Is it worth getting this car fixed?

Hi folks!

I have 1989 Honda Accord LX. I bought it at 85 thousand miles, now it has
180 thousand miles on it. I never had any problems with it. I never had to
take it to a mechanic other than oil and break pad change.

Since it is 1989 Honda Accord, I don't expect it to speed up like a brand
new car when I push the gas, but it takes forever for this car to speed up.
Once the speed reaches 50 miles an hour, it speeds up and runs perfect. I
took the car to a mechanic and he said the transmission was in pretty bad
shape. I just bought 4 set of tires. I have a cd player with nice speakers
worth $700. Also, I got the best navigation system installed (Alpine GPS)
and paid $1700. Getting the transmission fixed will cost about 12 hundred
dollars. Considering the mileage the car has, do you think it is worth
getting the transmission fixed? How many miles can you put on a well
maintained Honda?

Thanks

 

How's the body? Any rust? With all those nice added features, it would be a
shame not to have the car running.

 

How's the body? Any rust?

Body is in very good shape. No rust at all.

running.

The navigation system is a blessing. it has all the U.S. and Canada street
level details on one single DVD. how accurate this Alpine navigations system
is unbeliavable. before i aproach a turn or an exit on a freeway, it says
"exit in 1 mile", "exit in half mile", "exit in quater mile", then at the
end, it says the name of the exit when i am 200 feet away from it. it also
keeps track of one way streets and warns for one way streets.

I just moved to New Jersey, and used to keep getting lost. this navigation
system made driving fun and stress free.

I am not a mechanic but the engine is in very good shape. everything under
the hood is very clean. the engine doesn't look like 14 years old at all.

 

How useful will that Nav be when you're broken down in the middle of nowhere?
Junk it!





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^x IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE x^
^x WITHOUT YOU IN IT! x^
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Lots! I'd ask the mechanic to do compression and leakdown tests on
the engine, if they are still good (not guaranteed), I'd probably just
replace the transmission! If they were low, I'd probably junk the
whole thing.

Just by the way your describing it, I'm thinking the torque converter
stator may be constantly free-wheeling. On a transmission with that
many miles, I don't know that I'd just replace the torque converter
though.

If the cars clean and everything else is ok, get a complete
transmission. Or if your tired of the car..... Get rid of it and
transfer your toys to the new vehicle.

Short Answer: Fix the car if you like it and the transmission is the
only problem.

__________________
Note: To reply, replace the word 'spam' embedded in return address with 'mail'.
N38.6 W121.4

 

Many people have a psychological barrier against spending more on
repairs than what the car is worth. I don't think this is warranted.
Your alternatives are repairing the car or replacing the car and you
have to compare the anticipated cost of ownership in both cases. Your
'89 is paid for and registration fees are low. Even with the occasional
repair bill you are probably better off financially if you keep the car,
so I would go ahead with the transmission repair.

 

Well if you can afford $700 for a radio and speakers and $1700 for a
naviagation system I am sure you can make some montly payments on a newer
Honda and just take all the stuff with you. I would say the car is a little
too old to be screwing around with. If it is an 88' there is a good chance
it was made in 87 or early 88' and with the coming year that makes it about
16 years old. I think you got your money out of that car.

Hell you could probably get a 95 Accord EX for about 4-5K if you look hard.

I just looked up our local paper though and the local asshole Ford
dealership is asking $3999 for a 1988 Honda Accord DX with 188k miles. Kiss
my ass!!!!!!!!

You could wait until it breaks down altogether. That should get you a few
more miles.

CaptainKrunch

 

Still pretty useful. it has more than 12 million point of interest including
auto-mechanic shops, police stations, gas stations, tow truck shops and so
on...

Brand-new or years old, any car can break down in the middle of nowhere.
Such probability should not limit you from taking advantage of the wonders
of technology. ;-)

 

Couldn't agree more. I just put a nav system in my '94 and I absolutely
love it.

 

I just looked up our local paper though and the local asshole Ford

If you're not getting a brand-new car, it is a must to stay away from car
dealers. Those assholes charge you arm and a leg for an ancient car without
any embarrassment.

