Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
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It's sad that this board only hears the complaints! Guess it's easier to complain than compliment! IMHO
The driving experience is great in VW/Audi if you can turn your radio up loud enough to drown the rattles and grinds. The Accord feels a touch more solid on the inside, but can't keep pace with Germananic handling and braking.
As far as the mags go, who cares what they say. You're the one driving YOUR car to work, school, clubs, Costco....you choose what fits your needs/wants. I wanted a car that could take a corner at 85mph, had solid brakes, and was safe and fun. I got the Audi. I wanted a car that was affordable, reliable, and comfortable. I got the Accord. I could quote Edmunds or C&D or 0-60 all day, but when it came down to my money and my big butt sitting in the driver's seat, it all came down to my decision. Not someone else.
What Edmunds and others provide is a guideline and starting point. They also provide facts and opinions to help guide you. What we also get is a forum here to share knowledge and some of us saved a TON of money that way! (great selling price).
From a reliability standpoint, the publishings provide a general risk assessment for owners. As a whole and in total, the Accords will experience fewer problems in a lifetime than a Passat. Does that mean everyone should buy an Accord? no way. In other words, if you don't mind occasional repairs and dump a car before the warranty runs out, the Passat could be equally satisfying compared to the Accord. But if you plan to drive your Accord until 2020, the probability of your total costs of ownership (repairs and such) will be lower on average than for a Passat.
And let's face it...some of us might like the looks of one car and that is important to us! (no offense to you Aztec drivers)
-Craig
Just goes on to show that it al depends on priorities, some people don't mind having the car in the garage a lot, so that ok with them.
For outrun, if I remember correctly, around a month or so, you too were fed up with teh way VW was handling the Passat's coil issue, so suddenly to quote the Edmunds review is kinda funny. In fact edmunds is the only review that has favored the passat over the Accord. I can quote numerous others where the Passat has been soundly thrashed by the Accord. CD, RT comparos, CD 10 Best List, Autoweek, etc. The reply to this from VW fans is "oh this is an old platform, just think how great the new Passat will be." Well, what are we supposed to do, sit and twiddle thumbs when till the new Passat comes out? C'mon, the buyer is buying the car now, not next year so we gotta look at what we have. Anyway, its not as if the current Passat has shown tremendous quality ( I don't mean perceived quality).
In fact, RT did say that these are strange times when a german car does not drive like one and a Japanese one drives like a German one. But I guess Passat owners would say "Oh, crap, Edmunds loves this car," so its the best. What really riles me is this, "Passat is THE best" thing, when in reality, its nothing but a nicely finished pseudo German car that is on its last legs. One Passat owner even suggested someone to buy a Passat over an Audi, citing more fun to drive. Eeks, height of optimism.
The fact remains that the accord is one of the best cars available for the money and offers great peace of mind for the typical driver/family oriented niche that is has been a best seller in. Oh, maybe the next Passat will be a Car of the year winner, right? Or a comparo winner, right?
One Passat fan regularly keeps suggesting "chipping" the Passat to get over 250HP, totally umnindful how this negates the warranty and makes this already unreliable vehicle downright ridiculous, keeping in mind this is a family car, not a sports car. Man, this is CRAZEEE
And if you are really so much of a "driver's car" person, take a long hard look at a Mazda 6, you will forget your Passat in a whiff.
Anyway, enjoy driving (to the garage) while hitching rides from us Accord owners.
As I said earlier, Road and Track found the Accord to substantially outperform the Passat in most subjective measurements of things that contribute to "fun to drive", such as driving excitement, steering, handling and engine. So we're not talking 0-60 and skidpads, we're talking real driving.
Is Edmunds wrong? Is Road and Track right? Well, these are all opinions, so there's no right or wrong. But again, look at other sources of information about the Accord vs. the Passat before you diss the Accord by comparison. Clearly in the opinion of R&T, the Accord is the car that fulfills the goals of "being more involved, better road feel, tight and responsive chassis, etc." And it's not just R&T... the new Accord's chassis has been getting great reviews elsewhere as well.
Do you like your Passat? Obviously you do, so that's all that matters. I like my Accord a lot, and have absolutely no regrets about choosing it over a Passat.
Krillin
No problems, great gas milage, great 2.4 engine that, when coupled with the 5 speed manual is both sporty and fun to drive.
Granted, several posters here have had problems with their new 2003 Accords, and I feel their pain. Those problems, however, seem to be early production problems for a small fraction of the units produced. Remember Honda has pioneered new methods of assembly in addition to starting a new product. I would expect most of these early issues are already resolved, with the remainder being actively investigated. If Honda can be criticized for anything, it is the Customer Service department has not responded as well as it should have.
I would say the only issues I've had with my Accord are: rattle from headliner above driver (easy fix), engine buzz from 1600-2000 rpm (any ideas?), and i got in an accident (DOH!!! That's my fault...). But, the repair shop was telling me something along the lines that my rear bumper wasn't aligned right in production. Oh well.
