Shed Of The Week: Honda Accord Coupe
A return to the Japanese luxobarge for Shed with a largely forgotten Honda
If he ever does muster up the chutzpah for such an endeavour, Shed will be on the lookout for a suitable vehicle in which to carry it out. And given that Mrs Shed is partial to a spot of luxury in her life, in keeping with her sophisticated upbringing on the pig farm, Shed is thinking that a Honda Coupe might be just the ticket.
'Well maintained and boringly reliable' says vendor
The one good thing you can say about a car company with all the corporate vigour of a tin of Tanzanian treacle is that there is a reassuring consistency about the model range. (Nerd factoid sidebar: in Japan, the Accord went by the name of Vigor.) The Accord you can buy now, if you were mad, looks just like the one you could have bought in 2003.
A bewildering explosion of separate models for the US, Euro and domestic markets makes it difficult to work out exactly which generation Accord (fifth or sixth) this '98 Coupe belonged to. What we do know is that the Accord Coupe has been around since the second-gen Accord kicked off nearly 35 years ago. We also know that in the US at least you can still buy a Coupe version of the ninth-gen Accord. That one is powered by a 278hp 3.5-litre V6, looks quite good, and supposedly does the 60 dash in five and a half seconds, despite only having one cam under each cover.
That's a chunky 'knob
Seriously, is this a worthwhile alternative to the Lexus LS, or GS if you want to be uber-spec-picky? Well, it's got much of the Lexus's waftability, most of the 20th century toys you would want, and it's certainly more stylish. Plus, you'll be avoiding the risk of expensive Lexus suspension work. Hondas are super-reliable, as we know, and the J-series engine is a hardy unit, but the V6 Coupe does have a few foibles of its own. Not many, just a few.
Want to waft? Just the thing!
If they're the not so worrying niggles, what's the worrying one? One clue can be found elsewhere in the PH classifieds, namely here.
Looks good, right? Until you get to that mention of 'heavy kickdown'. V6 trannies are a bit suspect. Black oil or a big clunk when engaging reverse is a sign of a box on its way out. Of course, a clunk could also mean that you forgot to put your foot on the brake and have crashed. Don't worry though: out of sight, out of mind. That's Shed's motto.
*Joke shamelessly stolen from I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Well maintained and boringly reliable 3.0iV6 Accord coupe. Fitted with Heated Leather (electric drivers adjust) , Climate, Cruise, electric pan / tilt sunroof, heated mirrors, etc,etc,.
Ultra reliable and in great condition, two little dinks on the front wings, not bad, just being honest. One was the Wheelie bin blew over, the other me misjudging the garage door frame while reversing in.
I use this for 330 miles days to and from my office just outside London, and for trips to the airports, before I fly off on business trips. It's always there, and always starts, first twist of the key. One word, Dependable.
Good on fuel for the size, (30mpg average) but can still pick up it's heels if you press the pedal.
MoT's till end of January, 2016
If the gearbox is fine now, I would change the oil immediately and then every two years. Honda Happiness scheme is good - the dealer did mine for £35 a pop on two occasions. Timing belt also available on Honda Happiness - £275 but at this price why bother - might as well go roulette and throw it away.
Don't agree with the other faults Shed has listed. Other than the gearbox the only known issue on these is a hot starting problem, solved with a new main relay. Other than that they are classic reliable Honda with a half decent V6 thrown in!
Great shed IMHO, albeit probably won't set PH on fire.
I think Honda are probably the highest quality cars on sale really, that is real quality, not well damped handles, nice plastics and lcd displays.
Seriously, it is BORINGLY reliable, goes like stink, and can waft like a good one. Last week was Yorks - Farnborough return, this week Yorks - Biggleswade and back, flick the key, put it into D, and relaaax.
Receipt from Honda for belts was at 75000 amongst every receipt for tyres bulbs etc. that came with the car.
If it does sell, I'll miss it, it's so much more reliable than my 2.7D Jaguar S type it replaced, that was an 07 run out car, with all the bells and whistles on, but every journey was an adventure, 4 back axles inside a year, and as soon as it ran out of manufacturer's warranty, it became someone else's issue.
The 'Onda,on the other hand has cost me disks all round, wheel bearings (hubs) and a new radiator, in 50,000 miles.
Compare it to a Cockroach, it will survive anything.
It's no sports car, but at this price it seems like a stonkin' bargain imho.
I think these are a very 'plush' looking car - a shame that in the UK the image is that they are driven by old and wrinklies. Why did they never do the Accord Type R underpinnings on the Coupe?
Personally I always preferred the 3.2 Legend coupe, but there were none around at SOTW price when I bought my Accord. These coupes are very underrated. Hard to beat for value for money.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff