Hey friends! It’s Monday morning. Time to start your week off right with some poor automotive choices. Today’s metaphorical dart thrown at the map landed in Lexington, Kentucky, where I found an odd couple of “mechanic’s specials” for your consideration. Before we do that, let’s see what you made of Friday’s shiteboxes:
A clear win for the Citroën. I think this is the right call. Obviously, it’s a moot point for most of us, as we don’t live in Ireland, and these are both too new to import to the US.
Now then: As someone who worked as a mechanic for three or four years, I’ve never understood the appeal of the “Mechanic’s Special.” After spending all day under the hoods of other people’s cars, the last thing I wanted to do was wrench on my own ride. I didn’t often have a choice; in those days I bought $500 clunkers and ran them until they fell apart, so I was always fixing something. But given my preference, I would have had a nice reliable car I didn’t have to think about too much.
But if you have the time and space to do the work, buying a non-running or barely-running car and reviving it can be rewarding, and a good way to get into a nice car for cheap. Just ask our buddy S.W. Gossin, who has turned resurrecting dead cars into a way of life. I’m not sure if either of these is up his alley, exactly, but they could be the right project for someone. Let’s take a look.
1998 Honda Accord EX – $1,200
Engine/drivetrain: 3.0 liter overhead cam V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Paris, KY
Odometer reading: 255,000 miles
Runs/drives? Runs fine, needs new transmission – might still be limping
“Honda Accord” is one of several possible generally excellent answers to the question, “What’s a good cheap used car?” There are other correct answers, of course, chief among them being the Accord’s competitor from Toyota, the Camry, but between the two, I like the Accord better. It’s a little bit better dynamically, and I prefer Honda’s interiors to Toyota’s.
And the interior of this Accord – a sixth-generation EX V6 model – is arguably the best part. It has leather seats in decent condition, a host of power options, and working air conditioning. I’ve never owned an Accord of this vintage, but I’ve ridden in many and driven a few, and I know that this interior is a nice place to spend time. No one would call it luxurious, but it is comfortable and homey-feeling.
Outside, things aren’t quite as nice; this car is shedding clearcoat like a pug sheds fur. Pretty much everything from the door handles up is dull and faded, though the bodywork is straight, and I don’t see rust spots in the usual places – rear wheel arches and door bottoms are notorious rust spots for these. A lack of corrosion there is a good sign. The seller says everything works, and two extra tires of unspecified condition are included.
So what’s the catch? The automatic transmission is on its way out. The seller doesn’t get into specifics about how well or poorly this car is able to move under its own power, but anecdotal evidence I’ve heard over the years tells me that Honda automatics don’t fail gradually; they just suddenly stop going into gear. V6-powered cars like this are more frequently struck by transmission woes, so finding a known good used replacement might be tricky. But it’s a Honda – I bet someone somewhere has documented a manual transmission swap. It can’t be that hard, right?
2009 Chevrolet Colorado – $2,000
Engine/drivetrain: 3.7 liter dual overhead cam inline 5, four-speed automatic, part-time 4WD
Location: Cynthiana, KY
Odometer reading: 201,000 miles
Runs/drives? Technically yes, but has “engine noise”
Knock-knock. Who’s there? Rod. Rod who? Uh-oh. Between the connecting rod bearings and the crankshaft in a piston engine is a film of pressurized oil a couple thousandths of an inch thick. The metal parts are never supposed to touch when the engine is running. When they do, the noise – and resulting damage – can be horrendous. It’s usually a result of oil starvation; either the gap gets too big, or the engine gets run without oil for some time, or a bearing “spins” in its housing just enough to block that life-saving flow of oil from reaching the bearing. Once a rod starts knocking, an engine isn’t long for this world without some major work. (I did once drive a Chevy Cavalier with a spun bearing for a week, out of necessity, but that’s a story for another day.)
I can’t say for certain that this Chevy’s oddball inline five is suffering from a rod knock; there are other causes of loud engine noises, and not all of them fatal. But used car dealers, for all their faults, usually know exactly what they have, and a quick perusal of owner forums shows quite a few mentions of rod bearing noise with these engines. And it does have a lot of miles on it.
Apart from the engine noise, this looks like a garden-variety well-used work truck, all rubber floors and gray plastic. It’s filthy, scuffed-up, and the ghosts of lunch breaks past litter the footwells. (Seriously, they couldn’t clean out the trash before taking photos?) It has air conditioning, but little else; even the radio is just your basic AM/FM unit. It has the rear-opening access doors for the extended cab, but no back seats. I have no idea if it didn’t come with them, or someone took them out.
It’s white, of course, like most work trucks, and it looks straight and clean outside. It’s four-wheel-drive, and the seller says that works, at least. If you can find a replacement engine for a reasonable price, this truck might be worth it.
I know, fixer-uppers aren’t for everyone. But variety is the spice of life, right? Tomorrow I’ll look for runners, and – if you’re really good and finish all your vegetables – stickshifts. For today, this is what you’ve got. WIll it be the sedan with a bad transmission, or the truck with a rod knock?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Accord every time. That V6 and chassis will outlast the Milky Way. Fix the transmission and you’ll get another 250k miles out of the car.
oh those V6 Hondas have glass transmissions
Better off with the truck, where you can swap in an LS crate engine 😉
I miss my Colorado some days, issues and all. Plus five cylinders? Easy choice. Inline five or inline six will always have my heart.
