The Best Honda You Can Buy for $3,000 or Less

**Buying a Reliable Van for Painting Work**

As a painter looking for a reliable van for your work, you want to make sure you're investing in a vehicle that can withstand the demands of frequent use and harsh conditions. One option to consider is the Toyota Sienna van, which has a reputation for being durable and long-lasting.

However, with popular models like the Sienna often selling out quickly at high prices, it may be challenging to find one that meets your needs. An alternative worth considering is the Ford van, which offers some decent options in terms of reliability and performance.

**The Avoidance of Honda Odyssey Vans**

But when it comes to vans from major manufacturers, there's one brand that should be avoided: Honda Odyssey. According to Scotty, a mechanic with years of experience, Honda Odyssey vans are notorious for their unreliability, particularly after reaching high mileage (200,000 miles in this case). The transmission, V6 engine, and air conditioning system can all become problematic, making them a poor choice for heavy-duty use like painting work.

**Common Issues with Other Van Models**

In addition to the Honda Odyssey, other van models have their own set of issues. For example, some mechanics have reported problems with the Odyssey's transmissions, while others have experienced issues with the V6 engine and air conditioning system. Additionally, the starter motor in larger vehicles can become faulty due to its complex design.

**DIY Repair Tips**

When it comes to diagnosing and repairing common van issues, DIY repair tips can be invaluable. For instance, when a fuel gauge is bouncing erratically, it's essential to check the sending unit or gas tank wear-out. A wiring harness short can also cause erratic readings, so checking the wiring first should be a top priority.

**Tire Maintenance**

In another scenario, a Nissan Patrol owner reports issues with their vehicle's steering wheel flopping around when driving over 25 kilometers per hour due to an uneven road surface in Australia. The solution lies in inspecting and maintaining the vehicle's suspension system, which can often be done by checking the tie rods, lower ball joints, or strut mounts.

**Common Causes of Suspension Issues**

In some cases, suspension issues like wobbling or flopping steering wheels can arise from more complex problems, such as worn-out or damaged parts. A video series on how to check out one's own car's suspension system can provide valuable insights and tips for identifying these issues and performing repairs.

**Spark Plug and Ignition Coil Issues**

When a car won't start, it's often the spark plugs that come under scrutiny. According to Billy, a mechanic, short wires can cause ignition coil failures or spark plug problems. By inspecting the spark plugs and following up with wiring checks, owners can identify and repair these issues quickly.

