Older Honda Accords

black01coupev6

You can always sell your Volvo to Carmax and be done with it. Then you can go into your next car fresh without worrying about the trade.

As they mentioned before alot of people will not come to a Honda dealer looking for a Volvo. And the market for used cars right now is probably soft because of all the deals that are available on 2001 cars.

isellhondas

Not to offend, but used Volvos tend to attract a ...well..."different" type of buyer from the norm. Not as "different" as, say, a Saab buyer, but nevertheless, different.

I didn't say *bad*, just different.

And, because of this, used Volvos tend to scare the appraisers a bit. Wrong color? it won't sell. No leather or the wrong options...no sale.

If it's a five speed, forget it!

Hence the low offer, perhaps?

djlljd

My black Accord 2001 LX is great - but after only 7 months I have deep scratches on the sides and hood. Perhaps my family is not careful around the car but this has not been a problem with any other of our previous cars. The scratches go all the way to the undercoating. Anyone else have the same experience? This is bad enough that I may raise it with my dealer or with Honda directly.
thanks

gtlloo

I have a white 2001 Accord Ex V6 that was sideswided last Saturday by a silver Ford Mustang. It was a hit and run and the Mustang just kept going. Now the left front corner of the bumper has several scratches. Two of which are really deep and the longest is about 5 inches by .25 inches. There was no other damage to the bumper and the bumper looks to be intact except for the scratches. I tought that minor contact should just be rub off damage, not deep scratches. The paint must be thin these days. By the way anyone know of a good way to repair this. A body shop told me it wasn;t worth the effort or money for this kind of damage. He suggested just touching up with touch paint. But, that is going to leave a blob like mess.

jrct9454

I follow at least twenty different boards on the Edmunds forum, including various models from Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Toyota, among others. EVERY SINGLE ONE CONTAINS COMPLAINTS ABOUT PAINT, and each set of owners is convinced that their brand is doing something different that makes their paint inferior. I have owned 4 Honda products in the past 6 years, as well as 2 Mercedes and a Toyota. Paint quality on all of them has been uniformly fine, including our '01 EX V6.

No matter the brand or make, if you abuse the paint, it is going to show. Dark colors are worse. Yes, the new water-based paints are a bit more brittle than in the past, but this is uniform across the industry. Thinner paint? Not in my experience...

isellhondas

If something scrapes or scratches your car...any car, it will probably damage the paint.

If some kid drags his bicycle alongside the car scratching the paint it's hardly the fault of the car. Seven months? This could have happened the next day.

Am I missing something here?

zhz

Maybe a Saturn. Have you seen that Saturn commercial? It says that they (Saturn) can't work out big things (engine, trans.) that they have to work on small things like paint and ..... I don't know what else.

godeacs

Appreciate the comments from all of you....you mentioned some interesting pts that may explain why this happened...

isellhondas - yes, I do think the "no haggle" Honda dealer was "gouging" me. Selling a 2001 Accord EX V-6 for $24.5 when the 2002 cost $25.5K...no negotiation accepted. Then they turned around and offered $11K on the Volvo which was by far the lowest offer I've received. I find that odd when within the same 7 day period Volvo, Saab and Lexus offered anywhere from $2-3K more while Audi offered even more but that was a few weeks ago. Don't all the dealers check the same sources? Btw, when I posted this info here last Fri nite - within an hr or 2 I had 3 responses stating I was being "gouged"! Kinda made me feel stupid...I confirmed it the next day (being gouged, not being stupid!!!) when the other local Honda dealer offered to sell the same car for $23K even...but wouldn't even respond to a trade in.

I do understand that Volvo owners and Honda owners don't have that much in common. For that I am thankful! Just thought I'd see about Honda and guess I was expecting too much....remember, I've been driving Volvos since 1982....

I feel better tonight with the way I was treated, and the trade in offer I was given, by the Lexus dealer while considering a 2001 ES 300. Was the difference between night and day from Honda. Just have to find a few extra grand laying around....

