first the easy part. with only 1000 miles on the accord so far, I'm not sure I know it well enough to give a long list of what I like/don't like.
as far as the intrigue goes, my 1998 had 66,000 miles, so at 108,000 miles you did very good.
I liked the ride (more camry like), roominess, trunk space, stereo system and for all intents & purposes, the 3800 series II motor is a solid proven engine. handling was good as well.
the car however, along with the long list of complaints (that a lot of people had) was cheaply put together I felt and consisted of lower quality materials. lots of electrical type problems that really were not problems but you thought they were because the warning light kept coming on then going off.
I too traded in (actually nearly gave away) my 1999 Intrigue for the 2003 V6 Navi Accord. Pluses on the Intrigue when compared to the Accord were few acutally. I must have had a bad Intrigue. The engine on the Intrigue was strong and I would say it had better pick-up but the Accord V6 feels fine to me as I am no leadfoot. I also thought the A/C system on the Olds was great but I did have to have the control unit replaced and after it was replaced, I never could get the low fan speed to work again. Minuses were many. First and foremost, it was the loudest car I have ever owned as far as road noise was concerned. The trunk seemed to act like a resonant chamber to amplify the noise. You could not hold a conversation with folks in the back seat. The ride was sloppy and noisy (in terms of the suspension). The tires were noisy but even after I replaced them with Michelins, the road noise was terrible. I replaced two window motors, and had to replace the crankshaft sensor twice. The radio in my GMC Sierra was better sounding. To be honest with you, I also got tired of the plain Jane interior. We were truly disappointed with the quality of the vehicle. The resale value was absolutley horrible. I don't expect the Honda to be prefect as I know no such car exists. But I must say so far so good. The worksmanship is excellent, the ride quiet and the car is solid to the feel. To put it mildly I am very happy with the Honda. I know there are many out there who love their Intrigue's but I didn't. Don't know if this helps or not. Oh the gas mileage is much better (averaging 25 Mpg) on the Honda.
I am well aware that trade-in on my car is diddly-squat. That's why I am inclined to drive her until she drops dead. My car has the 3800 engine which has been flawless. The question remains if all the other little issues that are present will drive me nuts before it finally decides to croak. The interior is cheaply made. The 3800 does run out of breath at higher speeds. Thanks to my lead foot, the fuel efficiency is not all that great. The wife & I are leaning toward an Accord EX-L 4 cylinder automatic as a replacement candidate. Motor trend clocks this at 0-60 at about 8.5 seconds. Most Intrigues do so at 8.0 seconds--- which is not that big of a difference in real world driving. Yes-- the Accord's V6 would be nice, but I'd rather save the difference in initial cost and more $$ on gas and insurance, & maintenance costs.
You can likely p/u an 02 Intrigue for pretty cheap if you like the car. My 00 is and has been a very good car. That said, GM killed it and so we all have to look elsewhere if we want new.
If you like the 3800, the new Grand Prix is now out and the Accord for a bit more $$ is a good choice also. I find the new 6 to be small and the Camry I just don't like.
Thanks so much for all the feedback on the Navi System in the EX!
I'm also probably one of those guys who right now anyway, really don't know actually how much I would use it if I had it in my vehicle....but that doesn't mean I don't want it to play with.
I almost got the Nav System in my '03 Nissan Pathfinder LE (purchased a few months back), but it just put the vehicle out of my price range and it wasn't even DVD based or Voice activated, and it was still over $2,500.00 to add on.
The Honda Navi System seems like it might be the best system out there right now...and I think it's probably got me leaning towards purchasing the Accord over all the other models I'm looking at (Tribute, Mazda 6s, Nissan Altima) right now.
I thank you all for the detailed responses.... Have a good weekend everybody! I sure wish I was back stateside right now to give the EX a test drive!!!! Only 3-4 weeks before I return though!
Any idea on what incentives/rebates will be offered for Sept 3rd - Oct 1st timeframe?
The 2003 Honda Clearance sale is due to end on September 2nd. And I won't be able to get to a dealer until September 15th at the earliest.
I can't imagine not being able to get the same 2003 Accord in September or October for any more than I could in August, do you guys?
