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Accord owners, what's best about your car?

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What kinda used (or new) car can i get for around 18K? I want something thats automatic, cars only, and 97 or newer.
 
I don't know why specifically, other than what OuterSquare said - I've just never owned a more dependable, long-lasting car that handled nicely, got reasonable mileage and was mostly attractive. Last year I finally replaced my '84 Accord that had 193K miles - and I bought another Accord, albeit a fresh new one. 🙂 I've never had any major problems with any of my Hondas, just regular maintenance stuff.

It still has that nice new car smell. 😉

I think Hondas are a lot like Volvos - if you've got one, you love it, if you don't, then it's hard to explain.
 
Well the best thing about my 1984 Accord was that at 300,000 miles it was still running strong, but the alternator went out for the second time(crappy reman. alternator was put in twice) and I upgraded to a 1994 Maxima SE.

basic Honda plusses, Quality build, precise shifting, great handling, bulletproof engine.
 
Until it's recent untimely death, the best thing about my 86' Accord was the moon roof. Top entry like the Batmobile.

Just a side thought. Wouldn't it be cool to have the Batmobile. Not the stupid one in the later movies but the one in the first movie with the Joker. That car ruled.
 
Garfang: You sold and '89 LXi 5-speed Coupe! Man, you should have just put the thing in storage until you could afford the insurance. Yeah, the automatic tranny seems to sap a bit of power, but I like the crisp (read: hard) upshifts, it's the only automatic I know that actually bangs into every gear on hard (throttle to the firewall) acceleration. I have a suspicion that the older Honda autoboxes actually pass through neutral between every gear. 😉 Not quite as nice when you hit a corner at ~33 mph and stand on it, the tranny goes into neutral, the engine revs to within 500 RPM of redline and it engages 1st gear (which maxes at about 35) only to shift into 2nd after about one second. I'm waiting to see if my autobox dies so I can retrofit with a 5-speed, given the relatively low milage I doubt that will happen any time soon.

Raging: If you have a DX or LX, have the carb checked, the RPM figures I posted earlier were accurate for the fuel injected version of that engine in the LXi. The DX and LX engines are exactly the same except they substitute a two barrel carburetor for Honda's PGM-FI (a very advanced FI system for its time) and have similar power patterns. Honda has a history of engines that like to run right up to redline. BTW, very good price estimate on that model Accord, it nice to know that I'm not the only one obsessing over these cars.

To whoever mentioned Volvos: The very first car I remember was a Volvo, my parents got an '86 245 DL (station wagon version of the 240 series) because of the safety reputation. It had one of those rear facing seats in the cargo area, I spent many happy hours on family vacations enjoying the novelty of facing backwards. (Hey, I was 4, give me a break.) Aside from Honda's, Volvo's are my #1 car obsession. If I ever get rich, I'm going to have a very odd collection of automobiles; my 1988 Accord (I'm never getting rid of it), a 1st and 2nd gen Accord for good measure, older Volvo 1 and 2 series cars, basically any car that no sane person would want. 🙂

Aaron Meyer

EDIT: Added final smiley.
 
Owner of a 2000 accord, man it feels good seating on it, is roomy, until my stupid sister scratch the damn car.🙁
 
Zen, 35 max in first gear was about right, but mine would only downshift to first gear if you were going 26 MPH or less! That was the thing I hated most about the whole car. I changed the tranny fluid a few times (with Honda ATF only) and every time, the shifts would get smoother. It never really "banged" into gear, just a very fast, decicive shift. I know you're waiting for your auto to die, so I won't go on and on about the importance of changing the fluid every 15,000 miles 😉.

Raging, I had the same engine (carburated) as you. One day I noticed it wasn't running as well as usual, so I changed the O2 sensor. Most of the time it's important to use genuine parts, but the imitation part from Napa was fine for half the price. It's easy to change yourself (just like a sparkplug) and only $50-60. Try that first, cause you won't get out of a mechanic's garage for that little.
 
I used to have an 89 Accord DX 5speed, I actually revved it well beyond the redline a couple of times. One time I got it to 7200rpm in first gear somehow. The carburated engines don't have a rev-limiter so you have to be careful.
 
Garfang: Actually I didn't know that. To the best of my knowledge, the tranny fluid has only been changed once in the life of the car (at ~175,000 miles), which might explain the hard shifting. 😉 I'll have to check the mechanic's records, he'll have it all on his computer, hopefully I'm wrong, that retrofit would be expensive. Nice, but expensive.