Thanks again...

vinney

one thing to keep in mind in trading in your volvo is if you sell it on the side or say sell it to carmax you will have to pay taxes on the entire purchase price of your new car. now if you do trade it in you only pay taxes on the difference between trade in and new car purchase price.In other words subtract what dealer is giving you for your trade in from your new car price and only pay taxes on that amount. the taxes you are saving can be added to your trade in value and in reality you are getting a little more for your trade in. also, if your are looking at a 2001 es300 that is an old model which the 2002's are reaching the dealers about now and it's still based on the new 2002 camry which looks like it's going to be a hit. I would just go for the camry se and save a lot of money. I've seen pictures of it at toyota.com and it looks like a lexus. just my 2 cents worth! good luck with your purchase.

jrct9454

Keep in mind your comments about taxes apply only to the state in which you live. Your point about how taxes are calculated on a new car purchase absolutely does NOT apply in most of the country, including where I live [CA].

Here, the taxes paid on a new-car purchase are assessed on the selling price of the new car. Period. How much your trade, if any, was worth has absolutely nothing to do with it. In fact, this is how it is done in most states with a sales tax that applies to auto purchases [notice I said most, not all]. On leases in California, taxes are assessed on the amount of the monthly payment, rather than the whole purchase value, but even on leases, license fees in CA are based on the full retail transaction price of the car, whatever that is. Lord only knows how many tens of thousands of dollars I would have saved over the last 40 years if Calif only collected sales taxes on the difference between the trade and the new car. Where do you live?

evandro

In Texas, the sales tax for a lease is based on the total car price and must be paid on the spot, not in the monthly installments...

cpa222

Here in Louisiana, sales taxes are calculated on the net selling price, cost of new car less trade in amount.

outrun

In MA, the tax is paid on the final "selling" price of the vehicle (new car - trade in).

Funny, because say the selling price is $30k. Say the trade is $20k. But also say one owes $10k on the traded in car. The sales tax is only on the $10k difference between the new car ($30k) and trade ($20k) no matter how much is owed on the traded in car.

Just happened to me when purchasing an RX300 ($40k) and a traded in '99 Acura TL (valued trade at $18.5k, but owed $11 on it). Paid sales tax on $21,500 ($40k - $18.5k).

The sales tax savings (5%) offset the difference of what I could have sold it for outright, without the hassle of the 30-day fix-it policy that MA has.

-Craig

isellhondas

Yes, the different states have different rules.

Here in WA, we have no state income tax but pay 8.8% sales tax.

If the trade is worth 10,000 to a dealer, the seller would have to get nearly a 1000.00 more by selling it himself after paying for the ad etc.

Then there is the risk and PITA factor but that's another story.

mikefm58

Didn't you originally pay sales tax on the car you traded in? If so, why would you be charged sales tax on it again? The amount left on a loan for a vehicle has nothing to do with figuring the sales tax.

Here in Florida and also in NY, sales tax is figured by (new car price - trade in amount) times the sales tax percent.

jrct9454

Yes, in California, every single purchase, new or used, is taxed on the retail price that applies.

Buy new, $20k, pay 8% sales = $1600

One year later, buy again $20k less $17k trade, sales tax is AGAIN $1600. And whomever buys the traded-in car as a used car, paying say $18.5k, would pony up his 8% of that amount, or $1480.

So, in our state, the amount of the trade, or lack thereof, has absolutely no bearing on the taxable amount on the new car...it is what it is, whether you trade or don't. Each sale at retail, whether new or used, is taxed on the full transaction amount.

And this is the state that until this year, added another 2% of the depreciated value as part of the license charge. At least that has now been reduced to 0.67%, a small consolation.

Count yourselves lucky, the rest of you...

isellhondas

As I think you know, I'm from your neck of the woods...So. Calif?

And as bad as we have it in WA, you guys have it worse. State income tax, sales tax of what now...7.5% or something etc.

Charging tax on the full price of a car without deducting the value of the trade in is just plain unfair anyway you look at it.

You might want to talk to Barbara and Dianne about that!

