I am new to this forum and am interested in buying either a 1993 Accord ex with 243,000 miles or a civic with 220,000 miles. Im in neeed of a good running fuel efficient car and think these are good choices, however the milage is what i'm questioning. are either of these two cars still good reliable choices for under $1,000. What would you pay for these. Are there any known issues with this high of milage. Anything to look out for?

 

Make sure the timing belts have been changed... They both should be on their 3rd belt.

 

For the $1000 I wouldn't expect too much out of a car for that price. If the maintenance is up to date on either car you will do fine. I am going on 200,000 on my 1995 Accord and it out lived my 2003 Accord by 100,000. I just had the dealer put a used motor in my 2003 for $3500 and figure if it last a year I am ahead compared to car payments.

Age takes its toll on rubber components like in the suspension.

 

I figure I would be spending this $1000 on fuel driving my truck anyways the next 2-3 months. At least I could sell the car for something if it didnt work out for me. I bought an old cutless a few years back for $1000 and got 30,000 miles out of her. I was happy with that. I always heard Honda's were great reliable choices but do understand that 200,000 plus miles is pushing it. I read from a few posts that timing belts were common problems, what does a fix like this cost. How much can you get a used engine for if that fails. Transmission?

 

A timing belt job is usually $500-700 including parts.

Selling a use motor with that kind of mileage is only going to get you $150-200.

Is it an automatic?

 

Hondas ARE great cars that can last a lot longer than 200k miles. They CAN, but of course any car can wear out if it's not taken care of. With that many miles on a $1000 car, it's all about the car's condition and it's maintenance history.

It's entirely possible for a well-maintaned chevy cadavalier to last far longer than an Accord that's not maintained.

You have to check out the car thoroughly & you have to decide whether to trust the seller's story about maintenance.

 

best advice that i can give you.....spend 70-80 dollars and have a shop chk it out ,,,,,,

remember,, 1000 dollars is not going to give you a mint car ,,that might be some issues as long as they are not big money spending issues ( needs tranny, egine low end noise,burns lots of oil etc etc ... )

 

If fuel economy is a major issue then go for the Civic. My 91 EX wagon with 210K gets around 25 MPG typically and I am sure the Civics do better.

Either car, if properly maintained should be a good score at the $1000 mark.

Gary

 

Since first posting, I've seen many civics and accords for sale in my price range.One in particular had a tow hitch on it which I didn't think was a good thing, A broken windshield, and broken passengerside inside door handle. This one I was considering until the tow hitch, I dont beleive any cars should be towing anything big or small. Also i seen a really clean civic but they said it needed tranny work. Whats the price of a rebuild if needed, jusy curious cus I beleive something like this could be a good deal if you can get it cheap enough. Again Im not expectin anything phenomenal but the last thing I want is for a tranny or engine to blow after I buy then need to come up with $3,000 to fix

 

scroll up a couple of posts and re-read what i suggested .........could save you a lot of money