Tires for new 2004 Accord EX 4 Cyl

Hi folks,

I am in negotiations with several dealers to buy myself a nice new 4
cylinder Accord EX. Was wondering if there are "issues" with the
stock tires on these cars? If so I would make upgrading part of the
deal; which tires would you recommend as replacements?

Thanks,
Sara

 

Stick with the stocks.




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At my dealer, the 4 door comes with Michelin and they're slightly hard
riding (for the handling you get) and are used to increase gas
mileage. The coupe comes with Bridgestone and has a little better
handling. You might talk the dealer into switching for one or the
other since they're the same size I believe.

JM

 

Retard had no oxygen at birth

 

I am in negotiations with several dealers to buy myself a nice new 4

I have the same car... with stock Michelins. I have NO complaints
whatsoever, though I live in a dry, warm climate and don't get to experience
driving in snow or frequent wet-road conditions.

 

It depends where you live. If you live in an area that doesn't get much
snow, then the stock tires are probably fine, unless you are looking for
"performance" tires that handle better at the limits. Do you know what
model the car in question comes with? I would also consider asking for
other upgrades for the car, and can give some ideas if you want.

But if you live where you get more snow, or frequent trips to the mountains
like I do, then you might want better tires. There are two options I would
consider. One would be a better all-season tire with real traction on snow
and ice, like the Nokian WR. The other would be to ask for a dedicated of
winter tires, mounted on steel wheels and with hubcaps. This is what I use
for winters around here. Since the dealers are often upgrading the low-end
models to nicer looking aftermarket wheels, they always have extra steel
wheels around for cheap. These are great for a set of winter tires.

 

I am looking at the same car as well.

One thing I noticed, that compared to all the other cars in this category
(Altima, Mzada 6), the EX is really quiet and still handles as well as the
others.

I think the tires must contribute to this.

Let me know the kind of deal you get. I am still haggling on price.

 

I very much like the idea of asking for a set of snows on steel
wheels! I don't get a lot where I live, but frequently travel to the
Pittsburgh PA area, where they get "some weather."

Since I am currently in negotiations, I'd love to hear your other
ideas too.

Sara

 

I'm still haggling on price too, pitting 3 dealers against each other.

Am still kind of torn between a Subaru Forester and the Accord (yes, I
know, very different vehicles!) If I can get all my junk into the
Accord I will probably get it, since the all-wheel drive is "nice to
have" but not "must have." Also, I am replacing my 1987 Accord and I
figure my 17 years of relatively trouble free driving is a good reason
to stay loyal.

Anyway, the reason I mention it is, just this morning I was at the
Subie dealer and followed a hint I had read on some car-buyer hints
website. I printed out the invoice/msrp/"true market value"
information from Edmunds.com and stuck it in a manila folder. Took
the folder with me for the chat after the test drive, and made sure
they knew what was in it. This dealer's opening bid on the Subie
wound up to be $250 below invoice and they indicated that there was
some wiggle room there if I found a better deal. I think the fact
that they knew I could look up invoice prices while I was sitting
there dealing with them made them treat me a little better.

And of course I went thru their internet manager.

Sara

 

If you have a better price than the CarsDirect.com price, then you are
doing pretty good.

 

I did a deal on a LX-G with a factory installed SE package that includes fog
lights, aluminum wheels and 6-pack cd changer and they threw the steel
wheels in on the deal... what would the dealer want with a bunch of steel
wheels?

 

(Sara) wrote in

I don't envy your decision! For me it would be hard to decide between
the Accord and a Forester XT. The XT has a lot of power and is quite
nice. But I don't have a long relationship with the Subaru dealers in
town and would always be wondering how they are going to treat me for
service. As for the Honda, I've been dealing with the same Honda service
dept since 1995, and they've always treated me well. Any complaints
about their service I've been able to work out with them. They are the
best auto service people I've _ever_ dealth with. And the Accord has
never given me any real problems. For some people, car problems are no
big deal, but for me, I place a very high priority on getting where I
want without unexpected car issues. I get all the scheduled maintenance
done as required so as to avoid any "surprise" problems. So having a
very reliable car and a service dept that doesn't try to take advantage
of their customers has been great for me, even if the Accord isn't a
terribly exciting car.