Same! Offer me a weird engine configuration and I stop looking at anything else
I’m surprised to discover that I kinda want that Chevy. Cleaning it up would be easy, and I’m sure I could swap something underneath the hood. The Accord doesn’t interest me at all. Too much work to make it something I’ve already experienced too many times with less effort.
For the record, the only real interaction with mechanics I have had is with ones who work on older out of warranty European cars. None of them drive $500 clunkers. Not even the apprentices. Just sayin’…
I’ve said it before, I’ll never buy a vehicle from anyone to lazy to clean out the litter before taking pictures. You don’t care, I don’t care. The Honda? The transmission could fall out and someone would still buy it. Hondas and Toyotas are magic.
These are both overpriced, but given the choice, I’d take the Chevy so I could LS-swap it.
Yes they came with the V8 available in the last couple model years so not a huge challenge.
I find it slightly amazing either of these have such a high price tag for essentially Junkyard fodder.
Considering the age, I feel like the Canyon could be made whole with LKQ drivetrains pretty quickly and cheaply. the lack of a lot of visible rust, but 4×4 setup is a bonus. Neither should be over a grand considering mileage and state of disrepair.
It is kind of amazing the stealership could not be bothered to at least remove the trash from the Colorado though.
My vote resides only where there’s an option of 5 cylinders, in this case.
to be fair, the Honda V6 may only be running on 5 at this point, so it could go either way for you.
Why are the asking prices above scrap value? Both of these cars are worthless
I’ll take the Colorado, just budget in either an engine swap or head gasket replacement.
“I’ve never understood the appeal of the “Mechanic’s Special. … it can be rewarding, and a good way to get into a nice car for cheap.”
Apparently you do understand the appeal. 🙂
And the tires that are included in the Honda are Uniroyal, so we don’t really need any information on them beyond that: they should be recycled immediately, not used on a car.
I chose the Canyon because even if it never runs again, you can still sit in it and drink beer, listen to some tunes, and no one will think twice. Try that in an Accord.
I picked the Accord, but honestly both vehicles look pretty spent. You could manual swap the Accord, which could probably save you money and headache over an unknown, used automatic transmission. But you’d have put all your work into a car with an unknown service history, no clear coat and a filthy, grubby interior.
Guess I am a little biased, my dad bought one of those brand new in 1998. Sold it to his mom in 2001, and she kept it in absolutely mint condition until she sold it back to my dad so my younger brother could have it. In 2014 or so, he promptly totaled it, what may have been the nicest looking Accord of that generation.
The Canyon, but I’d drop a different 5 into it. Maybe a VAG or Volvo 5.
Seriously though, both of these are ready for Murilee’s antique cameras.
Saw the trash in the truck , and nope. Accord should be a fairly easy swap. But both are overpriced. I wouldn’t pay more than $500 for the accord.
1 abstention.
Objectively, the Honda is probably the better choice. Personally, however, I got rather sick of that era Hondas (including a green v6 whose transmission died) some years back, so I voted for the truck.
Honestly, neither
Sandy The Wonder Acura (my ’00 3.2TL, as seen here: https://www.theautopian.com/if-you-only-own-one-car-make-it-count-member-rides/) is of the same generation as the Accord above, and the primary warning sign of a bad transmission is a v-e-r-y laggy upshift (on mine, it was between second and third). You can do a manual conversion, but the usual fix is to swap in an automatic from a later (’06-’07) Accord V6, which is apparently a straight bolt-up.
My mechanic did the swap for about $2,700 … but I’m very emotionally attached to my car. Would I do this for a rando Accord that looks like a background actor in “The Last Of Us?” If the car was $500, maybe. $1,200? No. That’s why I voted for the truck.
Neither. Don’t want to deal with finding a good tranny for the Honda and $2k is too much for a truck in that condition in need of an engine swap.
I would choose neither and my wrenching days are behind me. I can get working examples for not much more than the replacement.
If I had to choose, Honda.
I agree sort of, I highly doubt you could find a 4X4 Canyon 2009 or even older right now for under 5K, even with the miles the used market is still a bit insane. https://www.cars.com/shopping/results/?dealer_id=&drivetrain_slugs%5B%5D=four_wheel_drive&keyword=&list_price_max=&list_price_min=&makes%5B%5D=gmc&maximum_distance=all&mileage_max=&models%5B%5D=gmc-canyon&page_size=20&sort=list_price&stock_type=used&year_max=&year_min=&zip=64118
Honda. I used to work on similar generation Hondas with my friends and can easily find and swap a tranny. I have no confidence in doing an engine swap on the beat to shit by every employee Chevy.
I can say the GM engine except maybe for the top bell housing bolts is probably easier in a driveway than the transaxle.
I’m picking the chevy, but looking at the key chain, I bet it was an abused company work truck. Yep, it’ll need an engine, cause NO ONE EVER checked the oil until it was too late.
Probably a 4L60 E replacement as well, because you know those are the rock the GM mantle was made on.
So what’s the easier swap, the truck’s engine or the honda’s transaxle? I’m sure both jobs suck but I went with the tranny.
Honda all day. Those tranmissions are plentiful.
The Canyon is a raging POS