Newbie Questions

[Red Rocket]

Hi,

I am looking at an Accord Coupe 3.0 V6 as a potential purchase.....

I have always liked them and a recent refurbishment of a Civic Coupe 1.7 (EM2 2003 vintage) has reignited my interest in old Honda coupes. I have previously owned an Accord 2.2 coupe auto and several 800 series Rovers with the Honda 2.5/2.7 engines and auto boxes back in the day as sole/daily drivers.

Which brings me on to my question. The car I am looking at being 17 years old is over-due its second cam belt change, on age not mileage! I recall this is a biggy from my Rover days, so was wondering what the likely cost would be and if there are any recommended places to get it done?

I am in Essex by the way.

Thanks Pete

[Mangoman]

Hello and welcome.

Concerning mechanical, Hughezee is the 'Go-To' man....

[AhsyV6]

Hello Pete and welcome. 

Good call on the potential new purchase. 

I know Stu will get back to you but in the meantime just to let you know that I looked into this with Honda main dealerships last year and they were quoting £200 parts and fitted incl VAT. This would Not include the water pump though and no doubt you are aware whilst doing the cambelt it is advisable to change the water pump as you'd save labour costs. 

Hope that helps for now

[hughezee]

Hi Pete

Apologies for the late response, lots going on atm first off welcome to the club, great choice of motor despite they being rare and can come with one or two age related niggles, so stay focused before handing over the readies. Also look for a good service history and ideally one with a timing belt replacement done especially a low mileage one and a test drive is a must, as the gearbox requires regular maintenance, so check the fluid condition and shift quality.

Any specific questions even a silly one, don't hesitate to ask us or drop me a message

[Laird_Scooby]

Welcome aboard Pete! Like Stu says, great choice of car, age related niggles can be a problem but they can with any car. Apologies for my late response, having a few age related niggles of my own just now

[Mazda Man]

Welcome aboard Pete, like most people been mega busy lately (wife has a new business) so don't have as much 'forum time' as I would like but I'm working on it.  

Stu ^^^ is our Master Yoda when it comes to our coupes, I drive a 20 mile round trip just to get my oil changed!    Anyway, our coupes have the usual age related niggles and the first thing to check I would say is the auto gearbox.  Put the wrong ATF fluid in and it will be toast so please read the threads all over the site before deciding to flush gallons of wrong fluid through.  Valvoline MaxLife is recommended.  Another thing is the fuel relay playing up, the solder becomes cracked with age and you'll start getting problems hot starting bit this is easily fixed with a new / reconditioned relay from Master Stu.  They're at the age now where things like dash bulbs start packing up and sods law is that lots of things all happen at once.

However....you have access to a wealth of knowledge and experience on here, ask away (no matter how silly) and you'll receive a swift reply from people who actually own and run them.  Dave aka Laird Scooby is our resident expert regarding loads of things too.  Me personally have no idea how things work under the bonnet, hence why Stu is the only one I trust to pull the bonnet release!  I just slather it in Demon Shine regularly.

Oh and be carefully fitting any aftermarket stereos as incorrect fitting can fry the mulitplexer unit which control the lighting.  Again, please take the time to read through the threads on here.

Happy Coupe motoring.

Beep Beep.