2002 Honda Odyssey advice

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We are about to inherit a 2002 Honda Odyssey from my wife's late grandmother (looks identical to the one below). The van has around 130,000 miles and I'm a bit conflicted as to what we should do with it. I know that the 5 speed auto in these vans is very problematic and it's probably nearing the end of it's life (although it hasn't exhibited any signs of trouble yet). Knowing that, should we:

1. Keep the van as a beater/third/around town car, do basic maintenance, and just drive it until it dies.

2. Sell it now before the tranny dies and probably get like $1 - 2k.

I like the idea of having a beater, but I'm wondering if I should just unload it while it's still in good condition.



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Probably worth at least $2k. List it at $2250 or so and take $2k minimum. When the trans goes it will be worth a few hundred. I'd sell it.
 
Clean it up really nice inside/out and put a coat of high gloss wax on it so peoples eyes can fall in love with it and sell it for as much as you can. You can always buy a beater for that price or less that isn't prone to Transmission and EGR problems (depending on the year).
 
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Around here that van would be worth quite a bit more than $2k

Change the oil, change the air filter, sell it, profit
smile.gif
 
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I would be tempted to keep it as a "beater". I don't know why some of the transmissions last and some don't, but some seem to need a trans every 60K and some go 250K on the original.
 
Originally Posted by gregk24
I would be tempted to keep it as a "beater". I don't know why some of the transmissions last and some don't, but some seem to need a trans every 60K and some go 250K on the original.


I'm kind of tempted myself, hence this post. If it were purely a logical decision I would sell it as we don't need a third car. I've never had a beater before and now that we're getting a free one I'm considering it.
 
Originally Posted by JEL01
Yeah around here someone would probably ask 5-7k for it

That's what I was thinking. With 130k miles a Honda is an easy sell!
 
Originally Posted by dogememe
Originally Posted by JEL01
Yeah around here someone would probably ask 5-7k for it

That's what I was thinking. With 130k miles a Honda is an easy sell!

What he said. I would clean it up real nice and probably buy new headlights if yours are cloudy. It might need a timing belt if it had not been done.
 
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Do you need a vehicle like this? You are getting it for free, sheesh.
Do a couple of tranny spill and fills (so easy) with Max Life.
Then do another with Idemitsu Type H plus.
In 10K miles do another.

If you don'y want or need an Odyssey, do as the others have suggested.
Or give it to me and I'll service the heck outta it and drive it till the hubcaps fall off.
All good. Enjoy your Odyssey.
 
If you have a use for it keep it otherwise sell it. I would not worry about $1000-$2000 in your pocket.

You can keep it a few months and see if you actually use it and reassess. It won't lose a dime in value likely.
 
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Originally Posted by JEL01
Yeah around here someone would probably ask 5-7k for it
For an '02 ? We had an '05 in very good condition and a guy hit my wife and it ended up totaled. Insurance gave us $5500 for it. I honestly had no idea what it was worth until then because we intended to keep it "forever". My wife loved it and it was so handy to have. Anyway, when the insurance offered $5500, I checked around and yeap, that's what it was selling for.
 
Originally Posted by glock19
I know that the 5 speed auto in these vans is very problematic and it's probably nearing the end of it's life (although it hasn't exhibited any signs of trouble yet).

I'm not sure that "is very problematic" is factual. Yes, they can be, but many last hundreds of thousands of miles.Odysseys are very, very common/popular vehicles so they get a bad rap when it comes to transmissions problems. If 3% of them have issues, that's still a large number of vehicles so people hear about it and consider them to be bad across the board.

Around here, an '02 with 130k miles goes for $1500-3500 in private sales.

What about giving it to a family member that would use it ?
 
I would unload it right away for sure given the long history of transmission issues with that generation. $2K however is a really low amount for a van in that shape with such low miles. I would guess KBB/Edmunds and fair market value would probably put it closer to the $3-3.5K mark
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by JEL01
Yeah around here someone would probably ask 5-7k for it
For an '02 ? We had an '05 in very good condition and a guy hit my wife and it ended up totaled. Insurance gave us $5500 for it. I honestly had no idea what it was worth until then because we intended to keep it "forever". My wife loved it and it was so handy to have. Anyway, when the insurance offered $5500, I checked around and yeap, that's what it was selling for.

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by JEL01
Yeah around here someone would probably ask 5-7k for it
For an '02 ? We had an '05 in very good condition and a guy hit my wife and it ended up totaled. Insurance gave us $5500 for it. I honestly had no idea what it was worth until then because we intended to keep it "forever". My wife loved it and it was so handy to have. Anyway, when the insurance offered $5500, I checked around and yeap, that's what it was selling for.

Yeah but I'm in Seattle, the land of the $17k 12 year old Tacoma with 200k miles. Cars are significantly more expensive here than even SoCal, it's insane
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by glock19
I know that the 5 speed auto in these vans is very problematic and it's probably nearing the end of it's life (although it hasn't exhibited any signs of trouble yet).

I'm not sure that "is very problematic" is factual. Yes, they can be, but many last hundreds of thousands of miles.Odysseys are very, very common/popular vehicles so they get a bad rap when it comes to transmissions problems. If 3% of them have issues, that's still a large number of vehicles so people hear about it and consider them to be bad across the board.

Around here, an '02 with 130k miles goes for $1500-3500 in private sales.

What about giving it to a family member that would use it ?


+1 This.

Considering that 50% of owners never change atf, or even know what atf is, the trans problems get way too much bad rap. It's a Honda. Check the service records. If well maintained , someone can use it.
 
Detail it and sell it for $4K. Apply the funds to a 2006 (or up) Odyssey. Your out of pocket will be minimal and you will have a much more reliable van.
 
If you have a need for it and are able to do most of the work yourself, I would have no hesitations keeping it.

Reman transmissions are available for $2000-$2500. You supply the labor, of course. Aside from that, these cars are fairly reliable.
 
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