**Durable Repair Options**

Finally, while some manufacturers prioritize profit over durability in their designs, there are still reliable repair options available. With a good diagnosis and the right tools, many common issues can be resolved without breaking the bank or requiring extensive mechanical expertise.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enpeople are always asking me Scotty whatdo you think of the Honda CRV SUVs wellhere's a 2002 with a lot of mileage asyou can see it's gonna oneeighty-seven thousand six hundred andtwelve miles still start right uptypical Honda engine still has asmooth transmission and theinteriors pretty much Honda it'sutilitarian as you can see the backseats down you got a lot of space one ofthese things to all stop and this is afancy one it's even got a moonroofsunroof whatever you want to call it nowthis is a fancy real-timefour-wheel-driveI'm even though it's got all theirmileage on it closes in on two hundredthousand miles the system has performedflawlessly for the customer the engineitself four-cylinder engines they gotplenty enough power for this vehicle butthere are no racehorses so they do notburn the automatic transmissions out theHondas and Acuras that i see havingproblems generally are the v6 engines beput on a lot of horsepower they strainthe automatic transmissions and thefour-wheel drive systems saw our oftensee Acuras and Honda's transmissionproblems with the big v6 engines thisfour-cylinder puts out 160 horsepowerwhich is pulling it off to pull thisvehicle around but it's not putting toomuch torque on a transmission to burnthe things out hence it's got almost200,000 miles and the transmission andall-wheel drive system has never had aproblem and the basic transmissionpractical four-speedHonda automatic transmission Honda makes anddesigns them themselves and thesehave very few problems when they'rehooked up to one of these four-cylinderengines and yes it's not that great ongas because it's a four-wheel-drivesystem 20 in a city and about 24 on a highwayso it's not great on gas mileage butthey can run forever to compare thisall-wheel drive Honda CRV to say acomparable 2002 Subaru all-wheel driveSubarus making all-wheel drive forreally long time they get them prettyperfected the Subaru boxer engines havea tendency of blowing head gasketsthey'll rarely be running as good asthis Honda does with almost two hundredthousandand they also have automatictransmission problems in the SubaruHonda makes a better automatictransmission the Subaru does now thisthing may be 18 years old but it's stillgot the original air-conditioningcompressor now as you can see here thepower steering pump is starting to leaka little that's typical on most Honda'syou can just add the fluid every once ina while if it gets to a point where itleaks out all the time you're gonna haveto replace the pump but as you can seeat least the pumps on the top it's avery easy job it's almost as if Hondaknew well our pumps leak when they getold so let's put them on the top side bereal easy to change some cars man Icould take you 3-4 hours to get thatpump off this thing take you ten minutessee what it looks like under there foranything really badly leaking or betterbroken let's start looking aroundand aside from power steering fluiddripping down which you already know thebrakes are clean the frame all looksfine and when we check the back sideboots are all nice and clean not rip youcan see the frame is all solid not benteverything is pretty much originalequipment hey it still got the originalmuffler on you know they make goodaluminumized muffle it's got a littlesurface rust there but it still hasn'trotted through and it's 18 years old anda left rear tires were normally got tonsof tread same thing it's clean with noweird wear spots and the front tires nowthey're a bit worn here you can seethere's a little bit of scalloped wherehere so it probably needs a front endalignment on this side go go to theother side check that out and we got thesame thing a little bit of where itneeds front tires and an alignment forsure but I'd expect that with the carthat's got almost 200,000 miles onthat's just typical wear and tear youdon't put a car down because of thatrubber wears out over time and as yourtires start to get thinner you will getan accentuation of odd wear you get 4050 thousand miles out of a set of tiresand then they start showing where mostcars are gonna do that because they'renot perfect when they're that old let'ssay you put a pair of new tires on thisthing a name within a few thousand milesstarting to wear odd then you know youreally got some front end problemsthey're gonna have to be looked into inthis case not so it was showing a roadtest start her upbacking uptransmission engaged perfectly okaywe'll give it a little gas and see whathappens got decent acceleration chef'sgood as we turn just a little low onfluid and we know it's leaking so it'sgonna have to be replaced at some pointin time but we'll just add fluid for nowit's got a little bouncing when you hitbumps but hey they always ride a littlebit on the rough side and as they age ofcourse the struts are all worn but heyit's totally controllable it's not likeit's an uncontrollable vehicle I've hadcustomers over-the-air say oh it's gotall this mods I want to put struts on itand they do and then