Stevo F

I saw a 1996 Accord EX at a used car lot for $3,800. Looks in good physical shape other than a dent in the rear door. Supposedly has only 78K miles- VTEC 2.2 liter 4 cyl & automatic. How well dors this generation hold up and is this a car that I shoudl be able to drive for a few more years on my 80 mile round trip commute. I haven't spent the money on running a Carfax on it yet.

In comparison my son just acquired my sisters 2001 Accord LX (4 cylinder, automatic)- already on 2nd transmission. Is it true the 1997 and earlier Accords did not have the same auto transmission issues as the next two generations did? I love the 2001 (but my son won't part with it in exchange for something else), so I'm wondering how this '96 would compare to his 2001?

djkurious

For $3,800, it should be in pristine condition with no dents.
The 90-97 accord transmissions are "tanks."

CD5B2

Well some say 94-97 trannies are crap, some say they aren't. I have a 97 lx and it's held up pretty well, pretty reliable car. They are definitely better then the next generations. Basically when I check an accord for someone, all I do is check spark plug boots for oil, the oil itself, color of transmission fluid, radiator fluid color, bounce test, look underneath, test the a/c and other controls, make sure there's no CEL (check engine light) and take it for a test drive. Personally I wouldn't bother buying a car from a lot, that's asking for trouble down the road. I wouldn't pay more then 2500 for it, low ball the greasy bastard.

chrisnick

I've found it pretty common that people neglect the cooling system, suspension, bushings, and mounts in these cars bad. 90% of the time, the valvecover is leaking, the EGR ports are clogged, and the trans fluid hasn't been changed. These cars hold up VERY well, but they still need regular maintenance, just like everything else. When doing the trans fluid, DO NOT FLUSH IT; the Honda FSM states that it needs about 4-5 drain and fills to get all the old transmission fluid out of the transmission and torque convertor. Stick with OEM Honda parts when doing repairs, you'll save yourself a ton of time and money down the road. Replacing brake rotors suck on these, unless a rotor over hub conversion is done. Do yourself a favor and look through the FAQ listed at the top of this subforum.

At that price, it should be, as described earlier, pristine. Mine is VERY clean, only needed/needs about $500 in parts, and I picked it up for $1500. Tons of the common issues can be fixed for nearly free, or very little money. The laziness of owner's car maintenance really torques me sometimes. Make sure that you have a Honda dealer look it over if you're not comfortable with the purchase, first. If the used car dealer won't let you do that, walk away, many of those used car lots buy crap piles, detail them up nice, do half *** repairs and con people into huge profits for the dealership. They probably paid $500 for that car at auction. I like buying from private owners that keep GOOD records. Take the vin # down, go to the local Honda dealership, and they can give you a history of when it was serviced by ANY honda dealer. The more it was serviced by a Honda dealer, the better, as they'll have records of everything.

The 90-97's are nearly faultless with good maintenance history. One of the perennial 'cockroach' cars.