Aaron Meyer
 
Zen: The reason it's important is because Honda does not use a filter in their automatics. The nice thing is that it's just as easy as changing the oil (buy a long funnel) cause there is a drain plug for the tranny. You actually only drain about half the fluid though. If you want to put off that retrofit for money reasons, change the fluid twice at your next two oil changes. It will take about 2.7 quarts each time. I was told by a local Honda only (non-dealership) shop to use only Honda fluid from the dealership. It's twice the price, but hey, that's only $4 instead of $2, so I gleefully paid up.

Raging: Oops, sorry, I didn't realize it's an LXi. When an oxygen sensor goes bad, it stops telling the PGM-FI whether the fuel mixture is too rich (to much gasoline,) too lean (too little gas,) or just right. The computer just guesses and puts too much fuel in. Your mileage will suffer. If you're only getting about 25-26 MPG, have your dad replace the oxygen sensor. Your car might have two of them, I'm not sure. If you do have two, they're right next to each other, so it won't be hard to spot.

Hope this helps you both out.
 
I'm surprised how many here have older Accords. Zenmervolt, I have the same car, but manual tranny. This has been a great car. Bought it w/148,000 miles on it, now has 251,000 and it still runs strong!
(First clutch lasted over 2xx,xxx)

If you love Hondas, check this site. Nice board software, too.
 
I get ~25 mpg also, but I also drive mine pretty hard. It was higher when it was brand new, the last mechanic I had my car at said I need a new air suction valve or something like that to get better gas mileage.
 
Hmmn. . . Maybe I shouldn't have tried to be so specific about MPG without knowing which tranny. My friend used to get 29-30 in his '88 LXi 5spd (180,000 when he sold it). My LXi (5spd) would give me a very consistent 28 MPG. Like I said, I was 19 and got MVs with it, so I was driving it pretty hard. My '87 Auto LX only gave me 26 MPG at best, and about 22-23 while the O2 sensor was dead.

Sorry. I won't do it again. 🙁
 
I generally hover around 27-28 mpg with the PGM FI engine. If I spend all my time in town or really flail the car for a tank it drops down to about 25 mpg. My record was better than 33 mpg (over 410 miles on just over 12 gal of gas), but that was all highway driving at a constant speed of 75 mph. Driving the 248 miles from the University of Pittsburgh to my home in NW Ohio usually runs me between 2/3 and 3/4 of a tank of gas, I think it's because of the 20-30 min of city driving before I get to a freeway entrance. The mileage gets worse in winter, usually by 2 mpg. I blame it on the engine running richer at start and on my leaving the car run for 5-10 min to warm up prior to driving it. It goes in for a timing belt on the 22nd, I might as well have the O2 sensor looked at, couldn't hurt.

Aaron Meyer
 
Garf - you're not talking about the PCV valve are you? If not, how much is the O2 sensor? (I have a huge book all about the car but I'm too lazy to look through it)
 
No, the PCV valve lets the engine reburn the "blow-by" gasses from inside the engine to reduce emissions. The O2 sensor helps regulate how much fuel the engine burns. If it's not just right, the engine won't run as well as it should. It's screwed into a hole in the exhaust manifold right in front of the engine and looks like a metal spark plug with a narrow wire leading to it. They're like $60 or less from Napa. In my experience, they tend to only last like 75,000 to 100,000 miles.
 
Raging, the manual states that the tank holds 14.9 US gallons. I never put gas in unless I fill the tank completely and in my experience the fuel guagehits the red "empty" mark with about 2.5 gallons remaining in the tank. I usually watch the trip odometer (I reset it with every fill-up) and refil about every 275 miles. I figured cruising range to be around 325-350 miles in a moment of boredom one day. You mileage may vary however, it's not uncomon for 20% differences among perfectly tuned examples of the same engine.

Aaron Meyer
 
I have a souped up civic (95 integra SE sedan by acura)

I can't stand the inside of most economy cars...it has to be a honda to feel right...everything feels more solid, they go for ever, hold their value through time...the best cars under $25K other wise if you are going over that I'd go with BMW or Audi
 
I'll be buying a new car in mid 2002. I'm trying to decide between the Honda Accord which I like it's styling a lot and craftsmanship. The other car I am considering is the Toyota Camry, which really appeals to me because of a slightly softer ride, will run forever if you take care of it, freakin' awesome quality but I wish it had better styling like the Honda Accord. Also I've heard from several different import auto mechanics that Camry's are usually cheaper and easier to work on than Accord's but both are solid built cars.

It'll be a 4 door, automatic.

Either Honda Accord LX 4 or V6
-- or --
Toyota Camry LE 4 or V6

I've heard that the Accord's V6 is slightly better than the Camry's V6?

Come out you Toyota owners, come out and represent tell us all how your 1990 Toyota Camry still runs smoothly with 250,000 miles and counting.
 
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