NemoDat

Hi all. I'm looking for advice on what to look for on two Gen 7 high mileage Accords I'm considering. I haven't looked at either yet, as I thought I'd try to get some pointers before inspecting. Here's some details on the two cars:

1. 2005 Honda Accord Sedan EX-L V6 AT5; second owner, 114k miles (182k km); automatic. Claims no problems with engine or transmission, and claims service records show all maintenance done on time. $8700. I'm Canadian, this was an import from Texas, current owner bought in 2007 and brought back to Canada in 2008.

2. 2005 Honda Accord EX-L, 4cyl MT with 250k km (156k miles). Dealer sale, asking $8995. I don't know yet the state of service records.

I am particularly interested in anything that can be done to evaluate auto transmissions in Gen 7s. I have looked at three AT Gen 7 Accords so far, and NONE had red/pink ATF -- all were brown. So in each case I walked away given the transmission issues (I was just told by a Honda mechanic yesterday right in the service department that the trans. problems are "starting to get better" with the 2005s). Am I right to walk away from ATF that is anything other than pink/red? I'm starting to think such a colour does not exist for Accords!

Any tips on what to watch out for are greatly appreciated.

EDIT: What about engine evaluations? Would a compression or leak-down test be a good idea with this kind of mileage?

Thanks.

GoLowDrew

There is more of a history with the V6 AT, so I would stay away from high mileage V6 cars IF you don't know the service records.

Without knowing, I would say with the stay with the I4.

You are doing the right thing by checking the AT. The reason why is brown is because Honda recommend it change like 90K miles. My AT has 50K miles, and I've done the change 2X already. So there are "good" examples out there. You will just have to find it.

The only thing I would add is to only do drain & fill. There's lots of discussions about how flushing loosen things up and make it worst.

With that said, I would not cross off a I4 that looks like it was well cared for even if the AT is brown. Change it yourself, and enjoy the "new" car.

NemoDat

OK, thanks. From what I understand - and unfortunately - it can't be said that if a v6 AT makes it past a certain mileage, it's in the clear. That's the most vexing part for me -the tranny could work flawlessly when I purchase the car, but start to go a week after I buy it -- no matter how much due diligence I do as a buyer.

hometheaterman

I'd look for a V6 with the 6speed. That way you get the best of both worlds. I love mine. I keep thinking I am going to upgrade, but I just haven't found anything else that fits my needs as well as that car that I actually enjoy driving as much as that car.

That said, while I the brown ATF is not a wonderful sign, if it's bright red, who knows what it looked like before and the owners may have just changed it since they were listing it for sale. That doesn't mean it hasn't been brown for the past 50k miles. I am not at all a fan of the 4cylinders in these Accords, but I don't think I'd get a V6 with the auto either, and if I had to pick, I think I'd go with the 4 cylinder over a 6 cylinder auto.

GoLowDrew

That's how the used car game goes.

My Uncle's Acura TL (V6 AT) ran like a champ for 250,000 miles before he sold it because he wanted a new car. Prior to that, it was a Legend with 200,000+ miles.

The TL is an Accord, so V6 AT can do well. As far as care, he could not tell you what and when maintanence was done on the car. Maybe he was just lucky, or a rare example.

On the flip side, I read where owners do all that they suppose to do, and the V6 AT goes bad at 70K miles.

NemoDat

OK, thanks for the replies. I checked out the AT V6 with 114k miles - a nice, tight car. No obvious problems and a very good paper trail. However, there is no record anywhere of an ATF change. The owner suspects this must have been done as he was very careful with all other aspects of service (all done by Honda dealers as the records show). Of course, the alternative is the ATF hasn't been changed in 114k miles...

So I thought I would post two pictures I took of the car's ATF fluid when I checked it, to see what people think (one picture also shows the motor oil for comparison). This is the closest to "pink/red" I have seen since I started looking for an Accord or Acura TL -- but I don't know if it's good enough.

Any comments much appreciated!

GoLowDrew

Yes, this would look good like it has been changed before (or more often). Like a reply above said, it would be hard to tell if it was done last month or not.

If there are good records to show that the car was well cared for, and the car drives fine, then it looks good. That's all you can conclude.

BLKFLSH

The owner's manual actually doesn't require a transmission fluid change until the 120k mile mark, but it's hard to believe a dealership didn't do a drain and fill before now. I certainly wouldn't turn the car down, based on what I see on the paper towel. How does the car operate? Any problems with how the engine, trans, or suspension operates on a thorough test drive, would be more important IMO. Did you check for leaks?

NemoDat

The car runs very well. I did about a 15 minute walk about, then a 20 minute city drive. Nothing caught my attention. Nothing out tail pipe, no shifting problems that I noticed, suspension is fine. I will likely do a highway test drive in the coming days. I have also said I want to test the car cold, as he drove for about 40 minutes before meeting me.

As for leak checks, do you have any specific suggestions? I've never had a V6 before, but I understand a rear main seal job is a big hassle. He drove the car to my area, so I wasn't able to check for stains underneath.

One other thing. I'm probably being overly-cautious/paranoid, but the seller had the TCS turned off (so TCS dash light was on). I read a post here from a V6 AT driver that when his tranny went, the TCS light went on. Any reason to think the seller could be masking a transmission problem by having TCS turned off? Once I turned the TCS back on, the TCS light stayed off, but I didn't drive it for very long. Probably nothing but as you might have guessed, I'm a details guy!

As always, all input much appreciated.