleast another 200
bucks just on that part...

On to steros... Speakers you get generally cheep with decent quality I
just got some sonys that I'm extremely happy with for my 89 honda that
only cost me 125 for all 4... If there's nothing wrong with the actually
radio-player then you shouldn't have to look at spending too much on a
stero but of course that's if you install it your self which is generally
pretty easy If not then it all depends on where you take it If you get
speakers that fit your car then you could probably ask your mech to do it
for a ressonable price as long as he doesn't have to drill new holes are
rewire anything I know that Best Buy installs steros but considering they
don't carry many cheeper speakers i'm not sure it's worth taking there...

As for the antena motor depending on which type it is you could be looking
at a price of atleast 125 for that which isn't too bad because that comes
with a warranty so that would be a one time deal...

With the master cylinder that's a little messed up that they didn't notice
that there was a problem when they did the brake job it's possible but not
probable not sure what they qouted but shouldn't be more then 400 but
depends on the labor rate in your state...

The door, the other guy had a point with getting it from a junk yard but
you might want to ask a few friends for a good auto body and talk to them
about it If you ask them for options they should be able to give them to
you and most places give you estimates with no charge just in the hopes of
selling a job...

So after going thru all the problems you listed your looking atleast 1000
and that's not including all possible problems in the future... You've got
a few miles on this car and could be running into to trouble if you put
5000 in to this and then find something huge that you didn't expect... I
love hondas and decided to look at their home page just because of this...
They have the civic sedan for just under 15000 and that comes with a
warranty which you won't have on your present car... My personal sugguest
would be to go with a new car but i know how hard that can be putting a
baby that you know and love to the side to start a new relationship with
something else but at this point you can gamble that you won't have any
big maintence issues with you present or run it into the ground and start
with one that you can make last as long if not longer...

 

Safety considerations tip the scale to spending the $15K.

 

I think I'd rather ram a red hot poker through my eye then own a minivan...
but that's me

 

I think I'd rather ram a red hot poker through my eye then own a
minivan...

LOL.. Not my idea of excitement either, but with two growing kids and two
dogs, it's nice being able to stretch out a bit.
Thanks for all the feedback, everyone. I guess we'll be checking out some
newer vehicles.