 

Hell you could probably get a 95 Accord EX for about 4-5K if you look hard.

Heck, I've seen a '98 LX for $5900.

Friend bought a '88 Accord DX for $900. It's still running after a year. He's
even taken it on long trips w/o any problems. But I wouldn't take that kinda a
chance.






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^x IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE x^
^x WITHOUT YOU IN IT! x^
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The navigation system is a blessing. it has all the U.S. and Canada street

What is the point of installing a toy that's worth more than the car and
obviously on its last leg?

Why not just get a Garmin Streetpilot for under $500 and does the same job as
the Alpine. Plus it can be easily removed and installed on another car.

Or better yet, get a $200 Whistler Galileo that does the same exact job!

Geez, some people are dumb!





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^x IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE x^
^x WITHOUT YOU IN IT! x^
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What is the point of installing a toy that's worth more than the car and

First of all, my car is not on its last leg. It is at 180 thousand miles,
very well-maintained, oil always changed at every 3 thousand miles, all
belts are changed. The only problem is the transmission. I've never had any
problem with this car because it is rock solid. When the car was at 160
thousand miles, I took a trip from Los Angeles to New Jersey in summer. When
I was passing through the deserts of Nevada under the heat of 120f,
brand-new cars were pulled over to the side of the road for either
overheating or flat-tire problem. My car passed every car like it was
nothing. In spite of the signs warning to turn off the air conditioner, AC
was blowing cold air even when I was driving up the slope in that heat. I
can easily put another 100 miles on this car. Does this sound like a car on
its last leg?

It is obvious that you don't know anything about navigation systems at all.
That cheap shit has mono display. The screen is so little you can't make out
any shit as you're driving. The fact that display is mono makes it very hard
to understand anything out of black lines (streets) when you glance at it.

Street Pilot III Deluxe has color display, but it is the same crap. It cost
about $700. Why would you throw your money away for such piece of crap? If
you're gonna spend $700, don't throw it away, put some more money on top of
it and get the best navigation system, DVD based "ALPINE NVE-N852A" on the
market.

Why is Alpine the best? The street level coverage is superb compared to
other navigation system database. Germin Street Pilot III street map is not
complete. Some streets are not listed. Alpine has the most complete street
level map database. A few month ago, I took a trip to Canada, and Alpine
navigation system has the most current street level database. The city in
Canada we were in under construction, they were building road, re-routing
street, but the street level database was 100 percent accurate at all times.

With Germin Street Pilot III, you can't go from one end of the country to
another end without having a laptop with you so that you can download new
map database into the memory stick. You have to keep downloading map
database depending on where you're going. That is very inconvenient. The
inconvenience defeats the purpose of having a navigation system in the first
place. Let me put it this way. You wanna take a trip from Los Angeles to New
Jersey. When you're in Los Angeles, you can't put your destination in New
Jersey into the system because the system can only keep 1 or 2 states street
level information in its 128MB memory stick. So, you have to know what
midpoint to enter into the navigation system all the way to New Jersey. To
know what midpoints to enter, you need a map, needing a map defeats the
purpose of owning a navigation system. Alpine has a DVD based navigation
system, it has every street level detail of the US and Canada in one single
DVD. You don't have to have a laptop with you. You don't have to suffer
through downloading new map database as you're traveling.

Alpine has 12 million point of interest. Street Pilot III doesn't even have
1 million point of interest. With Alpine, if you know the phone number, all
you have to do is enter the phone number. Meaning, you don't even have to
enter the address. Entering phone number is enough.

When people call me and tell me to come over and start giving me the
direction, i say all i need is the phone number. that's all.

With Alpine, there is a vocal guidance for the freeway exits. Street Pilot
III doesn't have vocal guidance for freeway exits.

The common problem with Street Pilot III is that it is slow with re-routing.
When the streets are very close to one another just like the ones in
downtown, and you make a wrong turn and the navigation system re-calculates
and gives you a new route, since the re-routing is slow, and the streets are
very close to one another, you happen to pass by the next turn of your new
route. So, the cons with cheap navigation systems are that the re-routing is
not fast enough to keep up with the speed of your car. This throws your
navigation in a loop of endless re-routing. At some point, you feel like
pulling over so that your navigation system becomes functional again, but
with ALPINE NVE-852A, I never have such problem. The re-routing is always
fast enough to give me the next turn before it is too late.

