Hey yall. I know this isn't really about Buicks, but I know I can come here for help on most topics. A buddy of mine and I go to Sam Houston State University. He is a great guy and his car broke down the other day. He took it in and the shop he took it to says that the timing belt is broke on it. But they want $600 to fix it. My buddy says he isn't gonna get them to do it and just wants to sell the car. It is a 93 Honda Civic 4 door. The exterior of the car is in great condition and the interior is fine except for the dash. Some guys broke into his car and broke the dash trying to get the CD player out. Anyway, does anyone have any idea how much this car would be worth? I mean the car ran great until this timing belt problem. Niether one of us has any clue what it would be worth. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
problem is that with a mashed motor its not very saleable. Most people buying Hondas want them running, and want to feel like the car will be reliable. To a non-car-guy a car which broke down once must be a car which will break down again so will pass it up. A buddy of mine had the same problem when the motor blew on his Turbo Fiat Coupe. Was going to be 2000+ to fix it. Car worth 4500. So he rckoned he could just sell it for 2000 as was. Best offer he got was 500 - for a 4500 car. So he borrowed the 2000 and got it fixed.
That's understandable, but there is nothing REALLY wrong with the motor. It is just 'out of time' I guess you could say. It is very fixable, just he doesn't have the money to go through with it and has been wanting to get rid of the car for a while now.
im a mechanic at a local honda/acura specialist shop here and i dont know how deep your mechanical talents go but a civic timing belt isnt hard at all. would you feel comforatable doing it for him? a T-belt from the dealer is less than $100 and a balance shaft belt is way less. it may look like a complicated engine to use classic gear heads but an engine is an engine. they look different but perform the same. the $600 quote usually is labor charge. i would recomend a water pump at the same time as well, (as im sure they did also, hence the $600) because you have to remove the T-belt to access the water pump. all in all parts cant go over $300 id be willing to bet. i have a 91 civic now that i gotta get off my lazy butt to do the t-belt on, and a 93 isnt that new. id be willing to wager he couldnt get more than $800-$1000 for the car conidering it is in good shape. truth is if it doesnt run no one wants it. let me know if you need advice or anything, im willing to help. too bad im in california though or id do the belt for him!
That's really great news. I am more than willing to do it for him. I haven't had a whole lot of experience working on engines, but I have worked on my chevy 350 a couple times. Changing the regular belt and replacing the water pump, alternator(several times), and the intake gasket. I am sure that I could handle it. I don't know much about foreign engines or about how to access the certain parts, if that makes since. But as far as basic enigine knowledge I think I have it. If you could give me a basic run down on how I would go about changing the t-belt I would greatly appreciate it and I know he would too. Thanks for your willingness to help out. I will talk to ya again soon. If you would prefer email the stuff to me so we will be in more of a direct contact. Bulldog68@houston.rr.com Thanks again.
Me and another guy in auto tech changed a timing belt once, it was pretty easy, just alot of plastic guard crap in the way.
Thanks for the reply. I found out yesterday that my buddy has already sold the car. So no more problem that we gotta worry about. Thanks yall for the help though. I really appreciate it.
