tradernik

Hi guys

I'm a Honda guy, have been for years. If anyone thinks what follows is some kind of bogus Honda bash, nothing could be further from the truth. My Mom and Dad drive one on my reco.

Time for a new car, I have a bit more $$, so looking at an upgrade from Civic to Accord. I decided to do a bit of a search for info and reviews on the 7th Gen Accords. What a surprise.

How should I interpet all the info at sites like Edmnds.com, CanadianDriver.com, Yahoo Autos, ConsumersReports.com etc etc about the issues with these cars. Believe me, I never thought I would hear the phrases 'build quality issues' and 'Honda Accord' in the same sentence.

The kicker for me was when I went out and got Phil Edmonston's Lemon Aid Buyer's Guide, which is my Bible and which is the book that initially convinced me to go with Honda. In it, he also downgrades the Accord. In his words

"The 2003 redesign has contributed to a serious decline in quality through the 2005 model year...Up to 268 safety-related complaints have been registered by the NHTSA".

Now... this is from this years Used Car Lemon Aid guide, but I checked the 2007 New Car guide and the same comments were included. How much has Honda done to address these issues in the '06 - '07 model? My guess would be not much, because they must have been working hard on the 8th Gen coming out this year ('08 model year).

What is my point here? This is a huge purchase for me and I need to have an idea if I will be facing brake issues (warped rotors and bad calipers), AC condenser punctures, rattles and squeaks in the first 3-6 months, sub-standard paint and clearcoat, bad smells from AC units, etc. etc.

Another huge issue for me - I have never bought from a Honda dealer, always bought privately. Is it like pulling teeth to get them to give you the time of day after you walk out the door? Certainly the sales teams at Honda dealerships have been a little slimey. Hard to believe the BS they have shot at me in the past week of shopping around. Maybe all new car dealers are like these guys, I don't know. Also, I asked two of the service guys whether the auto tranny that gave problems in the '03 and '04 models, the one that was the subject of the huge recall and needed the oiljet retrofit, was replaced in later years. They both said 'yes, absolutely, it is a different tranny'. Turns out that was a blatant lie - the same tranny with the same oiljet retrofit to keep second gear cool is on the '07 autos.

I know - I'm buying the manual. But Honda's approach to the problem seems relevant to me. What can I expect in terms of Honda's willingness to deal with issues that result from inital quality problems?

I know I will probably get flamed for this as you guys are Accord lovers. I am ready for it. The thing is... I am too!! I just need to know where I stand before sinking $28K into this car.

I drove the Camry and the Altima after finding out about all of this. In my mind, the don't compare, strictly in terms of driving experience. Sure the Altima has more hp, but it is set up all wrong for a driver. Plus, I personally like the look of the Accord more than these two.

Anyhow, guys... I don't often need handholding but I registered here to ask this question. Typically I would not take the word of anonymous internet posters for much. It's just that these issues seem to be being talked about quite a bit. Any comments or criticisms will be welcomed. Hoep this is in the right forum.


Modified by tradernik at 11:45 AM 9/2/2007


Modified by tradernik at 11:46 AM 9/2/2007


Modified by tradernik at 11:46 AM 9/2/2007

cd555

For what its worth I think if you have decided on an Accord and it appeals to you, then by all means go that route. Sure the 7th gen Accord might have some build issues but then again most models do.

Ive owned two Accords in my lifetime and it has been a love hate relationship...love one hate the other. The one I love is the one I still have, an EX purchased used in 1999 at three years old with 47,000 miles. Its been a great car for the past 8 years and 120,000 miles. As where as the other Accord which was a 2000 LX purchased used in 2004 with 69,000 miles was more of a regret.

It was a nice car and maybe it could of just been drove harder for those 69k miles and my 96 was driven easy for its first 47k, but it just had its problems. The main two problems I had with it were the transmission and the electrical throughout the car. If it wouldn't have been for those pesky electrical gremlins I might have considered keeping it. I ended up trading the Accord in for a Tacoma, I didn't need another car and the Honda dealer wasn't making any deal worth while for the Odyssey I was looking at.

I would consider it to be build quality issues but unfortunately the 96 was built in Ohio as where as the 00 was built in Japan. I always thought that the better built cars would come from Japan, but now I don't always consider that the case.

I hope you have better luck at the Honda dealer than I did.

tradernik

Thanks for the comments. It's been tough to get a clear indication but the bottom line is what you said - most models have problems, and as well, there is always the possibility that a good design might show problems during a particular production run because of some temporarily 'alternately sourced' component or tweak in production technique.