Also: I'm the type of car buyer who figures out what he wants to pay (using edmunds.com and my checkbook ) for a certain vehicle, then I either fax or email my wants, exact options, along with what I'm willing to pay to all my local dealers. Usually I get a few back who say I'm crazy and that they have a demo or something with other options that they can sell me for $XX,XXX.... and I reply back with a simple "thanks but no thanks" and "please contact me again if you get a vehicle in like the one I am looking for" but so far, in my experiences anyway, there has always been 1 dealer who said "yes". So, that's my plan again for this vehicle as well. Thanks again!
I bought the 4cyl Accord Sedan and can't tell you how much I love it. Of course, I'm biased toward Honda because I had a 1993 Civic Sedan (Sally) who served me well for 10 years.
I'm sure you can get a great price on an 03 when you return. I almost wish I had waited and got the 04 because I only got to drive it a month and a half and got short notice deployed for the rest of the year.
I had a great dealer, and didn't do any internet shopping. However, judging from the opinions in the "online shopping" forum for the accord, people can get TREMENDOUS deals on these cars.
I live in snow country and when I bought my honda-the sales guy said never ever shift between drive and reverse to try to get out of a snow bank-a real quick way to wreck your tranny. Hard to belive there is a recall for that kind of abuse. really hard to believe-ranks up there with reasons to be removed from the gene pool.
well i have narrowed down my choices between a accord lx and a golf gls, both sticker at about 20 grand but the golf gives a few more features such as disk brakes, sunroof, full size spare, better warranty and more saftey features and 8 speaker monsoon stereo with cd and casette. which one of these cars is the better value in you folks opinion?? i can get a accord ex with all the features of the golf but at 3 grand more. also, i went to my local honda dealership today and sat in a 2003 accord for about half an hour and i was amazed at the quality this car has everything from the switches to the cd bin to the glove box, they all open and close with such a great feeling, and the car doors close like a bank vault feeling to them. and this was the accord dx model also. i did not get this quality feeling sitting in the golf. steve
Just thought you'd like to know I am also a retired AF Bluesuiter. Served 22 years as a Signals Intel weenie. Now work as a contractor for alsmot 10 years for Air Force Recruiting Service.
Honda's must attract AF people. Im in the Air National Guard and had my time overseas during the war. In the market for an 04 accord. Glad to hear you are gonna be back soon. Enjoy this forum. Ken
I really don't know much about the latest VW Golf, but doesn't that compete more with a Civic, especially when it comes to size? The Accord should be considerably larger and more refined. If you are still considering the Golf, you may want to look at a Civic EX.
Automobile Division American Honda Motor Co. Inc. 1919 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, CA 90509 800-999-1009
The transmission problem does look like a software problem and I believe the fix is probably to reload the latest software release. But to have the ability to shift between forward and reverse is important for us living in Northeast. It is not an abuse of the vehicle.
Check your owner's manual. I'm sure somewhere in there it says recommends against rocking your vehicle with R/D shifts in order to extricate it from snow. Oh and I do live in the northeast and have never had to rock my Accord.
Speaking as a non-accord buyer (so less bias hopefully), you are comparing apples and oranges, just because the golf is priced similar to an accord lx does not mean they are in the same class. The accord is a new design whereas the golf is based on an older design. I don't think I have to tell you the difference in quality and long-term reliability between a VW and a Honda, If I do, then you should do more research on the two cars. If you look hard enough you might be able to get a 2003 accord EX at a good price. Don't believe the hip VW commercials these days, they try to get you to buy a car based on emotions mostly, and by posting here, I think you want more of a 'smart' buy, go with the accord if you're comparing these two cars only.
I got my '03 Accord ex 4cyl 5mt late last year for 20,5 otd. has all those features you listed except no curtain air bags... but got the side, 6disc changer, etc. hope this helps some....
>>> But to have the ability to shift between forward and reverse is important for us living in Northeast. It is not an abuse of the vehicle. <<<
I keep a small shovel during winters in my trunk for that purpose. I can't believe somebody has the heart to do do this R-D-R-D-R-D to their new car JUST to get out of snow.
the "rocking" procedure in an automatic accord would be especially annoying since it takes a couple clicks for the tranny to go into drive. i can see lots of folks hitting the gas before the tranny is even completely in drive and then WHAM!! not good!!
I find that if I try not to ever stop completely when there's a lot of unplowed snow, stopping completely and then starting again can get the car stuck. I try to keep the momentum going.
Also if I do get stuck, I find that putting the car into neutral, and then going outside and pushing & rocking the car back and forth usually frees it from the ditch, all by myself without other's help. Rocking a car from the outside gives you better leverage by combining momentum with every push. Rocking the car by shifting the transmission is definitely not a good idea.
