ACCORD '93 EX STANDARD 200 K

The price is right, but be aware there are almost certainly other problems if the A/C is empty.

Count on having to replace the timing belt immediately unless the seller can produce a receipt for actually having it done, not for the part itself. I'd bet heavily it has never been replaced, since the car has had a low level of maintenance. At 12 years old, the timing belt is a time bomb even though it is only slightly overdue by mileage.

Remove the radiator cap and wipe your finger inside the radiator. If there is any trace of rust on your finger, the car will bring you grief - guaranteed. The one time I let my lust for a car blind me to that I regretted it. Ditto for a peek in the valve cover - remove the oil filler cap and look at the rocker arm assembly straight below it with a strong flashlight. The metal should look silver, with oil various places. If the metal looks brown or red, it has not had regular oil changes and you will regret that also.

The clutch is also an unknown quantity. The CV boots are about at the limit of their life expectancy if they haven't been changed. If you are going to do most of the repairs and maintenance it could be a good deal. Just enter this with your eyes open.

Mike

OK, this is a Canadian car. What about emissions? Unless you are Quebec, it has to pass an emissions test. If the valve stem seals are leaking oil there's no way the car will pass unless they are fixed. At 200K it probably needs a catalytic converter too. Then there's the safety check. Surface rust is OK, but holes are not. You could EASILY spend another $1000 without getting the A/C working. The A/C is R12 and has to be converted to R134A, at a cost of about $400 without replacing any parts other than O-rings.

I'd say $500-800 as is would be closer to the value. A wrecker would offer maybe $200.

Stewart DIBBS

Where did you come up with that information? We don't have to have our vehicles tested for or pass an emission test in Nova Scotia. If I'm not mistaken nor does New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador.

Brian

thanks guys for your input. I will certainly use your advises to check it once again. The car is in Ontario and it needs safety & emission to get registered.

My present car is accord '90 LX with 278 k on it and it still runs like crazy. The only serious fix it had had since 208 K was clutch ( $450 CAD) &

2x$80 for the used front shocks assemblies. Based on my experience, I don't expect this '93 one to give me much trouble. Although my mechanic says - don't go above 1200. But he has his own considerations.

My daughter's US '93 LX uses R134a, but Canadian may be R12. It is probably a transition year.

Mike

With all respect, the one you have sounds like a safer bet than the '93.

Mike