MarkC

Thanks for all your support and words of condolence. I will keep my eyes peeled to see if it turns up again because the rest of the car was great. I am afraid that I can't make this particular meet because I look after 65 teenagers and its a 7 day a week job in term time. If one of the meetings falls in a holiday I will certainly try to attend.

Hi, sadly the trader who supplied my 2.0l manual with the full Honda history wasn't prepared to pay for the fuel tank repair so has had it collected it and is giving me a refund. It was going to be about 5 hours labour plus a refurbished tank. I had located the leak myself but I ended up taking it to a garage who confirmed the location (on the seam of the tank where there is a plastic fitting to hold the fuel pipes). Amazing support from all of you on the forum and many thanks. It will be a couple of months before I'm next on holiday and I will start looking again.

Thanks for the wise words Stu. The fuel pipes were replaced 2000 miles ago and I will have to have a closer look to see if there is an obvious leak. I will get it on my axle stands tomorrow and investigate and thanks for letting me know where to look. A dodgy pipe connection does sound more likely than a leaking tank. I had no idea they were plastic coated. It is reassuring to know you have a leak free tank available for purchase should I need one. Having access to such excellent advice via this forum was a deciding factor in purchasing one of these great cars!

Thanks for letting me know about Lings and the part numbers which could save some embarrassment. The dealer has explained that she would be happy to give me a full refund if the repair costs look too high. I hope they are not because I really like the car and don't want to spend a day travelling to return it or pay £260 for somebody else to do so! I will update this thread when I know the outcome.

Hi Everyone, Thanks for the many words of advice and I thought you would all be interested in an update. I have bought a 2.0ES manual (for £1450) and can picture the groans of those of you who did your very best to persuade me that the 3l auto is the better model (I wouldn't rule out getting one of those too in the future I am so impressed with the 2.0l version) . The reason for going for the 2l was the fact that it had been owned by the same retired couple for 14 years and every single service from new was at the same Honda Main dealer (15 in total over 78k miles). The body is totally unblemished and even the alloy wheels look new. I have the stamped service book and also the service printout of all the work done since day 1 and there were some hefty recent bills (£770, £695, £641, £875) for services, exhaust, brake pipes, fuel pipes etc). It drove really well on the 180 mile journey back home and feels amazingly well put together. There is a tiny (1cm square) tear on the driver's seat bolster but I knew to expect this. One frustrating and quite serious fault has come to light today and that is a fuel leak (either from the rusty fuel tank or possibly the connection to one of the new pipes). It was on the fuel warning light when I bought it and having filled it to the brim for the journey home I suspect it is leaking from the seam on the full tank). I don't blame the trader because this problem wouldn't be noticed with an empty tank. I have discussed this with the trader I bought it from and she is happy for me to take it to my local garage and between us I am sure we will be able to share the cost (I am happy to contribute something because it would be expensive taking it back to her and hopefully I will end up with another new part). The new Consumer Rights Act (which came into effect on the 1st October 2015) would entitle me to return the car due to it not being fit for purpose but I would rather get it fixed. I only recently discovered this new Act (via Autocar magazine) and it is well worth reading about it if any purchases are made via a dealer. I just wondered if anybody had suffered anything similar and if original fuel tanks are still available (there is a honda part number pfkl2052838 at a cost of £672.44 as per the Lings Honda website) or if there are any cheaper pattern parts suppliers anyone has used.

Thanks for all the advice Geoff, just spotted another nice 2.0l manual coupe on autotrader with a full Honda History. A similar 3l auto would be more appealing but I don't know if there are likely to be many of these coming up for sale. It may pay to be patient!

Thanks for the sound advice and the suggestion to look at the 3l coupe for sale. I've asked the garage to get back to me with some more information if they have it (old MOTS, number of owners, any service history, cam belt change etc). The MOT check indicates it has barely done any miles recently: 77k in May 12 to 87K in May 15. They are at work tomorrow and sent an email saying that they will get back to me. I tend to favour higher mileage but well serviced cars than lower mileage barely used ones but am open minded and it will be good to have a look at see which one is best. Just spotted an R reg Red Coupe in Marlborough where I live but they are certainly rare and I can't remember seeing one around here before.

I must admit that the V6 does appeal and I do prefer autos. It is good to know that some decent ones do turn up and I will keep a look out for them. I am still hoping to find the time to look at the 2l advertised because it will be helpful to compare to the 3l versions. It is clear from the other members that they are quite different. Many thanks for your advice.?

Hi, Spent the evening having a good look at the site and have been very impressed by the welcome I received yesterday and the advice. I am hoping to look at the car detailed below after the Xmas break and would be interested to hear any thoughts about it. Has anyone else viewed it? The garage said they had resprayed the bumper. The doors look a slightly different colour to the body but this may just be the reflection of the light in the photo. I would prefer a 3l but suspect it will be difficult finding a really good one and tend to believe in buying the best condition car available rather than going for a particular spec.Have looked it up on the mot check site (never knew this existed and what a helpful tool to check vehicles out). thanks, http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201512119389515?radius=1501&sort=atcustom&search-target=usedcars&page=1&postcode=sn81nn&model=accord&make=honda&keywords=Coupe&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&logcode=p

Many thanks for all the really helpful information which is much appreciated. The challenge will now be finding one that has been well looked after!

hi, i am interested in purchasing a coupe and wondered which model to go for, 2l or 3l, manual or auto? I won't do too many miles so mpg isn't a particular issue but I would like the most reliable model. Is there anything else to particularly look out for (rust in particular areas etc). Are parts still available from Main dealers? There's a one owner, fsh 2l manual on autotrader at the moment for £1500, does that sound reasonable? Many thanks for any help anyone can provide.