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Just tell me aound what you think it would cost.  Also, if the speedometer isnt working is that a sign of a cracked head or what?  

I personally have no idea what it would cost to replace a head gasket on a 1996 accord. I would venture to say more than $1000.  I searched and couldnt find anything.  Your speedometer not working not because of a cracked head.  It could possibly be a speed sensor or a bad speedometer cluster  

Thanks for the reply. I got an estimate of 1200 from some family owned auto shop. I got the car for 500 bucks from a friend and figured all in all it was  a good deal. It has quite a few problems though. The headgasket is blown, the air bags have been deployed, The speedometer doesnt work, the front bumper is cracked and primered, the left fender doesnt fit and is primer, but i figured i should still do it. If anything a scrapyard offered me $600 for it. Do you think i should take it or work on it? I figured with the head gasket being fixed, a bra cover for the front end (bumper and hood) damage, and a couple window decals, that it'd be suitable...what do you think?  

could you afford to get a new car? how long are you planning on keeping this car?  How many miles are on this car?  

I couldnt afford a new car in the near future, but im only 15 so its not that urgent, it has 165,000 miles on it and i was planning on keeping it through high school and maybe college. Also would you recommend trying this product called steel seal? It says you just pour it into the radiator and it fixes blown head gaskets, cracked heads, and warped heads. its only 50 bucks with a money back guarentee so i thought why not but im not sure if it will damage my engine...any thoughts?  

I dont know anything about that stuff, but it dosent seem like the route you want to go.  

Hoping that your head gasket and speedometer is all thats wrong with your car, it should definatly last you through highschool if maintained properly.  

Why do you think the head gaskets blown?  

Alright well i have to leave now but ill be back either late tomorrow or saturday so please just post your thoughts and ill get back to ya. By the way i do have a job now so ,if you think i should keep it, ill have $1600 by sept. 13, my birthday and the day im going to go get my liscence, so ill probably have enough for the headgasket, what do you think i should get for my car after that? Im not really goin for speed, just looks, so do you think i should get a new carbon fiber hood, a pair of z3 fenders, or a spoiler? i dont have enough for a body kit yet or id get that. Sadly its $465 at sense motorsport for an r33 or r34 body kit after shipping. Anyways thanks for the posts and have a nice day.              
               -Tony  

Oh my friend was racing and wrecked it so thats why its blown and the airbags are deployed. But my Grandparents are really pressuring me to hurry up so ill talk to you later.  

Air bags are also costly to replace.

If you are not going to buy the car until sept. keep looking for other cars also, to keep your otions open.


A head gasket is only around $80 but its the labor that will bring it over $1000.  

SO your friend crashed the car,  but what leads you to belive that the head gasket is blown?  Sorry for being so persistant just trying to help.  

Thank you for being persistant actually. He says after he crashed it that it was blowing smoke out of the tail pipe and leaking water into the oil. He went and got it checked out and they said the headgasket was blown.  

If you are not going to be able to afford the maintenance bill until sept.  look around for other cars until then just to keep your options open.  you paid $500 for the car and hopefully you will only have to drop another $2000 to fix it.

$2500  for a 1996 honda accord with 165,000 miles on it and has been in an accident.  To me that doesnt sound like a horrible price.  

Do some research on 100,000+ mile accords and see what you come up with.  

Alright thanks for the advice man.  

no problem  

I just stumbled across this and I agree that I think $2500 isn't bad.  I mean, people are selling off mid-90s civics and accords for parts for $1000+.  My only concern with your car, if I were in your shoes, would be the safety of the vehicle.  Often times, from what I've heard a few months back (when I got hit in the side by a newbie teen driver) is that you have to be careful that the car is fixed properly, or you could loose some structural integredy of the vehicle... that's fairly obvious.  But, I'd say if things for the most part were fixed properly, then it sounds like an OK deal to me.  I mean, once you fix the gasket, you know that that part shouldn't fail again for a while, and a head gasket is a big job, especially if you have a V-shapped engine.  

re: steel seal, save your money kid.