drdavidge

Hey guys, my girl is in the market for a relatively cheap used car (wants to spend about $8k) and we basically came down to a 2003-2006 Accord Coupe or Sedan. We both like how the coupe looks better and know that 99% of the time there will be 2 or less people in the car, but she is not against the sedan if a good deal comes up. I wanted to know a few things:

1) Mileage.. how much is too much? We were seeing a lot with about 80-100k miles in that price range. Is that too much?
2) What common problems should we look out for?
3) Are there any major scheduled maintenance items that should happen that we should ensure were completed at some point in the past?
4) Any other suggestions for cars in that price range?

Any other tips or advice is completely welcomed. Thanks in advance.

RedHonda

I think the 2003 model tends to have transmission problems. I would recommend an 04-06

The Predator

I got my 04 V6 coupe about a month ago and I'm lovin it so far.
Don't know if that really helps ya out tho lol!

shwanC

iTrader: (3)

Both transmissions were recalled on the V6 models. The 5 speed autos would slip and overheat, the 6 speed manuals would pop out of gear. There seems to be a fix for the manual, not too much for the auto. Check out v6 performance.net. I was in the market for one of these as well last year.

Edit: Less problems overall with later models, btw.

drdavidge

The v6 transmissions were actually recalled? I didn't know that. Does that mean you can bring it in for a replacement at any time?

No need for a v6 (i4 would be fine) but seems a little hard to find what we are looking for.

What year should I be looking at then.. 2005+ ?

Jimjim

Hi,
i am new user and i can't start a new thread, so i write here. I have an opportunity to buy 2003 Honda Accord LX for $8,5K.
Car that i can buy is just like this one http://www.cartrucktrader.com/Ad/For...os-Angeles-CA/
RedHonda said, that 2003 model might have problems with transmission. My question is, if that problem happens after huge mileage? I am asking, becouse the Honda that i might buy has only 30 000 mileage, so the car is almost new.

johnnykash

its hit or miss with the trannys in the cars, but for the most part there really isnt any problems as long as you take care of them and dont **** pound them all the time.

bottom line, its a honda, if it breaks its gonna be relatively cheap to fix.

Jimjim

I bought the car for $7,2K. I'm so happy:D The transmission i hope will be ok. I was at service station, and everything looks fine
Thanks

GillisII

Guys, I have a 2003 Accord (4 cylinder and 5 speed). The problem I have is it will not shift in any gear without force. The clutch is very light and the travel is very short now. The Honda mechanic suggest replacing the transmission. This is my 3rd Honda ( 88 Civic, 00 Accord wife currently drives, and 03 Accord I drive)and I never had to replace a transmission on a Honda before. The car only has 130K miles on it! My 5 speed Civic had 220k miles on it before I sold it without any major repairs or replacements. Are we looking at Honda's answer to the troubled economy by increasing their revenues per quarter in the repair and business?

Kev2010

Other than very small transmission issues, they are very solid cars. Keep them maintained well, and you will go 150k+ easy/

flukeCD5

Gillis- Repair places all over are doing this.. Dealership service departments, while overseen by Honda, or any other manufacturer- are all independently owned franchises. So, just because a tech (or more often a service writer) wants to make money (they are both paid by the job, not the hour or salary) shouldn't reflect on Honda. It sounds to me more like a clutch issue, weather it be with the disc itself or the hydrolics involved with engaging the clutch. Eitherway, you should get a second opinion.

To the original poster- I have a 3003 accord V6 coupe w/6speed and 138k. Common problems Ive found are the power door lock actuators get weak in the coupes, and the brake discs warp easy, the best fix ive found so far is to just replace them with some sort of quality rotors. i went with EBC rotors and have been happy so far. I had an issue recently where the three bolts that hold the intermediate drive shaft fell out and my passenger side drive shaft slipped out, but i attribute that to the vibration caused by driving on the warped rotors for way to long. So yeah, so far its been great, other that those two problems.

D21X

03 Accord 4DR EX V6 136k miles. Flare/Slip between 2nd to 3rd gear. Bought with 50k miles and did transmission fluid drain/fill every 15k miles with OEM Honda ATF. Dealer and Honda refused to replace or help at discount. Quoted $4,500 to replace with rebuilt. Never buy a Honda with an auto tranny.

FYI the tranny on our 00 Accord 4 cylinder also went out at 100k miles, but was replaced under Honda's special extended warranty.

You should also see all the problems the Odyseey's, TL's are having with their V6 auto transmissions.

caideN

I know this post is over a month old but hey, why not...

