1 post tagged “the honda”
AKA: The Curse Of Barbie Rears Its Ugly Head
OK. Before I can write about the latest pickle in which I've found myself, I need to present some context. Bear with me. It's a good(?) story.
Just over a year ago, I moved from Boston to Cleveland. In Boston there are subways. In Cleveland, there are not. (Okay, technically there is. But it doesn't go anywhere I need to go on a daily basis.) Thus, I needed to buy a car. I had five days to find an apartment, unload my moving truck, find and purchase a car and get a drivers license in an unfamiliar city. I wanted to buy my car while at least one of my parents were in town, so that narrowed the time frame considerably. Needless to say, the few car lots that my dad and I were able to navigate (keep in mind we're still driving the Budget truck because I don't have an apartment yet) were entirely unhelpful and I couldn't find anything in my price range. There was one day when both my mom and dad were in town, and lo and behold I found a 2000 Honda Accord in my neighborhood (and in my price range!) on Autotrader.com.
My parents and I see this as a sign, and head off to see the car. It's in really good shape (except the "H" on the front hood was missing), the inside has been detailed, it's low mileage, and it appears to drive really well. On top of that, the sellers were young newlyweds (the wife's name was Barbie, of all things) who were super nice. After test-driving the car and getting them to come down in their price a bit, I gave them a "definitely-maybe" and told them I wanted a night to think about it.
When I got back to the hotel (which is the only place we had internet) I decided to go back to the posting on Autotrader and look up the CarFax report. Guess what? The link to the report had been taken down and I didn't have the VIN handy. Rather than pursuing the VIN from the owners, my parents and I (stupidly) decided that we trusted the young couple. After all, we asked them point-blank if the car had ever been in an accident or had any other body repairs, and they had said no. Turns out, the car I bought was a Rebuilt/Salvage, and I didn't even know until I was taking the Title to the BMV to have it transfered to my name.
Oh, Barbie knew all right, and Barbie lied.
What's transpired between then and now doesn't particularly matter, other than I've replaced all four tires and the brake pads (routine maintenance) and plopped down $600 to fix the AC (major suckage). However, lately it's been lurching as it's shifts from first to second, and an hour-and-a-half inspection with the transmission specialist indicates that I need to have my transmission rebuilt ($1,800-$2,000) and have my timing belt replaced ($900). Not the best news, but this car has a lot of life left, right? After all, it's a Honda! It's only seven years old and has just shy of 75,000 miles. I'll suck it up and pay for the repairs. Right? Right?
Wrong.
Turns out in Ohio, it's reeeeeal difficult to trade in a Rebuilt/Salvage title at a car lot. So difficult in fact, that four dealerships I spoke with told me they'd give me about $100 for it. Seriously. A Honda/Toyota dealership that my parents use back in Nebraska said they'd give me about $3,000 for a trade in, and I figure I can get maybe $4,000 for selling it privately. But that's the absolute most. (Because I, unlike precious Barbie, couldn't live with myself if I didn't disclose the title info.) After that, my car's only going to depreciate with every year.
So. Do I put more money than the car's worth into repairs? Or do I get as much as I can out of a trade-in or private sale and get a newer car that I (hopefully) won't have to put a bunch of money into for a long time?
Yeah. I don't know either.
Moral of this long story? Always, always, always check the CarFax report. No matter how nice and Midwestern and down-home and young and just-married and cute and friendly and earnest and honest and reliable and trustworthy the sellers seem. No matter if your parents brush off the CarFax report, too. (Though, it's really not their faults. I should have insisted.) And no matter how tired and stressed out and anxious you are about starting a new life in a new city with entirely new people without a car or an apartment, ALWAYS check the CarFax report.
* * * * * * * * *
Epilogue: To add insult to injury, Honda knows they had a shitty transmission in 2000 Accords, and thus have issued an extended warranty on that model for all transmission problems. Of course, when I called in my VIN to check, I didn't qualify because of that teeny little Rebuilt/Salvage thing. I'm really not liking whoever in Pennsylvania totaled my car in 2002. (Oh, yeah, I paid for the CarFax report after I bought the car. Yeah. Awesome.)
