She and my son-in-law had a 2014 Honda Odyssey that had a check engine light on, so I took it in to my mechanic. $700 later it was ready to be picked up. When I get there my mechanic tells me the vehicle 20K miles overdue for a timing belt replacement, which is a $750-$1000 job, and it has a TSB that needs to be done, and the brakes are pulsating, which usually means it needs brake work. I try to help them out with maintenance, but I'm limited to doing mainly fluid and filter changes, as I just don't have the tools or the knowledge to do any major repairs. I will say my son-in-law is not a car guy, that coupled with the fact that they live on a very limited budget means they're not good at taking care of the scheduled maintenance items, so a lot of the problems with this van stem from neglect. That said, I'm a bit disappointed in Honda for the way this van just seems to be falling apart. It also has power sliding doors and both of those motors quit working as well. The van only has 129K miles, and I expected better from Honda. The thing that really has me puzzled, and I think is a BIG knock against Honda is their insistence on using timing belts in their engines instead of chains. Belts need to be replaced periodically, chains don't. I don't know why Honda won't switch over to chains. At any rate, the van needs another $2-3K of repairs, and they simply don't have the money for the repairs. Their options were very limited, as they still owed more on the loan than the van was worth. My daughter ended up trading in the van for a 2015 Pilot. The trade left her with about $5k from the van loan that had to be rolled into the new loan, and she had to go with a 7 year loan to get the payments low enough. The mileage is low enough (73K) on the Pilot that they hopefully won't have any expensive repairs in the near future, though it too will be due for a timing belt replacement at around 100K. I hated the fact that she had to be in this situation at all, and there really was no good solution, but I'm hoping for her this was the better of the two choices...
I helped my daughter with a bad vehicle situation
- Thread starter grampi
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Sorry to hear this.
If upside down, why an SUV? I know, its prying and all, but if money strapped then why not a boring Corolla or whatever instead? cheaper tires, better mpg, and probably cheaper on everything else too.
We had two kids in a Camry for years. Actually… still do. Would hate to have had a third kid, but if money was short then theyd just be lined up across the back seat all the same.
If upside down, why an SUV? I know, its prying and all, but if money strapped then why not a boring Corolla or whatever instead? cheaper tires, better mpg, and probably cheaper on everything else too.
We had two kids in a Camry for years. Actually… still do. Would hate to have had a third kid, but if money was short then theyd just be lined up across the back seat all the same.
I feel your pain.
My SIL is also NOT a car guy. About a month ago, he had a coil go bad on his 2012 Honda Fit. He asked me if he should replace the plug, to which I replied no, it's Iridium and they are usually done as a set. He bought the car from an old lady and it only had 32K on it, so the plugs were fine! Well, long story short, his buddy recommended to replace the one plug (duh) and he listened to him and he didn't torque it correctly. Last week, the plug decided to leave the engine and take the threads with it.
I drove down to CT this week to pick it up with my trailer. I have few Time-Sert kits, so I was able to tap and repair it, but come to find out, it's a very common problem on the Fit forums. Disappointing from the number one engine maker in the world.
My SIL is also NOT a car guy. About a month ago, he had a coil go bad on his 2012 Honda Fit. He asked me if he should replace the plug, to which I replied no, it's Iridium and they are usually done as a set. He bought the car from an old lady and it only had 32K on it, so the plugs were fine! Well, long story short, his buddy recommended to replace the one plug (duh) and he listened to him and he didn't torque it correctly. Last week, the plug decided to leave the engine and take the threads with it.
I drove down to CT this week to pick it up with my trailer. I have few Time-Sert kits, so I was able to tap and repair it, but come to find out, it's a very common problem on the Fit forums. Disappointing from the number one engine maker in the world.
Nick1994
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So, disappointed with Honda reliability and the cost of a timing belt, so she got another one?
Why not switch sides to a Toyota Highlander? Or a Kia Sorento/Hyundai Santa Fe?
Why not switch sides to a Toyota Highlander? Or a Kia Sorento/Hyundai Santa Fe?
