REW89

Hello all - I am considering my first car that is not General MOtors and looking at an Accord. I have generally had very good luck with GM cars but a few rebuilt transmissions have got me thinking a HOnda might be better. Can you share your ownership cost experience with me. For example do you have to replace anything besides brake pads and oil before 80,000 miles? How long doautomatic transmissions last? What are their design/engineering weakensses? Any information will be appreciated. Thanks.

Bob White

accordvtec77

Accords have had transmission troubles in the past, but I think they have it all squared away now. There's really not much you'll have to do to them, aside from minor/major services and brakes. The very first major you'll have to do...will probably come at the 90k mark. All the new Accords don't even have timing belts anymore (except the V6), so that's one less thing you'll have to worry about. I'd say go for it...I spent 7 years working on german cars, but I've always liked and driven Hondas because overall they're a better product.

axemansean

Really nice cars, perfect mid size sedan in my humble opinion.

jschmid

How old of an Accord are you considering?

You'll find that in general Honda cars will be much more reliable and less maintenance than GM cars. I've had some GM products, and my entire family has GM stuff, but my Accord has been great. I've had no problems whatsoever with my '99 Accord sedan, 78K miles so far.

Before 80K miles...besides oil and brakes...you'd do tranny fluid every 30K, air filter, AC filters, plugs (unless they are platinum you can get away with longer), and you might do cap and rotor and wires, but probably not neccessary.

My stock brake rotors lasted 70k miles, pads about every 30k miles.

Tough to beat in the low maintenence category.

benjamin

Accords tend to be among the most reliable cars on the road. How much are you looking to spend on a car?

phoenixitc

95 Accord EX, 114k miles, original owner. Master brake cylinder, power steering pump and radiator replaced. Other than that I've had a pretty good run with my car. No transmission problems. Honda's have had a reputation for bringing in a little more road noise than other cars, such as Toyota.

Intrepid241

You can't go worng with a Honda Accord. I've had mine for some time now...35K miles so far with at least another 150K to go. I love my car.

Cosmo M3

98 Accord LX with over 85K miles. Only had a ignition start problem, other than that, none.

I just had my 90K service done and my car feels brand new. (early I know, but i wanted to get it over with while I still worked at Honda for the summer)

HAZE

I just crashed my accord..........the whole driver side is messed up, both rims bent. A car cut me off on the highway and forced me off the road and then i spun out and hit a pole. Bleh....BTW, yes, I came out without a single scratch. Accords are amazing cars.

dockersguy

I own a 92' Accord with 178k miles on it. So far I have changed out these parts because they wore out: alternator, radiator, and master cylinder, cv boots, and shocks and struts. These parts were all replaced well beyond 80k miles. ZERO transmission problems. Everything else is just regular maintanence: brake pads, rotors, spark plugs, and so on. Design and engineering weaknesses..? I would say that on my car it would have to be that damn main relay. Also, IMHO Hondas are picky about the parts you put in them. Honda OEM parts are the way to go, certain aftermarket parts or fluids will cause problems in Hondas (power steering fluid, thermostat, ATF, and so on) The ride quality could be better (more smooth. less bumpy), but you're paying 20k-25k dollars for a car. If you're willing to pay more, I'm sure the ride quality would be better. Other than that, my Honda rocks. I plan on driving it until it dies.