I’m Sorry Uncle Turbo but I been spoiled by cars that arent as expensive to buy and maintain and are less worrisome. But Honda civic are alot of fun to drive etc. THey have thier good points but for me I dont see it working for me. Mayby I need to grow up for that or I may get forced into that at some point. Also because my best mechanic specializes in foriegn cars. If I bring him another american car I think hes gonna scream.
Then again the mechanic I have now may be just as good.? It took me a long time to realize how good I had it with my best mechanic. hes the one that did my belts included timing belt on my 89 colt for around 125 bucks. But I admit that colt did leak oil from the head gasket which was very annoying. But consumer reports seem to indicate that that had been corrected by 91. Did Honda squash the colt? Kill its competition? Or mayby Americans cant appreciate a well rounded car.
I would prefer to avoid an interference engine. It gives me the willies that the car could be destroyed like that. Unforunately Hondas hottest competition is gone-the Colt.
Old data but was told Hondas rust in critical areas more so than other cars.
I was impressed by that 83 civic I saw recently in good condition. I was tempted to offer 2K for that. But only because its competition is gone. Mitsubishi doesnt have a similar hatchback. Not in America. Hmm.
I sure do miss the good old days when I could give Honda the finger. Yea Im mad now. My car is gone.
I just googled that 90 gt hb and this post was at number two on the page. Does this stuff get on google? Mayby I should add popular key words so the whole world will see this? Anyone want to encourage me?
Is there a way to go back and consolidate my posts?
I just found a 91 ford escort GT 2dr. HB on cars.com. 80k miles. Assembled in USA! At least it wasnt assembled in Mexico. Price listed 1500.00. Trans type not listed. Being sold by Ford dealer. So if it checks out as good as this olds I wonder if I should do a swap with them. They might not go for that. This is not very far at all either.
Oops I put too much emphasis on maintain.
Ok I could be off on that. But from what I know its very hard to find a good one on the cheap. I had asked my dealer friend and he said he couldnt find a good one. He said they were all beat up. That was 10 yrs ago and I was in the 1k range to buy a used car.
I have known this dealer for ages and he never had a cheap used civic for sale. It was always some other type of vehicle in my cheapskate budget. And I always aked him for a civic too. I always wanted one but he always talked me out of that. Or eventually did. He considered it once but never delivered on it.
Apparently thats why I may never own one. Im just too cheap I guess. For a civic that is.
I dont like to have much in a car because theres too much that could go horribly wrong.
The car I have now is joyful in that respect.
Mayby I’m missing something or havent understood something.
There’s nothing about an Escort that’s made by Honda if that’s what you meant in the previous post. The Escort GT engine was made by Mazda, but as far as I know all other Escorts are 100% manufactured with Ford parts. If you’re interested in an Escort I think they made the wagon until '99, made the ZX-2 until '04 I think and the regular sedan until either '02 or '03. The water pump is driven by the timing belt on the Escort so it’s recommended that you change the water pump when doing the timing belt. The timing belt interval on the '91 Escort GT you mentioned above is probably every 60K miles so if it’s never been changed with 80K miles and being 20 years old it probably should be soon. Changing the timing belt on the GT will be more complicated than on the regular Escort because it’s a DOHC engine instead of a SOHC which means you have to get both cams timed properly.
Is that still non interference? And does it cost much more for that?
I was making a wisecrack about timing belts where you have to do the water pump. In other words expensive timing belt change cars.
I’m interested somewhat in the escort GT HB. But that1991 I mentioned could be chancy?
I could be wasting time with that but it could improve my skills by checking it out.
When I looked thru the car talk owner reviews it seemed people liked the mpg’s and the reliability mechanically but thought the body was cheap. And mentioned electrical problems? Or problems with guages? And auto trans problems? Thats why I thought better go with the upper level on that with a manual trans. Unfortuately missing out on the higher mpg.
I seem to want a hatchback. I guess because theyre fun to drive(sporty) and have good cargo room. I cant imagine a wagon being sporty though Id like the extra cargo room.
I find sedans to be pretty much useless but most americans dont seem to agree with me on that.
have you had any rain leaks with yours?
I feel like Im trying to get a Colt HB out of every car I consider and it hasnt been working to well on a purly research level anyway. I dont deserve to be so picky.
Is that GT noninterference and does it cost much more to do the timing belt on that? The other thing that worries me with that is if the body was cheap to begin with how good is going to be when its that old? And with such low milage I’d be concerned with gasket leaks.
And I find it suspicious theyre trying to sell that. Seems like it should be a freebie?
I find that a very questionable sale. Who knows what theyre up to with that?
Who would buy a sporty hatchback that gets good mpg and not drive it much?