they'redisappointed because they find out andmaybe it rides 10% better not all thatmuch if they're not worn out making allkinds of noise and shaking at thehighway you can live with with an oldvehicle like this but like an oldworkhorse you're not gonna take it to dothe hundred-yard dash anymore good babya little make it last as long aspossible I'm gonna scan it to get itoverall perspective of what kind ofshape it's in with all this mileage nowit's doing its thing reading everythingit was a cold peel 4/20 camp systemefficiency below threshold very typicalfor these old Honda's as they age anyimpurities in a system can start theclog up the catalytic converter and it'snot as efficient as it used to be it's acombination of everything the enginebeing worn the fuel injectors being wornit only does this when it reaches acertain parameter so a lot of times youcan put cleaner in a gas tank top cleana catalytic converter go to a highergrade of gasoline driving around for acouple hundred miles a lot of times thecold will go away because they'd helpclean it a better burning fuel is gonnamake it work more efficiently but thisthing runs perfectly fine the customersgot no qualms about how it runsthey were just wondering why the checkengine light was coming on and that'swhy so I'm gonna throw some cleaner in agas tank and tell her drive it aroundfor a couple hundred miles didn't bringit back let me reach a cat then now I'vehad customers drive them years that wayI even had one customer with the CRVfour years in a row the inefficientcatalytic converter and then itcame the fifth-year to have me check itout and inexplicably the cold was goneand I said why did you put a kettle linkinverter on it they said not we didn'tdo anything we just switched the gas andthe gas station by us went out ofbusiness so instead of buying it from anexcellent station we're now buying it ata Shell station so the only thing Icould figure was well the Shell gasolineburnt better than the Exxon did andsince had burnt better the catalyticconverter did not have to work as hardto get rid of unburned hydrocarbons andthe light went off and it stayed off forthe next three years until he sold thecar it was still off so things like thatcan happen now if you have an old car ithas a card like that fuel injectorcleaner just make sure that it containsthe nitrogen based cleaner that's calledPEA it's a nitrogen based cleanerthat works with modern cars and moderngasoline to clean things up and it canvery well make the car cleaner run moreefficiently and get rid of aninefficient cat code especially in avehicle like this because it's runningperfectly fine otherwise she has noproblem with the starting running butthere is one more thing I'm gonna checkif she said that it seems to run alittle bit warmer than normal and shedid a bunch of stuff for pleasure so I'mgonna start it up and what the a/cturned on full-blast I'm gonna check thecooling fans and as we can see thatone's working and that one's workingthe coolant fans are both workingperfectly fine the coolant in theradiator is full and a rock dust in Iowaand see how it runs now if I find thatit runs perfectly fine with the a/c onfull blast but then I turn the fans offturn the a/c off and if it runs a littlebit hotter that means that the fansaren't working right when the a/c isturned off cuz that AC automaticallyturns to fans on and they're working sothat systems working but the regularsystem may not be working perfectly sowe're gonna check that we can't get fora good road test about 45 minutesincluding at least 20 minutes on ahighway and after our big road test 45minutes great nose temperature gaugestays even below the middle with the a/con or the a/c off and the check enginelight is gone so now you know the truthabout Honda cr-vhere's some bonus questions and answerscabbies says thoughts on how long a BRZcan last new that's how you drive itthey're fun little sports cars aredriving around but you know a lot ofguys get that kind of car because theywant to drive like maniacs so they drivelike maniacs and you can work anythingout if you drive like a maniac that'sjust the way machines are when I had2013 Shelby Cobra at 666 Horsepower Idrove it like a maniac if I would havehad it for more than a week I had it Iprobably could have worn the thing outin a few months but if I would havetaken the same vehicle and just drovethe speed limit all the time if you takecare of it they can last a long time butyou do need to take care of it TomHansen Scotty do you recommend replacethe timing chain and interferenceengines and say hundred thousand milesas a preventative means only on crappycars something like a Nissan I wouldbecause they're crappy and their problemsomething like a Toyota no I have neverever seen the Toyota timing chain breakand I've been working on for 50 years soI know I wouldn't waste my time but Igot a Chrysler Fiat Nissan yes Iprobably would add a hundred thousandmiles cuz I wouldn't trust them that theengine would be destroyed but not a wellbuilt vehicle no you don't have to worryabout it as long as you change your oilcuz realize the timing change the metalchange it's lubricated by engine oil andif your engine oil gets dirty and getslow it's not lubricated right and willwear out faster plus if you have a GDIturbocharged engine the chains wear moretoo from the little