As the title says, I am in the market for an older Honda and have found a 95 Accord EX for sale locally. It has 197,478 miles on it, V6, 2.7L. Seller is asking $2300 and has had the timing belt and water pump replaced in additional to regular maintenance. Seller says he has complete service history on paper. Link to ad here.

I am not very experienced with these cars but have been trying to learn and have done some research. From this I figured out I should avoid the 98's at all costs. What I need to know is what basic checks I should do when I look at the car this evening beyond standard used car inspection, what particular questions to ask when inquiring into the background of these cars and if there are any known issues with the 95's I should look out for like the transmission problems with 98's.

Thanks to anyone who can lend me some knowledge. Any input is appreciated.

 

Can't give much advice, but checking transmission is important. Check the fluid that it's full, fresh looking (light, translucent burgundy), doesn't smell burned. These transmissions are also kind of jerky when switching gears.

Also check the oil. Spark plug boots have a tendency to leak onto spark plugs. So make sure exhaust has little to no oil residue. When u floor it, look in the rear view mirror and see if ur throwing an oil cloud behind you, could be a sign of worn engine.

Also exhaust tends to rust, check the exuhast/cat heat shields.

The biggest thing in my opinion is to make sure the transmission, power steering have honda fluid in them.

 

Thank you, Digitalis. Very helpful information. I took some time to research these things and now feel much better equipped. I appreciate the input.

 

Sounds like a well maintained car. Check all the fluids especially engine, trans and antifreeze make sure nothing is mixing, check under the oil cap for any kind of milky residue make sure none of the fluids have a burnt smell, pull a spark plug wire check for oil, definitely check for any blue smoke means a worn engine possibly burning oil take off a bit fast and rev it high look for blue smoke I'd even sit at idle and almost max the rpms out for a few seconds just to check for blue smoke. Look for any defects mechanically. With 197k on it try to check out the maintenance records? I think if its a one or two owner car I'd do 1,750 for the car if it all checks out. Keep us updated on whether you buy it or not. You should post the link to it or give us pictures.

 

Thanks for the reply, Kevin. I put a link at the end of the first paragraph of the OP. It works for me but maybe there is some problem.

URL: 1995 Honda Accord | ksl.com

Everything under the hood looked pretty ok considering the miles and there was no blue smoke, though I didn't push it hard enough i think. There was black particulate in the moisture lingering in the exhaust, though. The engine oil and transmission looked fairly clear and did not smell burnt. I did not think to check the other items as I read your post, Kevin, after having seen the car. The majority of the underside of the car is very rusted along with a rust spot on the rear passenger-side door. The real dismay, though, set in once I began the test drive.

The steering was very unresponsive and sloppy feeling. The transmission hung really badly going from 2nd to 3rd and when I tried to punch it it took forever to engage and the engine would just rev. Once i got it up to speed entering the freeway there was an enormous roaring sound that overtook the cabin and rendered it impossible to hear the owner talking. It seemed to be coming from the driver side wheel well. He seemed to not be concerned by it in the slightest. Overall, the acceleration seemed sluggish and limited regardless of how hard I pressed the pedal. Maybe you guys can tell me if there is any hope for this car. I just don't have the experience to make a judgement and I don't really know what to expect at this price.

I must say I was severely disappointed after ignorantly expecting a gem of a car having been cared for religiously but of course, that type of owner probably wouldn't be selling. At this point I'm thinking the '98 i4 I test drove yesterday is a better choice. I am aware of the notorious transmission issues with those but it seemed to function so much better than this 95 in every way. That one is sitting at about 186,700 miles.

URL: 1998 Honda Accord | ksl.com

Any input you guys might have on this one would be deeply appreciated. The transmission on it hangs just slightly when shifting through gears while idle but performs rather well on the move. I'm glad to answer questions about it to help give an accurate picture of it's condition. Thanks.

 

If tranny has honda fluid and was changed every 30k miles, you are good to go. Some things you can do extend transmission life is to add an inline filter and just watch your transmission temperature so that it doesn't cook.