Thanks for the information. I have not received it yet but expect soon.
I have lived in upstate NY for a number of years and knows sometimes how difficult it can be to get the car out of the snow especially when the snow becomes ice. A nice exercise with my big spade.
I recently purchased a 2003 Accord Sedan and was wondering if it would be worthwhile to buy the rear mud flaps. Do they really make a difference in protection of the underside? Also, I was going to buy the all season floor mats but was somewhat disappointed that the mat is contoured and cut so that there is no rubber matting directly underneath the acceleration pedal. What are people's experience and thoughts on these two items? Thanks,
has anyone test driven a mazda 6 latetly? how does this stack up against the accord. from what i have been hearing, the mazda 6 handles much better than the accord and even better than the altima as well. i think engine wise, they both have the same engine ouput being 160 hp in the 4 cylinder versions.thanx
I brought my car into the Honda dealer for its first service today. It has about 6750 trouble-free miles on it. When I first called the dealer quoted me a price of $65. When I got there, they told me I should also get my tires rotated and balanced. With the oil and filter change, tire rotation and balance and required "inspections" the grand total came to $119!
I have a general policy on not going to the dealer because of their exorbitant pricing but since this is the first new car I am buying and not leasing I thought it would be the best thing to do for warranty reasons.
Give me a break! $119 for an oil change and tire rotation? Who are they kidding. Most of this is for the required inspections which are hardly necessary on a car with only 6750 miles on it.
Anyway, I just had the oil and filter changed for $25. I will reluctantly bring the car back at 10K for its second oil change at which time I will have them put in a synthetic blend oil and be overcharged for the official 10K service. Thereafter I plan on changing the oil and filter every 5K and continue to use a synthetic blend.
I drove both cars and bought the accord. It is a better all around car. The maz6 does have a little handling edge but it isn't enough to make up for the 4 speed automatic and the engine that makes less real power than the accord. That said you really can't go wrong with either car. Drive both and choose the one you like.
Possibly in the market for an '04 Accord (most likely LX V-6) in about 6 months. But after reading all of the horror stories with the '03 (FAR worse than anything I went through with my '98 Malibu), I'm not so sure. Granted the Camry, Altima and 6 aren't so great either. I might try my luck once again with the new Malibu.
But then some of you turn right around and recommend to our USAF friend that he buy an '03 when he returns in mid-Sept. At least tell him to go for an '04, I should think.
11707 I have seen that many terrible criticisms of the Accord V^ What is so bad???? Im driving a ex 4 and apart from the ride and the sufur smell it is pretty good. I still prefer the Camry ride
hey, no car is a sure bet, not even a BMW. how many accords do they sell Vs Malibu's? 4 times as many???? Naturally the complaints will be more for accord. check out the other forums, I'd bet the vast majority have a "problems with........." discussion going. And I'd also bet that most have nightmares that make the 03 accord complaints seem minor.
for you, pick out a few cars you are interested in and do the research, the test drive etc. then make up your mind. good luck in whatever you decide on.
i think the best selling point of the accord is the standard abs brakes. altima, camry, and the mazda 6 do not make abs standard. and abs brakes gives you cheaper insurance as well.example 6 months policy 43 year old single male clean driveing record 888.00 nissan altima base model 1200.00 for same 6 months policy. no abs on altima s. in fact i was checking into a VW golf and it was even cheaper to insure than the accord 829.00 for 6 months through progressive ins. but then again the golf comes with every saftey feature 8 air bags, 4 wheel-anti lock disk brakes, as well as a host of other stuff and it also had a excelent crash test results. its for these reasons that i may consider a golf over the accord within the next month or so. i thinks its important to choose a car thats going to be reasonably affordable to insure. many people forget about this expense. but my agent told me that any car with abs brakes is going to cost less to insure than without them in most cases, except maybe high end sports cars.
I am thinking of getting an Accord EXV6. I want the XM Radio. I see from the 2004 brochure that there is a button for "CD/AUX/SAT". Is the XM Radio pre-installed. So all I have to do is pay the monthly fee. Or is there some other work to be done......Anyone here have it done yet?? How does it sound!?!
Is nice to have, but if you want those options, you can always get them on the other cars. I'll speak for the mazda6 since that's what I bought, you can get a similarly equipped mazda6 compared to the accord lx for about $1000 less on the market, and more if you figure in the insurance costs and manufacturer incentives.
