Hello everyone- I may be purchasing a used Accord in the near future and need help deciding between two I am currently comparing. Let me first state that I am only interested in reliability, low cost of ownership, and chiefly the ability to get at least another 120K miles out of whatever car I get. SHOULD I GET:

A: 2002 Accord sedan, I4, 5-speed. Dealer, 127,000 miles. Single owner trade-in. Looks to be in good shape, and I plan on checking it out tonight after work. Other than that no other known information. Asking $5,800.

B: 1999 Accord coupe, I4, 5-speed. Private party, 157,000 miles. Second owner, with the following recent repairs/maintenance (off CL ad).

-New timing belt, water pump and drive belts OEM
-New coolant pipe bypass o-rings OEM
-New thermostat and all seals OEM
-New radiator and hoses
-New Clutch, flywheel, and slave cylinder OEM
-New coolant and transmission fluids OEM
-New distributor cap, rotor, wires, and plugs
-New valve cover gasket OEM
-New Battery
-4 new Cooper C4S tires with less than 5,000 miles
-New upper and lower ball joints
-New front calipers, pads and rotors
-New rear brake rotors and pads
-New VTEC solenoid OEM
-New EGR Valve

Ad also says it has some slight dings in the body, but may not be too bad. Have yet to see this car as well. Asking $4,100

I would rather go with the lower miles car, but it appears like the coupe has all of the maintenance done already that I may end up spending money on myself in the future if I go with the sedan. I already have my toy car that I plan on keeping forever. I've been DD it for a little over a year and would like to stop putting miles on it, but am not in a rush. So, what does everyone think- which car will be the best purchase to drive for the next 6 years?

 

I would go with the 99 coupe
Already has the maintenance done on it plus the coupe looks so much nicer than the sedan.
You can drive that car another 200K

 

I agree with crispin on which one to buy also..

WheelBrokerAng

 

That's what I'm starting to lean towards too. Is the general consensus that I can get a lot out of the coupe still? Sorry if that's a n00b question, I'm new to the Accord. My other car is an '04 GTO and I don't see it getting past 150,000 miles without rebuilding the top end. But then part of that has to do with my heavy right foot.

 

I'm with Ang and Crispin as well. Since the one ('02) is due for some "work" if it cannot be verified it has been done (t-belt, wp, ect) and the other has been done, plus some of the "other" normal wear items.....less cost going forward.

Take care of the normal stuff and I'd bet you can get another 150K without any major issues....of course each car is different.

Either way, get a "buyers inspection" done (~$60) to be sure either way you decide to go......Good luck.

 

Well, if you can verify that the TB/WP/Belts have been done on the '02, I would give that one strong consideration. Hard telling without actually looking at the vehicles. Something about the coupe tells me it has been ridden hard. I would try to verify all maintenance done...and for sure have it inspected. You should easily get another 120k out of both cars if they have not been abused.

Let us know what you find out and decide on...

 

I hope the coupe's owner has all the receipts to prove those works. And definitely take it to a shop to verify those works.

I personally think coupes are just impractical for anyone older than 25.

 

Lucky for me I'm 25! I'm impartial to looks of these two for the most part, they both look fine to me. I'd agree the coupe looks a little better.

I drove the sedan today and they had no service history for it. They said it was traded in for one of their new Fords on the lot by an elderly lady whose husband died and he took care of all the maintenance. (Like we haven't heard that before) (An old lady drives a stick?!) They were also a "no haggle" delearship so there was no coming down in price. I just don't need a second car $5800 bad. There's plenty of life in the goat before I have to start worrying about driving her less.

I should be able to meet with the guy with the coupe early next week. Hopefully he does have receipts for the work. He said it was done between the 97K miles he purchased it at and now.

Are all Accord clutch and brake pedals mush? I'm hoping it was just the one I drove today.

 

Haha! Yeah I'm sure there are many like you who would much prefer the coupe. However, from my car shopping experience, a lot of coupes are on sale for much cheaper than their sedan counterparts. Probably people who realize they don't want the coupe after the first kid appears.

Hmm, ok, that I think is a problem. He did all this work 60k miles ago, which means they're about due again. So you're likely going to have to do these work again soon. And, if you're gonna have to do these work anyway, might as well get the one with the lower mileage.

 

The 1999 Accord Coupe is a 2-door, 5-passenger family coupe, the LX is equipped with a standard 2.3-liter, I4, 150-horsepower engine that achieves 25-mpg in the city and 31-mpg on the highway. A 5-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard, and a 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is optional. The EX V6 is equipped with a standard 3.0-liter, V6, 200-horsepower engine that achieves 20-mpg in the city and 28-mpg on the highway. A 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard.


Best regards
Anthony