You are clearly a Honda man. Looks like they have earned your business. I've not settled on a brand just yet. So far I really like my Honda.

 

I really am. Dad had an '81 Accord that I got when he was finished. Later, I bought a CRX. Accords every since. To me, they just have a "feel" that nothing else has and that's been very consistent. I always look at the Toyotas and VW's - maybe a Nissan; nothing.

I'm going over to Alabama later in the month to help my son negotiate and buy his first new car. He wants a... Honda. He's leaning toward a Civic EX, but I'd like him to look at the HX. Less money and great mileage. He won't be driving much, so the Hybrid doesn't make sense for him.

 

Hi Tink:

___With the redesigned 06 Civic so close, are you sure he has to have a new Honda Civic this month? Whatever Honda has up its sleeve will be sure to be a nice improvement (ICE wise for sure) vs. what the entire Civic lineup has available to it today.

___Another idea is that the PZEV based Accord LX’s are being picked up for under $17K in different areas of the country. When you compare the Accord LX to the Civic EX, there isn’t much difference in luxury amenities and the Accord has specific advantages. These include being larger, safer (dual stage - dual front, side and side curtains are std. in the Accord lineup along with higher crash ratings), the PZEV Accord’s low emissions is one of the best in the world, and the FE of the Accord vs. the Civic will not be that much different in the real world with some training.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

Seeing Lakedude & Tink's posts about avoiding problems in 1st-year model changeovers, vs. having the new & fresh sheetmetal...

I think I'd have to agree w/ Lakedude on this one (sorry, Tink

My 6th-gen AV6 was an '01 - the year of the MMC (freshening), but 4th year on that platform. Except for the leather seats cracking, no issues with that car over the 1st 50K. Stories abounded about problems with the 98-00 cars. Seems to be more prevalent since the majority of production was moved to OH ?

The current HAH is 3rd year in the current cycle. Don't know whether it's because it was built at Sayama, or what - but I can say that I don't have one rattle or squeak in the car...not so for lots of '03-05 Accord buyers. The fact that they hybridized the Accord in the 3rd year of the cycle, instead of the 1st, *was* an influencing factor in my purchase. Had the entire car been new...I would have waited at least one model year.

This may be an interesting tidbit - the 7th-gen & 6th-gen Accords share the same frame; given that, I could see problems being minimized on the 7th, that might have cropped up on the 6th-gen.


Finally, a Honda executive (JP) was quoted (right after the current Accord was released) as saying that he'd never buy a car in the 1st year after changeover, as they exhibit the most problems in that first year.

 

Morning, Xcel. Good point, and *I* would wait if *I* was the one shopping. My son was granted the good sense in this area that I wasn't. He's very content with anything of quality without any care for whether it looks new or not. And he is just beginning his professional career and we feel we can get a heck of a deal on the outgoing models.

This idea certainly has merit that I had not considered. I'll look into the invoice costs of both vehicles. Thanks for the heads-up! It would certainly be worth a few extra dollars per month for an Accord. I'm trying to get him to stick to a 48 month payment plan, at most.

Thanks again!

 

Morning, G&B. Many people have your view - no apology needed. And if I get burned some day, I *may* change my mind, but to that point...Had a '98 EX. 147,000 miles without anything but oil changes, tires, wiper blades, and brakes. Didn't even change belts or tune-up.Also had an '03 EX - remember? 1st year of each model change. Ditto on the maintenance. Not the miles, though... come to think of it, no brake change, either... or wipers. But tires and brakes. Only had 80,000 miles because I broke trend & bought the Hybrid. Or is it breaking trend? 1st year for Hybrid... but not a new body style.

I admit that I had a couple of minor rattles in my '03, but nothing that was a huge annoyance. And you're right, man, this HAH is TIGHT! NO rattles. Wind/road noise is OUTSTANDING! I've had a lot of Honda's, but this is the best yet. And although that leaves me open for, "See, it's cause you didn't buy the first in the model year" statement (thought I'd get it in first....), I've enjoyed always looking current even though I may have over 100,000 miles on the car.

OH MY GOSH! JIMMINY CRICKET! I kid you not. I'm listening to Sirius at the office right now and "YOU'RE SO VAIN" started playing RIGHT NOW! Yes, God, I'm listening.

 

First, my apologies to the Civic owners for hijacking this thread, and talking about Accords – and non-hybrid ones at that ::begins self-flagellation::

Tink – I did understand that your 1st year cars were trouble-free – that’s probably why you bought the ’03… And I probably generalized a bit – not sure how many people actually have *had* problems, but you know what they say about the squeaky wheel. BTW - 80K on OEM brake pads ? Someone's doing a LOT of highway driving...lol.

In addition to that, I *can* compare my US-built ’01 to my JDM-built ’86, ’88, and ‘93s (ok, the ’88 was a CRX Si, but still). The ’01 was a nicer car – but the JDMs were more solid, and no rattles / squeaks. I would say that it was cost-cutting by the bean-counters over the years – but, then, how do our HAHs, built in Sayama, with (almost all of) the same parts, hold with that logic ? By rights, it should exhibit the same issues as the Marysville cars – but it doesn’t (admittedly, 22 or even 7200 cars is not a good representative sample when comparing to 400,000). But I’ve heard many anecdotes online and in person about the difference in build quality – to the point where some folks are looking at VINs before they take delivery of a car. I know I was very pleased to find out our HAHs were built in Japan. All of the HCHs and Insights are made there, too (and the Insights are made in the same factory with the S2K, IIRC – which means…they’re hand-built).

Anyway, I love to talk all things Honda – but let’s give the HCH owners their thread back, and we can continue this in the Accord section, if warranted

 

Man that is just sad.

I know what you mean. My mom bought a built in Germany VW that was so good she bought another one that happened to be made in the US and is was so bad we never bought another.

Sad :-(

 

i was delighted to find this out too, the first time i looked at the civic hybrid on the showroom and glanced over its vin number. if it starts with a "J" it means it's been built in Japan, and a look at the front inner door frame sticker verified my guess

 

Hi All:

___This is why you might want to wait for the 06

Courtesy of Best Magazine out of Japan. This shot is definitely the IMA as you can see the orange power cabling in the cutaway.



___You can read the speculation and some of the translations at TOV here
___Thank you for the translation Mr. Mike Freitas’ daughter.

___The Japanese test cycle is awfully generous but that means an EPA rated 45 - 50 out on the highway here in the states. Similar to the current HCH anyway. It must be receiving a lot more power then? All the safety and creature comforts and that TL/TSX look too

___Anyway, lots of speculation about the performance, FE, features, and if this isn’t just a Photoshopped Si Concept out of Chicago? We shall see soon enough.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net