Honda Car Forum

Hi,

I am buysing this car used, with 75kilometer (not miles) and it has had oil
changes every 6-7000 km. SHouldn't it be every 4000?

PS. It is regular oil and NOT systhetic.

I looked at the oil stick and the oil was black. Is it burning oil

Please advise

On Tue, 05 Apr 2005 22:22:44 GMT, "floppy" <REMOVEshahint@shaw.ca>
wrote:

>I am buysing this car used, with 75kilometer (not miles) and it has had oil
>changes every 6-7000 km. SHouldn't it be every 4000?

Not unless it has been driven in severe conditions.
Every 7500 is the normal conditions change interval.

>PS. It is regular oil and NOT systhetic.
>
>I looked at the oil stick and the oil was black. Is it burning oil

Oil is supposed to get black. Is there a maintenance history for the
car? Of more concern than the oil is the timing belt. Has it been
changed? It doesn't need changing on the basis of milage, being due at
144,000 km, but it is overdue on time (6 years) if it hasn't been
changed.

See:
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/faq.html#interference

> Oil is supposed to get black. Is there a maintenance history for the
> car? Of more concern than the oil is the timing belt. Has it been
> changed? It doesn't need changing on the basis of milage, being due at
> 144,000 km, but it is overdue on time (6 years) if it hasn't been
> changed.



All the oil change history for every 6-7 k is there. But the timing belt
hasn't been replaced. How much is the cost of that approximately in CDN
dollar?

The engine was clean, but I saw some sand/yellow things in the engine. Is
this normal. BTW: carfax shows clean history.


Thanks for your input.

"floppy" <REMOVEshahint@shaw.ca> wrote in
news:ZFG4e.905411$Xk.371576@pd7tw3no:

>
>> Oil is supposed to get black. Is there a maintenance history for the
>> car? Of more concern than the oil is the timing belt. Has it been
>> changed? It doesn't need changing on the basis of milage, being due
>> at 144,000 km, but it is overdue on time (6 years) if it hasn't been
>> changed.
>
>
>
> All the oil change history for every 6-7 k is there. But the timing
> belt hasn't been replaced. How much is the cost of that approximately
> in CDN dollar?


Oh, $200-300 or so, plus tax. More if you go to the dealer.

Hondas are interference engines. Skip changing the belt, and it can result
in a thousand dollars of work.


>
> The engine was clean, but I saw some sand/yellow things in the engine.
> Is this normal. BTW: carfax shows clean history.
>


Carfax won't tell you much if anything. Carfax still does not show the
fender-bender from three years ago on my VIN.

Where was this "sand/yellow things"? Ran out with the oil? Was it squishy
or gritty? It's not normal, but may not be fatal.


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Thanks for replying.

> Hondas are interference engines. Skip changing the belt, and it can result
> in a thousand dollars of work.

So I should get that changed at 6 years, regarding the condition ( i live
vancouver BC)?

> Carfax won't tell you much if anything. Carfax still does not show the
> fender-bender from three years ago on my VIN.
>
> Where was this "sand/yellow things"? Ran out with the oil? Was it squishy
> or gritty? It's not normal, but may not be fatal.

Just around engine compartment. Looked like they drove in a sandy road.

Does carfax shows major accidents,fraud,VIN modification? How can I check
the VIN so it has't been termpered or fake carefully, other than matching
the one on the door with the body?

Is there a website that shows how to check for accidents on the body/VIN
check etc? I know samarian.com, but any other ones?

Also, how can I check the ABS system?


Thanks

"floppy" <REMOVEshahint@shaw.ca> wrote in
news:afL4e.910422$8l.841632@pd7tw1no:

> Thanks for replying.
>
>> Hondas are interference engines. Skip changing the belt, and it can
>> result in a thousand dollars of work.
>
> So I should get that changed at 6 years, regarding the condition ( i
> live vancouver BC)?


Absolutely! Don't delay, do it today!


>
>> Carfax won't tell you much if anything. Carfax still does not show
>> the fender-bender from three years ago on my VIN.
>>
>> Where was this "sand/yellow things"? Ran out with the oil? Was it
>> squishy or gritty? It's not normal, but may not be fatal.
>
> Just around engine compartment. Looked like they drove in a sandy
> road.


Normal. They probably drove in an area where they spead sand on the roads
for snow. You should see my engine compartment. You could build a sand
castle in there.


>
> Does carfax shows major accidents,fraud,VIN modification? How can I
> check the VIN so it has't been termpered or fake carefully, other than
> matching the one on the door with the body?


That stuff needs to be reported to CarFax by insurance companies and the
like. If it never gets reported, it never shows up.

The VIN is stamped on the firewall just below where the wipers bolt on, and
on the plate visible in the lower left corner of the windshield, and on the
door sticker.

Very later model cars sold in the US will also have white VIN stickers on
every major body part. We do not have those stickers up here.


>
> Is there a website that shows how to check for accidents on the
> body/VIN check etc? I know samarian.com, but any other ones?


Not that I know of.
For accident damage, your best weapon is your own eyes. It's *really*
obvious once you know what to look for.


>
> Also, how can I check the ABS system?


Find a road with gravel shoulders. Drive at maybe 25mph or so, and run two
wheels off onto the shoulder. Now brake moderately hard, increasing force
until you hear a loud growling noise. If you eventually get that growling,
the ABS is working fine. When it's safe, move to the other side of the road
and do the same thing with the wheels on that side.

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/