Honda Car Forum

On Wed, 4 Oct 2006 08:50:28 -0400, High Tech Misfit <me@privacy.net>
wrote:

>ACAR wrote:
>
>> You may not want to get yourself in a position where you HAVE to buy a
>> car in short order. I assume you are a one-car "family" and the car is
>> required so you can get to work.
>
>Actually, I am single with no kids. But I have been travelling over 150
>miles almost every day for the past couple of months and will likely
>continue to do so for another month or two.
>
>
>> I'd start shopping now while you have
>> the luxury to browse.
>
>Yep, it's almost official... I'm going to start shopping around probably
>this weekend. But I am probably going to look for a 2004 or 2005 Civic. I
>know a 7th-gen Civic probably does not handle as well as previous versions,
>but I am not concerned with that.
>
>
>> FWIW, there's a '99 Accord and a '04 Accord in
>> our family. No comparison, the '04 is a FAR better car in every regard
>> except handling...and purchase cost.
>
>I had always heard that the 7th-gen handled better than the 6th-gen. And
>personally, I think the 6th-gen looks better than the 7th-gen, as far as the
>4-door is concerned.

If you buy one that is too recent then you have to factor in
comprehensive insurance, no? The good thing about relatively cheap
cars is that you don't need to pay an extra $600 or so a year.

"High Tech Misfit" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:d7sqqeoo2ktr.dlg@hightech.misfit...
>
> And talk about speaking too soon... the temperature slider on the climate
> control panel is busted!!! But this is minor; I think the cable just
> needs
> to be reattached to one end. Thankfully, it is stuck in the middle so
> it's
> not too warm or cold.

Unless it is very different from my daughter's '93 LX, the cable from the
panel goes to a mixer box at the bottom of the center console (like, under
the radio). There should be a small panel at the very bottom of the console
near the passenger's feet... IIRC it is held by one or two screws and the
vent pulls away from the duct that feeds it. Once the panel is off you will
see how it works, and it is straightforward.

Mike

dgk wrote:

>>I had always heard that the 7th-gen handled better than the 6th-gen. And
>>personally, I think the 6th-gen looks better than the 7th-gen, as far as the
>>4-door is concerned.
>
> If you buy one that is too recent then you have to factor in
> comprehensive insurance, no? The good thing about relatively cheap
> cars is that you don't need to pay an extra $600 or so a year.

Since I'd be downsizing from an Accord to a Civic, and with the amount of
driving that I do (which has been a lot in recent months), the increase in
insurance costs should be offset by the decrease in refueling costs. :-)

High Tech Misfit wrote:

>
> I had always heard that the 7th-gen handled better than the 6th-gen.

Both my kids report the '99 is more responsive than the '04. Could be a
combination of things, including replacement tires.

And
> personally, I think the 6th-gen looks better than the 7th-gen, as far as the
> 4-door is concerned.

The slightly re-designed brand new Accord looks better than our '04,
IMHO.

As I told my mechanic last week when he asked if I was going to fix the ball
joints..."no, it's got too many calenders on it."

High Tech Misfit wrote:

> I think my '93 Accord is cursed! Up until the start of this year, it had
> been rock solid with very few non-routine problems. But since the start of
> the year, it has experienced a handful of silly and/or annoying problems.
> They include:
>
> - Bent shock sleeve causing an annoying squeak over the slightest bumps;
> - Stiff climate control slider switch (I may have posted about this issue
> here); panel was replaced with a used one;
> - Hood release cable broke;
> - Clogged fuel filter;
> - Muffler, catalytic converter, and some other exhaust parts replaced due to
> years of corrosion--not to mention loudness under acceleration;
> - Left front upper control arm replaced due to play in the ball joint.
>
> The first 4 items were minor in severity and cost, but the last 2 items set
> me back considerably more financially. And now, some more issues have just
> popped up:
>
> 1. When the control arm was replaced a couple weeks ago, my mechanic
> suggested that the EGR ports be cleaned. OK, I have no problem in getting
> that done, about an hour of labour. I had felt for some time that the car
> had been slightly "missing" at times (in fact, I had previously thought it
> was the tires).
>
> 2. This started a few days ago... I have been noticing gas fumes both in and
> out of the car but it's not always there. It's most evident upon starting
> the car (cold or warm) and just after it has been turned off, although
> sometimes it could be detected while driving. I checked for leaks
> underneath and there were none. In fact, the tank and fuel lines were
> replaced a few years ago. Would something else cause a non-liquid leak?
>
> 3. This started yesterday... the car is once again very loud under
> acceleration (louder than before the muffler, cat, etc. were replaced). I
> don't remember what other parts were replaced before besides the muffler and
> cat, but could there be some other part on the exhaust that would need
> replacing? I saw something on Tegger's site about an "A-pipe" that is known
> to cause buzzing, but I do not know if that was ever replaced.
>
> 4. Finally, my mechanic (who has always been honest and has done good work
> on my car) advised me that the radiator will likely need to be replaced by
> next spring.
>
> I have already spent $1700 (CDN) on maintenance this year (above issues and
> some regular maintenance). But with more money about to be spent on these
> new issues (radiator will wait for now), I am now wondering if this is the
> time to consider a newer car. I know that what I have spent so far this
> year averaged over 12 months is still lower than monthly car payments, but
> there's no way of telling what will go wrong next and how much more I will
> have to spend. And I would prefer to spend less time at the mechanic than I
> have been this year.
>
> Then again, even though the car has only 241,000km (~ 150,000 miles), for a
> car of this age to live through all those harsh winters and numerous trips
> over ridiculously rough roads, I suppose it doesn't owe me a thing. :-)
>
> So what do you think I should do? Should I keep it and maintain hope that
> next year will be better? Or should I start looking for something newer?

"ACAR" <dimndsonmywndshld@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1160067195.687524.276060@k70g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> High Tech Misfit wrote:
>
>>
>> I had always heard that the 7th-gen handled better than the 6th-gen.
>
> Both my kids report the '99 is more responsive than the '04. Could be a
> combination of things, including replacement tires.

I'm not impressed with the OEM tires at all. Still got 'em but looking at
the Michelin Pilots or maybe Bridgestone Potenza's, depending on what the
survey's indicate when it's time to buy.

> And
>> personally, I think the 6th-gen looks better than the 7th-gen, as far as
>> the
>> 4-door is concerned.
>
> The slightly re-designed brand new Accord looks better than our '04,
> IMHO.

I'll agree. I have an '05 but never liked the rear end. Butt ugly. The
'06 is an improvement.

-Dave

Thanks to all of you who provided advice.

Today I purchased a 2004 Civic LX 4-door automatic with 39,000km (24,000
miles); I will be picking it up on Thursday. Before then, my mechanic will
fix the gas fume problem on my Accord, which will traded in as part of the
deal (the dealer offered a surprisingly fair figure for it).