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Comments
You're right, I'm not sure what I was thinking.
I'm at work so I don't have enough time to read through all of the posts but I want to warn you about CUSH. I just bought a car from POWAY Honda because the salesperson that I had been dealing with at CUSH was dishonest with me (about invoice price, e) NOT to mention pushy. In one day I got 8 calls from 3 different people. I agree with what someone else wrote--if you decide to deal with CUSH you need to find out how much you will be paying for your new car. These are the numbers they game me for the ACCORD EX V6 w/Navi: List Price: 30, 330. Fleet Price: 28,890. If you look it up the MSRP is 28,890 and the invoice is 25,551 for our region. They weren't even remotely giving me a deal AND they wanted me to pay for all of their extras on top of that. Ugh! It upsets me to think about it.
Anyway, if you haven't read this series of articles I recommend it. I think CUSH is like the first dealership. http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html?- tid=edmunds.a.landing.buying..4.*
Only one problem with the car: the car sometimes
didn't restart after a long/short trip.
It took two dealers to figure it's the ignition relay.
Other than that, the car ran fine. Too bad, it was total last year.
We have two in my driveway. A 1991 EX and a 1992 DX.
The 1992 DX has almost 240K miles on it and it has been an excellent car.
The 1991 EX has almost 200K miles on it and it has done well overall. It has had more problems than the 1992.
The cars run fine and have never broken down on us. I would recommend that generation Accord (along with any generation)
What is fishy is the fact that the particular Accord you want to buy for your son only has 57,000 miles. The owner must have driven very little.
Car manufacturers have a hard road to travel right now. People want more, more, more but want to pay less, less, less. A 92 Accord EX had ABS, power everything, driver's airbag, and a roof. A 2003 Accord EX now has EBD, ABS, tilt/telescope wheel, side airbags, auto-off lights, CD changer, LED gauges, keyless, etc. And I'm sure if you adjust for inflation you aren't paying that much more, maybe even less, for the 03 Accord.
The car wanted to race through the parking lot without me having to press the gas. I basically rode the brake for about a minute. I have read here about high-revving Accords. This was one of them.
The brakes made grinding noises for about first minute also. My current car (99 Grand Prix) will also do that if it is sitting for a few days. Once we were out of the lot the brakes were silent and smooth, although *very* touchy.
I was shocked at just how quiet and responsive the 4 is. Since the engine was 'just' a 4, I was expecting it to be a bit under powered. That was not the case at all.
Overall I found the ride very smooth and quiet. The day before I drove an 04 Altima. The Altima's engine was not as smooth and it was much louder, and road noise was much more present on the Altima. The interior of the Accord is also superior to the Alimta, IMO.
Here is my current best quote from online requests:
LX Auto no side airbags ($20,100 MSRP): 18282 + $152 in fees.
EX Auto no side airbags ($22,000 MSRP): 20533 + $152 in fees.
My 'out the door' cost on both including the fees and taxes and license is $19,530 and $22,173 respectively. None of these figures have my trade-in (which has not been evaluated yet).
I am pretty sure the Accord will be my next car. I am going to test drive the Altima again, but there are so many 'pluses' in Honda's favor at this point I can't see going with the Altima.
complain about tires not have traction. Could be the tires are soft and quiet, but not as sticky; hence road noise is quieter than the other car's tires.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
i drive in stop and go rush hour traffic in DC. two people at my dealer service dept have told me NOT to come at 3750 for oil change. they say wait until 7500. my Honda manual says for "severe" driving, an oil change every 3750 is advised. do they mean every 3750, AFTER the initial 7500 service?
anyone been in this predicament?
And too many dumb looks from dealers when you complain about the bugs. They know about these problems, just play dumb.
just my 2 cents: a few years ago, i purchased a new 2000 Accord coupe (US made), and then a while later a new 2001 Accord sedan (Japan made). i don't want to engage in Honda-bashing, but i was really disappointed in the persistent rattles and squeaks from various parts of the insides of the cars...... i'd grown up coveting and desiring Hondas, but those experiences sort of took the wind out of my Honda sails, so to speak......
I was a Camry Queen. Then I converted to a Honda after years of "coveting". I am so disappointed. But who knows? I might feel differently about my new 2003 Accord after I get my new Toyo tires put on & balanced, the front-end aligned, the squeaky dash/door tweaked, the brakes fixed, the exhaust pipe noise smothered, the fog lights replaced, and the carpet glued back down on the passenger's side floor board. Yes, after that, I should be a proud Honda owner for years to come
Other than that, fit and finish looked great - no other interior noises. Quiet highway ride. Bit stiff over nasty expansion joints but that's an OK trade-off for the tight cornering.
If I end up with a new Accord, I'll sure take a long test drive before I sign the dotted line...
