Hi folks

I just bought a used 2000 Honda Accord SE (Automatic, 2.3L 4 cycle VTEC) on the weekend & it turned out to be both a frustrating & expensive experience.

I bought my car from the first owner. The seller indicated that it was his wife's car & that they maintained it through a dealership until it was off warranty, so it had all of the Honda recall/maintenance done on it. He indicated that they've used a local mechanic thereafter & that the car needed nothing.

I was impressed, because I'm in Canada & this car has no rust on it... and there are very few scratches on the original paint & no dents... the interior is mint & they just had it detailed.

The seller provided a "Carfax" that indicated no accidents, etc. The car ran smoothly & very quietly. It had very nice response and there wasn't a rattle in it.

I don't know a lot about Honda's, but I've always heard great things about fuel economy and craftsmanship. I pulled the dipstick (clean oil) & the transmission oil looked good, as well. I inspected the tires for uneven wear & there was none.

The car appeared to be in mint condition & the Seller seemed genuine (he told me that the car was his wife's baby, she maintained it really well & wished that she could keep it). I wasn't specifically looking to buy a Honda Accord, but I needed to buy a car and had missed out on some great private deals in the last few weeks (& had looked at a lot of really bad cars, as well). I felt lucky to have found a "one owner" car in that condition.... relieved that I was buying a car from someone who knew it's history.

To make the story as short as possible, I didn't ask enough questions or ask to speak to the guys wife who maintained it, but he (Seller/"first owner") couldn't provide me with any usable information once I paid him for the car. His wife wasn't home when I came to pick it up and he didn't know when it was due for an oil change, what oil had been used, when the ATF was last serviced & he forgot to mention that the timing belt was at the recommended replacement time until after he took my money...

I blamed myself for not asking these very specific questions (or for getting an inspection) before I bought it. I would never have known to ask about the timing belt, but once I owned it I had to deal with it.

Honda Dealership quote: Timing belt replacement (belt only - parts/labour) $1,000.00 and bring it in IMMEDIATELY

Authorized Honda Service Centre quote: Timing belt & water pump replacement (parts/labour) $650.00 + anything else they found once in... and yes it needs to be done right away

My local Mechanic/also a Honda Owner/has worked on many of them over the years: Timing belt & water pump replacement (parts/labour) $550.00 and would included a very thorough inspection of the whole vehicle so I would be aware of any other problems.

I got a call about 2 hours after I dropped my car off with my local mechanic (I could not begin to afford to take it to Honda)... and he said he standing looking at my now exposed timing belt & that it wasn't the original belt (it had been marked for alignment by the previous mechanic who replaced it)... there wasn't a fray or worn part on it and the water pump didn't look any different than the belt. If he had to guess, the belt/water pump had been replaced within the last couple of years.

I told him to change both & to never mention it again (& he did change it, because he gave me the old parts)... I'm still shaking my head at the unnecessary money that I just wasted, because the seller didn't know anything about the car he was selling.

Turns out that the car needed absolutely nothing, but tires. It's mint & even with the unnecessary repair he said that I got a very good deal (thankfully)... and at least I know that the belt/water pump issue has been dealt with & I know when.

I've got a few questions to ask, but I'll see if I can find the answers already on the forum... and another story to share, so I'll post another time... just wanted to say "hi" & share my frustrating buying experience... it wasn't my car's fault, so I definitely won't hold it against her, lol. She's a beauty

Kim

Ps - please don't tell my hubby, lol

 

Welcome to the forums! At least now you don't have to worry about that belt for quite a while, eh?

Always sucks to run into a seller who doesn't know what they're selling!

 

Yes, welcome! At least you have peace of mind about the belt/water pump now. Sixth gen Accords are good cars with one exception being the automatic transmissions. I would advise staying on top of keeping that fluid fresh by draining and filling every 20k miles or so.

 

you never know, it could have been replaced 5 years ago, still probably didn't need it. Just tell yourself it was replaced 5 years ago so you don't feel it was a waste. When I changed mine it was 10 years old and looked pristine, water pump would have looked like it did after 3 months. The belt is covered they dont really fray or crack unless something is really really wrong they typically just go one day if they havent been changed. .

 

Thank you for putting a positive spin on it everyone I DO feel a lot better knowing that the belt has been changed.

I'm going to take my car to Honda for an oil change/drain-fill AFT & keep on top of those from this point on. My local garage was hesitant to use anything other than Honda fluids in my car, but if I bring those they'll be able to look after those things for me

 

You may want to ask the dealership how much they charge for drain-fill ATF. They may have a big markup, sense it sounds complicated. Its a no brainer of a job easier then a regular oil change. You can buy the fluid and take it to your mechanic and just tell him to drain it and replace with the new fluid no flush or anything. Should take between 2 and 3 quarts.

 

Usually you do want to keep some of your fluids to Honda brand stuff. Any garage you trust should be able to give you Honda ATF and good oil with a Honda filter for a lot less than the dealer can.

 

Use Honda ATF from the dealer. But the process of changing it is easier than changing engine oil. There's no filter; you just drain & fill. (your mechanic probably already knows that)

I did an unneccessary timing belt job on a 95 Integra I had. I bought it new & changed the belt more-or-less on time. The waterpump looked really really clean & it turned very smoothly. So I didn't replace the waterpump.

Well, you can probably guess the rest. Less than a year later the waterpump started leaking. At least I knew the deal and I made my own choice during the first timing belt job.

 

When I had the dealer do the 105k mile service, transmission service, oil change and 4 cyl valve adjustment, NY State inspection, +fixing up a few other things they charged my $825.00 that's including sales tax.
I figure that I can spend $1200 a year on basic maintenance + tires and I will still be better off than buying new, or ending up with a used GM or Dodge and still spending $1200 or more per year and not knowing if it will last another 2 years.
Getting the regular maintenance done on your Honda is good insurance, even when it has 200,000 miles, someone in your area will want to buy it when you are done with it.

 

I am original owner of 2007 Accord EXL-V6 Coup with Navi, Black on Black. This is my 8th Honda new Honda car purchased. All maintenance done at dealership. Anyway, dealer told me the timing belt should be replaced at 70,000 because car was being operated in Las Vegas, NV a hot climate. Having owned so many Honda cars I felt that was a bit too conservative so I put it off until 95,000 and then did the total 100,000 mile service. This was despite the fact that I like to run the engine in 3rd gear when driving on city streets in order to keep the RPMs (horsepower) up around town. I instructed the dealership to save the old belt for me. When I inspected the old belt I was blown away by how good of condition it appeared to be in. There was no oil or dust of any kind. With the naked eye I could not see any pitting or even hair line cracks on either side of the belt. To me it looked brand new. Based on this experience I have to conclude that Honda is very conservative on its timing belt change recommendations. This is probably wise since my engine is an interference engine which means if the timing belt broke extensive physical damage to the engine would result requiring thousands of dollars in repairs. That being said, Honda engines are great and trouble free if properly maintained. My 2000 Accord V6 had 165,000 miles on it and ran like a clock until my teenage son cracked it up. That car spent its life in hot climates and the belt on that car was also changed at 100,000 miles.

A side note, I have a K&N intake and cut out the resonator on the exhaust. These 2 mods gave me a noticeable increase in torgue and the car sounds sweet.