Help me buy a used car!!!

Question

I took a '99 Honda Accord ex (4cyl) to the dealership to get it checked out before I decided to buy it. The owner has all of the maintenance records and has had it regularly serviced, even up till three months ago. However, the mechanic we took it to said the rack and pinion needed replacing. After this the owner decided to get a second opinion and so she took it to another dealership which told her the rack and pinion absolutely DOES NOT need any replacement and that it was the struts and the entire assembly line to the struts. Both places quoted over $1000.00 in work.

She is selling me the vehicle for $5500.00, and I am still deciding if I am going to get it. She is non-negotiable on the price because she says that she has taken excellent care of the car and it has been well maintained. She in insistent on the fact that the mechanics are trying to rip her off.

Given how well she has maintained the car, do you think it is possible the mechanics are just trying to rip her off?

By the way, the car has 104000 miles on it and has only had one owner.

Answer 1

tell her to bite you and keep the car..........

$2500 tops..............

Used cars are everywhere........

be bold  and insulting when making an offer..........

certainly the asking prices are bold and insulting

we've got a 02 camry with 88K, you can have it for $5,500

by the way, we've taken excellant care and it's been garaged

repeat these words to the honda person....bite me

Answer 2

You need to have someone look at the car who's opinion you trust.

It seems odd that two dealerships could have completely opposite opinions about something as simple as a rack and pinion unit.

I can't comment on the struts because "the entire assembly line to the struts" does not make sense.

Have you driven the car yourself?  What does the steering feel like?  Tight, loose, jerky...  Is the rack leaking power steering fluid out the rubber bellows on the ends?  If you bounce the car by putting your body weight at each of the four corners, does the car rebound up and then stop or does it go up and down a few times?  Is there a clunk or popping sound when you drive over a good size bump or dip like a speed bump or pot hole?

With 104,000 miles, it is certainly possible to have enough wear in the rack and pinion and in the struts to warrant replacement.

Answer 3

if the rack is leaking it will leave a puddle on the ground if the struts are bad it will ride real ruff every car has some traces of oil but if i drive it and i don't add fluid but once every two years that's ok in my book

Answer 4

It would not be unusual for the steering rack to need replacement after 100,000 miles. Especially if the mileage was racked up in town as opposed to freeway driving where there is less wear on steering components.

I would never buy a fixer upper without a fixed estimate from a shop which guaranteed a repair price. Since no shop will give you this kind of guarantee, I would avoid this car. You could end up paying thousands more than you think.

Also, it is common for the original owner of a car to become attached to their car. After all, they've owned it from new. They oftern overvalue them.

Answer 5

Trust me, at this point when the oil price is unstable, you'll look for something with the amount of CC of 1,500 and below...

Honda Accord, according to many people who had drove it, complained about the heavy fuel consumption...

Answer 6

Let this one pass and take a little more time looking around because you can get alot more car fo rthe same amount of mney.

Answer 7

Find yourself another car.  I'd never pay $5,500 for a 9 year old car.  ESPECIALLY a Honda.