-srp
As a note, I have owned a new 1999 Accord EX sedan, a 2001 Accord EX V6 coupe, a 2003 Accord coupe EX-L, and a 2004 EX-L sedan. All of them have been flawless. Just as the 3 older model Accords we have purchased. Guess we are just lucky.
-I have an 03 exv6, 8 months, 11k mi
-yes I have a few rattles
-yes the dealers treat you like crap
-Yes my accord takes too long to turn over when starting
-yes, this is my third honda "first-production year" model. They are better than anyone else. I have first hand experience.
BUT
-I still cant find a feature set/performance/ price that even remotely matches that of the exv6
-I have had much worse dealers to deal with. At least the Honda guys are professional about jerking you around.
-I know that my kids will be driving this car because first production year or not it will last that long.
ok, off my soapbox.
1-Trips to the dealer stink, but the sole reason I bought my first Honda was to avoid trips to the dealer in the first place. After owning 5 new hondas in the last 10 yrs I have only had to go the dealer when I was ready, not when the vehicle needed to. (ie, no killer problems)
2-The car is flat out fun to drive.
when the new camry first came out it was also plagued with rattles.
Question: why didn't you pick up on that "rock hard" ride during the test drive?
Answer: Not that it makes any difference, but it's because (as the previous post clearly stated) the car didn't start rocking until exactly 5K miles. I bought it with "1" mile on the odometer.
Better question: Who wouldn't expect prompt resolution if they were the one who laid down cash and blissfully drove off in the doomed Accord? Regardless, your question posed to me absolutely reeks of Honda's new "blame the consumer" mantra. Notice I said -new- mantra. I know it didn't used to be that way. But things have changed at Honda. My father owned six Honda's, but his last car was an Avalon. He was sure that bringing "good 'ol American ingenuity" into the mix would eventually spoil and spell the end of Honda's reliability record (please do not bother to flame me. I am a loyal American consumer, but everyone who knows cars also knows that this is the truth). My Accord was made in America. Those made in Japan might be better, as my friend has a Japanese Accord that is perfectly fine. And lastly, this information is posted here to help others who have bought a 2003 lemon Accord and have been told there is nothing wrong with their perfectly "reliable" Hondas. It is not posted to gain approval or accolades from ALL Honda owners. Not everybody has a wonderful Honda story to share. If you do, great! After all, I would love the car if it were not for the serious problems I've had! If didn't like it, I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. Also if you read the complete post, you will see that noise is the least of my problems, none of which could be detected by others who also test drove the car with me on three occasions before purchase. Besides, even if I had bought it on the internet sight-unseen, I still have a right as a consumer to expect the Honda name to mean outstanding quality. After all, isn't that why we all didn't buy a loaded Kia's instead? We bought the name. Admit it! We bought Honda's name and reliability.
It's not the consumer's fault when a company rushes a design through engineering just so they can release it on time. Then they go "whoopsy" and secretly rush to *fix it* for the following year's model, LEAVING the owners of the previous model in a lurch with their problem cars. Oh, if only it were about the rattles! I would be so thankful. But it's not. It's about reliability. What could possibly be more important that the braking system on a car? Certainly if the issues are resolved with my car, I will make sure I post the improvements here. I will be fair about it, and I would just LOVE to be able to write back and tell everyone that all is well with this car. But from the way Honda has handled it so far, it doesn't look good. Only time will tell.
"Answer: Not that it makes any difference, but it's because (as the previous post clearly stated) the car didn't start rocking until exactly 5K miles. I bought it with "1" mile on the odometer."
It's clear that the perception that was addressed by the question is unrelated to your brake pad problems. Blackexv6 hasn't reported anything "wrong" with his Accord (at least not in his recent post)... he just prefers a softer ride.
The benefactor of the regression to the norm is that many people "upgrade" to the Acura line, ending up benefiting Honda for their regression. An irony indeed. As i read many posts through the topics here on hondas, the Acura is often mention as the alternate, better choice. Seems backwards to me.
As for the consumer reviews on Edmunds, they can be written by anyone. I read one about a GM product bashing it because they had rented one for a couple of days. People having trouble with their honda should add to the consumer reviews here on Edmunds.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Another thing..
"No. I don't think the typical sedan buyer is willing to deal with a rock hard ride like the Accord to get a slight bit of sportiness"
Actually, more Camrys are sold to fleets than Accords and the difference usually leaves the Accord as the #1 car sold to actual people.
Very much underrepresented are the vast majority of generally satisfied non-enthusiast owners. They have no problems to investigate and they're not "into" their cars enough to post on a forum like Town Hall.
So the low representation of these satisfied owners and the relatively high representation of owners with complaints make the complaints seem more common and prominent than they actually are.
A better representation of the experience of the "average" Accord owner comes from Consumer Reports. Don't get me wrong... there's no denying that there have been some "first year of production" problems with the 2003 Accord, yet based on CR's latest survey, the Accord's reliability is still ranked as better than average... lower than the 2002 model, but still quite good. If the majority (or even a sizeable minority) of owners were experiencing the problems reported here, there's no way that such a score could be achieved.
