A well maintained honda engine should easily last 250K - again assuming
no abuse and reasonable maintenance.  If it is not leaking oil where
you park it - PCV valve is #1 suspect.  a quart every 3-400 leak would
have oil all over the engine and where you park.  My current 97 accord
I4 has 194 K does not burn any oil - leaks a small bit - maybe a 1/2
pint in 4K.

Also look at the oil on the dip stick - is it totally black and sticky
- bet the former owner was a pig and has not changed the oil for a long
time.

How much diagnostics actually went into identifying the valve as the
problem?

Does the engine seem to lack power or otherwise sound odd? I know that may
be hard to assess with a new used car, but give it a shot.

Are you seeing oil drips beneath the car when it sits awhile?

I would first do a complete tuneup (genuine Honda parts only for plugs,
ignition wires, distributor cap and rotor, and PCV valve); new air filter
and fuel filter. Drain and fill with genuine Honda coolant or the orange
Havoline Dexcool the cooling system. Purge properly of air. Check and adjust
as needed the ignition timing.

That's around $200 of parts and labor. Do not go cheap on the parts: Buy OEM
(= genuine Honda) as directed above. This $200 is an investment. These items
need to be done every few years anyway.

See http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lioness/id11.html for an overview of
the tuneup above.

I would then monitor the oil level. Make sure it's not leaking from the
valve cover or into the spark plug tubes: Check the exterior of the engine
right beneath the valve cover; check the spark plug tubes once a week for
the immediate future. Report on what you see. There are certain seals that
certainly may need replacement for a car this old.

Look for oil drips on the floor beneath the car, and try to identify from
where they are coming.

A bad PCV valve will cause excessive oil consumption. The good news is it's
only about a $20 part and most people can change it out themselves within
five minutes (an hour if you're new to this).

Also, start monitoring the gas consumption. Measure mileage between fillups,
divide gallons at each fillup with miles driven. Report back after four or
so fillups.

Elle
Original owner, 1991 Civic LX, 174k miles. Runs like a top. 40 mpg most of
the year.

I am a new to the "honda owner family."  I bought a used Honda Accord
LX with 165,000 miles on it two months ago.  I have since noticed,
unfortunately, that it is burning about one quart of oil between every
time I fill up with gas.  A mechanic told me it was probably an old
valve that had gone bad.  He did not quote me a price for repair, but I
can imagine it will be expensive.  What do you all think?  With my
Accord being 12 years old and having 165,000 miles, would it be worth
it to get the valve replaced just to avoid the nuisance and potential
hazard?