Hey all, I'm new from CA and am going to look at a 2000 Accord LX Coupe with the 5spd 4cyl V-TEC. It has 139,300 miles on it and the guy is asking 5800 obo. I currently have a 2005 Frontier Crew Cab with the 6spd manual V6 and love it to death, but monthly payments, rent, and insurance are just too much right now while I'm in college. Oh and better gas mileage would be great too! Basically, I am wondering if this is a good deal, as kbb says in good condition it's worth about 5200 but you never know...Also, anything I should look for while inspecting it? Thanks a million and glad to be here!

 

That's a pretty good asking price IMO. Not incredibly high. I bought my 2000 LX 5spd in December of 2006. It had 104k and change. Asking price was $8,000 (well....$7,995 or whatever.) It was at atiny little used car dealership that only had about 20 cars on the lot. I paid $6k cash out the door (including taxes & fees.) So tecnically I bought the car for $5,5xx & change (before taxes.) I started out offering the guy $5k cash for it. he acted like there was no way he would sell it for less than $6,800 or some BS. I then offered him $5,500. he said no and I was walking out the door when he told me to hold on. He called someone (Obviously a BS call acting like they were not going to make any money off of it) then told me I could take it home for $6k. I procedded to whip out my thick wad of $100 bills. (Haha I would have probably paid $7k cause I wanted the car that bad, but I still think I may have gotten it for a bit less.)
The only thing I would ask about would be any prior wrecks and any service records. The timing belt needs to be changed every 105k miles or 7 years, so that should have been done already. if it hasn't been done, there is an excuse for the seller to knock around $500 off the price right there. The timing belt service (t-belt, water pump, drive belts, & seals) will cost anywhere from $300 to $600 - anything higher than that is a ripoff IMO. If you plan on DIYing the tbelt and water pump (genuine Honda parts cost $200 or less), you better set aside a weekend and get some earplugs for the kids (so they don't hearyou cussing)for when you try to break loose that crankshaft pulley bolt. it can take a fairly experienced mechanic 5+ hours to do the tbelt service.
Get a carfax on it first to make sure no major accidents. Then ask the owner/dealer if the timing belt has been changed and if they say "yes" as for records. If the work was done at a dealership or a Honda Certified shop, there should eb a sticker on the timing belt cover indicating the date and mileage the service was done.
Also look at the tires. if the tires are bald, there goes another few hundred or so.
Good luck!!

Also it may be a good idea to check out the spark plugs& wires if you buy it (once you get it home - I wouldn't try to nickel and dime them with simple things like plugs). You can DIY changing the spark plugs in 10 minutes. The OEM plugs last 100k & are NGK double platinums (PZFR5F-11) and they cost around $10 each, so don't be shocked at the price when you go to buy them. Old plugs definitely hurt gas mileage from my experience with my 2000 LX.

FYI - My 2000 LX 5spd gets around 30mpg mostly stop-&-go city driving and I have gotten 35mpg on the highway before. It now has a little over 130k on it.

 

[align=left]Thanks for all that info 00AccordLX, I wthink what I will do is take a good look at it, check for all those things you mentioned, drive it a little bit, then offer maybe 4800-5000 cash. He did say the timing belt was done at about 100k, so hopefully he has the records. I really hope to buy this car though so thanks again for your insight!
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