Altimavr, mudflaps work great on our salty/rocky Canadian roads for our two seasons: Hockey and July. Get 'em. Floormats? I dragged the Honda carpeted ones that came with the car into Canadian Tire, looked for the best fit in a colour that matched the interior, and walked out with $60 in mats (front and rear) and the floor is covered under the gas pedal as well.
In a post a few weeks back, I posted the 2003 EX V6 was getting 19 MPG for a mostly highway trip of 350 miles or so. In my conversions, I messed up. Latest tank, all city driving (nothing over 100 kph/60 mph) was 27 MPG. The highway trip will be repeated this weekend, and I will post correct stats.
Oh, and that car was also the one that the stereo conked out on on the same trip (3 CDs were - and still are - stuck inside). This Friday a new stereo is being put in, and two dash rattles will be looked at. I get a loaner for the day as well.
This service dept will not pick-up/retrieve customers further than 8 km from the dealership, and will actually stop at a local transit station for those further away!. Is this typical of other Honda service depts? The Nissan service depts I'm used to are much easier on giving loaners (I've had them for inconvenient oil changes!), and will drive you much further without any complaint.
Acura has XM available from the factory so I would not be surprised if it has carried down to Honda for 04. You usually get a few months free when you buy the car to try it out.
Well I can't speak for the MZ6 but the accord was dyno'ed by vtec.net and was shown to actually make more HP and Torque than advertised.
As a previous posts said no car is a sure bet. And each car is a personal decision, drive them all and make up your own mind.
As far as saving $60 every 6 months in insurance cost....that is a small issue for most people. If the golf fits you go for it. But the Accord gets better mileage, has more power, fits more people comfortably, has better historical reliability records, and is very safe in its own right. So if all those fetaures are worth less than $120 a year then go for the Golf.
My Honda dealer here in the Boston area gives rides from their location in the morning pretty much in a 5 mile radius. That gets to multiple train stations (different lines) as well as my office! They don't offer a pickup service as many bus lines run past the dealership. I usually walk down to get my car although the one time I did it in the winter I arrived there as a robsicle!!
Over this weekend, I got 30.4 MPG with my 03 EX-V6 driving 95% HWY at 75 MPH! (The last few miles were climbing Cadillac Mountain in Maine.) If I was a little more conscience of my acceleration, it would have been even higher.
I always buy the honda mud flaps for our Hondas. The ones for the Accord are kind of small and they work OK. I still cannot believe they are not standard equipment.
I like the black rubber all season floor mats at Wal-mart. It's only $5 or $6 bucks each. I think mats in the back are the same price. I put them over the carpet mats.
We took them out of our 2001 Civic and put them in our 2003 Accord. When we get rid of the Accord the mats will move into the new car.
there was an interesting article at TOV regarding mud flaps and the damage they can cause where they rub up against the paint on the car exposing the metal. I saw the same thing happen to my previous car and so I haven't been installing mudflaps on the last two cars we bought.
If the mudflaps arent installed properly then I can see that happening, but if they are installed properly, hence they arent moving, then you have porblems.
Isn't the back lower rear wheel well lip on Accords a continuous part of the bumper cover as is the case in most modern cars? If so, the bumper cover is plastic and thus will not rust if some of the paint is rubbed off by a mudflap. Additionally any screws that have to go into the lip of this wheel well opening also screw into this plastic and thus you are not initiating a spot for rust to start at the screw hole either. Right?
I haven't posted or read the comments in a long while. I have a silver 03 V6 sedan that will be a year old in Sept. and my back bumper has started to peel slightly in the crease where it matches up with the side panel of the car. Has anyone experienced this? Would appreciate any response - thanks!
helping my daughter shop for a new car. It didn't take much test driving to decide that the Accord is in a class by itself. Anything that was close to the power, quality, size, and content was at least $2k more and some that were $6k more didn't measure up to the EX V6 sedan. Kinda makes me wonder why anyone who wants a smooth riding sedan would buy anything else. It's been a no-brainer for us.
A while back you commented about the amount of unsightly break dust being thrown off on your wheels. I have gone to Raybestos ceramic pads on all my vehicles. They work great, last forever and produce NO dust. Just make sure your rotors are in good shape because the ceramic pads will outlast them. Expect to pay a $50-60 (US) premium per axle.
Has anyone noticed the hood is a different shade than the body on the '03 Accord? Are my eyes playing tricks because every time I see an accord, especially silver, the hood color looks off.