blow bar that they getand the extra strain on them so in thatcase yeah find a GDI engine I wouldchange the timing chains every hundredthousand miles or so girl sayswhat causes rear brakes to wear outquicker than the front of an SUV thebrakes are working fine I noticed therear brakes walk we're going to thefront okaythere's only really two things one is ifyou tall a lot and have a lot of weightin the back then there's more weight inthe back and it's harder to slow it downand wear the pads out more commonly thesystems have proportioning valves sothat a certain percentage of the brakingis on the front which is normally moreand then a little bit losses to the backif that proportioning valve breaks anddoesn't work right it could give toomuch power to the back and they'll wearout so I knows more often theproportioning valve is going bad andit's sending too much power to the backmaking them wear out faster now ofcourse you want to check to make surethey're not dragging if the calipers aresticking their dragging and they're gonnago so you got to check that too but ifthey're worn totally evenly and one sideisn't thin on the other sides thickerwhich would mean that side that'sthinner has sticking calipers more oftensubmit proportioning valve but son CI 84Scotty I'm thinking about buying a know500 of an for work that's 200,000 mileson it I'm a painter what are yourthoughts would it be the cheapest mostreliable van okay do not buy that Hondahonestly I can tell you're a painter andnot a mechanic cuz we mechanics on those odysseyvans are horrible transmissionsbring the v6 engines are probably thecams breaking the air conditioningsystems brake you want a reliable vantry to find a Toyota Sienna van or ifyou can't because they're so popular andpeople want so much money for maybe alook at a Ford van some of the Ford vansare decent yeah but do not buy a HondaOdyssey van they are not reliable atthat mileage generally start fallingapart done they made too many mistakeswith those Odyssey vans it's like Ialways say about Honda they make greatvehicles to most of the time but they'rebetter at smaller vehicles the starteris a motorcycle company not at biggervehicles so I wouldn't buy an odysseyvan especially a used one Lorraine'sEaton says I got an 01 Chevy Tahoe v8fuel gauge keeps bouncing all over theplace there's only two things thatreally do that one is the sending unit agas tank wears out and then it startsthe gasoline vapors eat up the circuitboard then it gets weird readings that'svery common size but of course you gotdropped the fuel time for that firstthing I'd say it'd be check wiring goinginto the fuel tank it's a known flawit's a 19-year old Chevy truck they gotwiring harness shorts all the time whenI bailed them they built them so cheapthe wiring harnesses are too tight andjust remittance that tightness wigglesthem and then they short out and yoursis probably starting to short out andthen it'll get erratic and go all overthe place check the wiring first the GMcells are wiring repair kit you don'thave to buy theirs you could just cutwires and solder new ones in but it's sobad the GM actually sells a kit forrepairing him because they've had somany problems with the worst wigglingfrom being to tighten and then justcoming apart starting to short outthat's the problem sicker says Scotty Ihave a Nissan Patrol 1998 when I'mdriving over 25 kilometers because of anAustralia the drivers wheel startsflopping around side to side I'm holdingthe steering wheel straight okay wellyou got a serious problem there if it'sflopping side to side don't drive itanymore please yeah knock off the frontend all you got to do is pull on it at 3and 9 o'clock and 12 and 6 and seewhat's wobbling pray it's somethingsimple like the tie rods worn out that'scheapnow might be the lower ball joint couldbe that could be the strut itself maybethe strut mounts breaking miss wobblybut if its liable on that bad you'regonna physically see it when you jack itup in the air and pull on it so do thatI got a whole video on how to check outyour own car's suspension system watchthat you can easily check it yourselfand then you can decide hey if yourmechanical off change the tire rods nobig deal but if it's bigger like thestruts need done or the control armsworn now you want to pay mechanicBilly's why does it come says I got a nosub GMC truck it cranks won't startand it has no spark I looked ateverything spark plugs can't findanything wrong no and he also says hehas no codes they lose power theignition control module and ignitioncoil those wires there's a white blackwire they just made them too short theyrobbed and that white black wire comesapart if you gotta get a little razorblade and slice through all thatinsulation slice it off to the side andlook at that white black wire follow itif you see anywhere it's close torubbing check that first and then you'llsee probably the white black wires comeapart it was a design flaw no they justmade it too close and the wire justcomes apart because it's rubbing fromcheap manufacture the thinks 13 yearsold it took 13 years to wear it throughbut still if they were to put anotherinch of wiring so it wasn't so tight tosave a billionth of a pennyit wouldn't arrive loose in the first place,so if you never want to miss another oneof my new car repair videos, remember toring that Bell\n"