Oh ya, I do get that horrible sulphur smell but that seems the norm with most [non-permissible content removed] cars nowadays.
The difference here is that the Accord's issues are minor and very nit-picky. When ignition coils go bad, steering racks malfunction, and sensors go awol that is a whole different ballgame!
FYI, I used to drive a 1989 Accord LX but I sold it to a friend. He's still driving it today with over 180,000 miles on it and it still purrs.
My wife's former '96 Accord EX had 70,000+ miles in about 6.5 years of service. The only issues were the A/C recall (caused potential engine fires), a new muffler (a hole the size of Texas), and a leaking oil pan. Which brings me to Honda service:
I brought the car in for the oil leak (about 5 years, 55,000 miles into ownership). They didn't know I had a 7/100 extended warranty. They looked at it while I was waiting, brought me into the garage, and said "Look, here's the leak. It's bad. You need a new oil pan." So I went back into the service area, and they said that it'd cost something like $500 for parts/labor.
At that time, I told them "Oh, I have the HondaCare 7/100 warranty, so you can take care of it." They agreed.
At the end of the day, they called and said it's all set. After getting there, I looked at the paperwork. All it said was "oil pan gasket". So I approached the service person, and told him I was supposed to get a new oil pan.
"Oh, HondaCare wouldn't cover a new oil pan for just a leak. All we could do is give you a gasket to stop it."
So, if I didn't have the warranty, I'd have to spend $500 on a new pan. Since I had the warranty, miraculously the problem wasn't so bad and a $5 gasket fixed it.
VW isn't the only one with bad service.
-Craig
dealers told me EX V6 all made by U.S????? IS Japan made more reliable?
How about the A-pillar issue??? Thanks
Japan versus US made isn't going to make a bit of difference. Quality control process is identical. I've a US made '98 Accord, with over 80K miles on it. The only problem I could report (and have done for over five years in this board) is some squeak that appeared in the moon roof during the first few months of ownership. I was told of a fix (lubricating the rubber seals on regular basis) which I take care of, and it works. Other than that, on cold mornings may bring some squeaks which also settles as the cabin temperatures gets to normal.
No, there is no data supporting any assertion that there are substantial quality differences between Honda plants making any of their products around the world.
Yes, all V6 Accords for our market are made in Ohio.
I can replicate it sometimes after I roll slowly from reverse to 1st, then stopping slowly.
It doesn't bother me because it sounds like it is coming from the brakes and I figure that it's because of the brakes sticking to the rotors.
There should be an electrochromic rearview mirror inside too at the V6 level.
the manual being smarter than the automatic would dependent upon the driver now wouldn't it...!
Last, 03 EXV6 Sedan in Feb 03. Just awful. Rattles in dash, center counsel, back bench, and a unfixable popping coming from the A-Pillar. Not at all like anything I've seen before. I can't explain why my other 03 Accord was so tightly built, and the other one was so poorly assembled. It was like it was made by a completely different manufacturer. I've been driving a Dodge Neon rental waiting for a replacement vehicle. The Neon is built better than the Accord Honda is replacing, with not a single rattle.
Maybe US manufacturers have improved, while the Japanese brands have declined. I don't know, but something tells me that there is no way a car so poorly built would have left the factory in Japan, much less put on a ship to the US. It should have never left the plant.
I just feel, for me, it offers much more for the same money. Apparently you all don't think so because you bought an Accord. And I don't think you made a bad choice. I *DO* like the Accord (EX-L, 4 cyl, 5 speed manual, Navi would be my choice).
The product they just put onto the market (the '03 Accord), in my opinion, falls short, in key areas, of the product VW already had on the market.
-Craig
If you feel compelled to continue this thread, please move it to an appropriate forum.
I know that when I lock the car, there is a red light blinking in the dashboard. Exactly what does this security system do?
Thanks again.
Any major surprises with the new 03 Accord? Been readins some posts and nothing but rattles and general annoyances. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks
Anyone who can shed light on this topic? Thanks.
We've all seen that Accords are the most stolen. Any news on the new one, and other cars with the immobilizer, like the TL? Do they get pinched or are they then being left alone?
It is regional. In some regions, Accords are not even in the top 10 list of most stolen.
Accords are not stolen that much in the midwest and in the south.
In fact the Accord is cheaper than a Protege we had a while back.
The older Accords are the ones stolen. Not so much for the new ones.
http://info.insure.com/auto/thefts/thefts301.html
i am 56, married with 1 kid and i pay $1900 for accord ex-l 4 cylinder auto. i live on long island ny.
The Honda "bailiwick" markets like Cal. and NY are where premiums are highest - is my guess.
Nothing varies like car insurance - it's voodoo at its worst. We carry $300k liability with a $500 collision deductible and a $250 comprehensive deduct, and have no children. The big wild card is often who besides the two primary adults in on the policy - anyone under 25 tends to send the rate through the roof, regardless of where in the country you are.