I doubt my post is any help, but I like to say that I just bought a Salvage 2004 V6 Coupe 6 speed manual for $5,000. The car has 143,000 miles on it. The motor was replaced because previous owners found a good deal on a motor that has only 35k miles on it. It has original transmission that has never given him any problems. He had the car since 40k miles and it never gave him any transmission or engine problems. I guess he got lucky? Like every one would say.. it is a hit or miss. I also bought this car because he has ALL the records and I also went through carfax before purchasing. Hopefully it will run me another 150k miles then I'll consider it a $5000 well spent.

Good luck searching.

v8killaz

the manual transmissions almost never had a problem in my book
it was just the auto's. I dont know why honda sold them like that but those transmisions were all **** from like 97-04. they would have problems left and right and finding a transmission was near impossible for a reasonable price. id avoid those.

my prelude auto trans went had to get pone shipped from 2k miles away.
the v6 auto tranny went in the odyssey we had too we sold it with a bad trans though.

people say change the fluid every other oil change but i say dont buy them in the first place

drdavidge

I've just been looking for a 2003-2005 without the V6.. something at like 80k miles.

mr.speaker

My room mate has one and I do the maintenance , the only problems he's had is AC compressor went out twice and both power door lock actuators went out at different times. Besides that there has been absolutely no problems . 2003 Coupe V6/6spd

Rockstar21

not my 6 speed

i've heard of some of them popping out of gear.. mine is solid 77k miles later..

OP.. EITHER way get the manual... autos are boring regardless of reliability.

slydell619

I have an 03 Accord EX V6 automatic. Original owner. Had to get the transmission fixed at 132K. I think as long as you avoid the V6 models in that range (especially 2003), you should be fine. I did some checking on carcomplaints.com, 2003 was really bad for V6 transmissions.

beantowncoupe

I'm the original owner of an '04 Accord EX-L V6 coupe with 143k miles on it. (mostly highway miles) In the 6+ years that I've owned the car, I have followed the maintenance schedule provided in the owner's manual, changed the oil every 5,000 miles (I now use synthetic), and rotated the tires every 10k miles.

Because most of my driving was on the highway, I only needed to get the brakes done twice (approx every 65k miles). Knock on wood, there have only been two repairs needed. I had to replace the A/C compressor at 138k. That ran me about a grand at a local shop. The other thing happened around 100k when I needed to repair the Navigation unit in the trunk. My dealer gave me the 1-800 number for Alpine. For a flat fee of $158, Alpine replaced the CPU in the Nav unit and promptly returned it to me. One thing that kind of annoys me about the car is that the bulbs under the switches for the seat warmers no longer work. I suppose that I can easily fix them... but figure it isn't worth the hassle.

Overall, I have been VERY happy with the performance and reliability of this car. When I bought it, I also looked into the Acura TSX (only available as a 4-cylinder at the time), the Acura TL, and a used BMW 330xi. I consider myself a "value" consumer and as far as value-for-money goes the Accord v6 cannot be beat. When you consider that the Accord uses regular gas and the others use premium, the value goes even further. I normally get about 30/20 hwy/city mpg.

My wife drives an '07 Accord LX coupe (i4). After only 35,000 miles the battery completely died. She was able to pick hers up brand new for about $11k less than I paid for my top-of-the-line Accord just as the '08 models were coming in. Also a good value for the money, but I don't like driving it on the highway. She gets 31/25 hwy/city mpg.

hatchy69

iTrader: (2)

I own a 2003 Honda Accord LX (auto trans), Im the 2nd owner. I purchased the car with 76k miles and now has about 81,500. I know it hasnt been long but so far the trans is holding up fine. I havent serviced the trans yet but in a week or 2 im going to the Honda Dealership to have it serviced. In September when i went to get an oil change and tire rotation at the dealership they did recommend to change/flush the trans fluid today or on your next visit.

As far as reliablitly the car is fine, No problems so far. Good on gas, rides pretty smooth and has enough power if you feel you want to do some spirited driving. All around good cars in my opinion.

Creepsjr

I put 35,000km on my 2003 V6, 6-speed manual coupe, and i only had one complaint regarding that car. It hauled too much a**.

recto

V6 transmissions always had weird problems.

hobieslug

when honda had problems with trannys was starting in 2001 or 2 they didn't have the honda fluid at that time , mobil made there fluid . now they have a high friction modifier type fluid . I would do one tranny change (about 3 qts.) every second engine oil change

hobieslug

forgot to mention that a do it yourself tranny change is easier than an engine oil change

kimbapboy

Old thread, but I am in the same situation as drdavidge currently. Just wanted to say thanks to all the members with the excellent information.