Car Needs a CV Axle Boot

You might try to get a loaner car until this is repaired. Once the boot is cracked, dirt and sand get at the cv joint and also grease leaks out and very quickly it is ruined.
 

Georgiagranny said:
That poor car has apparently been neglected for far too long. Trade it before it nickels and dimes you to the poorhouse.
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Agree with that!

She has an $800 car that she plans on possibly putting over $1000+ in it.

Also, if she continues to wait to either repair or replace the car, to run around getting more opinions, her inspection will expire this month, then she can just park it in the garage and have no transportation.
 

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debodun said:
The problem wasn't the front axle CV boot after all. The service advisor at Honda said there were other things leaking (oil pan and cam plug) that the previous mechanic may have mistook for a bad boot. However, they said I needed rear end sway bar links for it to pass state inspection. Bottom line for that repair was $323.36.

Now my question is - how critical are the oil pan and cam plug leaks? Should I have them repaired ASAP? The estimated cost of the oil pan leak would be $700 + tax and the cam plug would be $165 + tax.
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If you check the oil regularly, and there are no big puddles on the floor, then, I wouldn't worry about it. My Suzuki has had small drips for over 30,000 miles now and I see no need to repair it. AGAIN... just check the oil everytime you are going to use the car and you'll be fine.
 
AMC had some real lemons. We had a Matador station wagon and it was a great car when it wasn't in the shop or dead by the side of the road or in a parking lot somewhere...which it was most of the time. This was before the "lemon laws" came into effect.

We had way over a hundred things that had to be repaired/replaced, many several times. Some were minor, all too many were dangerous.

The two-way tailgate kept falling off. The dealership accused us of letting our daughter swing on it...as if I would let her swing on a tailgate apparently attached with scotchtape and chewing gum. The 4th time they replaced the hinges, the manager condescendingly said he'd demonstrate how to properly open the door. He did and it sheared off and fell on his foot. He was taken off in an ambulance.

We finally went to arbitration, where the dealership said "The _______'s are chronic complainers." Well, duh, yeah.

The worst problem was that it would periodically and wouldn't restart immediately when you turned and accelerated, like when pulling out onto a highway.....y'know, when you REALLY need to accelerate. But a problem couldn't be found.

Three months after we sold it, a serious recall notice came about a stalling problem when accelerating. Seems that there was a part deep in the engine that would contact another part and short out the engine....or something like that.

Was glad to see the last of that car.
 
I received a questionnaire from Honda about my recent service experience. I responded that had taken it to Advance Auto and they said the battery was fine. This is Honda's response:

Your alternator works very hard to keep your battery charged. If you don't do a lot of driving, or if your driving patterns are short distances, it may night provide the battery with an ample charge. Which can result in a poor battery test. The test that advanced auto runs, and the one we perform during your multi point are "quick" tests.

If you experience any issues with your battery, we are more than happy to run what is called a GR8 test on it, that test bipasses the alternator and tests the battery independently and runs it through many different cycles to get the most accurate reading possible. That test can run up to 90 minutes long, so that is why it's not done on every vehicle.
 
jujube said:
AMC had some real lemons. We had a Matador station wagon and it was a great car when it wasn't in the shop or dead by the side of the road or in a parking lot somewhere...which it was most of the time. This was before the "lemon laws" came into effect.
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My family got a used Rebel Station Wagon. We had to carry extra fuses as you could be driving along and the rear tail light (left side) would short out the lights.

Took 2 weeks and a 1/10 roll of duct tape to solve the problem. The oil leak wasn't so bad. A quart every month helped.

I worked security at a steel mill, our patrol car was a three speed Gremlin. Fun little car.
 
Georgiagranny said:
@debodun Believe me when I tell you that you are living on borrowed time with that car. Probably what has saved you so far is that you drive so little.

However, I just had a brilliant idea! The Honda dealer will pay top dollar on a trade-in for a new car because used cars right now are very hard to find. And interest rates are high so new cars are moving slowly.

You have said yourself that you suffer from analysis paralysis. This ain't the time. Figure out the value of your car, choose a new car, make the deal, pay, and do it before your axle breaks and you're sitting by the side of the road wondering what to do next.

Go to edmunds.com and enter all the relevant info to get a ballpark figure of the value of your car. You can also go to kbb.com to see how much they say. IMO, edmunds.com is more accurate and more realistic than kbb.com.

1. Ask at the dealership about buying a new car. They'll want your car.

2. Do not answer any questions that aren't asked. If asked if there's anything wrong with it, just say it needs a CV boot and let it go at that. The repair is small potatoes to them. Otherwise, don't say a word.

3. Pay cash but do not tell them you are paying cash until you have agreed on a car, have worked your best deal and are ready to sign and write the check.

The reason you don't tell them you're paying cash is because they'll be eyeing the $$ they'll make from whatever institution where they place your (non-existent) loan. If they know you're paying cash, there's no $$ forthcoming from that bank/credit union and they won't be so anxious to negotiate.

Trust me. I'm old and know stuff;)
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You are correct. I worked at dealerships for years and do not tell them you are paying cash. They will want your car. Right now my daughter's car is at her dealership waiting for parts. They gave her a "loaner" that is on its last leg. Getting parts is a big problem now at dealerships.
 
I do all of my own maintenance, and would NEVER take a car to a dealership. The horror stories I hear from people are never ending, and their labor rates are atrocious. A good independent shop is always your best/least expensive bet. They make universal CV boot repair kits that do not require dis-assembling the axle/front suspension, which should be available at any parts store, and require minimal labor. If there is no oil under your car, the cam plug and pan are merely seeping a very minor amount, and shouldn't be an issue. Any Honda should be good for 200-300k miles without major issues.
 

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