Maintenance budget

Hi everyone,

I just purchased a '90 Honda Civic Wagon and am wondering what everyone
would think is a reasonable expectation for an annual maintenance cost
(on top of oil changes)? What should this include? I was thinking in
the range of $1000CAD per year.

I'm curious to see what other people recommend. I'm OK with not having
all mint condition parts, but want the car to be in good mechanical
condition. The car is at about 250,000km right now.

I'm wondering how long brake pads should last (just had a new set
installed in Nov) and how often the spark plugs should be changed?

I'm a little concerned that in some ways I'm trying to spend the
minimum possible (being a student) but thus won't really have regular
"inspections."

Thanks!
Theo

 

you doing the work yourself? does anything *need* to be done? i guess
$1000cad/yr would be ok to budget for, but if the car had been recently
tuned before purchase, and all fluids changed, then...? i wouldnt
_expect_ to do anything for a couple years aside from putting in gas,
and oil changes.

im still on my orginal pads on my 98, and it just turned 49k miles.

plugs, air filter, and all fluids (including brake/clutch fluid!) should
be replaced every 3 years/36 k miles.

 

Good mechanical condition is the key to longevity. One system can
affect another. The first thing I'd do is all the recommended
maintenance. If you just bought it (I'd guess without a long history of
service records), go down the list and do whatever you can afford
immediately- fluids, filters, belts, especially. At your car's age and
mileage, some components start to go like alternators, starters, a/c,
etc. Suspension gets rusty too and arms, joints, and bushings need to
be checked. Brake life can depend on how the car was driven. Only a
couple years for aggressive driving or a LOT longer for right laners.

A grand per year is a good guess without trans or major engine work.
Congratulations on your purchase. Looks like a great student car. Post
a pic to Tegger's "Reader's Rides" page if you can.

 

Thanks for your advice, guys. I have some pics here:
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//album?.dir=/867a
(taken in March; the white stuff is salt.)

Theo

 

kewl- a wagovan! i always thought those were kinda gay, but i think they
were just 15 years ahead of their time. if my civic was totalled and i
could find a mint wagovan, id definately consider it!

 

The good news is, quite likely some parts have already been replaced,
leaving you with fewer things to worry about for a while. The bad news is,
the car has quite a few miles on it. Any way to get the service records from
the previous owner(s)? Either way, $1000CAD sounds like a reasonable
figure -- probably high, in fact, as long as the engine and transmission are
in good shape.