I initially started looking for a 2005. In fact I have never purchased a new car - every car I ever owned was bought 18 - 24 months after its initial sell date. But in this case I was having problems finding the right '05 Accord and these issues also convinced me that it might be best to buy new, much as I am opposed to it.

Your comment about the Honda dealer represents my biggest fear, really. If the car has known issues and if the dealer is ready to stand by and immediately deal with them for any customer, then all is well. If the dealer is going to act like you're a nutbag when you show up with a problem, that is when things would get really irritating. Like I said, my impression of the dealers isn't great at this point.

Anyhow, thanks again... I'll stand by for any other comments.

07AV6

Honda dealers seem to be selling way under MSRP in my region for the 2007 model since the 2008 is on the way.

The Accord is well-balanced. Competitors beat it in some aspects, but it's hard to beat overall.

It's easy to find complaints on any vehicle. I lurked on Maxima, Camry, and Accord forums before purchasing and it's all the same.

I have a 2007 V6 sedan. One thing I've noticed is the rattles it has developed. I don't even have 1000 miles and I know of at least three separate panels that are rattling. This was somewhat disappointing since I didn't expect it from a Honda.

The paint doesn't seem to be too good, either. I have 2+ paint chips so far on the hood. No idea what even hit it. My truck was repainted in 2005 with decent paint and I had one chip develop over the 2-3 years I drove it. So, it's not like I'm driving on gravel or tailgating dump trucks.

Other than that, it's been fine.

tradernik

Yes, there's no doubt that this month is a good time to buy an Accord.

For me, the worst part about this is the feeling I get that the dealers are going to laugh at me the minute I show up with a problem. Over at Edmunds.com, there are just countless stories of people going in with defects and dealers saying 'that's normal' or 'it's the way you drive' or whatever. If I knew for sure that a dealer would go to bat for me, I would buy the car tomorrow, because you are 100% right - every car will have its issues. I have just got a really bad impression from the Honda sales guys, and then there was that issue about the trans question I asked of the service guys.

Ah well... I guess I have the information I need.

I should have started a thread asking which is a good Honda dealer in my area (Ontario, GTA, if anyone cares to respond).

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

H1gh0ct4n3

i drive an 06 4cyl MT coupe and i havnt had one problem yet. up to 20k miles and just been chainging oil and the little things... car runs like day one. Plus the k24 is a great engine man it really is set up nice with the MT.

tradernik

Hey

Well, it's all academic now.. pulled the trigger on an '07 SE 4 cyl MT yesterday. Thanks for the comments, guys - they helped. My decision to buy was based a lot on my discussions with a particular service manager here in Toronto. He is a guy I had taken my (bulletproof) '96 Civic to, and he was totally up front with me about the potential issues with the 7th Gen Accords (the ONLY service manager who was), and he assured me that, barring any evidence that I had been abusing the car, he would take care of anything that came up.

They cut me a good price and gave me some bonuses like free oil changes and trunk liner, so I decided what the hell. Now the only problem is finding one - they didn't have one on the lot so I had to give them my colour choices and now I have to wait.

Thanks again
Nik

Heat

Welcome to the forum!

The SE seems to be a nice car, my mom bought an '07 automatic SE (I have a '99 LX, 5-speed).

Unfortunately, you're going to find that 5-speeds are hard to find - it's quite possible that they aren't going to be able to locate one for you at the price you agreed upon. If not, shop around for the '08's I guess.

Reminds me of when I was looking for an '98 Accord, back in early October, '98. Even the automatics were hard to find at that time but I was dead-set on getting a munual (good thing too as it turned out, the automatic transmissions of '98, '99, and '00 turned out to be bad). Anyway, I was at one dealership and they didn't have what I was looking for but offered to get one from a different dealership. I said sure. They gave me a monthly payment, I asked what the price was - turned out that they were trying to sell me the car that they didn't even have at MSRP. I counteroffered with invoice (to the dollar) - it was kind of funny because the negotiations ended right there ("we're too far apart" they said). Anyway, went to a different dealer and they had a '99 with manual, that's what I ended up buying. $17,400 including floor mats and splash guards, the invoice was $16,800 if I remember right but without floormats or splash guards.

tradernik

Wow! I never seriously condsiered the possibility that they wouldn't find one! Thing is, I was trying different dealerships and I know where a few of them are physically located. However, the salesman I went with told me that certain dealerships don't trade with each other or won't supply cars to each other. The dealers that I know for sure have one are also downtown dealerships, obviously in fierce competition, so maybe they won't agree to ship one over.

Damn... here's hoping I get some good news in the next few days, but thanks for pointing out the possibility.

I would look at the '08 but of course since this is the first year (first month!) of the new 8th Gen, I am not going to be able to bargain on one. I'll have to see if it's within my budget range.