ok i know this is kind of a general question and seems childish or immature to ask, and i'm not trying to start some idiotic thread just to chew up bandwidth.

i've had 2 used cars in my life so far, granted i got the most i could out of them before it became a situation where they cost more to fix then what they were worth.

with that said, i plan on buying a new tsx hopefully before the end of the month and i'm really worried about taking care of it. could it just have been bad luck with my other cars? or the way i drive? or possibly the way there were driven and maintained before i got my hands on it?

i've read all the threads on here about the break in period and i plan on taking all that advice into consideration, but once that period is over. what are some general rules to follow when driving to make sure you're driving the car the way a car was meant to be driven to get the most life out of all of it's working parts?

thanks in advance

 

Just stick to the regular maintenance schedule, wash & wax frequently, and don't do anything stupid behind the wheel and your TSX will give you years of trouble free service. The guys that are doing burnout competitions or 3000rpm clutch drops to get a good 0-60 time are going to be putting more strain on the car and will likely not last as long without something major going wrong. That being said, they'll probably never have a problem with in the 4 or 5yrs that they keep their car but if you want to keep it longer, don't do what they do.

Remember the age old saying "the candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long".

 

i know a lot of you read this thread and were like, "i'm not even going to botehr" because it seems so self explanatroy.. but that in itself is an answer as well. is there really a good or bad way to drive your car or does it not matter? someone answer please

 

thanks for the reply! i'm definitely not going to be racing it.. and i consider myself a fairly conservative driver i stick to a steady 60 on open highways (with some occasional bursts of speed for shits and giggles) and drive like a grandpa in residential areas.. basically i just try to abide by the speed limits. i just can't believe that driving like that i've managed to blow head gaskets, cylinders, water pumps, radiators, trannies, etc etc

 

that driving sounds fine, what two cars did you have b4 that has all these problems? i have a 6 year old honda and the only major maintenance i've ever had done was 45k service and new brake pads. plus i def drive more agressively then u...dont know why you had those probs?

 

Good question, but very general.

By avoiding large stationary objects, other moving vehicles, keeping the car on the black stuff and not driving the sh*t out of it you stand a pretty good chance of keeping the car in good health for a long time.

If what you mean more specifically is how to drive delicately to keep rubber on the tires and not where out the parts, I think it's just a matter of common sense: drive the speed limit, be easy on the brakes, don't carry a high rate of speed through turns and don't over-rev the engine.

Keep in mind that the TSX should turn out to be a very reliable car and that major problems within the first few years are unlikely, unless you abuse the car.

If I've told you anything you don't already know, you may wish to re-take the driver training course, or something... and get a less expensive car than the TSX to continue learning on...

 

i had a 95 automatic plymouth neon that i got with 100,000 miles on it. The head gasket went within the first couple weeks of owning it, by the time i gave up on it had about 135,000 on it the brakes pads were going for the second time, the head gasket was shot a second time (or so pep boys said, i believe it was due to not being fixed properly the first time, because when i got it back it had an oil leak which just got worse over time) the tranny was going as well (with a bad tranny leak to boot)

the second car was an automatic 92 toyota corolla (relibale right? so i thought) it had 104,000 on it when i bought (from a mechanic too no less) the radiator and water pump went at about 114,000 and the alternator just went last week.. about a week or 2 before the alternator went it started to drive really funny and i didn't know what it was.. when i had it in for the alternator, they told me a cylinder was shot...

not too mention that the doors and windows on both of the doors on both cars got fucked. and on the toyota the starter and ignition tumbler are going as well

so you can see why i might be worried. like i said previously. i drive conservatively, these types of things shouldn't be happening. ah well, this will be a brand new car and i plan on treating it very well

 

i consider myself a good driver.. but most of that comes from just being "in tune" with your car and aware of what's going on around you at all times. the only reason i decided to ask this question is because i was talking to my friend last night saying how i couldn't believe all these problems happened with my first 2 cars and how i hope i don't run into similar problems on a new one. i told him i keep it pretty slow and steady. and he was saying how that could be wrong that cars like to be driven and pushed and how it's good for the engine and blah blah blah. so i figured i'd come on here and get some otehr motorists opinions

 

I think you got mostly unlucky.

But at the same time, you should also beware of garagists. Many of them, especially non-specialised mechanics have the easy-blown-head-gasket syndrome, and if they spot someone who doesn't seem to be knowledgable about car tech in general, they will just pounce and build you up a bill like your car had no tomorrow.

