I have a 1999 Honda civic that wouldn't start. I paid $600 for a new distributor. The car has approx 48,500 miles on it. I have never had to replace a distributor on a car before. Is this a common problem?

Main question is - why did you replace the whole distributor? Maybe just a coil or igniter unit went bad...

This is what I was told needed to be repaired by the service garage. I can no longer get out of a car service department without spending a minimun of $500 no matter what I take it in for.