'97 accord wagon with 180,000 for $2500?

[detroit313]

what up my 3gee peeps? i havent been on in a while. seems like im only on here when i have a problem or a question. when i joined the forum i was a newbie with a $500 '88 LX-i with 87K on it. im still going strong with 160K at the moment with no signs of stopping. as usual, i come to you with a question...
i have the opportunity to pick up a vey clean '97 accord EX wagon for $2500.(2.2 Vtech automatic) very clean interior and it has no mech. problems,no leaks no rust which is rare for a michigan car and less than a year old goodyear 80,000 mile tires on it.
im just hung up on the 180,000 miles part for some reason. this dude is the 2nd owner and he had it since the 50k mark.
he also has a pile of service records. do you think its a good buy? i really like the car itself. im just weary of the mileage! i really dont feel comforatable piling my 5 y/o daughter and 3 y/o son in the 3 gee! know what i mean? please give me some input if you have any..

[DBMaster]

I would love to find one just like it!

[DBMaster]

what up my 3gee peeps? i havent been on in a while. seems like im only on here when i have a problem or a question. when i joined the forum i was a newbie with a $500 '88 LX-i with 87K on it. im still going strong with 160K at the moment with no signs of stopping. as usual, i come to you with a question...
i have the opportunity to pick up a vey clean '97 accord EX wagon for $2500.(2.2 Vtech automatic) very clean interior and it has no mech. problems,no leaks no rust which is rare for a michigan car and less than a year old goodyear 80,000 mile tires on it.
im just hung up on the 180,000 miles part for some reason. this dude is the 2nd owner and he had it since the 50k mark.
he also has a pile of service records. do you think its a good buy? i really like the car itself. im just weary of the mileage! i really dont feel comforatable piling my 5 y/o daughter and 3 y/o son in the 3 gee! know what i mean? please give me some input if you have any..

When you get ready to sell the 73 Pontiac let me know. :)

[Vanilla Sky]

If you're worried about safety in the 3gee, don't really sweat it. These cars are plenty safe.

Don't really worry about the mileage on that 97, though. 180,000 miles is nothing. That's just over 16,000 miles a year. $2500 is a pretty stellar deal, as well.

[86ccord]

nothin wrong with having two cars now.. :D

[cubert]

If the car is legit its not a bad deal...but why is he willing to let it go for so cheap?



Thats the only thing that would make me nervous

[Civic Accord Honda]

do it but keep the 3g too...

[detroit313]

my pontiac grand ville in my avatar is a '71 by the way...
anyways,were in michgan dude,people are hurting around here. its an older dude and not some kid thats selling it. hes just trying to clear some driveway space.
it sounds great and runs like new. like i said,the 180,000 miles kinda spooks me. i wish it was a stick! im thinking im going to go for it.


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[Strahan]

Yea, I'd get it. I wouldn't be too worried about the miles being what it is. If it was like a 91 Cavalier I wouldn't touch it with 180k lol.

[cubert]

If thats the case id scoop it up in a heartbeat

[Civic Accord Honda]

lol thats low miles for an accord they can go up to 500k miles easy if there taking care of

[bullard123]

Yeah thats a good deal. I think he's just pricing it to sell quickly. It could be because of the miles too. If you need to work on it im sure you won't have any problem at all because you've worked on your 3gee

[DBMaster]

my pontiac grand ville in my avatar is a '71 by the way...

Yeah, I realized that right after I posted. '71 was the first year of the really "big" body style. I had a '72 Catalina as my first car. At least the two cars I have owned in my life have both been bulletproof. The Pontiac needed more attention and "adjustment," but overall it was an extremely durable car.

[detroit313]

looks like im going to pick it up @ 5pm today..
ill keep you guys posted. thanks for all the input, it really helped me to make up my mind.
my '71 grand ville conv. is a really fun ride. 455ci with a 4bbl it has the 3 speed turbo hydromatic trans. (THM400) only gets around 8-10 mpg. but its not my daily driver obviosly. its very easy to work on. i havent had much go wrong with it over the past 10 years i owned it. i only drive it 1000 miles a year maybe.

[Blkblurr]

I'd go for it. I sold my 97 Accord EX sedan that had 168K miles on it for $5,500 about three years ago.

[DBMaster]

I used to get about 12mpg city and 16mpg highway. That was after I converted to the Holley four-barrel and HEI distributor. HEI's an easy conversion on the Pontiac. But, I just had the 400. The TH400 transmission is easily one of the most durable GM ever produced. I had over 200K miles on mine without overhaul. Most people never changed the fluid and filter regularly. Does the 455 run hot like the 400?