Hi, I'm in the final stages of deciding b/w a 2003 EX V6 and a Volvo S60 AWD. In general, I prefer the Accord ($8-10K less; size suits me better; more features), but there are things about the Volvo that appeal to me (AWD, very comfortable seats, ability through overseas delivery program to configure exactly as I want it and get a free trip to Sweden to boot). I've been following the Accord discussions pretty closely, and here are some questions I have, especially for people who've owned their Accords for a few months or more and for auburn63, who seems to have a wealth of knowledge and also seems pretty objective.
1) Build quality and first year issues. Based on what I've read, the Accord seems to have had 3-5 specific first year kind of issues (assorted rattles and bad rotors are the ones that stick in my mind). Also, the NHTSA website indicates roughly 50 TSBs or general consumer complaints (hard to tell which it is). I've seen nothing on the Volvo boards or in NHTSA, which could reflect that Volvo is higher quality or that there are many more Accords sold and/or that Honda has a different policy than Volvo about issuing TSBs. Also, Honda's first year issues seem mostly to have been resolved. Is this true? Have the bugs been worked out? If not, what still remains a problem? Please keep it dispassionate and objective. I've read the previous stuff on the Accord boards, and really want to know whether these problems remain or have been resolved. Auburn, I'd be particularly interested in whether you're seeing more, fewer or the same number of problems over time, esp. squeaks and rattles, about which I am sensitive.
2) Driver's seat comfort. Volvo is legendary for this, and rightly so based on my test drives. I've also driven the Accord a lot, and find its driver's seat comfortable (not quite up to Volvo, but reasonably close). How have owners felt about the driver's seat over the longer term (a few months) and on longer drives (1-3 hours)?
3) Front wheel drive + traction control vs. AWD + traction control. Ideally I would like to have AWD, but do not know whether it is worth the overall extra expense of the Volvo. I live in the Wash., D.C. area, which gets an average amount of rain and usually one decent snowfall a year (I am hoping this past winter was an outlier). How does the front wheel drive + traction control of the EX V6 deal with inclement conditions?
4) 2003 vs. 2004. My dealer has offered me 500 below invoice on the 2003. Based on the discussion on the Honda price board, it looks like some people have gotten about 200 less in other areas of the country, but I'm not inclined to go to the mat over $200, esp. b/c this dealer has been very generous about test drives and has even offered to let me use an Accord for a day to test the seats. However, with the 2004's about to be released, can I do significantly better than 500 under invoice on a 2003? A related question: am I financially better off (depreciation, etc.) buying a 2003 or waiting 2-4 weeks for a 2004 and spending what I figure will be $1000-1500 more?
1) Build quality and first year issues. Based on what I've read, the Accord seems to have had 3-5 specific first year kind of issues
> Remember there are many many accord owners who have had zero problems with their cars too Have the bugs been worked out? If not, what still remains a problem? Please keep it dispassionate and objective.
> Unless someone works for Honda they probably can't answer this question. Every car is different. The 2004 you buy might be worse than the 2003. You never know. But in general the Accords usually iron out their problems.
2) Driver's seat comfort. Volvo is legendary for this, and rightly so based on my test drives. I've also driven the Accord a lot, and find its driver's seat comfortable (not quite up to Volvo, but reasonably close). How have owners felt about the driver's seat over the longer term (a few months) and on longer drives (1-3 hours)?
> Great for me. But my butt and back are not the same as yours, so your Mileage may vary
3) Front wheel drive + traction control vs. AWD + traction control. Ideally I would like to have AWD, but do not know whether it is worth the overall extra expense of the Volvo.
>AWD will almost always give you an edge in stability over FWD or RWD. Just a matter of physics. But The Accord with TCS can handle rain and moderate snow with ease. The Volvo will just be easier
4) 2003 vs. 2004. My dealer has offered me 500 below invoice on the 2003. Based on the discussion on the Honda price board, it looks like some people have gotten about 200 less in other areas of the country, but I'm not inclined to go to the mat over $200, esp. b/c this dealer has been very generous about test drives and has even offered to let me use an Accord for a day to test the seats. However, with the 2004's about to be released, can I do significantly better than 500 under invoice on a 2003?
> Anything is possible if you have the time and energy
A related question: am I financially better off (depreciation, etc.) buying a 2003 or waiting 2-4 weeks for a 2004 and spending what I figure will be $1000-1500 more?
