Does it pay to keep a 91 Accord?

Somewhere around twelve to fourteen years I figure tons of little stuff is going to go continuously wrong from then on, and it's maybe better to pass the old dog onto someone for a grand or two and let them deal with it, while you can still get even that much in good faith.

Sounds like you don't do a lot of miles, so yeah, a three year old Civic coming off of lease, might be ideal for the next ten years or so! Or a low-mile older car in good shape, owned by grandma who was also a good shadetree mechanic, ...

J.

My 90 has nearly 300,000 miles and is still dependable enough to drive daily. It too leaks like yours. The clutch is a little balky and will prolly be the downfall. Still it burns no oil and starts easily. If money isn't much of an issue then you could do away with the annoyances. But a Honda that old with that few miles?? You've got a treasure there!!

JXStern wrote:

I'd get that seeming transmission stutter checked out and estimated, then report back. That might make this decision easy.

Otherwise, the flooding seems to me to be such a big question mark. It seems hard to say what other damage it caused, or how it will accelerate body rust.

But for the flooding, which is potentially the other dealbreaker, I think your estimate that around $1500 would fix it up sounds right. The $1500 would be money well spent, in the overall scheme of car costs, if the flooding could be known to have done no other serious damage, and if the trannie is okay. But for the flooding, and assuming the trannnie is okay, you should easily get two more years out of the car. A cost of around $750 a year to own a car (not counting gas) is pretty cheap.

That clicking is likely the CV joint needing replacement. Few hundred bucks to have it repaired by a shop, if memory serves. Tegger's site has good discussion on it, IIRC.

Because of the shaking at higher speeds, get your suspension inspected by someone who knows Hondas. They might find, say, a lot of bad ball joints which might also make this decision easy.

"dgk" wrote

Thanks. A very tough decision. It wasn't very flooded, just up to the bottom of the car. That part really should be made to resist water since the spray from the wheels should be pretty wet.

I think I bring it to Lee Myles or some transmission place for a checkup, and get the ball joints checked. If all goes well, I keep it until the Fit is redesigned in a few years.

I really don't put much mileage on it. For that reason, gas consumption is that big a deal compared to other folks.

"dgk" wrote

Redesigned, available, and at invoice or so! Reports here indicate they are hard to come by and so the dealers are getting top dollar for them.

No, I have a dealer more than willing to take an order at price. I think I would like to have a trunk though.