I found a '96 accord with 75,000 miles and in excellent shape, clean record, one older woman owned it and service 3,000 miles on the dot! Are there any glitches I should be aware of for that model? I can talk him down into the high $4's, any thoughts? Thanks in advance guys!

 

Nothing bad about this model accords! They are pretty reliable. Only thing i hate is that they have trap rotors in the front.

 

no complaints..myne has 220k miles and still runs like a champ

 

Good call on the rotors, I forgot all about that. I'll have them do the work or take it off the price.

 

only big issues that may come to pass with the CD chassis are the power window motors. I hear when these fail, are a slight bitch to replace.

 

my driver side window motor was dying on me, bought a used one for $30, and replaced it with no problems

 

The problems i had with my 5th gen accord is...

Driver power windows gone bad.
Oil pan leak (very common among 5th gen) from around the gasket area
CV boot tear (u shouldn't have a problem with that low mileage)
Tranny failure (i think lack of maintenance. and abuse; hear for any noise when you're driving when the engine is cold, whinning, high pitch due to torque convertor failure) other than that, it's a solid performing tranny. Lots of praises
Radiator leaked near the top

For that low mileage, i think you should be fine. The oil leak might help you lower the price. Ask for timing belt.

 

my friend has the same accord and his power windows also went out

 

The only problems I had with my 5th gen before I took it of the road was 1. The EGR system getting plugged up. There is a simple solution to that problem. I believe that there is a TSB for the 5th gen and I know there is a DIY on how to clean them. 2. Rust in one of the rear wheel wells, that leaked water into my trunk and back seat. This is a common problem if you live in the rust belt and do not undercoat your car...

As for all this other little stuff that everyone is talking about. It's the same with any car. Proper maintenance will help 90% of it from happening. My window motors are just like the day they came off the line. My car was dealer maintained as I am assuming thsi one probably is as well. The dealer maintenance included always cleaning and greasing the window tracks. Then they used a silicon spray on all the window seals. This is what keeps a healthy motor. If the tracks are never cleaned the window motor has to fight all the dirt and finally burns out.....

As for the transmission, I have never really herd of any consistent problems with the 5th gen A/T or M/T. Again it all comes down to how it was treated.

 

Also the speed sensors go out on a lot of them or the whole cluster goes bad.

 

Thanks so much guys, I'm gonna list all this before I go in to haggle...GUNS BLAZIN'. The only comment here that bothered me was about the gasket leak, this car wasn't beat on in any way so I don't think I have much to worry about *fingers crossed*

 

Hmm, I now just remember driving the car and this question popped into my head. Sitting at idle at a red light I noticed the car seemed a bit, um, scruffy. Nothing bad, just seemed as if it really wanted to move. My mother had a '95 civic and I think I remember it doing the same thing. Is that common for that gen?