I'm planning on buying my wife a 7th gen accord sedan. I'm wondering what trim/ motor/ options you would get for your girl. It will have to be an automatic and I'll be driving it occassionally and might eventually do some minor bolt-ons for a little more pep.

Things that I'm looking for opinions on:

1. Difference between lx and ex.

2. Reliablity/ cost to maintain the V6 vs the K24.

3. Is the Honda Certified deal really worth the extra cash?

I'm looking to keep the car for a long time and was wondering if any of the 7th gen owners can offer any USEFUL advice as I pick out the right one. Maybe some things that you wish you would have done when purchasing.

Thanks H-T for the quick replies!

 

My parents have a 7th gen. SE 5spd, I've driven it a few times and I love it! I actually have not driven a 7th gen. auto, but I know the K24 is a good motor. The V6 is also a great car, I drove an auto v6 once, plenty of power for a daily driver, and a comfortable ride. Either route you go, they are both great! However, with the v6, I do not know if Honda fixed the auto tranny problems in the v6, so check into that. As to the Honda Certified, it didn't really add much at all to the costs of my parents' 7th gen. I would say just test drive both, see which one you and your wife prefer more. Oh yeah, with LX and EX, just see if you really need the extra goodies of the EX, i dont think the EX has that much more than the LX, so it might just boil down to money and what you want. if it were me, id go with the EX, even though the SE we have is like the LX, the EX isnt too much more here and the extras are nice to have.

 

^ I think the V6 auto is out of the question now because of so many tranny problems that I found complaints of on Carcomplaints.com.

Is the the only difference between the lx and ex the rear drum, alloy wheels, and sunroof?

I'm thinking the best for what I'm looking for would be the ex k24.

More opinions please

 

If you hit the EXL over the EX you will get leather seats, heated seats, power drivers seat, heated mirrors, auto climate control, 6cd changer, different interior trim

 

A EX-L sedan automatic 4cyl would be a great choice for your wife.

1. the EX-L has many more creature comforts, such as navigation, leather seats and all the other stuff the guy above me posted. The EX has some of those, but leaves some out, and comes at a cheaper price.

2. The Honda Certified Deal, idk if thats the warranty thing, but I had the 3year/36k mile warranty and had a number of breakdowns that would cost you a 85 dollar "diagnostic fee" that the dealerships ding you with.

Also, it depends what kind of person your wife is, does she like a fast car, not mind? Creature comforts?

One thing to watch out for is the stock tires, I had the Michelin MX4 Plus on mine, and they were completely worn after 12k miles, and I didn't go peeling rubber or anything on my then automatic.

I have an LX, and the cloth seats are more comfortable than the leather ones I think, and less maintenance to take care of. I don't think there is much difference between maintaining the v6 as opposed to the k24, just the k24 being obviously easier with less cylinders yadi yadi yadi.

Any more questoins, feel free to ask.

 

Thanks for the replies!

I test drove an ex-l and it was nice. I haven't seen the ex-l with a k24 though. That sounds like the best deal- an Ex-l with the k24. I'm having a hard time finding any ex-ls let alone one with a 4 cyl.

What are some common problems I should look out for in this generation?

 

my wife is more into luxury than performance BTW

 

They do not come with nav. Nav is a 2K option. The only option on an EX-L besides auto tranny over manual.

 

For your wife, I would go with the 2007 EX-L. Like you said above, she cares more about luxury, like most woman do. Also, she will thank you for the 4 cylinder once gas prices come back up. As for the nav, I cannot justify the 2 grand extra for it. It is one of those options that is cool at first, but how often will she really use it? If she needs a navigation system that badly, you can always buy her a TomTom for $400. Plus, it doesn't really help the resale value in the long run. Finally, the 7th gen is in it's final year. If you can wait until year end(another 8 months), you can get a fantastic deal. '

If money is not an issue, a non-nav TSX is just a bit more than an Accord EX-L with nav. Although one drawback is premium fuel, it is, in my opinion, more sporty and sexier than the American Accord.

 

I would agree with him, the TSX is more MUCH more sexier than the accord and for not that much more. Although even though it has a faster motor, auto to auto, with similar mods, it isn't that much faster. (i raced an auto 05 with I/E vs my auto 04 accord with I/H/E/pulleys and beat it squarely from a roll and stop).

 

I can't afford a 2007 or a tsx. If a tsx was in my price range, I'd go for it but I'm looking to spend no more than 18,500. I'm seeing a lot of 03 accords with low miles for that. Navi is over rated. I might be going to look at some tomorrow and if the price is right and it's what I'm looking for, I might go for it. Thanks again for the replies.

 

I was gonna say that the 05's was the best 7th gen i've known (of the 03-05) with the least amount of bugs etc.

 

I think we're going to go cheaper and maybe look into the LX. We're trying to save up for a house and the lx is basically our down payment cheaper than the
ex-l v6. The monthly payments would be almost $100 cheaper. We might forget about the creature comforts until we both have full time salaries and a house.

Does anyone know if the drum brakes on the lx are that bad? They're just in the rear.

 

We have an 06 Accord LX with the 4banger, love the car. It's got enough power to zip around just fine, and still gets 30mpg on average. Safety wise, AFAIK, the LX vs. the EX - same difference. The LX is cheaper out the door and a touch cheaper on insurance...

LX 4 cylinder auto is my vote!

 

Its not the brakes, its the stock tires. I have summer performance tires and usually outstop the people behind me, but with the stock tires I was constantly slipping and my tires even locked up on a dry day at the tail end of my stock tires life (12k miles). I would seriously look into a better tire than the stock one...

 

Purchased a 2004 Accord LX auto sedan Dark gray with gray cloth interior. I like it a lot. It's clean and so smooth. Too bad it's my wife's. Thanks for the help honda-tech!

 

I have an 03 EX V6, and I love it. Plenty of power, and very nice interior. If you can find one for $18,500 I would jump on it (if it has low miles).

 

for 7th gen, the V6 has timing belt, I4 has timing chain. That's like $700 job waiting for you in a couple years. Probably not worth it if it's not gonna be hard driven.