Oh, that's was too much of a hassle on your part. Paying $800 is not worth it at all. I even experienced my Civic '94 took two weeks before the engine started again. I had it repainted (at a shop which I would hardly recommend to anybody) before I sold it. Unfortunately some parts of the car were not properly returned, which affected the computer box. The engine wasn't working anymore. I was hopeless. I thought I'd end up with a junked car. Good thing, I had it fixed at a very affordable cost. By the way, my radiator was overhauled at only $50 and spent $160 for computer box labor. Well, I am in the Philippines (1USD= PhP43). We experienced the same car problem, same brand of car but the only difference is our country of origin.
My brand new car is still Honda. Afterall, Honda cars are known to be durable and of good quality. I forgot the brand of the coolant used for my previous Civic. I seldom used it. I just refilled it with distilled water. Just check your water reservoir. Make sure it has always water in it to prevent overheating. Some potential radiator problems may include a restricted or blocked grille that needs to be cleaned by overhauling the radiator. Enough work is done on the radiator unit to make it fully operational again. So you have a choice of either replacing your radiator or having it repaired. In my case, I chose to have it overhauled in one of the best shops here since they recommended it so I won't have to spend another bucks replacing it.
Before I sold my Civic since the radiator was last overhauled, I was using it for almost a year so I was confident it was in good condition. I also had the engine tuned up a couple of month before it was sold. Since then, my buyer gave me a positive feedback. I am happy now with my brand new Honda car.
Before you ask the shop to take on your car, be sure that the company offers a guarantee on the service that they give you. If it won't work for you, try calling Honda cars company whichever is closest to you. They know better what to do.
Saturday, July 2nd, 2011 AT 3:35 AM