NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, at almost 140,00 (harsh) miles on the odometer... my tranny is about dead in my '97 Honda Accord (USDM - American version). Ya, I admit, I probably ran my automotic to its death the way I drive it... I told my mom I needed a manual, lol, but since they're payin my insurance - yes, I'm 20 and they're payin it while I got to college - they get a say in what I do and dont do to the car... and a tranny swap and engine swap just weren't ok by them.

Needless to say, the tranny is about dead (officially by the shop today - unofficially by me a couple weeks ago)... and my dad finally said to start looking for a new car... ($3,000 USD is what they quoted us to rebuild the tranny, and quite frankly, with 140,000 harsh miles on it, $3,000 on a rebuild tranny just aint worth it - even on a Honda...)

*sigh*

Time to look for a new car!

EDIT: Oh, ya, and I'm on a budget.. $5-6K USD probably for the max...

Sorry man, hope the search goes well!

Thanks, same here I'm sure I'llfind a car though... :-p

I'm not someone who wont drive an import or wont drive a domestic, and I like *most* brands... lol

No warranty, no nothing?
And how can you destroy an automatic with the way you drive it?

Anyways...things to look for are the WRX, MX-5 and if you have the money for a new car, Golf GTi or Focus ST.

Well, at almost 140,00 (harsh) miles on the odometer... my tranny is about dead in my '97 Honda Accord (USDM - American version). Ya, I admit, I probably ran my automotic to its death the way I drive it... I told my mom I needed a manual, lol, but since they're payin my insurance - yes, I'm 20 and they're payin it while I got to college - they get a say in what I do and dont do to the car... and a tranny swap and engine swap just weren't ok by them.

Needless to say, the tranny is about dead (officially by the shop today - unofficially by me a couple weeks ago)... and my dad finally said to start looking for a new car... ($3,000 USD is what they quoted us to rebuild the tranny, and quite frankly, with 140,000 harsh miles on it, $3,000 on a rebuild tranny just aint worth it - even on a Honda...)

*sigh*

Time to look for a new car!
I doubt that Honda can accually live up to its reputation of long lasting cars. My friends '93 Accord was just falling apart. It's radio attena fell apart, the radio overheated (in Canada), only one of the wheels had a working break (and it was only the ebrake that worked). On a somewhat related note, the ebrake on my mom's '97 Toyota Corolla doesn't work at all.

That sucks. Same thing happenned to our '91 Ford Taurus in about 2000. What really erked me though was that it broke down in BC and they sent the transmission to Edmonton (where we live) to get it rebuilt. Why not send the whole gad damn car!! Then I don't have to drive 8 hours to go pick it up!!!

That sucks. Same thing happenned to our '91 Ford Taurus in about 2000. What really erked me though was that it broke down in BC and they sent the transmission to Edmonton (where we live) to get it rebuilt. Why not send the whole gad damn car!! Then I don't have to drive 8 hours to go pick it up!!!
Eight hours? Where in BC did it break down?

No warranty, no nothing?
And how can you destroy an automatic with the way you drive it?

Anyways...things to look for are the WRX, MX-5 and if you have the money for a new car, Golf GTi or Focus ST.
Oh, my bad.. ya, I'm on a budget, $5-6K USD max... trust me, if I had the money for the WRX, MX-5 (no more Miata), etc, I'd have my cars picked out... lol

And the auto in my car just can't handle hard/fast/spirited driving well at all... plus I treat it like a manual, selecting the gears from D4, D3, 2, 1... which is really a big no-no... lol

I doubt that Honda can accually live up to its reputation of long lasting cars. My friends '93 Accord was just falling apart. It's radio attena fell apart, the radio overheated (in Canada), only one of the wheels had a working break (and it was only the ebrake that worked). On a somewhat related note, the ebrake on my mom's '97 Toyota Corolla doesn't work at all.
Our family owns Honda's, and so far, we've only had a couple major problems: 130K some major suspension work, and now at 140K (thanks to hard driving) tranny failure... other than that, these cars keep on ticking. They're extremely reliable. This coming from a GM fan at that, haha. *dreams of when I can get a '70 Chevelle SS with 454*

Well it wasn't 8 hours, but somewhere near Fernie I think. Still a little far from Edmonton.

Saige Dragon, that sucks... did you say 2000, as in 2K, or did ya mean to say 20K or 200K?

(If it's 2K... well, it's not a new Ford from the last couple years, so whaddya expect? lol)

Oh, my bad.. ya, I'm on a budget, $5-6K USD max... trust me, if I had the money for the WRX, MX-5 (no more Miata), etc, I'd have my cars picked out... lol

And the auto in my car just can't handle hard/fast/spirited driving well at all... plus I treat it like a manual, selecting the gears from D4, D3, 2, 1... which is really a big no-no... lol

I'll bet if you had to buy the car and pay for repairs instead of your folks, you might drive it a lot differently. :(

I'll bet if you had to buy the car and pay for repairs instead of your folks, you might drive it a lot differently. :(
Well, I'd be shelling out the $$ for the repairs anyway, as I do for everything including any modifications except insurance. I'll also be paying for the new car as well. Thus, my habits wont be changing. I've always been someone who likes high-performance and spirited driving - as well as the occassional race WHEN NO ONE ELSE IS AROUND or on the track.

Nissan 300ZX comes to mind.
You can probably get a 90 or 91 model for 6000 US Dollars.

