Accord bites the dust

Well, my 14 year old Honda Accord with 195,000 miles suffered a
catastrophic mechanical failure, due to the right front wheel
colliding with a concrete highway barrier. This caused upper and lower
control arm damage, axle damage, and other damaged bits. The estimate
for repair was 3300 USD. As the car is only worth 1900 USD, it's
toast. Yes, I could fix it my self, but I am too old and stiff to much
enjoy that anymore.

Consequently. we are in the market for a newish 2004 - 2006 Accord
with roughly equivalent trim (EX). I am leaning toward the 4 cylinder
V-Tech engine as the 4 cylinder was more than adequate for the Accord
we had and the new ones are not that much bigger.

At the risk of boring everyone, I may share some of our shopping
experiences with the group. One immediate difference I noticed from 13
years ago is that there is a wealth of information available on the
Internet. How much of that information is reliable is yet to be
determined.


Elliot Richmond
Itinerant astronomy teacher

 

Get an 02 EX. That's the last year of that generation, and that was a
fantastic car.

 

Thanks. I will investigate that possibility.


Elliot Richmond
Itinerant astronomy teacher

 

I have an '02 4cyl and, while a great trouble free car, it's a dog in terms
of power...

a

 

I had an 00 Accord 4 cylinder, and it was a fantastic car with PLENTY of
power.

'Course, I outfitted mine properly: with a manual transmission.

In addition, that baby got 35mpg in the dead of summer on a road trip,
AC on full blast, going through the mountains.

 

rubbish. either there's something wrong with it or you don't know how
to drive. either way, fix the problem.

 

Nothing wrong - mine is a 5 speed.

You're 35mpg is horse shit, though.

a

 

How so? I get almost 30mpg out of an '01 V6 with automatic.

 

Nope. It happened on the way out, so I made sure to measure on the way
back.

Damn. What a car.

 

Well, until Ernst & Young can audit your mileage, I'm still calling horse
shit. A road trip - through the mountains - AC on full... up hill BOTH ...

"It happened on the way out" - so you knew it happened on the way "out".
How? If you only measured it on the way *back* ...?

Get real. I like my Accord, but I'm not delusional.

a

 

I believe him. I routinely got 33mpg with a '93 Accord automatic.

 

How so? Because I don't believe his story, that's how so. Just because
you *almost* get 30 mpg (what's *almost* 30mpg? 25? 29? 22? What?) doesn't
mean jack in relation to someone else getting X+ mpg with their car.

a

 

Good for you - on road trips through the Swiss f-ing alps with the AC on? No?

a

 

Consistently in the mid 29's is almost 30. Sometimes 29.2, sometimes 29.8.
That's with a V6 with an auto. It's entirely believable to get 35 with an
i4 manual.

Yes, it does mean jack when comparing the 2 cause almost 30 on the car that
is known to consistently get worse mileage means better mileage is to be
expected form the other one.

 

Well, I happen to work for EY. Maybe someone can lend me theirs and I'll
test the i4/manual for a month on my 75 mile each way commute.

 

I'll let you drive you mine - I've got an 02 with the F23A1 engine. I've
got just under 50,000km on it (30,860mi).

Next time you're near Halifax, NS, Canada (eh!) I'll gladly lend you my car.

a

 

Sure it does. If an 01 V6 automatic trans car gets 30, it's well within
his realm of believability that a 4 cylinder manual trans car gets 35 in
the same circumstances.

 

It happened. Get over it.

Why does it bother you that this happened?

 

No, I stopped after the mountains to get gas. I routinely check my
mileage every time. I saw 35...and decided that I really should make
double sure to check on the way back, to see if that was a fluke or not.

And it happened on the way back, too.

Your mother didn't breast feed you or something.

 

"realm of believability" ?? You serious? Either it *does* or it *doesn't*.
Believability has nothing to do with it. But FWIW, I don't believe it.

a