Honda Accord 2.4 Executive estate- anything to look out for?

[JQ]

I'm going to have a look at a Honda Accord 2.4 petrol Executive manual this weekend. It's 2003 with 120,000 on the clock - full leather, electric seats, sunroof, sat nax, etc.

I'm just after a cheap runabout for a few months that will be reliable. I'm aware of issues with the tailgate and also the high fuel consumption, but is there anything else I need to be looking at?

Any experiences good or bad?

[toon10]

I ran the 2.4 exec saloon for 4 years. The only issue I had with it in that time was a bulb went in the heated seat button! Most reliable car I've had. Cracking cars. You have to use the gearbox to make progress but the gear change is nice and the engine it's a joy to rev. Can't really give you anything to look out for as mine was pretty faultless.

[SAS Tom]

My dad had a 2.4 type S from new for about 3 years. Only issue I think he had was the DMF packed in and made some awful noises.

[vsonix]

I drove one in Australia for a few days recently. Nice enough car for a daily but I couldn't get a driving position that didn't give me some kind of numb arse/back pain... I had to adjust the seat slightly every hour or so.

[kurt535]

How much out of interest?

[JQ]

kurt535 said:

How much out of interest?

£1,000.

Cheers for the comments, just waiting to hear back from the seller to see if I can inspect this weekend.

[JQ]

Just checked the MOT history and advisories in May 2017 were :

rear parking (secondary) brake grabbing slightly (3.7.B.6b)
Front brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.1i)
Nearside Front Suspension arm has slight play in a pin/bush (2.4.G.2)
Nearside Front suspension has slight movement at a wishbone pin or bush (2.5.A.1c)
Offside Front suspension has slight movement at a suspension ball joint (2.5.A.1c)

Sounds like it need a bit of work doing, and whilst it's cheap I only need it for 6 months so don't want to spending money on it. Looks like I'll give it a miss.

Cheers

[vsonix]

Those things being only advisories, I wouldn't worry about it. None of those things are at the stage where they need to be addressed and none of them will affect the reliable running of the car.

Very slight play in bushes is acceptable, especially on a car that is set up to be softer and more pliant. As a car to run for a year or so I'd say knock a few quid off the asking price using the advisories as a negotiating point and by the time next year's test comes around you can decide if you've bonded with the car enough to fix and keep or just sell on. Unless you drive really hard and do loads of sweet jumps, or never engine brake on hills you're unlikely to see the car fail on any of those things next year. Also, NB - 'pitting on brake rotors' is not usually indicative that the rotors are on their way out or anything, it's more likely a sign the car was sitting up a little while before taken for its test, and as a result the surface of the rotor is not fully clean from the action of the pads. Drive two hundred miles in normal conditions and they'll be like new again in no time!

Edited by vsonix on Friday 5th January 19:54

[Willy Nilly]

Aren't those to be expected on a teenage car with 6 figures on the clock?

[JQ]

Willy Nilly said:

Aren't those to be expected on a teenage car with 6 figures on the clock?

I guess not, but they've been advisories since May 2016 and there's plenty of old cars that haven't had advisories for 20 months out there. I'm not looking for a particular car so onto the next one.

or am I being too picky?

[CoolHands]

Some hondas seem to have have horribly high insurance costs for some reason IME. So I’d check that out too before committing to buy.

[JQ]

CoolHands said:

Some hondas seem to have have horribly high insurance costs for some reason IME. So I’d check that out too before committing to buy.

Cheers the heads up, I'll check it out.

[Willy Nilly]

JQ said:

Willy Nilly said:

Aren't those to be expected on a teenage car with 6 figures on the clock?

I guess not, but they've been advisories since May 2016 and there's plenty of old cars that haven't had advisories for 20 months out there. I'm not looking for a particular car so onto the next one.

or am I being too picky?

Those advisories are just that and in any case they are consumable parts. Any car you buy for a thousand quid is going to be long in the tooth and need some work. The car in question is known for being pretty reliable, so you just have to establish if that car has been generally looked after. If the car is otherwise sound it may last you a while for the cost of some brakes and suspension bushes, that it may or may not need. I'd be more concerned if it were a cooling issue or terminal rot.

[Evanivitch]

JQ said:

Willy Nilly said:

Aren't those to be expected on a teenage car with 6 figures on the clock?

I guess not, but they've been advisories since May 2016 and there's plenty of old cars that haven't had advisories for 20 months out there. I'm not looking for a particular car so onto the next one.

or am I being too picky?

Advisories vary hugely from garage to garage. Especially when it comes to worn bushes on an old car.

I'd be wary of tracking issues with bad bushes and potential cost of a new caliper if handbrake continues to be an issue. But that could literally impact any old car and usually they are DIY jobs if your decent with tools.

[Deerfoot]

I ran a 2003 Accord Tourer 2.4 for a couple of years.

The tailgate motor failed (goodwill gesture from Honda UK, they paid the labour, I paid for the motor, not bad on a car that was 24 months out of warranty...). I also had a rear brake caliper that started to stick and that needed a rebuild, I can't remember the cost of that but it wasn't too bad.

Apart from that it was faultless, it liked a drink though...