need help please!

[Ghost Shadow]

This is my first post on this forum. I am trying to make a decision on whether or not i should buy this 91 Honda Accord DX that I checked out. It is automatic transmission with 165k miles on it. The problem with it is that when i change the transmission from park to reverse, there is a hard violent thud, jerk or jump with the car. It only happens when going from P to R. The owner told me it started happening about 3 weeks ago when he was on the highway and hit a pothole. He pulled out of the pothole in reverse and since then the car jumps when going into reverse.

Some people were saying it might just be the engine mounts, but could it just be the engine mount if it only jumps when going from P to R?

If the problem is the engine mount, how much would it cost to replace it, with labor?

Thanks in advance

[Nekaflo]

the answer to the question should scome from you, think of it like this, how is the cars consition, how manny miles, how long will you own the car for, what do you want to do with the car, is it a daily driver, or so you have the erdge to learn, and modify? is that even the direction you want to go? now is the cost of the car worth it?

you have to ask yourself these questions, and decide if the price fits the worth of the product... im going to be honest... a 91 DX AUTO is a LOT of work if you want to get serious, and its a expensive path, but if you have the drive, and detication, then youve come to the right place..

as for your transmittion issue, i dont want to be the one to say it, but chances are your trans is about to die, the cars 15+ years, im sure has more then 100k miles on it... i could say its the fluid, mounts, or berrings but in all honestly, its probebly not, and a expensive item to fix, you can get a loaner from a junkyard for a few hundred bucks, or maybe sombody here, so i definatly wouldent let the transmition be any kind of deciding factor, its a small temporary problem, that only looks intimidating!

with the right motivation to learn, and enough patiants, this can be a very exiting project, that you will learn alot from, but only if you have that determination! GOOD LUCK!

[Ghost Shadow]

well i'm planning to use the car to get to my classes and thats about it. I do want to learn but not at this point due to financial issues. Financial issues are also the reason why I chose to even look at the car. The guy was selling it for 1000 but is willing to give it up for 800 but wouldn't go lower. I wasn't going to decide right away today. We couldn't get it out of the driveway since there was a car blocking. Tomorrow I'm going to test run it with my friend who is a mechanic to see what he thinks of it. He didn't see the car himself today but said he thinks it's the engine mount. When we were testing the transmission with the hood open, I saw the engine jerk around, but I'm not sure if that is a symptom of the engine mounts. Other than some minor dents on the side of the car, it seems to be in good condition.

-EDIT
i will most likely not be getting the car. the owner just made another post on craigslist and listed two new problems that he didn't mention to me before.

[mozzandherb]

I wouldn't. Sounds like a transmission problem and you don't really want that to begin with. I would look around some more. I'm sure there are a ton of cb's for sale in good condition for the price range you are looking at...just my $0.02

[Ghost Shadow]

do you have any suggestions on where I should be searching? I've only been using craigslist. I'm in serious need of a car because school starts soon and its a 2 hour subway ride but only a 30 minute drive. I've been trying to find something decent in my price range for 3 months now. I've checked out a few cbs but they were in really bad shape.