Thought I'd share--
My mom called yesterday with sad news. Her civic has been diagnosed with head gasket leaks. I believe the diagnosis through playing the role of "phone mechanic" throughout its life. Approximately 340,000 on this car. She likes to drive them into the ground for as long as they are useful.
It had faulty backup light wiring early on it its life. dealer found and fixed a problem in the harness.
Oil consumption started at 200,000. she switched to maxlife
It needed a new alternator around 220,000
Oil consumption jumped around 275,000 and by 300,000 was becoming unpredictable.
It needed an A/C compressor around 290,000
It needed a new starter around 330,000, and several engine gaskets and seals were changed to reduce oil leaks with the latest TB/WP job.
Besides that, it had regular oil and tire maintenance, dealer TB/WP changes every 100,000. Twice in its life she came by and I'd swap a few qts of trans fluid with amsoil. I think we changed out ~10 qts of ATF around 160,000 and then 4 qts around 270,000. Trans still shifts crisply, consistently and doesn't leak a drop. She doesn't think the dealer ever did any ATF changes.
Used engine swap is 3x the value of the car, plus as well all know, it's well into the nickel-and-dime phase. It's the longest lasting vehicle I've known. She's obviously shopping for another civic but is disappointed that she can't get crank windows.
It's been a really good car.
-mike
My mom called yesterday with sad news. Her civic has been diagnosed with head gasket leaks. I believe the diagnosis through playing the role of "phone mechanic" throughout its life. Approximately 340,000 on this car. She likes to drive them into the ground for as long as they are useful.
It had faulty backup light wiring early on it its life. dealer found and fixed a problem in the harness.
Oil consumption started at 200,000. she switched to maxlife
It needed a new alternator around 220,000
Oil consumption jumped around 275,000 and by 300,000 was becoming unpredictable.
It needed an A/C compressor around 290,000
It needed a new starter around 330,000, and several engine gaskets and seals were changed to reduce oil leaks with the latest TB/WP job.
Besides that, it had regular oil and tire maintenance, dealer TB/WP changes every 100,000. Twice in its life she came by and I'd swap a few qts of trans fluid with amsoil. I think we changed out ~10 qts of ATF around 160,000 and then 4 qts around 270,000. Trans still shifts crisply, consistently and doesn't leak a drop. She doesn't think the dealer ever did any ATF changes.
Used engine swap is 3x the value of the car, plus as well all know, it's well into the nickel-and-dime phase. It's the longest lasting vehicle I've known. She's obviously shopping for another civic but is disappointed that she can't get crank windows.
It's been a really good car.
-mike