1998 Civic repair estimates - looking for some advice
 

Hello - this is my 1st post in this forum. I've not driven my 1998 Civic from Sep 2016 or so. Looking into fixing the car as my daughter needs it for commuting to work.
Auto shop gave me a repair estimate for replacing dead battery, timing belt, water pump, front brakes, injection cleaning, rotary control, wiper switch etc for a total of $2,500.

Car has around 79,000 miles, one minor accident 10 years back. Is it worth getting the car fixed and safe for my kids to use another few years? Or should I consider replacing it?
I am looking for some advice as I'm not familiar with auto mechanics and repair. Please let me know if I should post repair estimate details.

Thank you,
Jaya

Re: 1998 Civic repair estimates - looking for some advice
 

How mechanically inclined are you?
Battery is dead simple to diy,
front brakes are pretty easy, same with wiper switch.
Timing belt and water pump is complicated and needs to be done properly otherwise bad things can happen. But not too bad, make sure honda parts are used. This job is probably worth about $1500+
If the body and brake + fuel lines are in good shape it would be worth putting back on the road, just try to do some of the work yourself to save money

No idea what they mean by "rotary control"

Re: 1998 Civic repair estimates - looking for some advice
 

If it has 79k original miles and in otherwise good shape it should be worth fixing it up.

What symptoms are pointing to a head gasket issue?
Also, get a second and third opinion/estimate from other shops.

Re: 1998 Civic repair estimates - looking for some advice
 

I would get another estimate. Use the print out that they give you to call other shops. $2500 seems high but it all depends on area and what exactly is being replaced.

If the car is in otherwise good shape then it would be worth it. Are you going to find another car for $2500 in as good a shape as that one with history? You have had the car so you know what kind of miles were put on it. You can easily get lots more years out of it with that low a miles.

Rotary control isn't ringing a bell for either.

Re: 1998 Civic repair estimates - looking for some advice
 

What head gasket issue?
The timing belt and water pump is probably due to age + sitting.
If the OP likes gambling you could always just leave it (Not recommended)

Re: 1998 Civic repair estimates - looking for some advice
 

LOL Knock about 800-1000 off that, depending on the shops labor rate.

To save about 1700 dollars I'd be picking up a screwdriver and a few wrenches.



What's a rotary control, and why?

Injector cleaning? Hell no unless there's a damn good reason. That's a money grab.

Sure, let's see the itemized estimates

Re: 1998 Civic repair estimates - looking for some advice
 

Sorry I'm guestimating in Canadian and going to the higher end

Re: 1998 Civic repair estimates - looking for some advice
 

Oh carp, I didn't even think about checking where OP was from lol

Re: 1998 Civic repair estimates - looking for some advice
 

I'm trying to give his engine another issue..lol
My comprehension skills are sometimes very questionable...thanks for the correction.

When doing the timing belt it's a good time to check valves clearances (adjustment) as well.

Re: 1998 Civic repair estimates - looking for some advice
 

Hi, my first time posting as well, but I felt a kinship here as I also have a civic I'm cleaning up for a daughter. It's a 99, but similar refresh was done. New Alternator, new springs/struts/shocks, fixed all oil leaks like valve cover, new timing belts and waterpump,and new accessory belts while I was there. New tires from costco to finish it off. Timing belt/waterpump is done together and is about $500 from an independent shop (I actually had a mobile specialist do that one job in the driveway, took him about 3 hrs, I don't have the impact wrench to get the crank bolt off, so I let him do, it was worth it). All the rest is very easy on that car.Valve cover takes about an hour if you take your time, forget the injection cleaning, that's waste of money, battery you can get from anyplace and swap in 10-15 minutes. Wiper switch you can get for $50 new, $25 used from ebay and takes $15 minutes to unscrew the two bolts and put in new one (I had that problem as well). Do all that and you will have a great car with low insurance and a long lifetime. My previous Civic I ran 350,000 miles and my friends daughter we got it for her at 200,000 miles, cleaned up a bit and ran it to 300,000 before she gave it to another college student. This one I have now and yours will go 100,000 miles. Well worth the money and a really good year for civics. I would not be surprised if it's tired to throw on a replacement stock/strut/springs in the future, but if it feels fine for now, just drive it. I think they are little tanks myself and outlast many owners. Perfect car for a young driver.