OT When do you let a car go?, AC problems may be doing in my Civic Options

[mistro]

I use a 92 Honda Civic as my commuter car (wife's original car), with gas @ $2.50, the car only takes 3 gals to get me to work and back. (100 mile round trip) But freon is leaking from the condensor, High Pressure switch, Receiver Drier and probably the evaporator, ie no AC which here on the East Coast in the summer isn't viable. My mechanic (not a dealer) is quoting over $1250 to fix it all, for a car with 150,000+ miles, that's maybe worth $1750... Hate to get rid of a perfectly good running car, but... What's the tipping point? Rgds, Michael

[spare time toys]

I would sell it. If you are going to spend more than it is worth or close to it. Some kid will snap it up and you can get one with good A/C.

[Midtowner]

IMHO, time to sell it. There are other components that may fail in the near future such as the water pump or other similar bolt-on items. Best of luck! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif)

[Hawktel]

Its a Civic.

You drop a sign for 2 grand in it and sell it to some poor kid that thinks it a race car, and add in the 1250 you was going to blow on the AC, you get a 1500 dollar Civic with working AC to get you to work, and you put 2 grand into the Teener.

Its all about perspective see?

[SGB]

I once ran a probability assessment (in an economics class) to try to define the break point for old car ownership. Basic assumptions were sumthing like-
salvage value of $1000 regardless of miles, no monthly payments, and I can't remember what else-
it used an excel spreadsheet to run a whole bunch of itterations resulting in: spend no more than $750 (sumthing like that, maybe even less) in one year. If you hit $750.01 on day 364, SELL IT. So I think that I agree with all the opinions here so far. Bye-bye honda.

[914GT]

A '92 Honda with 150K. I'm sure you're overdue for a timing belt change. And a new water pump. Then there's those pesky little hoses buried under the engine for the oil cooler, worn clutch/slave/master cylinder (unless automatic), power steering high pressure hose that will soon need replacement, etc. etc. These are just some of the things that start to go wrong on these Honda engines at around that age, based on my experience.

[anthony]

Personally, I don't think you should look at maintenance with regards to the car's value. If the car has been kept up, it's probably worth fixing. $1200 is like 3 car payments on a new Civic. If $1200 gets you another year or two of driving then it's way worth it.

And why not fix the AC yourself and convert it to cheap r134a at the same time? I bet you could fix it yourself for less than $500. With a little study, you'll find A/C systems pretty easy to work on.

I'm in the same boat with my '94 Jetta. It's got 150K miles and will probably need a new clutch this year and a timing belt next year. That's about $1000 but I figure that that $1000 in maintenance will take me to 200K miles.

A new Jetta would cost me $18K with tax and license. Finanacing for 4 years would cost, what?, $3K. $21K spent over 4 years and the car would be worth $12K after those 4 years. That's $2,250/year in depreciation to drive a new car not including maintenance.

[ematulac]

As many others have suggested, I would sell it. You should have no problem selling it for $2k. I would, however, throw a little more cash at it and get a decent used car in the $8k - $10k range with low (less than 60k) miles. Then you don't have to worry about this again for several years.

[914GT]

I think you need to consider the nuisance factor. Either you will always be working on the car to fix something yourself or you'll be taking it in to the repair shop. Your time is worth something too. You can have a well-maintained car but after 15 years or so there will still be parts failing. I've got an 87 Acura in beautiful condition but it's to the point it needs frequent attention.

[lapuwali]

Try to apply "what's it worth" arithmetic to any 914...

If a car is nothing more than a daily appliance, it goes the second it becomes too much trouble. If you even start asking yourself this question, it's time to sell the car. Your wife probably paid about $12K for that car new, I'd guess. It served for 13 years, or about $1K/year (not including interest, taxes, or gas). So, dump this for $2K, and spend $5K on a 2000 Civic, and commute in it for 5-6 years, rinse, repeat.

[grantsfo]

Go to a U pick parts place that specializes in Hondas or Japanese cars and grab the stuff off a low mileage crash victim. I have grabbed civic engines with less than 15,000 miles for $500. Seems to me you could find a car with good condensor etc for real cheap under a couple hundred.

Or as others have said dump it and get an older low mileage civic.

[bd1308]

QUOTE (914GT @ Jun 7 2005, 11:15 AM)

A '92 Honda with 150K. I'm sure you're overdue for a timing belt change. And a new water pump. Then there's those pesky little hoses buried under the engine for the oil cooler, worn clutch/slave/master cylinder (unless automatic), power steering high pressure hose that will soon need replacement, etc. etc. These are just some of the things that start to go wrong on these Honda engines at around that age, based on my experience.

timing belt at 100K miles....very overdue. My g/f had one--a '92.....$400 for the deal.

[914GT]

QUOTE (bd1308 @ Jun 7 2005, 12:02 PM)

timing belt at 100K miles....very overdue. My g/f had one--a '92.....$400 for the deal.

Overdue for the second time at 150K miles. The water pump should be replaced while in there too.

[bd1308]

sorry, i didnt know they needed one at every 50K....she got it at 92K and went to 100K with a new auto tranny in between and traded it to her brother for her dad's 98 protege

[anthony]

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Jun 7 2005, 11:33 AM)

Try to apply "what's it worth" arithmetic to any 914...

If people applied this metric to 914s nobody would restore a 914, have one painted, rebuild a 914 engine or transmission and 914s would be getting junked right and left.

I still think that the decision whether to fix or sell has nothing to do with the street value of the car. It has everything to do with how much the replacement car would cost and the condition and potential of the current car.

I just did a quick google search and found a new condensor for a '92 Civic for $130.

[914GT]

If a 92 Civic has sentimental value or whatever, then you'd keep it and fix it up. If it's cheap reliable transportation then it's a different story. I think 914s and 92 Civics aren't that comparable. Maybe 25 years from now that could not be true but I doubt it.

[john rogers]

Well, you could get Dr Evil to take it to Tiajuana and get the whole AC system overhauled VERY cheaply. They do that work there too.....

[lapuwali]

QUOTE (anthony @ Jun 7 2005, 11:15 AM)

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Jun 7 2005, 11:33 AM) Try to apply "what's it worth" arithmetic to any 914... If people applied this metric to 914s nobody would restore a 914, have one painted, rebuild a 914 engine or transmission and 914s would be getting junked right and left.

Actually, it does, if you use your "replacement costs" method.

How much would it cost to buy a newly painted, fully rebuilt 914 now? $8K? How much would it cost to buy a different car with anything like the performance of a 914? $10-20K? How much to buy a NEW car with anything like a 914's performance? $40K?

Buying a $2K 914 and throwing $5K at it suddenly seems like it's not so bad a deal.