Hey, Great review about your black beauty and the cross country drives.
I too have a black accent a 2003 -1.5 GLS and done 55000km and looking forward to 1 lac.... do write in detail about the expenses if you have kept records..
I believe accent ages rather well and but does need a bit care. I believe its one of the few cars in the market specially in that price range which has a strong chassis and rather rattle free build quality.
Most 6/7 yr old accents i have seen ( even a few crdi ones with almost a lac on the odo) feel a lot tighter than their 2/3 yr old competitors .
anyway do update about the damages so we can compare notes

cheers!