>Depends on how long you plan on keeping it. 2 to 3 years then get the 2004. 5 to 7 years it really doesn't matter. The grey area is 3 to 5 years. I'd still say get the 2004. But don't pay more than a $700 premium for the 04 vs the 03
Comments
as far as the intrigue goes, my 1998 had 66,000 miles, so at 108,000 miles you did very good.
I liked the ride (more camry like), roominess, trunk space, stereo system and for all intents & purposes, the 3800 series II motor is a solid proven engine. handling was good as well.
the car however, along with the long list of complaints (that a lot of people had) was cheaply put together I felt and consisted of lower quality materials. lots of electrical type problems that really were not problems but you thought they were because the warning light kept coming on then going off.
but I did get 6-years of service
From where do you receive the letter of recall? I wonder why I do not receive it and I cannot find the recall information on NHTSA site either.
Thanks.
Cheers,
I am well aware that trade-in on my car is diddly-squat. That's why I am inclined to drive her until she drops dead. My car has the 3800 engine which has been flawless. The question remains if all the other little issues that are present will drive me nuts before it finally decides to croak. The interior is cheaply made. The 3800 does run out of breath at higher speeds. Thanks to my lead foot, the fuel efficiency is not all that great. The wife & I are leaning toward an Accord EX-L 4 cylinder automatic as a replacement candidate. Motor trend clocks this at 0-60 at about 8.5 seconds. Most Intrigues do so at 8.0 seconds--- which is not that big of a difference in real world driving. Yes-- the Accord's V6 would be nice, but I'd rather save the difference in initial cost and more $$ on gas and insurance, & maintenance costs.
Sigh... I've got the new car fever
If you like the 3800, the new Grand Prix is now out and the Accord for a bit more $$ is a good choice also. I find the new 6 to be small and the Camry I just don't like.
Good luck, sorry to hear about your accident.
I'm also probably one of those guys who right now anyway, really don't know actually how much I would use it if I had it in my vehicle....but that doesn't mean I don't want it to play with.
I almost got the Nav System in my '03 Nissan Pathfinder LE (purchased a few months back), but it just put the vehicle out of my price range and it wasn't even DVD based or Voice activated, and it was still over $2,500.00 to add on.
The Honda Navi System seems like it might be the best system out there right now...and I think it's probably got me leaning towards purchasing the Accord over all the other models I'm looking at (Tribute, Mazda 6s, Nissan Altima) right now.
I thank you all for the detailed responses.... Have a good weekend everybody! I sure wish I was back stateside right now to give the EX a test drive!!!! Only 3-4 weeks before I return though!
Any idea on what incentives/rebates will be offered for Sept 3rd - Oct 1st timeframe?
The 2003 Honda Clearance sale is due to end on September 2nd. And I won't be able to get to a dealer until September 15th at the earliest.
I can't imagine not being able to get the same 2003 Accord in September or October for any more than I could in August, do you guys?
Also: I'm the type of car buyer who figures out what he wants to pay (using edmunds.com and my checkbook
I bought the 4cyl Accord Sedan and can't tell you how much I love it. Of course, I'm biased toward Honda because I had a 1993 Civic Sedan (Sally) who served me well for 10 years.
I'm sure you can get a great price on an 03 when you return. I almost wish I had waited and got the 04 because I only got to drive it a month and a half and got short notice deployed for the rest of the year.
I had a great dealer, and didn't do any internet shopping. However, judging from the opinions in the "online shopping" forum for the accord, people can get TREMENDOUS deals on these cars.
Good luck, and definitely go Accord.
sunroof, full size spare, better warranty
and more saftey features and 8 speaker monsoon stereo with cd and casette. which one of these cars is the better value in you folks opinion?? i can get a accord ex with all the features of the golf but at 3 grand more. also, i went to my local honda dealership today and sat in a 2003 accord for about half an hour and i was amazed at the quality this car has everything from the switches to the cd bin to the glove box,
they all open and close with such a great feeling, and the car doors close like a bank vault feeling to them. and this was the accord dx model also. i did not get this quality feeling sitting in the golf. steve
Good luck!!
Kenn
Automobile Division
American Honda Motor Co. Inc.
1919 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, CA 90509
800-999-1009
The transmission problem does look like a software problem and I believe the fix is probably to reload the latest software release. But to have the ability to shift between forward and reverse is important for us living in Northeast. It is not an abuse of the vehicle.
