malnik

I got a 2007 TSX with 148,000 miles on it. KBB trade in value is worth ~$6,500.
No issues at all in the first 8 years but recently it has become a money pit. It has all kinds of problems in the last 6 months. I used aftermarket parts since factory parts alone might exceed the value of the car.
My lessons learn is to trade in my next car before it hits 140,000 miles.

Things already fixed
High temp reading / Radiator Fan $140
Fluid leak / Power Steering Pump $240
Car die while driving / Alternator $300
Repairable tire puncture / New Tire $170
Steering Rack Fluid leak / Power Steering pump and Rack $2,000
No AC / Compressor $800

Mechanic pointed out that I still need to fix
Bushing wear / Lower control arm both sides $400
Poor Ride / Struts $800
3 New tires / $550

thoiboi

All items you listed have limited lifetimes and considered maintenance except for steering rack and AC Compressor.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

so a few grand a year is less than $35-40k for 5 years with interest?

plus, some items could have been preventable, maintainable

thoiboi

Lost you there..what parts cost more than 6500 dollars?

thoiboi

You spent roughly about 4 grand in 8 yeras so that's about 500 a year overall, that's still not TOO shabby..

malnik

Yes it's that not bad. I just hate finding problems one after another. I think I'll fix the remaining items and keep it for another 3 years.

thoiboi

[That's the spirit!

I know it's disheartening when it feels like it happens all at once but overall, you're still doing pretty good

malnik

That should be Unrepairable tire puncture. The puncture was too close to the side wall to patch.

Jdrum1

Tires and struts don't count!

Once you subtract those items, you're total (including the control arms) is $3,480. Google just told me that the average new car payment is $503. Assuming your TSX is paid for, you're repairs have cost about 7 average new car payments ($435/year, or $36.25/month).

I understand your frustration, but if the major systems are good (engine and transmission), it's almost always cheaper to keep what you have. Plus, the TSX is a great platform. Once you get your front end refreshed and new tires, you'll remember how well it drives.



Side note; was that a generic steering rack? My mom's Camry was recently diagnosed with a leaky rack, and the dealer wants under $2k to replace it (with an OEM part). I've looked at it, and don't see anything other than slight seepage (car is pushing 200k). It also doesn't help that (at the time of diagnosis), they massively overfilled the steering fluid reservoir.

Pson

I do not follow this post at all.... You have put no money into the car, which is a investment for 8 years and now your saying the car is a money pit. What in the world do you think about your house? The above items are very good for a car with 148K on it with no TLC on the car. It would still be cheaper to repair vs buying a new car with a car payment.

malnik

Well I'm not a careless car owner. I have spent money in maintaining the car through the years. I changed all the oils, fluids, brakes, plugs, hoses and belt regularly. I joined this forum 8 years ago on the day I bought this car new from the dealership to get the most informed preventative maintenance care specific to this vehicle. As far as I know, the vital components like engine, trans, cooling and brakes are in tip-top condition. But nothing could have prevented peripheral components like radiator fan, alternator or ac compressor from failing. You can't compare a car to a house. Depending on location, the repair you make on your house can improve the value when you sell it (ie. new AC system, electrical wiring). It is not the case with a car because its value is dictated by make / model, year and mileage. My car still has the same value after all the repairs I have paid. At this point I'm going to keep the car for a few more years since I already invested into the repairs. I just hope future repairs won't be too expensive.

John Horner

You have gotten to that portion of a vehicle's life when more and more items like those are going to reach their end of life. When to call it quits and purchase a new vehicle is a personal choice. What is predictability worth to you? A new vehicle generally has much more predictable reliability and costs. An older vehicle is less predictable on both counts. I do the vast majority of our repairs, which makes it economical for us to run cars much longer than it is if you are paying $120/hour or more for a shop to keep your vehicle going.

Another consideration is what quality and price of aftermarket parts are you using to make these replacements. Low priced aftermarket parts sometimes do no offer the same durability as the factory parts did. This might not matter if your 150k mile vehicle is only expected to be in use another 20-50k miles but could be a big deal if you are shooting to get it to 300k.

Best of luck in your decision.

Midnight Mystery

The punctured tire was just bad luck...

Those early TSXs seem to have certain "Pattern Failures" as all vehicles do...

But what you described is every pattern issue the TSX has, they all just happened at the same time...

A/C compressors on TSXs and RDXs tend to fail, so do the power steering pumps and racks...

My RDX (2007) has a noisy steering system due to pump and rack leaking a little, and my A/C compressor was replaced when it was two or three years old by owner 1...

I've also heard a lot about TSXs and struts too, but nothing out of the ordinary, these are all very common with the TSX...

Have your headlights started leaking yet?

But don't loose hope... I think you're almost done as far as frequent broken stuff goes...

malnik

Yea I should have used all Factory replacement parts. I hope I can get some decent miles out of the aftermarket ones.

TacoBello

Personally, I would just replace the blinker fluid and continue on driving.

thoiboi

drain and refill or is it safe to flush?

nothome17

Trouble free for the first 8 years, not bad at all. Moving parts do break down at some point and needs to be replaced so no real surprise. It does suck when you have to replace a bunch of stuff all at once. But once you fix that part, it should be able to go for another 8+ years.

Since your my age, not sure if you have owned the 2nd and 3rd Gen Integra's. From experience of owning those cars, the parts mentioned you had to fix/repace are the common issues with those cars too.

Hopefully the new electronic steering system will be more durable on these newer cars.