The cheapest Alpine screen is large enough for very enjoyable and easy
glance.

When you're driving through tall buildings or tall trees, or when going
through a tunnel, the Street Pilot III will NOT have satellite reception and
won't function. Alpine has a gyro and speed sensor, even though you lose
satellite reception, the gyro sensor will automatically kick in and give you
guidance no matter what.

Alpine doesn't have a fixed operating system burned on a chip. When you get
new DVD for street map update, the DVD also includes updates for the
operating system. The operating system is updated when necessary with each
DVD street map update. What this means is that, you never have to wait
thinking that there might be better Alpine navigation system coming up in a
few months because they keep using the same navigation system and do updates
on the operating system of the existing navigation system.

Alpine has new street map update every 6 months. On the other hand, with
Street Pilot III, you wait for years and hope that in one of those days, a
new map updates gets released so that you have a better coverage in your
area or in other areas that you travel.

A superb navigation system like Alpine, you only need to buy once in your
life time. Once you have such superb navigation system, you don't need to
keep updating and purchasing another one.

Last but not least, even if I knew for sure that my car was gonna break down
beyond any repair in a few months, I would still get this navigation system
installed in my car because you can always get it taken off and put back to
your new car. Installation is not all that complicated.

Read above again! It doesn't do the same job

I think people who don't know the difference between a superb navigation
system and another navigation system that only costs $200 are the real
dumbs.

 

First of all, my car is not on its last leg. It is at 180 thousand miles,

"Is it worth getting this car fixed?" <--- it's on its last leg, otherwise,
you wouldn't be asking this.

Nope. Garmin StreetPilot Colormap has color. It costs under $400. I've had one
and I had no trouble seeing the screen.

Only around $600 now.


Why would you throw your money away for such piece of crap?

All GPS are pieces of crap. Buy a $20 map, like normal people.


If

And install it on a piece of crap car on its last leg?

Idiots who can't read maps are dumber. And those who spend thousands on
unnecessary gadgets and install em on crappy cars (on its last leg) are
dumbest.





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^x IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE x^
^x WITHOUT YOU IN IT! x^
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What about people that worry what other people have installed in their cars?

 

"Is it worth getting this car fixed?" <--- it's on its last leg,
otherwise,

After I posted the message in this newsgroup, I took the car to the
mechanic. He tested the engine and said that I could easily put another 100
thousand miles on it.

If you ever had Alpine, you would be like "What is this Street Pilot crap?
This is a joke." You simply don't know any better through a first hand
comparison.

Retail price is $700.

heh-heh! It sounds like you're having a terrible experience with your
navigation system. I rest my case. lol ;-)

After using such mediocre navigation system such as Street Pilot, of course
you can't help but think all navigation systems are piece of crap. You just
need to invest enough money to get a decent navigation system. That's all.

You can't look at the map as you're driving. If you're looking for a
direction in a city that you're fairly familiar with, you can get away with
looking at the map beforehand before you start driving, but when you have no
clue about the city or the state, finding your way around is a bitch. You
keep driving around wasting time and gas not to mention frustration. A
superb navigation system does more than 20 dollars of map. It sounds like
your cheap navigation system is not even good enough to outdo 20 dollars of
map. Heh-heh ;-)

As I said, my car is not a piece of crap. Even though if it were, I would
get this navigation system installed in it anyway simply because you can get
it uninstalled and transferred to your new car. You never lose any money on
this navigation system. A good navigation system is a life time investment.

I think it is dumber to think that maps can be a substitution for a superb
navigation system. This only tells me that you're missing such experience of
a true navigation system. It is obvious that you're not an open-minded
person. I bet you're nothing but a well-known troll in this newsgroup.

 

After I posted the message in this newsgroup, I took the car to the

Uh-huh.... suuuuuuuuuuuuure....

It's a perfect car, except needs $2000 in transmission work. LOL!

No, MSRP is $999.

It was a fun GADGET. Nothing more. I never got lost before or after it using
online maps and good old fold-ups.