In Utah, they charge an annual property tax on cars! This is in addition to the annual lic. fees!

jrct9454

...yeah, were it not for health insurance considerations, we would have moved to Vancouver by now. But we are at an awkward time - too young for Medicare, too old to have anyone want to offer us anything we can afford, so we will stay here [covered by Kaiser on their individual plan] until we're approaching 65 [another 8 years or so]. Oregon, where we would be able to transfer our Kaiser coverage, albeit at a higher cost, is even worse from a tax perspective than CA, at least for us. We are asset-rich and cash-flow-challenged [deliberately, as a long-term strategy to conserve capital], so the Calif income tax is too trivial for us to even notice. Our property taxes are much lower, etc...but the business of car ownership is something else...for a state so dependent on the automobile, we surely do pay for the privilege.

kiboko

Went into a local Honda dealer (Leith Honda in Raleigh NC) several days ago. While my salesperson was away checking on something I decided to eavesdrop on another salesperson who was on the telephone with a prospective buyer. He says: "I'll go check with my manager on that right now". He places the customer on hold. The guy does not get up or have any conversation with anyone. He just stares at the ceiling. After two minutes he gets back on the phone and says: "Great news, I just spoke to my manager and he said that we could offer you ...".

We all know that many car salepeople are unscrupulous. However, they should at least try not to let other customers witness such antics firsthand.

Needless to say, I did not buy a car from that dealer.

raybear

Sometimes the salesman has to do that because it's expected. When I sold cars customers would be shocked when I didn't paddle off to the manager's office every time they made an offer.

Sometimes I had to go in and sit down for a minute. The manager would look up and say "What are you doing?"

"Haggling with you" was my reply, then I went back to the customer to negotiate some more.

vinney

I live in Dallas Ft.worth, Texas and California looks like it's a pretty tough state to live in these days. can you check your sorrounding states and find out their tax laws in vehicle purchases and trade ins and see if it's worth the trip. My boss bought a new car in Oklahoma because he got a better deal there. I'm afraid to hear what California will charge to register an out of state vehicle.

jrct9454

...forgetaboutit...

When you buy a car outside of CA, and then go to register it in CA [and it is illegal to live or work here and not do so], you are assessed the full license fees and sales tax on the transaction price, same as buying the car in CA. If you paid sales taxes in the state of original purchase, there is a provision for credit, but the sum of the two amounts will equal the full CA sales tax.

On the other hand, as a contrast to many, many urban jurisdictions in TX, our property taxes on our house amount to less than 1.3%. For us, because we are living so frugally on our IRA income, our total tax burden in CA is less than we would pay in most parts of TX [our income taxes are less than $150/year]. Sales taxes are a wash, but the TX property tax would hit us very hard. [We have best friends living in Burnet/Austin...we compare notes all the time.]

Anyway, there is no avoiding CA sales and license taxes on a car purchase...unless you are prepared to maintain a residence in Oregon, which is the least expensive state around here to own a car.

isellhondas

Oregon has some sacred cows. They charge very little for car tags and have no sales tax, but they will tax the hell out of you on everything else!

Guess it takes so much money to run a state and the'll get anyway they can.

hbund216

Here is a link to a pic of the 2002 special edition which has made a return. The site also includes pricing information.

http://www.hondanews.com/forms/honda/accord/index_images.html?kw=currenthonda

truckdude1

How much money should the Accord LX or VP be going for, does the VP accord have more power then a Honda Civic EX automatic?? Or not, please help out and will the vp accord be as reliable as anything else! Also what is more reliable a Honda Civic EX or accord LX well maintained?
Thanks for the comments.

venus537

If you're able to afford the Accord, get it. You're getting a much better car for not that much more money (Civic EX to Accord LX). Yes, the Accord has more power and more importantly, has much more usable torque to work with the automatic. The only thing the Civic would have over an Accord would be gas mileage. Resale value, safety, interior space, noise, quality of materials, high speed cruising ... would all be better with the Accord. The Civic is a good car as an economy car, but it's no Accord. Now make the right decision.

s852

I remember the previous-generation Accord SE's. In the 90's, the SE's were top of the line models that had everything the other models had plus exclusive standard equipment. I remember the old SEs had leather seats when leather was not available on any onther Accords in those days.
The 2002 Accord SE is not a top of the line model.
The should have taken a EXV6, tweaked the engine for a few more horsepower, added a high-end stereo system with plenty of power and quality speakers, heated seats, wood trim, rear sunshade, exclusive colors and rims, and maybe adjustable rear head rests and navigation.
That would really be a "special" edition that would be attractive enough to many that they would not bother waiting to see what the new 2003 model is like.

maxamillion1

Back in 1991, and 1993 the special edtions had the leather interior, I LOVED the 1993 model with it's rims and the gold or green exterior paint color, they still look good today.

