Hey guys. First off my car is a 97 Honda Accord SE, 4 door, 4 cylinder Automatic with 222,000 miles on it. Over the past year I've started slowly fixing things that are going bad. I typically get things from AUtozone or other local parts stores. I wonder if I could get a better deal online somewhere as opposed to driving 30 miles round trip to my closest parts store. What sites do you guys use to buy parts from? (Honda parts are great but with the age of the car and my budget, non honda parts are just fine.) The main things I will be looking for is the rubber trim around the windows, front window motors and stuff like that.

Also, It recently dawned on me that little things like the PCV valve and thermostat for example are the original parts. I don't like to replace parts just to replace them, but for a couple bucks here and there, would it be wise to start replacing those so I'm not left high and dry when they do go bad? I'm impressed they have lasted this long but 222,000 miles is a lot of miles for a part. I don't want to get the cheapest part I can, but Honda just charges too much for their parts so a middle of the road part would be fine.

Thanks in advance for the help and have a good day!

 

For certain items, I like to get honda parts or find out the aftermarket equivalent.

When I look for any honda part, I go to hondapartsnow.com and look up the OEM part number. I look at the suggested price (dealership price) and the discount price (doesn't include shipping). Sometimes the part description will say the manufacturer (like denso, koyo, etc..), and I can look for aftermarket parts by that supplier.

I will also search the OEM part number on google shopping or ebay to check prices. I have found OEM parts on ebay for reasonable prices. Always look at the seller ratings when buying a part.

If the price difference is reasonable, then I try to stick with OEM honda parts.

If ordering online, I have used numerous sites. I like rock-auto.com. They have reasonable prices, large selection of parts, and quick shipping. I have ordered from TASauto, majestic honda, hondapartsnow.com, amazon.com.

I like O'Reillys auto parts, if they are in your area. They ship parts online too, but I usually order the parts to the store.

When you go to change your coolant next time, I would replace the thermostat. Use only the Honda OEM thermostat, because most techs on here suggest this. I would probably do the same with the pcv valve. That is a simple DIY and your original pcv valve lasted for over 200K miles.

 

Hey, thanks for the helpful reply. I called O'Riellys and they do have the therm and PCV valve, both can be had for $12 total. I guess I could just go there since they seem to be recommended. The brand was microguard I think? The closest Honda dealer wants $50 for both parts and I have to drive pretty far to get them. I was just looking at the rock auto site you suggested and they do have pretty great prices, but I did develop a question. Since my Honda dealer isn't much help giving part numbers and what not, how do i find out exactly what part number I need? Also, do the lower temp thermostats make a big difference or should I just stick with what I've always had? I live in a hilly area if it matters.

Its easy (for m anyway) to get lost in what part you are actually ordering when online. They'll be 10 different options of the same thing and I have no idea which one of these will work, or maybe all will?

Thanks again for your reply, it was very helpful!

 

Wow, rock auto does have some good prices. Their window power motors are half of autozone and obviously much better then the dealer. I want to order the thermostat but I don't know what temp my stock one is, anybody know?

Also, one other question, the little screw/plug "thingies" that hold the wheel well liner up to the body, what are those called? I need 4 of them but dont know what they are actually called.

Thanks!

 

whoops, I forgot I had an old login! lol Mods, what do I do about deleting the old account? (sorry guys) brain fart.

 

What's your other username?
You got many postings under the old username?

You could just ignore the old one. The messages will remain and nobody will really care that it's the same person. Or start using the old one & abandon the new one.

If you really want to merge the 2 usernames together, for example you want all the old posts to magically change to your new username, then I don't think the moderators can do that. Send a PM to the admin, "WheelBrokerAng".

 

Hey Jim, thanks for the reply. Sorry about that, I know it looks like I;m a spammer or something. I'll just abandon the old one, unless I login under the incorrect one when I have a "senior moment". lol I don't care about merging or anything like that, just deleting the old one or leaving it alone to die off is fine. Whatever is easiest.

Thanks again.

 

To answer the other questions......on the site(s) they should say something about OE replacement, like for the t-stat there are temp ranges but I think one should say OE....get that one.

There are plenty of Honda Dealers that have sites (majestic honda, ect) where you can look up parts and see the OE part number.

Jim- I guess we could ban the account not needed without deleting the posts??????

 

Don't BAN the old account - that can cause trouble for him logging in AT ALL. Just ignore it.

Majestic (hondaautomotiveparts dot com) makes up their own catalog numbers. I think hondapartsnow uses the actual Honda part number.

 

I wasn't going to, just an idea.

I think Majestic has gone away from that. I use their site to look up many things, some I buy from them, some I get from my local dealer (Leith Honda) and the numbers on the invoice from Leith always match what I saw online. There was one time when Leith told me they didn't list it (3rd gen- ) and I gave them the part number from the Majestic site....swaybar to frame bushing.....just my experience.