Would you advise me to buy a used Honda CRV?

Honda CRV.

What you need to know:

  • Honda vehicles and the CRV in particular are not as bad as they are said to be and you can own one, if it’s your choice.
  • The CRV is robust, spacious, comfortable and a practical recreation sports utility vehicle. However, before you buy a locally used one, with a limited budget, have it examined thoroughly as it may carry the good or bad maintenance history of its previous owner.

Hi Paul, thanks for the informative articles. I have a budget of Shs8m and would like to buy a used Honda CRV. I hear they have problems such as overheating, poor fuel economy, expensive parts, frequent break down of ball joints and low resale value. Please advise. Lees.

Hello Lees, Honda vehicles and the CRV in particular are not as bad as they are said to be and you can own one, if it’s your choice.
The CRV is robust, spacious, comfortable and a practical recreation sports utility vehicle. However, before you buy a locally used one, with a limited budget, have it examined thoroughly as it may carry the good or bad maintenance history of its previous owner.

Poor maintenance of fluids such as the engine coolant play a significant role in causing the overheating problem for all car models besides Honda.

Aging cooling fans, the thermostat and radiator cap should be inspected and replaced on time to avoid overheating. Suspension bushes and steering linkage parts such as ball joints are problematic because of limited new Honda parts dealers.

Some motorists resort to re using recycled or repaired ball joints or buy new low quality counterfeits. If you go downtown with your mechanic you can find sellers of better quality OEM ball joints and other Honda maintenance parts.

Your decision to buy the CRV should be driven by what you want to use it for, let the car brokers worry about its resale value when you are ready to sell.