Faults:

Spark plugs/wiring with spark plugs replaced at 189,000 miles.

Clutch replaced at 192,000 miles.

Starter replaced at 190,000 miles.

Timing belt broke/had to replace oil tank at 194,000 miles.

Trunk lid lock broke.

General Comments:

Cloth seats very comfortable.

Easy to handle, can drive and park this car very well.

Light blue paint close to new except minor dents and scratches.

Easy to change gears.

Great on gas uses hardly any oil.

Faults:

The brakes were replaced at around 190,000.

The sensor that detects whether or not the car is in gear is bad. So the car won't start in park, only neutral.

The timing belt has been replaced twice in the life of the car as well as the oil pump as preventive maintenance. New seals were installed to fix an oil leak.

The CV joints had to be replaced around 200,000.

General Comments:

This car is a bit underpowered for interstate driving and it can be a bit nerve racking when trying to take it over large hills with a load inside the car.

There are no cup holders at all.

For all the repair work I have done to this car I still have only spent $300 on maintanece in the last year. This excludes labor of course since I did the work myself.

This car is a perfect first car for someone due to its reliability.

The car uses a carburetter which is the only thing I don't like about it.

Surprisingly, it is built like a tank. I purchased it from my dad who drove 30 miles daily on rough gravel roads with it and problems due to the pounding it received are minimal.

Faults:

Fall of 1996, 151000 miles, replaced the rear control arms and Timing Belt.

Replaced passenger side front window motor in early 1997.

Clutch went out 15 minutes before midnight New Years eve 1997.

Rust beginning to appear around rear wheel wells.

Fuel injection light comes on and stays on after engine runs for 10 to 20 minutes. Has been checked, but mechanic did not feel it was serious.

Replaced struts all the way around at 193,000 miles in September of 2002.

Have had front brake rotors turned twice since buying the car.

General Comments:

The air conditioning still blows cold.

Still gets great mileage on the highway. It's not uncommon to get 35 MPG plus on trips.

Huge trunk for such a small car.

The 2.0 Fuel Injected engine coupled with the 5 speed manual transmission makes for a fun car to drive.

The car is paid for and I just can't bring my self to sell it. Just doesn't make sense to pick up a car payment when there is nothing wrong with the Honda except a few miles and some paint flaking off the bumper. I'm actually looking forward to watching the odometer roll over 200,000 miles.

Faults:

The timing belt broke at 104,000 miles.

General Comments:

The Honda Accord Lxi is a zippy little car. When running at peak performance I can squeeze 38 miles/gallon out of it. The interior is great. Very comfortable seats, and when you have all the windows down and the sun roof open, it fells as if you are in a convertible.

General Comments:

My Honda is now 14 years old and I am thinking about putting it out to pasture. Since I am a financial guy, I always wanted to tally the total cost of car ownership. Supposedly, Hondas have good maintenance records...

Over the past 14 years and 126,000 miles, I managed to save every repair and maintenance receipt. With this, along with some reasonably accurate estimate work, I have been able to track the total cost of ownership for this automobile. I have compiled the results of this 14 year long study below.

Total Cost of Car Ownership

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$ 10,600 Original purchase price

$ 16,000 Car insurance

$ 17,000 Maintenance: all repairs, oil, breaks, mufflers, clutch, etc...

$ 6,000 Gas

$ 1,000 Sales tax, excise tax, annual registration

$ 2,263 Interest on bank loan

$ 1,300 Parking tickets, towing

-------------

$ 54,163 Total (.42 cents a mile)

Wow. My first conclusion is that this car is a L-e-m-m-o-n. $17k in repairs over 126k miles seems about right for a Yugo. But who knows, maybe this is actually below average (as consumer reports would lead you to believe).

I am surprised how expensive it has been to own this automobile. My situation is a little unusual since my mileage averaged 9,000 miles per year -- about half of the US average. In any case, whats most intriguing to me is the fact that the purchase price is only 1/5th of the total cost.