So if you're interested in the Accord, I'd be more concerned with the reputation of the dealer and less concerned with the overall quality of the car. Because if you happen to be unlucky enough to get one of the small percentage of problematic Accords, the dealer's willingness to stand behind you will make all the difference in the world.
And I speak from experience, having had my "Honda bubble" burst when my new 2000 Accord EX V6 (my first Honda) was one with the transmission problem. My dealer took quick action and had the transmission replaced. From that point on, that Accord provided the ownership experience that I expected based on Honda's reputation... enough so that I decided to go with another Accord for my next car. My 2003 Accord EX V6 has, so far, exhibited none of the problems that some have reported here (knock on wood). No rattles, no pulsating brakes, outstanding balance of ride and handling. This is after 7 months and 9000 miles.
No flames from those reporting problems, please... I'm not denying that they exist, and I hope that you can get them corrected. I just thought it would be fair to represent another perspective.
Just my opinion...so let me have it.
The Sandman :-)
I assumed the previous mention of consumer reviews was referencing the ones I had browsed for 03 models, which have been out long enough for people to comment there after owning their cars longer than the trip home from the dealer!
I find _850_ posts there. And I just rebrowsed the first few pages. I find people very satisfied with their purchase, some after many miles and months of driving, others after short times. But I also found mention, even in satisfied reviews, of harsh tires, ride, leads, dealer lack of interest, brakes, rattles. The ones I see reflect the same comments here on the groups by "enthusiasts" and "computer users" who post their improvements to be made.
I feel the 04 consumer review list is still too new to be meaningful. Adjusted for the demographics of those who are here on Edmunds, the comments in consumer reviews 03 do pretty much reflect same problems when read carefully (consumers don't write harsh criticism of their new baby), but they reflect people happy with the car their purchased.
Talon95 has the point that CR doesn't drop evaluations quickly on models, assuming past history will continue after adjustments by company. OTH they don't upgrade models quickly for the same reason.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Course if you are like to help dealers make their boat payments and go to them-your maintenance cost will go thru the roof. Additionally even if the dealer was down the street from me-would save loads of time.
Current accord has @166K on it and expect it to make at least 250K before buying another. Oh and the new accords have a chain driven timing belt for the I4's-so it will cut maintenace cost in half-to about $2.27/K-almost affordable.
I love the navigation system and if I have to put up with this little annoyance, then so be it. But I thought I'd check to see if there was a way around it.
Thanks.
khager is very right... It's better for you car to observe this, during the break-in period.
Also, my manual details a different maintenance schedule than does Honda's OwnerLink.
I plan to take meticulous care of my car, but something buggs me.
I happened on a big display in my dealer that showed intellipoint's award of cheapest car to the Accord, citing it's low maintenance costs. It even showed the actual dollar costs.
HOWEVER, if I follow the flyer that the maintenance dept gave me (which also doesn't agree with the manual) then you will spend much more than the intellipoint's projected costs. In my opinion, they shouldn't show that in the dealership becaue it gives you a false sense of ownership costs vs. what the service department says after you purchase the car.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I think that one of the biggest things is the unsatisfied people with problems. there are generally two types of quotes.
1> I have had problem x, y, z, a, c, q... dealer says couldn't duplicate.... etc. Anyone have ideas?
2> This Accord(trailblazer, camry, passaat, etc) is the worst car I have had!! The brakes suck, the electronics go out, the engine falls off at highway speeds, the headlights flash morse code....
So there are two extremes, but in general, if you go and look through most of the boards, you either have the extremely angry people who (maybe in their right) have made up their mind on the one vehicle because of some problems which may or may not be normal.
Personally, I try not to flame people unless they are making suggestions that are completely out of line(sue co for low gas mileage, etc) Many of the people are here to help out users, myself being one of them, but I will admit that at times things get out of control.
Related question: does anyone know how to install daytime running lights in a 2003 Accord? I am surprised Honda does not offer this as an option as it has been proven to reduce accidents and is VERY cheap.
I haven't had any major problems, and my small complaints were resolved in the first few weeks of ownership with speed and courtesy of my dealer.
Overall experience--very satisfied.
PS: The sunglasses rattle is true - the rest is a joke!
I love the navigation system and if I have to put up with this little annoyance, then so be it. But I thought I'd check to see if there was a way around it.
Thanks.
Thanks
I have found that the problem is low temperature. When the screen is cold,35 degrees or less,it will not respond. Hair blower over the surface for a minute,and it comes to life.Let the screen cool again and it locks up. Did not experience this last winter. Will go by the dealer to see what they say. Will advise.
Tom King
car performs flawlessly. 3700 miles, two months of ownership, 2003 EX V6 sedan.