The GT does have a non interference engine, but the DOHC engine won’t get as good of gas mileage (probably somewhere between 25-30 in mixed driving) as the SOHC engine. The '02 I bought for my son to drive has a 2.0L SOHC and automatic transmission and he regularly gets 30-34 MPG in mixed driving. I’ve never done a timing belt on one of the DOHC engines so I really can’t compare the job with a SOHC engine which is actually pretty easy if you have the correct tools and know how. Here’s a web site you might like to visit if thinking about buying an Escort. www.feoa.net Go there and read about them and ask questions. My user name there is FordMan59. Most everyone on the site is willing to help you and answer questions. There will be information on all types of Escorts there, from common problems to things to look for when buying used Escorts, to help with problems. Some things I suggest you take a very close look at on an older Escort is the rear strut towers. That’s one of the weak spots where rust takes it toll on Escorts that are exposed to lots of salt. I really don’t see the body of an Escort being any less durable than most cars. You should also have the front end checked (ball joints & tie rod ends) they seem to wear out faster on Escorts than on most other cars. I usually have to replace the ball joints and tie rod ends on my Escorts about every 100-125K miles so if you’re looking at something with about this number of miles if they haven’t already been replaced it probably wouldn’t be long. I had to replace them on my '02 at just over 100K miles.
If you’re not sure of the mileage on the GT look for signs it might have more miles such as excessively worn gas, brake or clutch pedal pads, excessively worn seats, etc. If you could find a standard Escort you could probably buy a newer model for the same money they want for the GT. GT’s normally sell higher. I bought an '88 Escort GL about 3 years ago for $800., when I bought it, it only had 78K actual miles on it. It had been owned by an older lady who had quit driving and it was nearly perfect inside and out. I’ve been driving it part time now for over 3 years and I think all that I’ve had to do to it is change the oil/filter and repaired the a/c which wasn’t working when I bought it. There are a few low mileage cars out there, but sometimes cars are misrepresented for low mileage cars when they’re really not. In all I have 5 Escorts 2-'88’s, the Pony with 518K miles, the GL I bought a few years ago and currently has 88K miles, 1-'94, that was my dad’s that mom gave me when dad passed away last year, it needed a new water pump and timing belt which I fixed and it currently has 188K miles, 1-'97 wagon I bought new that currently has 32K miles, and the '02 I bought for my son has about 120K miles.
I think my ideal car would be very economical and have the cargo space of a van. But that I guess is asking a lot. And be sporty comfortable and aesthetic.
My mind got back on my current car. OK so I got this new mechanic and he recomends this body shop for the rain leak. Body shop says expensive and one possible cause he cant get to near fire wall-tells me he wouldnt spend any more money on this car. Tells me my new shop is a good shop after I just spent 600 dollars there?
Is there something wrong with this picture?
seems to me this “good shop” shouldve sent me to the body shop first before I spent 600 dollars on the car.
I just vacumed the car today and realized just how bad this rain leak is. Its been going on for a long time and the entire carpet almost is disgusting. It was very wet on the drivers side floor. I found myself vacuming dirty water there. So the cars been leaking rain on both sides!
Apparently I picked the wrong shop. Well my saving grace is the car was free. Ive been clearing the drain holes in the doors some were clogged. If im lucky that will work.
Now back to the fords. Well gues what theres a support group for colt owners on google. It looks like the focus ZX3 is the new colt hatchback substitute for lack of a better description. As far as I can tell. But apparently Im the only colt fan on here so I should shut up about that I guess.
Is it possible theres an area near the firewall that could be full of dirt thats not possible to get to that could be a cause of rain getting in the car?
First I want to apologise for my sloppiness.
Second I just visited another body shop and was told my car wouldnt have passed inspection THERE; so therefore my car isnt legal because of the rust around the engine area. And I was told again not to spend any money on this car. Ive been given the impression by both body shops it could be expensive and was advised not to spend any more money on this car. so I gues I got a silly mechanic???
Also according to Edmunds I could get a car in good condition for 2K going by theyre prices for used cars.
Theres a about at least an inch rust hole in the firewall. Its not that bad said my mechanic? Other rust holes where fenders connect to body in this area.
i seem to have a good reason to get another car.
Not to mention the rust on the strut towers in this area.
Is there a question? Your original question was “should I get another car”? It seems the answer is YES. Time to get serious about shopping for another car.
MY GOD what a post… I cant say enough about how affordable and appliance reliable the Honda Civic and Accords are… If you want em cheap go for the 94-97 Accord…and ANY Civic you want…stay in the 90+ range tho… Yes they need a T-belt every 100K or so, regular oil changes etc…but other than that …Just drive, they will take good care of you.
To colt, someday you will have real problems in your life and stop obsessing about cheap worn out cars. You seem to find it fun but adults should have better things to do.
If I could just share another thoght on this if it may have any significance possibly not.
These shops though theyve disagreed;I think they are all very decent shops. I dont think my mechanic is with certainty wrong. Mayby hes willing to repair the rust for a low price as hes been doing. why would he do such a thing? Mayby he feels for me? I dont really know. But that is the main issue here is that rust. So mayby thats why he feels its not that bad.
I dont really understand the disagreement here between the body shops and my mechanic. and especially since my mechanic recommended one of the body shops for the rain leak.