Now as far as items to ask for as part of a new purchase. To some degree
it depends what items the car comes with, and what it does not. Two
years ago I bought a BMW M3 and here are some of the things that were on
my list of "freebies" to negotiate from the dealer.

- Floormats. Now every car usually comes with floor mats but in this
case I wanted the fancy ones with the M3 logo. Honda may also offer
better quality floor mats or rubber ones for winter.

- Audio accessories. At the time, I wanted a trunk-mounted CD player. I
suppose these days most people want a stereo that plays MP3s but I don't
think Honda offers this yet.

- Security. At the time I got my Honda, keyless entry and alarm were
extras. I was able to get them to throw in the cost of a security system
but in retrospect I wished I'd asked for the Honda keyless system and
alarm.

- Paint / polish / Scotchguard Basically they will try to sell you some
paint protection which amounts to a good quality sealer / polymer wax.
And they will offer to protect the upholstery with something like
ScotchGuard. I wouldn't pay for any of it. They make a fortune off it
and the only cost to them is really labour.

- Paint protection film, Clear Bra, 3M ScotchCal, Avery, StoneGuard.
There are a lot of names for this product. Basically it amounts to a
thin plastic film that is applied over areas of paint that are prone to
chips. Many people get the hood and front bumper and fronts of the side
mirrors done. On the M3 I had the hood, headlights, foogs, bumper,
fenders, rocker panels, and rear fender wells done. Basically anything
that was prone to stone chips was covered with this plastic film so it
wouldn't chip.

Now some places are good at installing this film, some aren't. Some use
pre-cut films that are made for each particular car, while others cut the
film to fit by hand. Some dealers do it themselves while others pay a
3rd party to do it for them. I had mine done at a 3M dealer that did
quite a good job, much better than the job the BMW dealer did on their
cars. It cost me more too but it was worth it. My cost was still only
1/4 as much as what a lot of people were paying in for the same coverage
on the same car in other places, so I was happy.

- Light and Hood protectoion - you can either get vinyl car bras or lexan
plastic covers for the headlights and front of the hood. The lexan ones
don't really require any maintenance. Vinyl car bras will collect dirt
in them that scratches the paint, so they need to be cleaned and changed
every week if you want to avoid the scratching they can cause. That's
why I like the clear film instead, it's very low maintenance in
comparison, and looks the best to me. You just wash it and wax it along
with the rest of the car. Unfortunately it's probably the most expensive
option but some places are cheaper than others.

- Window Tinting, particularly if you have a car with a dark paint and
interior and will be leaving the car in the sun a lot.

- Extra Oil. Typically not a concern for Hondas but for an M3 they tend
to use up oil during the break-in period and it costs $20/litre so I had
the dealer give me two bottles.

- Car care / accessories such as a net or storage bag for the trunk,
tiedowns, flash lights, compressor, emergency kits, booster cables, tire
pressure guage, factory roof racks, wax, polish, leather cleaner, windo
cleaner, windshield fluid, etc. The honda parts dept will have much of
this on display so you might want to make a list of the basics you want
if you like any of it. They should be willing to give you a significant
discount if not for free on these items, they have huge markups.

- Service vouchers. Some dealers will include the cost of all future oil
changes in the car. Now for some car makers, this is done by default on
all new cars they sell, but for others, it's strictly up to the dealer.
In my case, Honda charges for all oil changes, but the dealer offers to
pay for all oil changes for 5 years if you stick to using them for
service. I had my oil/filter changed every 6000 km (the extreme service
recommended inverfal) for free for the first 5 years. I thought that was
decent.

- Tires / wheels - already mentioned that previously.

- Extended Warranty. They will try to sell you a Honda or Dealer
extended warranty sooner or later. It's basically insurance they hope
they never have to pay out. But if it's worth something to you, you
might get them to throw it in at no cost or lower cost. Again, it's an
item they make a lot of profit on, just as with the paint and upholstery
protection.

