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Newbie looking to buy my first accord v6


will79

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Hi, it's my first time on here, and as per the title I'm looking at getting my first accord coupe. I've spotted one I really like, 74k with fsh and which appears in pretty good nick (granted I'm not particularly knowledgeable engine wise). The problem is it would mean getting rid of my 2004 civic which has never given me a hint of a problem, is great economically and has taken us on numerous trips including northern Sweden with no dramas. Obviously I know going from 1.6 to 3 litre is going to bump up mpg costs, but could you guys in the know advise of any other on going maintenance costs associated with looking after one of these beasts?the timing belt was done at 55k and from looking at other posts I understand there is a common problem with the transmission? Is this expensive to get fixed? Thanks for the help!

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Welcome to the club and chuffed your considering a V6 Accord coupe :D anyway a low mileage one is a good start but don't be put off a higher mileage one with a good history. Also your right to point out the transmission niggles but it only effected 2% of all them ever made but age and lax maintenance will see them fail like any other automatic :mellow: so preventative maintenance is key.

As you have read some topics already maintenance is pretty cheap an simple, I would recommend two oil changes a year depending on your annual mileage, air filter an spark plugs every 30k ish fuel filter every 50k. I'm sure you would like to give a good initial service including a freshen up of the gearbox oil once you buy one and thereafter your looking at £100 year if your using a good local garage supplying the parts yourself and this is providing to don't face age related surprises or future MOT woes, which are rare if I'm honest.

Hope this helps ;)

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Welcome aboard Will! Excellent choice of cars, both with the Civic and the Accord.

Keeping things real for a minute, when you buy the 3.0 V6, don't expect to get the sort of economy the others like Stu are getting straight off. It's a totally different animal to the Civic and you will need time to get accustomed to how best to drive it for the best economy and performance.

For example, if you drive it like you would the Civic, firstly you'll have a lot of fun and also a few "brown trouser moments" but you'll also likely pick up a speeding fine or three and a hefty fuel bill.

If you are more progressive with the loud pedal, gradually squeezing it down as it goes up through the box, not only will you get good economy but stunning performance too, and a very smooth ride. You'll also never be too much further down on the throttle than you'll need to be for any given speed and when you've reached the speed you want, ease up on the gas until it's just holding the speed. Might sound like i'm "teaching my grandmother to suck eggs", apologies if so but getting the best out of automatics, particularly big, powerful autos, takes a bit of re-learning how to do things.

 

One very useful tip given to me 30 years ago when i first had an auto, tuck your left leg under the seat! ;):D If you don't, you'll find out why when you have to do an emergency stop! :lol::lol::lol:

 

As for your question about members in the Norwich area, there is one that i can think of but can't remember what colour his car is and also not seen him on here for a while.

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Hi Laird, thanks for the tips, no sucking eggs don't worry, never to old to learn new driving techniques  and can imagine my driving style might have to become slightly more refrained. That's actually one of the (many) reasons I like the idea of the coupe, nice relaxed driving. This is the one I've been looking at if you want to let me know what you all reckon. My only concern is that it does seem a fair bit more expensive than the others I've seen for sale, even for dealer prices..http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201508206213198/sort/mileage/postcode/nr23rj/radius/1501/make/honda/model/accord/price-to/3000/page/1/usedcars

 

:)

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They've said they'll take £1000 plus my civic, originally they wanted £1500 plus mine so this is the lowest they'll go. Comes with a 6 month warranty included which should cover any niggles that surface. Thing is I've only had mine for a year, bought for £2999 and I've spent about £600 on her. its quite a hit to take,but the accord is lovely....:wacko:

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It's expensive and for that money I'd make sure that the cambelt has been done recently and all the fluids are fresh. a couple of low mileage V6 coupes in decent condition went for around £600 on ebay only a couple of weeks ago, so don't think you must get this one, there will be others along shortly.

 

Make sure the gear changes are smooth especially between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd as the 2nd clutch pack is the one that tends to give up first.

 

I average around 21mpg using the coupe as a daily motor, some coupes get worse mileage than others, usually due to a worn torque converter and not being in top condition.

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Yeah I'd seen a few that were all under £1000, and in pretty good condition.this one had the lowest mileage..Although that now seems to be not so much of an issue. think I'm currently getting about 37mpg in the civic so would definitely have to take on lairds advice re:driving style! 

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Yes its a very good car in my opinion it ages better than any other, I am Honda specialist by trade and its the best built Honda I've ever worked on :) I am sure you will find the right coupe and your original find still could be the one for you :)

Also my MPG average is still 32mpg mixed and I do enjoy the cars performance so I don't drive economically and my best so far is 38mpg :D

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Reliablity is excellent, it's probably Hondas high point in terms of quality of parts and rust prevention, a well looked after one with a good gearbox could be a keeper for years, mine is 16 years old now and it's mint underneath and I've had 2 years of hassle free motoring out of it for £800 it's now clocked up 130k with everything still working well apart from a few gearbox issues that havent really got any worse since I've had the car.