>>> But to have the ability to shift between forward and reverse is important for us living in Northeast. It is not an abuse of the vehicle. <<<
I keep a small shovel during winters in my trunk for that purpose. I can't believe somebody has the heart to do do this R-D-R-D-R-D to their new car JUST to get out of snow.
Also if I do get stuck, I find that putting the car into neutral, and then going outside and pushing & rocking the car back and forth usually frees it from the ditch, all by myself without other's help. Rocking a car from the outside gives you better leverage by combining momentum with every push. Rocking the car by shifting the transmission is definitely not a good idea.
I have lived in upstate NY for a number of years and knows sometimes how difficult it can be to get the car out of the snow especially when the snow becomes ice. A nice exercise with my big spade.
Also, I was going to buy the all season floor mats but was somewhat disappointed that the mat is contoured and cut so that there is no rubber matting directly underneath the acceleration pedal. What are people's experience and thoughts on these two items? Thanks,
how does this stack up against the accord.
from what i have been hearing, the mazda 6
handles much better than the accord and even
better than the altima as well. i think engine wise, they both have the same engine
ouput being 160 hp in the 4 cylinder versions.thanx
I have a general policy on not going to the dealer because of their exorbitant pricing but since this is the first new car I am buying and not leasing I thought it would be the best thing to do for warranty reasons.
Give me a break! $119 for an oil change and tire rotation? Who are they kidding. Most of this is for the required inspections which are hardly necessary on a car with only 6750 miles on it.
Anyway, I just had the oil and filter changed for $25. I will reluctantly bring the car back at 10K for its second oil change at which time I will have them put in a synthetic blend oil and be overcharged for the official 10K service. Thereafter I plan on changing the oil and filter every 5K and continue to use a synthetic blend.
But then some of you turn right around and recommend to our USAF friend that he buy an '03 when he returns in mid-Sept. At least tell him to go for an '04, I should think.
PLEASE help me out of this conundrum!
Im driving a ex 4 and apart from the ride and the sufur smell it is pretty good. I still prefer the Camry ride
for you, pick out a few cars you are interested in and do the research, the test drive etc. then make up your mind. good luck in whatever you decide on.
and the mazda 6 do not make abs standard.
and abs brakes gives you cheaper insurance
as well.example 6 months policy 43 year old
single male clean driveing record 888.00
nissan altima base model 1200.00 for same 6 months policy. no abs on altima s. in fact i was checking into a VW golf and it was even cheaper to insure than the accord 829.00 for 6 months through progressive ins. but then again the golf comes with every saftey feature 8 air bags, 4 wheel-anti lock disk brakes, as well as a host of other stuff and it also had a excelent crash test results. its for these reasons that i may consider a golf over the accord within the next month or so. i thinks its important to choose a car thats going to be reasonably affordable to insure. many people forget about this expense. but my agent told me that any car with abs brakes is going to cost less to insure than without them in most cases, except maybe high end sports cars.
Is the XM Radio pre-installed. So all I have to do is pay the monthly fee. Or is there some other work to be done......Anyone here have it done yet?? How does it sound!?!
In a post a few weeks back, I posted the 2003 EX V6 was getting 19 MPG for a mostly highway trip of 350 miles or so. In my conversions, I messed up. Latest tank, all city driving (nothing over 100 kph/60 mph) was 27 MPG. The highway trip will be repeated this weekend, and I will post correct stats.
Oh, and that car was also the one that the stereo conked out on on the same trip (3 CDs were - and still are - stuck inside). This Friday a new stereo is being put in, and two dash rattles will be looked at. I get a loaner for the day as well.
This service dept will not pick-up/retrieve customers further than 8 km from the dealership, and will actually stop at a local transit station for those further away!. Is this typical of other Honda service depts? The Nissan service depts I'm used to are much easier on giving loaners (I've had them for inconvenient oil changes!), and will drive you much further without any complaint.
As a previous posts said no car is a sure bet. And each car is a personal decision, drive them all and make up your own mind.
As far as saving $60 every 6 months in insurance cost....that is a small issue for most people. If the golf fits you go for it. But the Accord gets better mileage, has more power, fits more people comfortably, has better historical reliability records, and is very safe in its own right. So if all those fetaures are worth less than $120 a year then go for the Golf.
I like the black rubber all season floor mats at Wal-mart. It's only $5 or $6 bucks each. I think mats in the back are the same price. I put them over the carpet mats.