Hope this helps and best of luck on your decision.

 

I test drove the Forester Turbo before buying the Accord and can say the
baby-ute is FAST! ... but I did find that the Forester sounded tinny ...
you could hear every stone hitting the wheel-wells. The Accord was much
more refined.

 

I agree. It seems like the sheet metal contsruction on Subarus is much
lighter than on Hondas. Even the doors feel like they are half the weight.
Hondas seem to feel more solid / heavier in comparison.

 

Wonder why they put V rated tires on a 4 cylinder car?


Gary

 

to sell to the suckers that bend a steel wheel on a pothole or curb. im sure
they charge quite a bit for a brand new unused OEM steel wheel with OEM
tire. they list for $66.00 each, not counting the hubcap or tire.

 

Great ideas! Am especially interested in the paint protection film
since I hear that the paint on all cars these days is not as durable.
My '87 Accord's paint is certainly not flawless at this point in its
life, but it's darn good considering its age. Will look thru the
accessories brochure I got at the dealership and make out a "wish
list" also. Like the old phrase goes, if you don't ask, the answer is
always "no."

It would be a lot of fun deciding between an Accord V6 and a Forester
XT! Since I want to keep the out-the-door price in the low to mid
$20's, I'm looking at a 4 cyl Accord EX vs. a Forester XS.

Accord advantages:
- gas mileage
- more upscale appearance
- impressive results on those recent IIHS tests where they slammed the
equivalent of a SUV into the side (this was done on a model with the
curtain air bags)

Forester advantages:
- cargo room; I'm used to getting lots of stuff in my Accord hatchback
- all wheel drive with limited slip differential
- local Subie dealer more straightforward than local Honda dealer,
which could make a difference if warranty issues arise

Thanks so much for this discussion. I've gotten some great ideas to
use in my negotiations.

Sara

 

(Sara) wrote in

I love my 95 Accord wagon. I wish they still sold the wagons here in
North America, the new one looks great to me. It's like your hatch...
great for loading stuff in. I guess Honda North America figures we
should be buying minivans instead. No thanks!

I often wish I had AWD, but with proper snow tires my Accord does quite
well. I've used Yokohama GuardX 600s for 6 seasons, and I've had some
Nokian Hakka Qs for 2 seasons. Both have great traction, but the Nokains
handle better. Because I go into the mountains I also carry tire chains.
I've been able to go where guys in their AWD SUVs couldn't go, because I
had chains, they were on all-seasons. The main problem in deep snow
isn't traction. Its that there isn't enough clearance and the car gets
wedged up on to the snow. That's another nice thing about the Subarus,
they tend to have a little more clearance than your average sedan.

The paint on my 95 has held up well. I only had my 2002 BMW M3 for about
2 years and the paint was chipping more than on the Accord. It seems like
the new "environmentaly friendly" water based paint process isn't quite
as reliable as the older petroleum solvent based process. The protective
films from 3M, Avery, etc are great in preventing chips. The main thing
is the skill / experience of the installer, and taking the time to do the
job right.

The quality of the service department is a big factor for me. It's nice
to know that when you have to take you're vehicle in that they're going
to get the job done right, and if it isn't, that they'll work with you to
get things done to your satisfaction. The difference between my Honda
service dept and my BMW service dept was like night and day. That alone
might sway my decision between two dealers or makes of car.

A friend of mine found himself in a similar situation. He has an Acura
3.2CL and was getting bored with it. He was excited about getting an
Infinity G35 to replace it, but all the dealers in town really couldn't
be bothered to negotiate at all on price or extras. Meanwhile, his Acura
dealer and service department are going out of their way to sell him a
new car, and covered repairs on his existing car even though it was past
the warranty, no questions asked. So he's given up on getting a G35 and
will probably get another Acura. If he lived closer to a good Infinity
dealer he'd be driving a G35 already.

Best of luck on the new car.