My friend is selling his 98 Accord for $500. It's in great shape inside and out with 140k on the motor. The problem is (from what he says) you have to start in first gear, get up to about 25mph and pop it in fourth (2nd and 3rd wont go in). He says he has been driving it this way for a few weeks and does not have the money to trouble shoot it (Parents gave him a car) much less have it fixed. My question is this, I know Accords reputation even though I never owned one so even if I have to throw a couple grand into it I think I would be getting a deal. Any ideas on what could be causing this problem and maybe a dollar amount to repair? Thank You guys ahead of time for any replies.

 

Worst case, trans needs to be replaced, cost "X"?

There are a few other things that you should think about - timing belt is how old, are there other wear items that need to be checked/replaced?

 

You will have to diagnose the problem to determine the repair. If you can read the codes from the PCM using a scanner you would have a better idea of the problem.

Worst case scenario is that you would have to replace the transmission.

 

It would help to know if it's a 4-cyl or V-6. They are completely different from each other.

 

Also, since his car is a 98, he would need to find a 98 or 99 trans. Honda in it's wisdom decided to change something in the AT from 99 to 2000. As a result, there's the 98-99 version, and the 00-02 version.
Note; I have no idea what changed between the years.

 

Consider a complete trans fluid exchange to see if that helps. Old fluid will cause shifting issues.