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Also, I would like to comment on Honda quality.
Background: This is our 5th honda in 10 yrs. (84 prelude,94 accord, 95 odyssey, 99 odyssey). (also three motorcycles)
This purchase: The feature set is on par or better than low end luxury vehicles (3.2tl&ls300) which is what attracted me to Honda again. The price made the value proposition very good relative to those vehicles listed above. I have not seen any of the issues noted on this board with my 03exv6 no navi.
Further, let me give you some different perspective. This is our third time buying a first-year new or massive redesign auto from Honda. Being an engineer, it is pretty well understood that the first round of production always has bugs but Honda design/mfg quality has IMHO made their products very robust to this phenomina.
For the sixth time, honda has made me very satisfied with this purchase.
Things that really made me purchase this car
-honda reliability (my history says this will be rock solid and low life cycle cost). I hate going to the shop.
-Substantially improved feature set (climate control, steering wheel controls, great stereo, heated seats, awesome security pkg &remote)
-Performance 240 PONYs and overall getup and go. It feeds my mid-life crisis needs...
-Quieter than all previous hondas (road noise was the #1 reason I dumped my last honda)
-better crash rating than my previous hondas
Nice perks
-sliding center console arm rest
-spacious center console box w/two levels
-trunk opener on remote
-windows-down with remote (I live in Houston)
-dash lighting
-LOUD and deep sounding horn
-cd changer
Now, on to my nits;
-this honda does not seem to start as quick as my previous ones-Yea, yea, I need some cheese with that whine.
-my sunroof howls in the tilt mode (my first time for a sunroof, not sure if this is normal)
-I would like the telescopeing steering wheel to extend just a little bit more.
-no real good place to put my cell phone
I just got my car back last night, two months and $7,000 in damage later. Everything was the Ford driver's responsibility, which really was a shame since the police could not find the irresponsible truck driver dropping steel onto the road.
I was concerned I would be disappointed with the repair job, but everything looks like new, and I still do not have any pops, rattles or squeaks in the car.
I plan on putting a lot of miles on this car, so I hope diminished value won't be too much of a factor when I finally sell the car, but additional insurance reimbursement would be nice.
Any thoughts from owners or sellers on whether the extra stuff you get with the EX-R is worth the cost? I must admit, I like the idea of leather, and here in Canada that nice Redondo red paint is only available on the EX-R. If I were to buy a LX I would have to get one in Desert Mist since I don't want a black interior. I have seen that exact car on the lot and it looks fine too, even with the beige cloth instead of leather. I'm not a fan of plastic wheel covers but I could live with those. Any opinions?
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I rated them as follows
Passat
Accord
Altima
Camry
I ended up with the Accord because the dealership did 2K better on my trade in than the other dealers did. I'm very happy with my purchase and have not had any major problems (only 5 or 6 small items for the dealer to look over).
Even though the VW was my top choice, the competition is pretty close between all of them. I would have been happy with any of them (The Camry was a little disappointing)
In the end $'s count; I'd go with the best deal on any of the top models you're comparing.
I have personally heard rattles in a 00 and and 02 Accord that took several trips to the dealer before they were finally fixed under warranty.
This is not a unique problem with Accords (other than the rattling moonroof rubber seals), but they seem to have had more than their share of squeaks and rattles.
This was not a big enough issue to affect resale value since many cars have bigger reliability issues to worry about than some squeaking noises coming from plastic interior trim.
~alpha
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I drive a Lexus LS400, and if I were to buy a new car today, it would definitely be the Accord with Navigation!
I actually assumed I would like the Accord better but I was wrong. No one on the GP board has bought one yet (it just came out) so I'm lost.
They are not really that similar, so you must have some preference of what you are looking for as far as sportiness or refinement and resale value.
If you are going to be carrying adults in the back seat often, the Accord is more comfortable for rear passengers and has more usable rear legroom. If you are going to be carrying large objects in the back, the Pontiac is better because the rear doors open 90 degrees, the rear seat folds down and has a trunk passthrough that is much larger than the Accord's and the front passenger seat folds forward flat on some models allowing you carry objects you might otherwise need a pickup truck or SUV for.
the car is for the wife and she likes the interior color of the american built honda better
just because it was assembled in Japan though, does that mean the engine was built there as well?