We took them out of our 2001 Civic and put them in our 2003 Accord. When we get rid of the Accord the mats will move into the new car.
A while back you commented about the amount of unsightly break dust being thrown off on your wheels. I have gone to Raybestos ceramic pads on all my vehicles. They work great, last forever and produce NO dust. Just make sure your rotors are in good shape because the ceramic pads will outlast them. Expect to pay a $50-60 (US) premium per axle.
1) Build quality and first year issues. Based on what I've read, the Accord seems to have had 3-5 specific first year kind of issues (assorted rattles and bad rotors are the ones that stick in my mind). Also, the NHTSA website indicates roughly 50 TSBs or general consumer complaints (hard to tell which it is). I've seen nothing on the Volvo boards or in NHTSA, which could reflect that Volvo is higher quality or that there are many more Accords sold and/or that Honda has a different policy than Volvo about issuing TSBs. Also, Honda's first year issues seem mostly to have been resolved. Is this true? Have the bugs been worked out? If not, what still remains a problem? Please keep it dispassionate and objective. I've read the previous stuff on the Accord boards, and really want to know whether these problems remain or have been resolved. Auburn, I'd be particularly interested in whether you're seeing more, fewer or the same number of problems over time, esp. squeaks and rattles, about which I am sensitive.
2) Driver's seat comfort. Volvo is legendary for this, and rightly so based on my test drives. I've also driven the Accord a lot, and find its driver's seat comfortable (not quite up to Volvo, but reasonably close). How have owners felt about the driver's seat over the longer term (a few months) and on longer drives (1-3 hours)?
3) Front wheel drive + traction control vs. AWD + traction control. Ideally I would like to have AWD, but do not know whether it is worth the overall extra expense of the Volvo. I live in the Wash., D.C. area, which gets an average amount of rain and usually one decent snowfall a year (I am hoping this past winter was an outlier). How does the front wheel drive + traction control of the EX V6 deal with inclement conditions?
4) 2003 vs. 2004. My dealer has offered me 500 below invoice on the 2003. Based on the discussion on the Honda price board, it looks like some people have gotten about 200 less in other areas of the country, but I'm not inclined to go to the mat over $200, esp. b/c this dealer has been very generous about test drives and has even offered to let me use an Accord for a day to test the seats. However, with the 2004's about to be released, can I do significantly better than 500 under invoice on a 2003? A related question: am I financially better off (depreciation, etc.) buying a 2003 or waiting 2-4 weeks for a 2004 and spending what I figure will be $1000-1500 more?
Many thanks for your answers to these questions.
> Remember there are many many accord owners who have had zero problems with their cars too
Have the bugs been worked out? If not, what still remains a problem? Please keep it dispassionate and objective.
> Unless someone works for Honda they probably can't answer this question. Every car is different. The 2004 you buy might be worse than the 2003. You never know. But in general the Accords usually iron out their problems.
2) Driver's seat comfort. Volvo is legendary for this, and rightly so based on my test drives. I've also driven the Accord a lot, and find its driver's seat comfortable (not quite up to Volvo, but reasonably close). How have owners felt about the driver's seat over the longer term (a few months) and on longer drives (1-3 hours)?
> Great for me. But my butt and back are not the same as yours, so your Mileage may vary
3) Front wheel drive + traction control vs. AWD + traction control. Ideally I would like to have AWD, but do not know whether it is worth the overall extra expense of the Volvo.
>AWD will almost always give you an edge in stability over FWD or RWD. Just a matter of physics. But The Accord with TCS can handle rain and moderate snow with ease. The Volvo will just be easier
4) 2003 vs. 2004. My dealer has offered me 500 below invoice on the 2003. Based on the discussion on the Honda price board, it looks like some people have gotten about 200 less in other areas of the country, but I'm not inclined to go to the mat over $200, esp. b/c this dealer has been very generous about test drives and has even offered to let me use an Accord for a day to test the seats. However, with the 2004's about to be released, can I do significantly better than 500 under invoice on a 2003?
> Anything is possible if you have the time and energy
A related question: am I financially better off (depreciation, etc.) buying a 2003 or waiting 2-4 weeks for a 2004 and spending what I figure will be $1000-1500 more?
>Depends on how long you plan on keeping it. 2 to 3 years then get the 2004. 5 to 7 years it really doesn't matter. The grey area is 3 to 5 years. I'd still say get the 2004. But don't pay more than a $700 premium for the 04 vs the 03
Many thanks for your answers to these questions.