andybisnut

Hi everyone,

Let me preface this by saying I've never owned a Honda before (unless you count my lawnmower). I've always liked them though and am strongly considering getting one. Recently we went down to one car to save money, but it's driving me nuts not having my own set of wheels. So, I'm trying to pick up a second car on the cheap ($2-$3K). My requirements are: good gas mileage (30+ highway), roomy enough for a couple car seats, and reliability (relatively speaking for this price range).

On a local auction site, I've found a 2004 Accord EX, 5-speed manual, 2.4L. The photos of the car look good and the interior looks fine. The catch is it has 187,000 miles on it. The current price is at $2100 and appears to be holding steady. My question is: would this be a good car to buy for the price? I hear of Hondas getting to 300K miles with ease. The auction ends 3/6 so I've got a couple days left to decide. I'm thinking I wouldn't go over $3K bidding on this car.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Jspectyper

I have a 03 LX sedan with 241,000 miles and it runs like it was new. The key is maintenance and who has owned the car before you. The only thing mine has had unplanned is fuel pump at around 210,000.

andybisnut

I am going to look up the carfax tomorrow. Hopefully some of the maintenance records will show up there. I feel like if I can get the car for less than $3K, it will be a steal. I think I'm gonna go for it, unless someone here feels strongly otherwise.

coolwhiptx

If the maintenance has been kept up I would say that's a good buy. Best of luck to you.

andybisnut

Thanks for the feedback. I'll let you know what happens.

motegicivic

One of the most important things besides oil changes, is the coolant changes, see if there are any records of it done. If you can see the car take off the radiator cap and take a look, sometimes if it is never done it will be brown or discolored.

Uncle Ben's

Go for it. In my wide and far searches for a used 7th gen accord, I've never seen one with a replaced engine or manual transmission, and I've seen them reach 250k miles. I just bought one with a little over 150k miles. Random little stuff like the glove box and sunvisors are worn out, but otherwise it's a very solid car, and runs/drives/shifts just like my 40k mile 2005 Accord did.

andybisnut

Thanks everyone. The car ended up going higher than I wanted to pay (almost $5K!), so I skipped it. Ended up getting an '03 TL in a different auction.

gwiffer

What auction site did you use?

Thepowderblue

thats low mileage for a honda.My 4th gen accord has over 284k on it and it still runs strong, i hot rod and red line it everywhere it everywhere, i mean i beat the **** out of that poor motor. I have swapped it for a h22 with in the last month but only because i wanted more power.