As far as the Mazda 6 is concerned yes its not the complete package that the Accord is. The 6 ia still a good car though. Its better than the Altima. Still like the 6 out of the competition though.
The Accord has more usable rear seat room and even the Pontiac Vibe I sat in the same day had a more roomy back seat for 2 adults than the '04 Gran Prix.
It may have a bunch of first year issues, but you won't know until it has been out for long enough to see.
in Hamilton says it will not be here for couple months?
webby : Kerr Pontiac in Oakville had 2 of them last week.
This is clearly not a critical flaw, because the most common ways to open the car would be (1) the keyless entry (but what about non-EX models with no remote?) or (2) mechanically at the driver's door. But if your don't have a remote, or the remote's battery dies, or the receiver for the remote signal malfunctions, and if accumulated dirt or a windy sleet storm has frozen the driver's side, then what? (Far-fetched, I know. Could still enter through the trunk, I guess.) I noticed the absence right away because someone went to use it! With the fancy keys being so ridiculously expensive, someone in the family is bound to wind up with just a valet key (no remote; much cheaper), and for one reason or another, people often approach the car from the passenger side.
Again, it's not critical, but it seems to be a strange deletion of a common feature that also acts as backup. How much money could it possibly save them?
My previous car was a '93 EX, so maybe it happened earlier than '03.
The interior seemed very cheap, the doors seemed thin and the dash layout reminded me of a GM. The manual wasn't as crisp as the Accord and it seemed a little rubbery; clutch was fine. In corners it leaned way too much, though it did not loose control or traction. It just reminded me of a larger Corolla instead of a mid-size family car.
All that being said, the Camry wasn't terrible; I just thought the others were better. The Accord felt much smoother (engine & tranny) and seemed overall to be of higher quality (near the top of my list).
No hot water heater cause they blow up. No stove either. Forget a gas grill. Heck most cars have gas tanks too. That's dangerous.
Oh well... Another case of "can't please em all".
I think a more glaring oversight is Honda's dealer-installed alarm. If I'm not mistaken, if you have a Honda dealer-installed alarm, only the remote can disarm the alarm. So if you lose/damage your remote and have to unlock using the key, I think the alarm would go off.
Also, I think in about 3 - 5 years' time, all but the cheapest, cheapest econobox will have keyless entry. The next echelon of keyless entry will be like the optional system on the FX45 where all you need to do is carry a transmitter on your person. You won't need to press buttons, the car will lock/unlock when you're a certain distance away from it.
The cool thing about that is sometimes we leave the windows open accidently and dont notice until after I am out of the car and its locked. nice perk so I dont have to get back in and roll them up.
Perhaps I will do one more test of each. We have had an Accord in the past so I know they are good cars. That said, our GMC truck has been good also so I have nothing against domestics either. My big beef with the Accord is it less sporty looks. I kind of liked the last generation Accord better.
I don't think GM did anything different than other companies have done, so it's not their fault. I'm sure they sold the car with a key for the ignition and a different key for the door/trunk. At least that's the way my 90 Cutlass was keyed. One of the best cars I owned.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Speaking of dumb GM ideas, I knew a guy who had a Chevy Lumina that would lock automatically after a certain amount of time had passed from when you started the engine. It was winter and he started the car to warm up the engine. He got out and made sure to leave the doors unlocked. 5 minutes later he walked back to the car and discovered that it had locked itself automatically. Brilliant design.
However, you didnt really answer my question as to why you chose to drive an LE. Given your understandable dislike of its handling characteristics, and the fact the SE offers a stiffer, differently tuned suspension, 4 wheel disc brakes, and larger diameter/width wheels and tires, I'm still scratching my head. The SE also has different interior trim, and moonroof standard, similar to Accord EX.
From where your preferences lean, the Accord was no doubt the best choice for you, and you will have many great miles from it- all I'm saying is to level the playing field next time.
~alpha