Hello,

Im buying a honda accord 1998 lx 4dr 2.3L 4 cylinder....

Check engine light was on when i went to look at car..guy told me its not a problem.. he unplugged the battery for 30 seconds and turned car back on and the light was gone.. he said before you came I was "messing" with the spark plugs and accidentally the check engine light came on.. and so quickly he know how to turn it off.. I dont know if I shuold believe him.. I will take it to the mechanic tomorrow to get it checked out before i buy it.. only thing is i will have to pay $$ 80 bucks to mechanic for prepurchase inspection and i dont want to pay if any of you guys can tell me what could be the problem? major, minor? Any idea? any feedback would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Omair

 

Hi Omaleem...
Dont take your car and spend $80.00 to get it checked out when you can take it to your local say AutoZone and have them do an OBDii test on it for FREE...Yes I Said FREE!!

If it has a code, they (AutoZone) will be able to pull it up to tell you what is wrong..

Let me know what you find out..
Later:
WheelBrokerAng[8D]

 

Hey WheelBrokerAng,

I only went to get it check out by a Honda Dealership because they woudl know more about a Honda car and are all certified and experiecned. By the way, the money I paid to them was paid to me by my bank ;-) It cost me only 4 dollars to get the car fully inspected....honda dealership charged me 93 and bank gave me 89 since im getting the loan from them!

Anyway, I got the code.. Its a "Catylsis Deterioration" code... would it be that I need to get the Catylytic Converter changed? If yes, I have already gone to Meineke.. the guy working there told me he'd do it for me 180 behind the counters.. basically he'll put a universal catylytic converter in...with 2 year or 20,000 miles warranty...and he'll collect cash only from me.. and he says dont come when the manager is there... I suspect he's making his own money..but as long as Im getting a good deal I dont really care what he does or not..as long as he installs a new one and it's all legit... and I made sure about all this from him and he said yes...I guarantee it...

If you could let me know of a better place where I could find a better price or an alternative to the catylytic converter...please let me know...and advice on anything else ..

Thanks,
Omair

 

Dude..hit ebay and pick a bolt on one for like 40$ Assuming your not going to put an exhuast in.

 

wish you would have told me earlier about this.. I have already gotten my catylytic converter changed for 180 bucks which Im still considering cheap compared to the price given to me by the honda car dealer....($1000) plus tax...

The check engine light has not come on...the guy put an "aftermarket" catylytic converter in my car..he charged 130 labour..50 for part...

I watched him do it.. it was so easy.. only if I had a welding machine...and a pair of proctective glasses and a lift... ok i guess thats asking for too much...

But yeah I could have done it..infact I saw where my o2 sensor is located..so I think i'll change it myself when the time comes..

The guy has told me to drive atleast a 100 miles before I actually go for emissions..im hoping everything goes fine...im just tensed if my car fails the emissions (which is usually the case due to my bad VERY bad luck)... I dont know what i'll do...i'll post here about the emissions result..

other than that..the car is driving like a beauty, just need to get minor service done on it...oil change, rotation and balancing, alignment, battery dread cleaning..I dont know what that is...Honda guy told me about all this.. he says he'll charge me 117 dollars for it... I'm thinking if I shuold do it or not... advice?

Thanks,
Omair

 

Ok does it have new or near new tires,pull in any direction, and shake at all? If not, there is no need for the balence or alignment.

For the rotation..get a jack and some jack stands or blocks and do it yourself- you learned how to do it in drivers ed, you just moving the back tire to the front on each side. Just remember to put it in park or in gear and ebrake on. Battery dread..no clue wtf that is. Prolly cleaning the terminals, Hit wally-world and pick up a battery post and terminal brush. Then undo your battery and mix a thing of hot water and baking soda and mix it up good- mostly dissolved and pour in on the terminals and leads- lil messy but its not going to hurt any thing..get some paper towels and some regular water to clean it up- ore hit car washer and clean the whole engne bay. Bad thing about this is...and its the gayest most stupidest thing is...your radio will not go on now. Theftlock will be turned on since you disconnected the battery- gay huh. So...i think most places you have to spend like 50$ to get the bloody code. But ill give you mine to try out if your willing to loose your radio- or get the cash and buy a decent cd player.

Now the oil change...every man on this god givin earth better know how to change the oil in his car. Please please please tell me you know how to do it....


But since I don't know the condition of things on your car...and $117 for all of that is really cheap- if thats including labor. That is if he's going to do it. I'd make sure and stay and watch if you can. All he might do is clean the battery and/or change the oil. Keep close eye on everything.. There are alot of shifty mechanics that are trying to screw people over. I prefer to do everything possible myself. But thats just me.

 

Hey,

The emissions passed.. and no I didnt go to the honda dealer guy to get all that done for 117... I instead went to a different honda car dealer, got the rotation and balancing and oil change done for 47 bucks plus car wash...which included synthetic blend oil..and yeah.. I dont know how to change the oil.... I seriously dont...even though I know it must be easy... hmm..

Anyway.. does anyone know where I can get cheap whole prices for Honda parts? I need to get a spoiler for the car..

Also....anyone.......what can be done about dings on a car?

Thanks!

 

oh yeah..and the tires are all old....pretty worn out.. thinking of getting all new...what shuold i get and what are the average prices?

 

https://www.rockauto.com/dbphp/mak,HONDA

for parts. I havent bought from them but they look like a nice place- might want to check with the BBB in their area to be sure. Salvage yards will have factory spoilers, ebay too.

Tires- Look around at tire shops. Get quotes on how much its going to cost. Tires for my accord- installed and such cost me almost 170 i think. Those were some bridgestone's with a replacement plan thru the factory, i didnt want it, but they wouldnt take it off.

 

I just got off of the rock auto site and it seems to be that that site has some good prices with it..

But as usual make sure that the parts you are going to get are the ones that you order, yards are notorious for getting you a part that is ALMOST RIGHT! if you know what I'm sayin...

Later...WheelBrokerAng[8D]