On Wed, 29 Jan 2003 BenTbtstr8@aol.com wrote:

> MY GF's was a 93 Civic EX. The condenser burnt up according to the mechanic
> who handled it. Unfortunately Honda only sells units rather than parts.
> Bastards. They won't even sell CV's. They make you buy a rebuilt axle.

Yeah, that's a problem.  There are fewer aftermarket Honda parts houses
than there are for VWs, too.

> Funny I don't recall that happening to any of mine.

I can think of at least three VW recalls, though not three for any one
vehicle.  FWIW my '94 Civic was never recalled.

> After my experience with the w/ the CRV and the Civic all in
> one month I've changed my opinion about the Japanese VW's. I suppose it's
> just a question of familiarity. Afterall, they must be doing something right
> for half my neighborhood to be driving Hondas.

Yeah...personally, I have a Vanagon as my "go on vacation" and "tinker
with" vehicle, and a Honda as my reliable "go to work without having to
worry about anything" vehicle.  A friend of mine has over 200,000 miles on
an Accord, and the engine has never been apart.  You won't find many
Vanagons like that. ;)  I figured if I was going to own a vehicle with
known reliability issues, I ought to have another one that has a
reputation for only needing oil changes.

             _ _
  __ _ _   _| | |  | David M. Brodbeck (N8SRE)              Ypsilanti, MI
 / _` | | | | | |  +-----------------------------------------------------
| (_| | |_| | | | @ cyberspace.org
 \__, |\__,_|_|_| "To the optimist, the glass is half full.  To the
 |___/             pessimist, the glass is half empty.  To the engineer,
                   the glass is twice as big as it needs to be."