Saturn was given to our kids by wife’s parents. It seem to run ok, but has gone long periods without being driven much (so the mileage is lower expected). My brother has the Accord, which he would let us have for 1K. Car will be driven by our 17 year old. Would it be worth driving from DC to Wilmington, NC to pick it up? I know Accords are great cars, but when you’re talking aout cars that old it’s a crap shoot. Of course a newer car would be ideal, but if he wants that he can get a job and pay for it himself.
What is the mileage if I may ask? I’m guessing the Accord is well over 150,000 miles, at least. $1000 might be a little steep for a 20 year old car that’s 400 miles away. I’m certain there are other cars that could be had in your immediate vicinity for the same money that are every bit the piece of shit your brother’s car is. 
You should have them both checked out by a mechanic to make sure they are safe and sound to drive. Assuming they are both equivalent, and no significant repairs are required, I would go with the one that has less miles on it.
Those are both pretty good options for a 17 year old. The Accord is the better car of the two, I’m assuming it’s a 4 cyl automatic, which is pretty well designed. If it’s a V6 auto you’re rolling the dice on that transmission. The Saturns of that era were good cars but not as well built. Both will be cheap to maintain. It comes down to individual condition, service records, rust… remember that the Saturns had plastic body panels, so they can look good on the outside but be completely rusted out underneath. If either of them is a manual transmission then that would win out, IMHO.
$1000 is about what a 1997 Honda accord goes for on Craigslist. I don’t know if it’s worth the drive unless the car is in excellent condition for a 20 year old sedan.
The Accord is getting up there in mileage, definitely over 150K (albeit mostly highway miles; he did a lot of long trips to the beach house before retiring and moving there). The Saturn was my father in law’s second car for ten years or so before it was given to us, so it just did short trips in town during that time. Oldest son didn’t take to driving (hard core city kid), so it was barely driven for a couple of years. Younger son got his permit last summer, so it started being driven more. A mechanic said that it’s safe to drive but advised not taking it on really long trips. We haven’t taken it more than 90 minutes from home.
My dad had a Saturn, stubbornly solid put together car, would have thought it would have been long gone. It finally died in a hurricane where is was half submerged in saltwater. It shattered my image about American cars of that era.
It’s a toss-up. Saturns of that era were not that well built but will run forever so long as you watch the oil level; one of the available engines was known as an oil burner.
Accords (like most Japanese cars of the era) run reliably and without fuss for their design lifetime, then pretty much fall apart shortly after.
On the theory that auto safety features improve regularly over time, I would suggest the newer car, especially as this is for a relatively inexperienced 17-year-old driver.
I’ve owned that year Saturn. Get the Accord.
Yes this. An older car is less safe and less reliable.
Car depreciation tends to more or less become negligible after 10 years or so. At 10-12 years a car has lost 80-85% of its initial value, but by 20 years it has only lost 95%. A 97 accord may go for 1k but a 2003 accord is about 2k. The newer one has less miles and I’d assume better safety features.
I bought a 97’ Accord Coupe 4-cyl manual new and drove it to 180K. Besides some minor electrical issues later in it’s life the car was bullet proof.
I repair and maintain cars for a living. I’d pick almost any Honda over almost any Saturn.
Since the Accord is a NC car and not a Northern rust out(I assume), take the Accord. It’s just getting broken in. 
I had a 97 accord I put 220K miles on.
Did 3 timing belts/water pumps and 1 muffler. That’s all the non wear and tear maintenance I did to the car ever.
My 92 was even better.