98-02 used the same basic setup that was found in accords starting in the 3rd gen (around 1990)

the 03 was on a completely new platform with a completely new engine and basically new everying close far and inbetween.

it's cars like the now discontinued cavalier, with 15 or so years behind them already and still having problems unrelated to platform age, that scare me.

the fact of the matter is that there were alot of new things implemented and honda took advantage of the redesign to overhaul the accord bringing everything they needed to up to date as well as advancing it some to keep it competitive not only for that model year but for the years to come. typically the first year is the test run, the second year is better and the third through final years are generally the best. note i said generally, there are many exceptions when things got worse, but i'm specifically refering to hondas