Didn't they have a special edition model in Gen 2 and Gen 3, I remember the old SEi and the LXi before it was the EX.

har1bush

totally with you on that... Honda should have made the special edition a SPECIAL EDITION! Look at the '01 Camry for example... they took an ordinary LE sedan into what is dubbed the "Collectors edition" and the "Gallery Edition." Cheesy names, but the equipment levels and exclusivity (if I may call it that) makes sense for the public. If anything, Honda should have tacked onto the LX and put in different colors, upgraded seats/leather, stereo, etc. and price it similarly to the EX (since anything higher would be hard to sell). I have a real hard time believing that the '02 Accords will sell at anything above $23K for ANY model trim.

maxamillion1

I read in a magazine at the Georgia Mall in Atlanta today, that the new Accord would keep it's current styling themes and just make the interior slightly bigger, I doubt if they will do that, but that' what I read.

s852

They have nothing that anyone is willing to pay much over $23K for now, but if they had a model with all the equipment I mentioned, it could sell for more as long is it was still much less than a TL and a 2002 Camry XLE V6 or 2002 Maxima with the same equiptment.

quandary

Value Pack much less $. But only 14" wheels and 135 horsepower engine, and no power windows.

Does that really matter? I'm moving up from a 1990 Corolla.

So, 14 vs. 15" wheels--will we notice?
135 vs. 150 for LX--would we realy notice?

Are those two things worth thousands of extra $$?

Or, better, ask it this way? Won't the leap from old Corolla to DX Value Pack Accord be major improvement?

(As a minor side note, The VP comes with radio/tape/CD whereas LX is only CD. . .)

evandro

>no power windows. Does that really matter?

Oh, yes! Try selling it in a few years...

>So, 14 vs. 15" wheels--will we notice?

Nope.

>135 vs. 150 for LX--would we really notice?

Oh, yeah! The difference is between lethargic and competent.

>Are those two things worth thousands of extra $$?

Don't look only at the MSRP. What's thousands in MSRP comes down to a little more than a grand. And, yes, it's worth it.

>Won't the leap from old Corolla to DX Value Pack Accord be major improvement?

Yes, but I wouldn't nickel and dime a few hundreds on something costing many thousands already...

>(As a minor side note, The VP comes with radio/tape/CD whereas LX is only CD. . .)

What do you listen to nowadays, tape or CD? I don't think that you'd notice the tape...

HTH

isellhondas

First, I disagree about being able to notice the horsepower difference. Yes, the LX has 15 more horsepower but most people wouldn't notice unless they were really getting on it.

It's all a matter of what's important to you and what you can afford. A lot for the money.

Now...evandro is correct about the resale down the road. Most people do want the extras that come with an LX.

evandro

It certainly depends on one's driving style and typical routes. However, if it's an Accord with automatic transmission for someone who will be merging onto highways along the daily commute in an almost 3000lbs-car, those 15HP will make a lot of difference, IMO.

But you're absolutely right in that all that matters is what's most important personally and how much one can afford.

bryhogan

I'm a happy owner of a 2001 VP, but make no mistake, the 135HP engine is rather slow (especially when doing a high-speed lane change). However, I do not minimize the price difference. IT IS AT LEAST $2K LESS THAN AN LX/AUTOMATIC. My finances limited me to the VP or the Civic EX. (Of course, you can go the Hundai route....if you dare.) For me, the VP was the best choice.

By the way, there are people out there that still use a cassette player. If you have small children, you quickly realize that most kids audio comes on tape, not CD. Also, books on tape are much more prevalent than books-on-CD.

baronsdaddy

I'm looking at '01 EX auto, cloth...20,100 + tax (3%) tag (45.00) and "prep" (195.)....good deal? or no? This is at Flow Honda in Winston-Salem, NC (new....not demo) they have about 15 left

emaison

Bryhogan I need your help! I need you to settle an arguement. When you look at the back right of your Accord VP, what does it say on the nameplate? Accord 'VP', 'LX' or 'DX'?

Thank You.

evandro

OK, I'll be buying a new car next month and the Accord is on my list.

Could you please post here the problems you've had with your Accord in the last 12 months and since bought?

