Old sinner. Are you sure that Acura’s have a timing belt? The Civics went back to a chain several years ago.

If y'all want to see something find the youtube video showing the teardown of the new Toyota Supra (BMW) engine. You have to remove the engine to do ($) the timing chain. The put it at the back of the engine.

__________________
Jim

I never worked on one but the timing chains where on the back of the Volkswagon V6 engines for years. May still be.

Honda/Acura V6 has a belt, the 4 has a chain.

Do the maintenance on a Honda or Toyota and they will last longer than you want to keep them.

haha....I definitely can personally relate to that statement "Capt.Mike". I bought a used '92 Civic and became the 3rd owner in 1999. The car had >100K on the clock. I drove that car for 17 yrs! Eventually sold it to my neighbor to teach his daughter to drive a manual. It WAS NOT a bucket of rust filled with holes. Still passed PA inspection. Almost 300K on the clock when I sold it. One clutch during my ownership. 2 timing belts and associated parts(factory interval is 90K). One distributor (bearing failure)....and that's about it! Excluding, of course, tires, oil, valve adj, spark plugs, etc. Over 30 mpg! Drove it back and forth to work. To your point, Capt. Mike, I just got tired of driving it....lol. I badly needed a change of pace, so to speak. Never did a "cost of ownership" or kept very good records. I did, however, do all my own work...that car was never in "the shop", I'm proud to say. Talk about "easy to work on".

We gave my wife’s Accord to my daughter who ran it to 190K miles on the original clutch, with no repairs at all, just maintenance. She got a better job, wanted a new car, and still got $2K for the car that was ~12 years old.

Look up the multi-part series from Fordtechmakuloko Youtube on the 4.0L SOHC V6 Ford engine if you want a whole series where you can't stop saying "WTF WERE THEY THINKING?!?"

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

LOL - I made it through about 1/2 of the video on the 4.0L. Damn.

__________________
Jim

'77 123. No need for mod cons given the 1k buy in.
Our used 2012 Jetta has rendered good service, but at a completely different price point, $/mile wise. I shudder thinking about it.
The used 2002 Jetta TDI with the 3" lift kit and rally tires on the other hand.....
New cars are for suckers.

__________________
95 E300D working out the kinks
77 300D, 227k, station car
83 300CD 370k, gone away
89 190E 2.6- 335k, no more
79 VW FI Bus- 145k miles, summer driver
59 VW Beetle ragtop- 175k miles
12 VW Jetta- 160k miles

New cars should depend on many factors. My theory Is probably complex. Yet has a certain simplicity as well. I find when I can easily afford brand new cars. I have no interest. Also when it takes too large a chunk out of your income stream. Alternatives should be examined. Generally the moderately well off do not drive new cars.

The problem today is too many mindsets are into so much per month. Credit other than for business and perhaps a house as in general the young do not have that much cash. Can both be reasonable necessities. Other than that I think not.

For the young to get into property ownership should almost be job number one in Canada at least. Renting has never changed. After years you do not even own the key to the door. Plus historically you lose the upside of tax free appreciation that historically. Tends to occur on housing. Our taxation rules are also somewhat different when it comes to property in Canada. Morgage interest on personal dwellings is taxable. There are no capital gains taxes to deal with on eventual resale. Buying new cars for far too many has negated the possibility for people to get their foot in the real estate door.

You can get ahead really fast by buying well and selling after one years occupancy of your property. A legal requirement to avoid taxes in Canada. Do it a about six times on average and you own a home mortgage free. Again if you train yourself to buy well. Or involve someone that knows how.

Thirty plus years ago I got our cars functioning on expense accounts to reverse the situation totally. I maximize the rapid return on cost by not buying new. The millage rate covers the depreciation on using brand new cars. So in a matter of months the cost of the vehicle is returned. Then other than fuel, a lower rate of depreciation and maintenance they are a tax free small cash cow. We just turned down a sixteen hundred dollar a month weekend run as the weather is so unpredictable at this time of year. Plus the distance between driving points is further than we usually do.

The last car we purchased not that long ago will probably have returned the overall cost and fuel consumed by later this winter anyways.I do not keep track of everything.

I do expect it to earn about 40-50K or more before it is done with after that. After all the general costs. The difference in original cost goes a long way towards buying a good used 5 ton excavator.

I am not buying it specifically to make money but as usual it will. I also like toys that can pay their way. Plus I have a brother in law reciently retired that operated heavy equipment for twenty five years. We do extensive favors for each other.

Toyota Corolla. Cheap, cockroach-tough, and no one, including those in the law enforcement profession, give it a second look...

If we mean 'best NEW car for 2020, I'd have to pick a Corolla with the manual (Toyota has recalled some of their CVTs, which is the only automatic available on a new Corolla) or Camry.
I wouldn't touch anything new from VW.

OTOH, the level of automotive technology in the past 10 years or so is overwhelming, all automakers continue cutting costs, and I don't buy new cars.
My daily drivers are '96 Tacoma and Camry, and a 98 Altima. All are 4 cylinder and the truck is a 5-speed. IMHO, these represent the peak of Japanese quality and durability, with enough tech to keep me happy, but easy enough for someone with DIY skills, like myself, to repair. I'm hoping to keep at least one going until I don't need to drive anymore.

Happy Motoring, Mark

__________________
DrDKW

I'm with you on the belts, but not the iron block. There's no sense is dragging 100 extra pounds around 200k miles. For FWD's that extra weight is ahead of the front axle, making the car even more nose-heavy.

Most aluminum block engines have iron cylinder sleeves. Having the head and block made out of the same metal also eliminates sheer forces on the head gasket due to dissimilar thermal expansion.

The two biggest oil burners I've owned had iron blocks: 1st gen' VW Rabbit, BMW E46 M3. The M3 wasn't too bad though, maybe a liter every 6k miles. The Rabbit went through a liter every 300 miles. I've taken five aluminum block engines to between 105k and 147k miles with no problems, except the two Honda's eventually developed gasket or seal leaks.

Alloy blocks may be cast today in much better grades of the metal. I hear not to do a conventional rebuild on newer engines. Just replace them.


Other than perhaps a valve job.

Well, depends on what is needed.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.