[detroit313]

shit yeah! runs hot as hell!! i literally cant take it out if the temp outside is in the mid 90's! i have to wait till the evening on those days.
i get vapor lock when im not moving. we dont get many hot ass days like that here in Michigan anyways so its rarely an issue. my overeheat gauge doesnt come on but it runs hotter than normal,thats for sure. i even have a good flex fan installed.........

[cubert]

so, did you end up getting it?

[DBMaster]

shit yeah! runs hot as hell!! i literally cant take it out if the temp outside is in the mid 90's! i have to wait till the evening on those days.
i get vapor lock when im not moving. we dont get many hot ass days like that here in Michigan anyways so its rarely an issue. my overeheat gauge doesnt come on but it runs hotter than normal,thats for sure. i even have a good flex fan installed.........

I tried a flex fan on mine in 1988. The problem was that it really didn't seem to do any better than the clutch fan and transmitted more vibration to the water pump. So, the seal failed within a year. I think the best solution is to either add an electric fan, or to remove the belt driven fan altogether and install a double fan set with thermostatic control. I never tried that due to the high cost at the time. Now, with online auto parts places I think the cost would be more reasonable. Mercedes cars of that vintage use a belt driven fan, plus an electric fan mounted on the front side of the condenser. The 400 was basically a bored out 350. When I added the rally gauge cluster obtained from a J/Y Grand Ville I was bothered by the fact that the temp was often 250 or higher on a hot summer day - we have a lot of those here. I could still run in traffic with the A/C going, but at times it would be running hotter than what is "safe." The four-row radiator I had built for it didn't really help, either so I think it is purely an airflow issue. I always heard that the 455 was its own unique block casting and that the cylinder walls were thicker than in the 400. But, it sounds like it's the same problem.

[detroit313]

i didnt think about an additional electric fan....great idea! im going to try that this summer! car is currently in hibernation in the garage!


i went ahead and bought that '97 wagon! dude, it drives nice as hell. the muffler might need to be replaced/patched. its a little loud and ni hate that loud BS. whats the timing belt repalcement marker on these 2.2 VTEC engines?
this dude had it done @ 90,000 its @ 180,000 now. sounds like its overdue. i dont need that shit in the back of my mind. what do you think it would run $$ for the job? doing it myself is not an option! its like 18 degrees outside and my garage is well spoken for.
another thing i noticed is this guy kept ALL his service records from 48,000 miles when he bough it up till now. looking and adding stuff together there is over $5,000 with of shit done to this car(at the dealer) since 2005 alone. ball joints,belts,sensors,starter,etc..all at the dealer,you know how they are. they scare people into getting stuff done.
looks like i wont have to worry about a lot of stuff for a while.
that sealed the deal for me! seeing all the good care and $$ this guy spent on the car. he drove it from TN to MI. 4 times a year. it explains the higher mileage....ill post some pics of it tomorrow evening!!

[Civic Accord Honda]

sweet post some pics of ur 3gee to as i have never seen it!

also yes the timing belt is due.. i forgot how much it was to get done on our old 97 coupe and 97 sedan i think it was like 700 but cant be sure.

[detroit313]

DAMN!! i hope its not $700 for a timing belt replacemet,shit!!...t
hat would really suck. but at the dealership i would not doubt it.
time to give one of my back alley mechanic vicodin addicts from my old hood in sw. Detroit a call.............

[cubert]

well...it wasnt a honda, but my friends mother had the belt replaced in her 99 camry and it ran her around 400 bucks....

[DBMaster]

The TB replacement interval in the Odyssey (1998 vintage 2.3L) was 110K miles. It is significantly more money for the replacement because you definitely replace the water pump whether you like it or not as it IS driven by the TB. Also, there is a balance shaft belt that is under the TB cover and there is a procedure for making sure the balance shaft is in the right position in relation to the crankshaft. Ex-wife left before I got to change the TB on the Odyssey so there you go.

[detroit313]

there is a certified mech. that does work out of his pole barn im going to go to tomorrow.....40 minute drive but worth it. i just wanna have it all done and out of my head already.
hes going to charge $150.00 for the labor. guess it takes 5 hours roughly ((times are rough here in MI. bro)) not fucking bad at al huh?
im doing the water pump,valve cover gasket,tensioners and & t-belt.
dealer did want $700+ i cant even stomach that much loot for the job
i noticed it a little wet (barely) by the valve cover....why not just get it done while its going to be torn down? the car runs like freakin new. got dark before i could take pics today..i will post some tomorrow.

[Steve_Si]

Hah you could have had my stock H22A SiR wagon with 60k miles in perfect condition with tanabe springs and nice rims for less than that :P

Only problem is you would have had to somehow pick it up from the other side of the world :(