Questions of reliability of Older Hondas

me2butch4u

HI,
I am looking into purchasing a 1988 Honda Accord. It has an automatic transmission and has 91,000 miles on it. The car is flawless, inside and out. It appears to be worth the $1500 asking price upon initial inspection. Can anyone tell me about their reliability? I am wondering about the automatic tranny as it is the first one I have seen that wasn't Manual. Are there any gremlins that I might want to look for? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

thegraduate

You should post this in the 1976-1989 Maintenance and Repair forum; you'll get a lot more help in that thread I believe. Lots of knowledgeable people reside in these repair and maintenance forums.

pat

But we can also run a discussion here on the reliability of older Hondas in general.

thegraduate

Sounds like a good idea to me...I wonder if my 10 year old Honda counts as "old" yet? Probably not, it's barely broken in with ONLY 162,000 miles. LOL

tallman1

Yeah, same as my 95 with 213,000

Maybe we should have a contest to see who has the most miles. I know there are some who have way more than me.

suydam

I think it depends on where the Hondas have lived. There can be a lot of underbody damage in cars driven in areas where the roads are salted in the winters. We have a '93 Honda Accord that has significantly more problems of that nature -- rusting exhaust systems, for example -- than if it had spent most of its life in the southwest. This Honda has 157,000 miles -- no transmission problems at all (it's AT). Still running but has taken $$$ for various repairs every year.

tallman1

Very true. I live in western Washington state so not much snow to deal with. I still have the original exhaust system, including the muffler. Of course, keeping it clean with all the rain is a challenge.

mrbill1957

I have an 88 Accord auto with 137k on it. No problems with the tranny so far. They do have a firm shift, and should have the fluid changed with Honda fluid only every 30k miles.

Overall, the car has been very reliable. Only problems is a PCV valve failure, CV boots, and the usual tires, brakes, exhaust, and timing belt.

A nearby Honda master mechanic says this vintage Accord can easily get 200-300k on it. He felt that since they are somewhat underpowered, it's harder to abuse the engine and trans.

Mrbill

poto1

As the owner of a '90 Accord with 275K miles on it, I can attest to their reliability. I live in a high salt, harsh winter area so the body is starting to go the past couple of years. The engine and standard tranny, however, are still good. I need to change the timing belt though as it's almost double overdue at this point.

thegraduate

I need to change the timing belt though as it's almost double overdue at this point.

Wow, ever see the game show "Press Your Luck?" You better get that belt changed before it becomes a "whammy" of an engine problem!

sardonic_ninny

timing belts cost a couple grand to fix when they go out.
the belt doesnt just break
everything breaks.
cracked engine blocks are common from that.

my 95 accord has 187000 miles on it and never had a single mechanical failure.
I think one of my rods might be knocking but Its okay
I'll get them replaced with aftermarket rods.
When something breaks, its a wonderful excuse to make it better.

thegraduate

my 95 accord has 187000 miles on it and never had a single mechanical failure.

Knock on wood, bud!

sardonic_ninny

yah tell me about it. hah, actually, i sent it into the shop today cause the A/C broke. =[

thegraduate

Aw, man...sorry to hear that...I wasn't trying to bring bad luck!