Saige Dragon, that sucks... did you say 2000, as in 2K, or did ya mean to say 20K or 200K?

(If it's 2K... well, it's not a new Ford from the last couple years, so whaddya expect? lol)

No it happened in about the year 2000. I'm pretty sure they just put a new tranny in instead of rebuilding the existing one. It had gone to shit. I don't remeber to much about it because it was 6 years ago and wasn't my car (my parents).

And here's something to try imported_ViZion. My sister recently traded in here Jeep because it had terrible gas mileage montly repair bills were getting pretty bad. So over xmas she traded it in for a 5 speed base model 4 door Chevy Cobalt. It's a lease to own program I guess. I'm not sure of the exact details, but she is in University and has to pay rent and tuition and all that other stuff. Currently the monthly lease payment are less on this new car than what she was paying for gas and repair on her Jeep. Something to look into.

Nissan 300ZX comes to mind.
You can probably get a 90 or 91 model for 6000 US Dollars.
Yes, but the insurance is where it'll get a big fat NO unfortunately.. I've thought of that as well as many others, but it's hard w/ insurance as an issue..

No it happened in about the year 2000. I'm pretty sure they just put a new tranny in instead of rebuilding the existing one. It had gone to shit. I don't remeber to much about it because it was 6 years ago and wasn't my car (my parents).

And here's something to try imported_ViZion. My sister recently traded in here Jeep because it had terrible gas mileage montly repair bills were getting pretty bad. So over xmas she traded it in for a 5 speed base model 4 door Chevy Cobalt. It's a lease to own program I guess. I'm not sure of the exact details, but she is in University and has to pay rent and tuition and all that other stuff. Currently the monthly lease payment are less on this new car than what she was paying for gas and repair on her Jeep. Something to look into.

Ya know, I didn't think about leasing or doing monthly payments... though if I went with a Cobalt (which I'd have no prob doin, bein a GM fan) I'd go with the SS S/C coupe... YA! :D lol Hmm, you gave me a new out for a new car... thanks!

I reckon the best place in the world for used cars is Britain. Lotus, Subarus, TVRs, everything is cheap to get there.

Anyways, I'd then say to find yourself a half-decent first generation MX-5, haggle it down a bit and you can probably get it for $4000 and then the insurance shouldn't be too bad.
Plus, you can drive in a spirited manner, and the thing won't get too ridiculously fast, which is the nice thing about the MX-5. You can have fun without going 120 km/h all the time.

Our family owns Honda's, and so far, we've only had a couple major problems: 130K some major suspension work, and now at 140K (thanks to hard driving) tranny failure... other than that, these cars keep on ticking. They're extremely reliable. This coming from a GM fan at that, haha. *dreams of when I can get a '70 Chevelle SS with 454*
My dad has a '70 Chevelle SS, I'm not sure if it has a 454 in it. Doesn't matter much though. The 500 HP engine that was in my dad's friends '88 (maybe 86) Monte Carlo wasn't quite big enough so he got a 687 HP engine built for it. He gave the 500HP engine to my dad for the Chevelle.

Oh yeah, that is 500 and 687 HP _without_ Nitros.:)

Oh yeah (again), if you can get a standard, get a Eagle Talon TSI (not a '90-'91). If you can't, I have no advice.

I reckon the best place in the world for used cars is Britain. Lotus, Subarus, TVRs, everything is cheap to get there.

Anyways, I'd then say to find yourself a half-decent first generation MX-5, haggle it down a bit and you can probably get it for $4000 and then the insurance shouldn't be too bad.
Plus, you can drive in a spirited manner, and the thing won't get too ridiculously fast, which is the nice thing about the MX-5. You can have fun without going 120 km/h all the time.


My Dad just recently had his 1990 Miata appraised for $12000. Fun little car. drive. I want one now.:(

My dad has a '70 Chevelle SS, I'm not sure if it has a 454 in it. Doesn't matter much though. The 500 HP engine that was in my dad's friends '88 (maybe 86) Monte Carlo wasn't quite big enough so he got a 687 HP engine built for it. He gave the 500HP engine to my dad for the Chevelle.

Oh yeah, that is 500 and 687 HP _without_ Nitros.:)

Oh yeah (again), if you can get a standard, get a Eagle Talon TSI (not a '90-'91). If you can't, I have no advice.
haha, it's better be without nitros... detroit muscle needs no nitro... lol I'd be VERY pleased with 500 HP at my command... :D

My Dad just recently had his 1990 Miata appraised for $12000. Fun little car. drive. I want one now.:(
$12,000? Or $1,200? $12,000 sounds insanely high for a '90 Miata... even in prime shape, that sounds to high to believe...

Canadian dollars. And it is in really good shape. He's got a fair amount of aftermarket stuff. Roll Bar, headers and exhaust, sway bars, new brakelines, carbon fibre snorkel, whole new stereo (plus he put speakers in the headrests. A bunch of other stuff as well.

70 Chevelle SS is overrated. Even the one with a 454. Gotta go with the 69 Yenko 427 Nova. Way better power to weight than the Chevelle. So fast Don Yenko was scared to drive it.

haha, it's better be without nitros... detroit muscle needs no nitro... lol I'd be VERY pleased with 500 HP at my command... :D
Well my dad's friend's car has nitros, but just for (legal) drag racing. All my dad needs to get for the 500HP engine are new pistons.