1998 Honda CR-V 2.0
Summary:
Practical, reliable enough, not so cheap... dull as heck
Faults:
Clutch master and slave cylinders twice, window regulator, water pump, fans, thermostat, gaskets, A/C, exhaust, warped rotors, stabilizer links, steering pump, steering rack, rear door shocks, suspension, sunroof fail, clock fail, steamy windows, alternator... and much more.
General Comments:
Great in the snow. Good city driver. Poor highway MPG. High road noise, engine revs high at 100 KM/H and above.
Fairly reliable, impressive build quality, but the savings are negated by very high parts costs.
Not very comfortable for long rides. The handling and performance are really uninspired.
This has been an expensive car to run, despite the Honda reputation. Hate putting money into it. Going back to GM... next car is a 1981 LeSabre. SO much nicer to drive than the Honda. Pleather seats are embarrassingly crappy.
It's an economy small SUV that goes high miles.
Honda dealership service SUX big time.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 13th March, 2015
14th Mar 2015, 17:45
Those are great little mini SUVs or basically small people movers. And getting 270,000 miles so far out of it is the icing on the cake. They are great as a second or third car in the family. But I'm not sure I would buy one as a primary family car with 150,000 miles already on the clock. And it sounds like you had a lot of problems with yours. Most problems with those early CR-Vs were power locks, oxygen sensors, keyless entry, shocks/struts and brakes and valves that have never been adjusted or adjusted incorrectly. So you have to get the CRV cheap enough to start restoring/fixing those items.
Also only get one owner cars with a clean Carfax. No accidents on the Carfax, no out of state cars. Carfax should state that it had service from a dealership 6 or more times in its life. Pep Boys/Midas or Jiffy Lube do not count. Also reject any car that failed smog or safety on the Carfax. I like to buy cars from the used/new auto giants like Autonation or Sonic Corporation. They at least safety and smog their used vehicles and wholesale out the junky ones. But don't except them to overhaul the car for you. That's your job to inspect it from top to bottom, because people trade in their lemons to them too. So it's buyer beware. Their websites have all the information you need including Carfax, description and pictures of the vehicle. Also they reduce the price on their vehicles $500-1000 a month on the slow moving ones on the lot.
These are great times for a used car buyers that does his/her homework, because there were some great vehicles made between 1995 to 2005. And many of them are going for peanuts now. But beware, because many have been abused and not maintained. Your job is to weed out the good ones from the bad ones.