Looking at a wagon...

mrhonda1948mrhonda1948 Band Wagon
in General Civic Wagon Discussion
Local CL has a posting for a 1991 Civic Wagon w/auto and AC. Only has 75k miles on it. Very presentable, but it has no RH mirror and the transmission seems like it shifts hard sometimes and acceleration seems sluggish, although it just passed smog test about a month ago. Are there any inherent issues with the transmissions and can you find wagon RH mirrors anywhere?

Bill

Comments

  • sohawksohawk Wagonist
    Can't speak to the transmission issue as I don't have an auto, but I've seen a few RH mirrors pop up on the forum and ebay. The junkyards are a great place to look as well
  • WagoneroWagonero Band Wagon
    My Rt4WD manual came with no RH mirror too and I got one on Ebay for $ 64 and It was easy to replace it.
    Plus I sold my right mirror delete plate so the mirror cost me only about $20.
    Good luck with your purchase.
  • mrhonda1948mrhonda1948 Band Wagon
    Were there problems with the auto transmissions on these cars? Only 75k, but it made some hard shifts 1-2 and even 3-4 at times. Seemed sluggish getting on the freeway, unless I floored it and kept it down until it built up some speed. Didn't downshift like I thought it would either. I did locate a RH used mirror on eBay for $90.... still worried about the transmission, though. Seller had an a/m brake master cylinder installed and it has a long pedal throw before actuating the brakes. Other than some bleaching out of the roof paint (metallic gray color), the overall car is in quite nice shape... but he wants $4500 for it. No bites in a month, though, so still listed.
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    auto trans do have issues, although sometimes simply replacing the fluid (use only genuine Honda fluid) helps a lot. Not sure how the wagon's automatics are, but my CR-V had hard shifting 1st to 2nd and eventually got stuck in 1st gear. simply replaced a trans solenoid fixed the issue (Honda has a service bulletin about it, common issue apparently.)

    sluggish issue could be myriad of different things, simple tune up could/may help a lot. possible issues: ignition timing could be off, catalytic converter could be clogged, etc...

    sounds like the brakes need to be bled.

    $4500 is outrageous for a car with the issues you mentioned, regardless of mileage. it better look brand new and be in perfect working order for that much. I wouldnt pay more than $3000 personally, especially for an automatic...
  • mrhonda1948mrhonda1948 Band Wagon
    Hard to find much info on wagons this old now, it seems. Apparently Accords and larger models had a lot of auto trans issues back then. Fluid looked good, but no records to view on maintenance in the past 24 years. Wagon is VERY clean, but the performance issues worry me. Just passed CA smog a month ago, so shouldn't have any engine issues relating to spark timing or fuel metering. I read where someone discovered TPS problems with their car, which affected the transmission, but that one had over 200k miles on it.

    Here's current link... http://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/cto/5007843083.html

    My current ride is a 1994 Toyota Paseo, auto/AC and 43k miles on it... It will kick the Honda's butt as it stands now in overall performance. I had an 1986 wagon a year or so ago, but it was a 5 speed. Ran well after I tracked down a vacuum advancer for it.

    wagodizzle wrote: »
    auto trans do have issues, although sometimes simply replacing the fluid (use only genuine Honda fluid) helps a lot. Not sure how the wagon's automatics are, but my CR-V had hard shifting 1st to 2nd and eventually got stuck in 1st gear. simply replaced a trans solenoid fixed the issue (Honda has a service bulletin about it, common issue apparently.)

    sluggish issue could be myriad of different things, simple tune up could/may help a lot. possible issues: ignition timing could be off, catalytic converter could be clogged, etc...

    sounds like the brakes need to be bled.

    $4500 is outrageous for a car with the issues you mentioned, regardless of mileage. it better look brand new and be in perfect working order for that much. I wouldnt pay more than $3000 personally, especially for an automatic...
  • jb2wheelsjb2wheels Wagonist
    Other than the hard shifts, it's probably normal.

    My stock 90 2WD is S-L-O-W even with a 5 speed. It's what, 90hp on a good day? Gotta be worse with Hondamatic sucking the life out of it.

    For $4500 you gotta really want it.
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