Honda accord 2.0 2002 - reliable, comfy car?

squarehead94 · 1 Feb 2017 at 17:50

Hi all.
Found a local car on Facebook, looks to be a very tidy example of a Honda accord 2.0 executive petrol. 52 plate. Good history, 4 new bridge stone tyres, full leathers etc etc. Looks a lovely motor.

Wanting to go and have a look at it with the intention to buy, are there any main concerns with these or are they as reliable as Honda nuts would have you believe?

I know the price is a snip, but I'm looking for something to last a year at least, hopefully longer, with preferably only minimal work required (servicing, tyres or what have you)

Any speedy responses greatly welcomed!

radderfire · 1 Feb 2017 at 18:01

See:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/honda/accord-1998/

danlightbulb · 1 Feb 2017 at 18:45

Check rear arches for signs of rust. Edit - might not apply to your model not sure when the new model came out

kieranv · 1 Feb 2017 at 18:59

I had one the exact same year and model. It was fantastic, I bought it for £400 with the intention of running it for a year and scrapping it.

I ended up running it for a year and selling it for £400.

Nasher · 1 Feb 2017 at 19:10

danlightbulb said:
Check rear arches for signs of rust. Edit - might not apply to your model not sure when the new model came out

I think rust on arches is a thing on ANY car used regularly in the UK :/

Diddums · 1 Feb 2017 at 19:21

About as bullet proof as they come. I'm assuming it's a slushbox? They seem to be made of solid cast titanium. A Honda dealer in Saffrica had one on a plinth out on his forecourt which had done 1m kms, said it still ran sweet as a nut.

hugobosslives · 1 Feb 2017 at 20:49

Nasher said:
I think rust on arches is a thing on ANY car used regularly in the UK :/

Not always, not sure if VW nailed it but I've got a seat toledo (i.e. bora, golf mk4, leon, octavia, a3) its 2001 and 160k and no signs of rust arches. in fact the only slight rust is random bolts on the bottom of the engine bay

It spent 12 years living on the south coast, and the last 4 in the midlands always daily driven so had its fair share of sea and road salt

Howard · 2 Feb 2017 at 08:49

I had one of these. Quite a long time ago now! It was an MY2000 2.0 SE. It wasn't quite as well-specced as the Executive models that get you leather and climate control and such, but it was a nice enough car. Well built, nice to drive, and very reliable. They're all getting on a bit now but if any 'cheap old car' is going to be durable and reliable enough not to be annoying, it's gonna be one of these.

danlightbulb · 2 Feb 2017 at 09:23

Nasher said:
I think rust on arches is a thing on ANY car used regularly in the UK :/

Its a particular issue on gen 7 accords. Mine has it pretty bad. I think the op's car is a gen 6 though.

IAmATeaf · 2 Feb 2017 at 13:03

I used to have a 2.0 ES SSS before my current Accord.

When fully loaded it is a nice car and when I switched over to my current Accord realised how good the audio was in that car when compared to the crap in the Accord. Be warned if an auto then the economy is shocking. I had mine for 4 or 5 years and in that time I never had a single problem with it.

lemonade · 2 Feb 2017 at 15:34

I have one of that generation which i have been running as a daily for a decade, love the thing, nothing has gone wrong in the time of its own accord (no pun intended), just change the oil every year and do other bits when I feel it needs doing.

They are getting old as a result corrosion can be an issue, not on the body, but underneath, the body is solid and they do not suffer arch rust unless they are damaged, old Honda's used to commonly rust on the rear arches, but these problems were rectified.

So what you want to look out for is rust underneath on subframes, and near the firewall and footwell area where they do commonly rust out because of a design oversight with the scuttle drains. Water collects and rusts out and you end up with a big hole on the footwell area which can be awkward to repair and as a result expensive as the dashboard needs to be taken out.

There isn't any mechanical or electrical issues, they are rock solid cars and will just go on and on, just look out for dodgy ignition switch if the car cuts off it needs new ignition switch.

If you are going for an automatic make sure it changes gears smoothly, no slips or juddering, reverse works without odd noises etc, if it does any of that, walk away, you can't swap in a new box as they programmed specifically to use the gearbox they came with from factory.

They are great under-rated cars all round, reliable, comfy, beautifully made, well equipped and fun to drive with lovely revvy engines.

squarehead94 · 2 Feb 2017 at 19:30

Got it for £400 as it wants a set of discs and pads.
(Clutch is fine, had a few of the lads try it round the block and it's just me not used to a petrol clutch as ive had a lot of diesels)