Thanks a lot.

black01coupev6

I can answer that emaison..it says "Accord". Unless they have changed it there is no "VP, LX, or DX"

zhenya

There is a new Discussion opened up called" Honda owners 1994 - 1997 Attention !
This forum/discussion is especially made for any owners or who used to be an owner of Accord (1994 - 1997). please respond immediatly if you have any information there are a lot of accord owners of those years and a number of people who are to become an owner of accord(94-97).

Thank you.

dtownfb

You really won't notice the difference between the base engine and the LX engine. That additional 15 HP isn't available until you really rev the engine into the 3500 rpm range or higher. As far as merging onto highway, it's like any car. You have to know your vehicle (how fast it goes) and you have to have a spot to fit into. So it is no more safe to have the bigger engine then the smaller engine. Plus if you look at the 0-60 times, I believe the difference is less then a half a second between the two engines..and those tiem are achieved by professional drivers. Those time are rarely duplicated by ordinary drivers like ourselves. The biggest difference with teh two engines will be passing at highway speed. I owned a 1994 Accord that had the 135 hp engine (i believe it was 130 hp then) and it performed just fine at high speed and around town. As a matter of fact my wife got a speeding ticket in Delaware (80 in a 55, cop only gave her the ticket for 72 mph. You women get all the breaks) She didn't realize how fast she was going. It had such a sporty feel that you felt like you were accelerateing faster then you actually were.

As far as re-sell value, I imagine it will hold it's value similar to the rest of the Accord line. Don't forget it is starting $2000 less then the LX so you expect that to stay the same throughout the life of the car. And if you don't plan on selling it, who cares. It will last jsut as long as other Accords. The VP is a great bargain for the Accord. If they had power windows, it would easily outsell the LX model.

my 2 cents.

fxashun

We've had a 99 4 dr 4cyl 5 speed EX, a 01 V6 EX coupe and a couple of 93 EX 4 dr 5 speeds. Of course the power is different in all of them but I loved every one of them. I currently have a 93 Civic coupe and I can go from that to my LS400 to Blackcoupe's new Protege with no problem. All of them are different but it's all in what you expect. We can sit here all day and bicker about what or who has the most power but keep in mind that from Daewoo Lanoses to Porche 911 Turbo every car serves a particular audience. Just because you think 15 extra horses mean that much to you doesn't place it that high on everyone's priority list.

bryhogan

black01coupev6 is right. The VP just says "Accord" on the back. No DX. No LX. No VP.

ral2167

i refuse to understand how anyone can purchase a car with manual windows and locks-- this isn't 1975 ... the accord VP is vulgar in its use of non power amenities... they can keep the cassette and the fake woodgrain .... i understand people may have budget constraints and can't afford an accord LX-- buy a sonata or corolla or civic if your budget is in the $15000 range--- buying a bastardized version of the accord, which is what the VP is, just won't hack it....but you got to have power windows and locks these days.... am i nuts?

raybear

Stark raving mad.

evandro

I agree. Stripped down versions have always fared poorly in resale value. I'd suggest taking a look at a reasonably loaded Civic instead. IMHO, a better bang for your buck if it's in short supply. ;^)

No, I'm not trying to push my particular priorities, just stating the facts as I see them. ;^)

har1bush

Looks like people who have been waiting to see if the new Altima would beat out the Accord in value would be very dissappointed... just read that a loaded Altima SE V6 is about $29K! HOw ridiculous is that, especially when people can get a loaded Accord EX V6 for more than 6 grand LESS! I don't know what other people think, but the new Altima, nor the Camry are NOT worth more than 6000 US greenbacks. And someone explain this to me if they can: ABS is an option on the Altima SE V6 -- I thought only Hyundai did that! If Honda actually built the special edition the way some of us mentioned earlier (top of the line above the EX V6), it would be selling like hotcakes!

caaqa

Does anybody know when Edmunds will post the TMV
for '02 Honda Accord?

A related question is how long have the '02
Honda Accord been out in dealer's lot?

The really question is actually what price should
I expect to pay if buying within 2-3 weeks. Is
a couple hundred dollars over invoice going to
do it?

Thank you very much!

godeacs

have been on the lot here in Texas for about 2 weeks now, though in small number....