I ask this because my son is in the market for a late model auto. I know that Honda, in general, used to be known as some of the best, or at least most dependable cars on the road. I’m not sure if that’s still the case. I do know, however, that a friend of my wife has had a good bit of trouble with her 2006 Accord, but that might happen with any model of automobile. Every make has a lemon here and there.
So what do you all think of Honda in general, and Accord specifically?
IMHO, Honda makes great cars, and I enjoyed the 1994 Accord I drive for about fourteen years, and now enjoy the 2010 Honda Fit which is the replacement.
And I reported the thread so it can be moved to IMHO.
thanks for the response, but some of you guys sure seem picky about topics/forums.
It’s what makes this board different from all the other crap on the Internet.
That and the pedantry.
I don’t know of anything that would disqualify a Honda from being a dependable car, and know they have been so in the past, but part of their reputation is also due to their reputation and marketing strategy.
I’m not saying it’s unfounded, but that other cars could and IMHO are be comparable in dependability.
Check the Consumer Reports April issue for the latest auto reliability ratings on almost all makes and models.
They are very dependable cars, and have been so consistently. Other makers, such as Toyota, have had some “off” years.
This question could certainly be in either forum.
BTW, if you’re interested in used cars, the problem I find with Hondas is that they retain their value so well that you get only a slight discount for buying used. For that reason, I bought a brand-new Honda last time. Other makes and models of cars might be better bargains on the used market.
I think it’s the same with Toyotas. The discount for buying a used 2010 Camry is not going to be a whole lot considering the risk you are taking in buying a car whose history you don’t know.
However, a recent Ford or Chevy might be quite a bit less compared to a new Ford or Chevy.
This is good advice. Convention Wisdom used to be to buy a “late model used car” but now you should at least look into buying new. Sometimes there are some very attractive deals, such as 0% financing.
Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it. I’ll direct my son to this thread. I think he did check out Consumer Reports, and other sources, but wanted as much feedback and info as he could get.
Try Edmunds, also.
Since the OP is seeking advice, let’s move this over to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I have a 2010 Honda Civic. It’s OK, but gets less gas mileage and has less power than my 2009 Prius, which my wife now drives. It also required two repairs during the first year I owned it. Maybe it will settle down now, but I’m glad I sprung for the extended warranty.
Second that. Some car models have stellar reputations but sometimes may have a troublesome year. That usually happens when they are revised to its next generation.
To answer the OP’s question I say generally they are. I bought a 2001 CR-V brand new and it just rolled over to 200,000 miles, almost completely trouble-free. I used Consumer Reports’ April issue to make that purchase decision. The historical data there is a helpful predictor of future success.
Be careful to avoid copycat publications using the word Consumer in the title. Make sure you get “the” Consumer Reports Magazine, not Consumer Guide or any other ‘consumer’ magazine.
About used car prices. Over the last several years new car sales have been, well to put it nicely, off. Remember cash for clunkers? That program didn’t come to be because they could sell every new car they could build.
As a result there are a lot fewer low mile used cars out there. Supply is limited thus driving price up.
What a nice 2 year old Civic for 10K? Doesn’t exist. 15K? Maybe, but more likely 17.
A very good friend of mine needed a used car. Her budget was 10K. We had NOTHING on the lot that I would have felt good about her buying at that price point. I told her what I wrote above. She shopped and found I was right. She upped the budget.
She finally found a nice 1 year old Tucson for 19K.
So Honda used prices are up not just because it is a good car, used car prices in general are up, way up.
There have been some persistent gremlins in the automatic transaxles used in the Accord and the Odyssey. There was a big recall of early 2000’s models, but even later models still seem to be having problems. See here: Honda Transmission Problems Seem to Persist - The New York Times
I don’t think the issues are so bad as to count them out entirely, but I think they would make me a little leery of paying more for an Accord on the basis that it will be more reliable. Of course you can still get the Accord in a manual transmission if you look hard enough, so that’s one way to avoid those issues.
My CR-V is a 5-MT. 200K trouble-free miles, and also the original clutch.
My daughter just bought a used car, using the April Consumer Reports. She decided on a 2001 Subaru Outback, 100K miles, new rebuild and clutch, for $6K. I think that’s a solid choice too, but of course YMMV.
Yeah. Clash for Clunkers worked out great, Rick.
Thanks, Jack, for the link, and thanks again for all the rest of the feedback.