# Maintenance Translation Needed!

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [May 25, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966 "2011-05-25T17:46:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![njseeker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/fbc32d/32.png) [@njseeker](https://community.cartalk.com/u/njseeker)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966/1 "2011-05-25T17:46:28Z")

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I’m posting my Honda Civic for sale and I want to disclose the known maintenance issues. The issues were handwritten and I’m not sure if I’m reading them correctly. Can you please correct any mistakes:

Pass inner and outer tie rod w/ boat  
Front Struts  
Align  
P/S fluid ex  
Brake fluid ex

Dist Ass.  
Isn coil  
Cap & rotor  
Isn wires  
Plugs

By the way Honda quoted me $2,500 to do all of the above.

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**Author:** ![keith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/keith/32/5518_2.png) [@keith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/keith)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966/2 "2011-05-25T17:51:39Z")

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Isn would be Ignition (Ign)

Pass is passenger side

w/boat don’t know, maybe he was accidently acknowledging that he had a boat payment due.

  

What year and how many miles and what kind of driving?

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966/3 "2011-05-25T17:52:15Z")

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The “Isn coil” and “Isn wires” should actually be “Ignition coil” and “Ignition wires”.

The other items seem to be fairly self-explanatory, except for the first one:  
“Pass inner and outer tie rod w/boat”??

My best guess is that it means “Passenger side inner and outer tie rods with boot”.

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**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966/4 "2011-05-25T17:55:47Z")

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Get a second opinion. There are dealers that try to milk the public for unnecessary repairs. I’ve been to a few.

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**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966/5 "2011-05-25T17:57:46Z")

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PS fluid ex and brake fluid ex: ex means "exchange," or replace.

Brake fluid? Maybe. PS fluid? No.

Dist. Ass = Distributor assembly. Don't know why you'd need that.

This could probably all be done for less by an independent mechanic.

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**Author:** ![UncleTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9a140/32.png) [@UncleTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/UncleTurbo)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966/6 "2011-05-25T18:03:22Z")

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inner and outer tie rod ends with boot - passenger side

power steering fluid exchange and brake fluid exchange

New distributor assembly

New ignition coil, new distributor cap and rotor, new ignition wires, new plugs - all this amounts to a "tune up".

I'll assume the car isn't running too good and that's why it needs a new distributor? The alignment is needed after replacing the tie rod.

All the above work isn't so bad. A handyman, DIY'r could do much of the work with parts from any auto supply store. The new tie rods and removing and replacing the distributor might be "level 2" jobs for more experienced DIY'rs. Nothing here that is that scarey and all the parts would be $200 - 300 dollars. The distributor is the most expensive part, the rest is about $100.

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**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966/7 "2011-05-25T18:37:11Z")

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Grossly inflated by a service writer who can’t spell. My mechanice would do the NECESSARY work for $400 or so. When you sell a vehicle, you should fix safety-related items (like the boot) and items the engine actuaslly needs to have REPAIRED.

The rest of the mainteance, if required, can be done vy the next owner.

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**Author:** ![njseeker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/fbc32d/32.png) [@njseeker](https://community.cartalk.com/u/njseeker)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966/8 "2011-05-25T18:41:41Z")

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Thanks for all of the comments.

318,500 miles - 1996 Civic LX

So far it drives fine -- however ocassionally it hesitates... like one second there is power going through the engine and then the next second it loses power. Generally I just pump the clutch and give it gas and its fine.

I was going to sell it privately to see what I could get. junkmycar.com offered $350 for it without looking at it yet.

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**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966/9 "2011-05-25T20:35:53Z")

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With that mileage, sell it for parts or take the $350! My wife’s 1996 Nissan Sentra has 135,000 miles on it and is is very good condition (needs nothing).

The best I can get for it is $0 wholesale (Net trade-in) and $1050 retail. But it deos not need anthing what yours needs.

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**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966/10 "2011-05-26T00:39:00Z")

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My guess would be that "boat" actually means "boot". This could mean dust boot on the inner tie rod.

Whoever wrote all of that out was likely in a hurry and things such as grammarin', spellin', and any semblance of details went to the end of the line.

Seeing as how all of that stuff is of the wear and tear variety I'd just list the car for sale with a Make An Offer blurb and let any potential buyer decide for themselves.

Common sense says that a vehicle with well over 300k miles needs work and even without seeing the car myself I would bet you the laundry list of repairs will be much longer than what you list. At what point do you stop telling someone about problems and potential problems? (Timing belt for example?)

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**Author:** ![TXdealer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/50afbb/32.png) [@TXdealer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TXdealer)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/maintenance-translation-needed/64966/11 "2011-05-26T00:49:09Z")

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Put it on craigslist for $1000 as is. You will have it sold in an hour.