I'm surprised at this given the current situation. Many people are making money off of their vehicles.
It's lousy when money is tight for sure.
It's never easy to "pivot" one's car ownership trajectory. Mulah is required.
I had the same question regarding SUV vs Corolla.
The sound of "7 year loan" is scary.
Seek a categorical item to remove from their "spending budget".
I'm no hard-butt but I've always been AMAZED at how many times acquaintances who'll complain about lack of money indulge themselves with stuff I'd never buy. No 'lecture' intended. See what else they buy that they can't afford.
You and THEY might be surprised.
It's never easy to "pivot" one's car ownership trajectory. Mulah is required.
I had the same question regarding SUV vs Corolla.
The sound of "7 year loan" is scary.
Seek a categorical item to remove from their "spending budget".
I'm no hard-butt but I've always been AMAZED at how many times acquaintances who'll complain about lack of money indulge themselves with stuff I'd never buy. No 'lecture' intended. See what else they buy that they can't afford.
You and THEY might be surprised.
They need the room for their two kids, cars don't cut it with kids...
I hope the Pilot works out for them but shiver at the thought of making payments on a 13 year old Pilot in 2028. I second the comment about going right back to the Honda well, maybe should have gotten something else.
Highlanders are way too expensive, and none of us are sold on Kias or Hyundais...
It probably had to do with all of the problems the van had. They weren't told about them, but I'm sure they weren't difficult to find out about...
My folks had 4 kids, we traveled extensively in a car and somehow survived living in a house with one bathroom. Sometime you gotta do what you gotta do. Money was always tight.
"Check Engine" lights can often times be ignored if there are more important issues. A quick piece of electrical tape over the light is a cheap "fix". I probably would have prioritized the list of repairs and knocked one off at a time. It's still a Honda with 130k.
The choice to go $7k upside down and taking out a seven year car loan over making $2k-$3k of repairs is not a good one to me. Diving right back into a Honda when you're wondering why the last Honda was so bad is a head scratcher too.
But times are tough on people and just getting to tomorrow is a realistic goal these days.
The choice to go $7k upside down and taking out a seven year car loan over making $2k-$3k of repairs is not a good one to me. Diving right back into a Honda when you're wondering why the last Honda was so bad is a head scratcher too.
But times are tough on people and just getting to tomorrow is a realistic goal these days.
When money was tight in our family (and it was for a long time) we made do. I learned to fix things. We didn't spend money we didn't have. We had a smaller car because that's what we had. A luxury event was a shared beer on Friday night. And we had a very good life.
I would have fixed that 129,000 mile Honda. Better than 7 years of payments toward a 14 year old finally paid off vehicle. What were they thinking?
I would have fixed that 129,000 mile Honda. Better than 7 years of payments toward a 14 year old finally paid off vehicle. What were they thinking?
There were no SUVs back then...
There were plenty of options back then, suburbans would be just one. Saying there werent SUV's is a straw man argument.
Like I said, they didn't have the money to fix the van. And even if they did, what was the next breakage lurking around the corner? The van was falling apart and had turned into a money pit...
They didn't go $7K upside down, it was $4K, but I get what you're saying. It was a bad situation any way you look at it...
Not like today. Today there are plenty of economical SUVs, the Pilot is one of them...
Just to preface this, you outlined this in a public space and thats fine. However you shouldnt be surprised when other people have differing opinions about what you and you family did. You can justify it any way you want, this is bigger than going upside down on a car loan. They are now in a viscous cycle that will expose them to future exploitation by sales people. I have been broke, I have been poor, I know how it feels and I also hold the opinion that their current path isnt the way out. You came here for validation and some folks are just going to think youre wrong, me included.
it's simple math when banks and financing companies offer 6 and 7 year loans, people get upside down. IMO, no way should a 7 year loan be available on a used car. The car is depreciating faster than the owner pays it off, the only recourse is to roll the remaining balance into a newer vehicle loan. This eventually spirals out of control. At some point you either need to get lucky or fix the financial situation.
just my $0.02
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