If you have doubts, the best thing is to get a second, and a third advice. If you're really good at describing the symptoms, some knowledgable people on forums like this one are generally able to pinpoint the problem and guide you in a way that you will have a reduced repair bill.

Of course, by buying yourself a TSX, you will normally have peace of mind for at least a few years.

Good luck.

 

thanks a bunch i hope i will be really happy with this car, i know it has some minor issues like rattles and weak rotors and roofs but if it lives up to the honda/acura reputation it should be really reliable, and that's probably the main reason i was interested in it in the first place.

i definitely agree that the mechanics might've taken me for a ride.. i'm not too keen on how much parts and labor charges are, nor am i that skilled in pinpointing what symptoms are for what problems, though, the mechanics that i took/bought these cars off of came highly reccomended from family friends who'd been using them for years

 

???]Originally posted by dirk [/i]
i had a 95 automatic plymouth neon…[/QUOTE]
Your first problem was the make. Chrysler quality should put fear in your heart. Hell, Plymouth doesn't even EXIST now.
This could be a few things. First, you don't know how the previous owner took care of it. Second, little cars aren't so happy with automatics. Or some combination.

If you're as mellow a driver as you say, you'll be fine.

 

haha true... in my defense, the neon was a hand-me-down from my sister and the toyota was bought for 400 bucks (that includes the dude fixing my brakes before selling it to me) both cars were there as i needed them and didn't really have the time or money to get a new car

 

Hmmm. I think radiator and alternator replacements at > 100k miles are not unusual, even for "reliable" cars.

Now a dead cylinder is different. That's unreliable.

 

In my opinion, as long as you know what you're doing, driving slow/conservative or fast/aggressive really does not make any difference. If you drive conservatively, then you just need to stay with the regular maintainance schedule. Otherwise, you'll have to take care of the car more often, and give it better supplies (i.e. synthetic oil, better brake pads, etc.) I know a guy who has been racing his 94(?) Saturn SC coupe and 97 Nissan Maxima for years without any major problem.

 

Don't feel too bad dirk. Late 80's and 90's Toyota Corollas and Geo Prizms (both came off of the same assembly line) were notorious for faulty starters. Mine and 2 of my friends all went through bad starters on them. Also, my radiator (replaced), manual windows (kept getting loose), and door handles (baked in the summer heat and broken off) all had problems. But those problems aside, the car was otherwise reliable. The engine was absolutely rock solid until the day I traded it in for a whopping $100.

Oh yeah good luck in your quest to purchase a TSX. Keep us updated on how things go.

 

I'd say that anyone buying a car with 100,000+ miles on it should expect some repair issues. My '92 Camry was rock solid to about 150,000 but then needed about $2000 worth of work to keep it in good working condition ($800 for a clutch).

I'm sure you'll find the TSX to be a good choice, and it'll be under warranty too, so no worries.

 

Your questions are far from childish or immature!

I bet the odometer on the Corolla was rolled back. It sounds like a much older or abused car. Have you run a trace on the car? That _might_ show some history of the car, such as accidents, smog checks, mileage, etc. That information ~might~ expose mileage roll-backs.

Certain types of second-hand cars are ones to avoid, but your Plymouth and Toyota sound pretty pedestrian. I can't believe the Toyota is falling apart like that with that low a mileage (for a Toyota).

Try to find a balance between fun and safety. A lot of it is common sense: regular maintenance, frequent oil changes (MORE frequently than the owner's manual recommends), don't use the clutch as a foot rest, and don't use the brake pedal as a foot rest.

My previous Hondas have lasted a long time. Two reached over 200,000 miles. My last one is now at 110,000 miles. I always sell my Hondas to friends and family. That's how confident I am in them. (Common wisdom is to never sell your old car to friends or family.) In the time I owned them, I never needed clutch work, tranny work, valve work, or anything major. The brakes in my former '90 Accord lasted 80,000 original miles.

 

Follow the excellent advice offered above and you should be good.

Here's an additional tip:

If you buy an Automatic TSX, never never NEVER shift between Reverse and Drive unless the car is fully stopped. It puts additional stress on the transmission, and could even damage it. (Fortunately, the Auto TSX has a locking mechanism that won't let you shift into Reverse until the car is travelling below 3mph.)