Oh please, I'd rather invest that money in a REAL car. You sound like those
fools who put $5000 wheels on cars worth 1/10th that.

Just because you don't know how to read a map doesn't mean that no one else
does. I'd rather stop for a min to read the map than spend tons of money on
something you don't even need 99% of the time.

Oh please, it'll be obsolete in couple of years, if it's not already broken or
stolen.

If I wanna buy a real GPS, I'll buy a factory installed one, not some
aftermarket piece of crap.





^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^
^x IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE x^
^x WITHOUT YOU IN IT! x^
x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^x^

 

Ok, then it becomes a pretty easy decision to me. Replace the
transmission, torque converter and all. It's a straightforward sub-1
day operation for a shop that does them often and you'll be good to go
for another 100k miles.

Keep the car, keep the lower insurance premiums, keep the toys, and be
glad you don't have 48 months of new car payments to make.

__________________
Note: To reply, replace the word 'spam' embedded in return address with 'mail'.
N38.6 W121.4

 

After I posted the message in this newsgroup, I took the car to the

Believe it or not!

Just $1200! Every transmission is bound to get fixed. It is rare that
transmission lasts longer or just much as the engine. Just because the
transmission needs repair, that doesn't mean the car is crap.

You see? That's even worse. Just put a few more hundred dollars and get the
best! ;-)

Sure, it is no problem when you're driving around your own backyard. Move
into another state, then tell me how much the maps can help you.

Get real! You'd rather invest a price of superb navigations system ($1450)
on a real car? Unfortunately, investing $1450 will not get you a REAL car.
You need to invest a lot more than that if you want anything REAL.

I read maps. That's why I know no map can be substitution for a superb
navigation system. I think you don't pay attention to what I say. I said
that I live in New Jersey. There are streets that are not even listed on
street maps. The roads in New Jersey are like back roads. In California, you
have at least some decent street map book called "Thomas Guide", but in New
Jersey, you have street maps that look like hand drawn. You need a fucking
decoder to read the name of the street on the map. When some of the streets
are not even listed on the map, it adds more frustration. In New Jersey, you
can't simply pull over and look at the map because ***most of the roads are
one-lane-roads*** with many other cars behind your tail. You don't have a
road or space to pull over and look at the map. Even when you need to make a
U turn, you can't make a U turn without driving miles and miles until you
find a spot to make a U turn. I used to live in California, I just moved to
New Jersey. New Jersey is not like California or any other state.

As long as the roads don't become obsolete, the navigation system won't be
obsolete. Alpine navigation system comes in 3 pieces, the screen, the
navigation system (which is the box that has the DVD, and the remote
control. You never touch anything other than the remote control. So, the
only thing that might need replacement is the remote control, which costs
about $70. Since it is a built-in navigation system, not a portable one, it
is not a target for car thieves because it is not easy to uninstall the
navigation system. I mean you can't even see the navigation box that has the
dvd because it is either under your seat or in your trunk.

This simply proves that you don't know anything about navigation systems,
especially about ALPINE. Alpine is not an "aftermarket" product. It is the
one and only navigation system that all major cars manufacturers use. I
mean, when it comes to navigation system, you don't have many choices, the
one and only best choice is Alpine.

Factories such as Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes, Honda,
Acura, Lincoln and Bentley install the very same "Alpine" navigation system
that I have in their vehicles. I rest my case.

 

Just $1200! Every transmission is bound to get fixed. It is rare that

When the cost of repair exceeds the value of the car, it's CRAP.

You mean 2½ times.

Driven to AZ and NV without any problem.

$1450 + repair for trans = a nice downpay on a REAL car.

Not everyone in NJ has GPS, yet, they seem to be doing fine. I've been to new
neighborhoods.... all it takes is couple of glances at the damn map.

Oh please, aftermarket GPS are about as easy to steal as aftermarket CD
changers.

Aftermarket Alpine is FAR WORSE than factory installed. The screen is much
smaller, it can't be integrated in to the dash, no touch-screen, isn't voice
activated, etc. etc. It's really no better than Garmin.

Not.



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^x IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE x^
^x WITHOUT YOU IN IT! x^
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