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I concur and agree, they're the best!  Take me this morning....there I was dawdling along doing 35 and the revs were just above 1,000 RPM.  Just my luck a learner in a Micra got ahead of me at the island so I dropped back a bit, we were also climbing a slight hill....then....I noticed I could could safely overtake.  I squeezed the throttle, revs went to 3,000 and the gearbox changed down and whoooooosh, I was doing 60 within 5 seconds.

You have to respect the torque and power (200+ BHP) but my point is one minute it's pipe and slippers time sipping a sherry and the next.....it's screaming V6 VTEC and hyperspeed!!!!

As advised above, regular maintenance (oil and filter and fluids, especially ATF) and in my case, regular Demon Shining and waxing :D and you should have a rare and fast coupe that will last for years and easily do 150,000+ miles.  Like me, you'll grin every time you turn the key too.

 

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You can't beat the view in the mirror of the expression on the face of some monkey who has been tailgating you then tried to overtake and you give it the beans - priceless!

Not only have you suddenly left them standing on the wrong side of the road while you get smaller and further away while they eat your exhaust fumes but it was a total shock. Like Geoff says, pipe and slippers sipping sherry one second, the next it's like a rabid rottweiler growling changing to a howl not dissimilar to an F-15 or RAF Tornado with the afterburners on while disappearing at the speed of light.

Not sure if the VTEC V6s make the same sort of noises as my C-series engines do but i'm sure they're fairly similar. Sometimes i open the windows while driving through building lined roads (tunnels are another good one ;):D ) and give it the beans just for the sound of it. There's a road near me that (amazingly for the area) is uphill and narrow with buildings both sides where i turn into it. I usually make sure the windows are down at that point! :D:D:D:D:D

 

Will - don't overplay your "you've had it a long time, how about dropping the price" card with that dealer. Often if dealers get a bit of interest and no sales, after a certain period they punt them out to the trade and who knows where it will end up if that happens? Also if you are lucky enough to find it again, you'll have to go through the whole waiting game again. I would suggest that you offer £600 plus your Civic and buy yourself a warranty online - you can get them quite cheaply. Here's a few links to check out :

 

http://www.warrantyexpert.co.uk/compare

 

http://www.warrantydirect.co.uk/car-warranty.html?apc=138192189116587704&utm_source=Bing&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=warranties direct&utm_campaign=Brand - Bing&utm_content=Brand - Generic - Bing

Some warranty companies won't cover cars over 10 or 12 years old, i'm fairly sure this inlcudes cars bought from dealers so check out the dealers warranty as well. If the dealers warranty will cover everything you need but you can't get a warranty privately then try offering about £750 plus your Civic - halggle a bit to get yourself a deal!

Of course if the dealers warranty won't cover whaat you need, tell them to forget the warranty as it won't cover you and you'll give them say £600 plus your Civic like i suggested earlier. Dealers are crafty that way, they won't tell you the car is too old to be covered in the hope you'll still take the warranty (which they make money on) and then it's out of their hands, they just hope nowt goes wrong!

 

Worth looking into as a bargaining point!

 

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Cheers for the info warranty-wise, had no idea about that, crafty buggers! Unfortunately he won't shift on the price, which after several offers he finally said that's the lowest he'd go...for the moment. But like you say there is the chance he'll flog it off if I wait too long. Decisions decisions!

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I think if he won't budge on the price, maybe a different tactic is in order. Assuming you do in fact want the car, gather together your Civics paperwork, spare keys etc, give it a wash and polish and get your £1000 in cash in something like a briefcase or similar - maybe a big brown envelope or Jiffy Bag (Jiffy bags would work well, harder for him to try and guess how much is in there) and go to see him.

Then give him the facts - he sells cars, you want to buy one of those cars, you have cash and you're ready to do a deal but not for your car plus a grand. Then count out your starting bid (say £500) in cash and stick it under his snout. This might have his snout straight into the trough, if not then ask him how much more would need to be put down, in cash, now, to do the deal today.

 

If he's a stubborn git then you may have to go to the full grand but the "folding" often brings about a change of heart from car dealers. It may work, it may not, feel free to adjust anything above to your taste/judgement as this is just an idea but should put more pressure on him to do a cash deal for less. If he says it owes him more than £xxx, tell him that as you're paying cash, he can easily "write the deal back".

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Pah!  These Accord Coupes are for wimps and women!!  REAL men drive the Honda Legend.  That's why there's only one Legend in the entire club.....

<ducks and runs........>

Anon

lol we have a mk1 legend owner on-board :P my coupe has never wheel spun in snow good luck with rear wheel drive :lol:

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