[Rock 'n' rollz]

Checked carfax reports... more or less the reports are clean & similar for both the cars.

Current owners are 2nd owners. Both owners claim that the first owner has been a lady. (not sure if its the same as doctor/lawyer owned car in India).

Yes I personally have liked Accord much.

Like I said the only doubt I had in my mind was coz of some friends throwing their weight behind Camry. So thought of having an expert third party opinion.

Accord guy is ready to take it to the Firestone outlet. Camry guy is busy with other moving activities. Not very keen on getting his car inspected.

Well can I safely say that 70-80k cars don't exist in the current MI market. There are some available with dealerships that would invariably charge $800-$1000 more. I don't have that big a budget. I want this car to serve me for a year or so. Then I'll sell it off (135-140k) and go for a CRV.

[Rock 'n' rollz]

Originally Posted by chetanhanda

what about the water pump ? coolant flush ,power steering flush + kit ? etc ... long list for 100K+ car, all of these are also due.

OK. just had a cursory look @ the records.

Aug07 maintenance:
Auto transmission flush, timing belt (No water pump change ), both front door regulators, tires, brakes....45 point check (Honda dealer)... reduced him by around $1600.

[rev_hard]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Add to that the Accord SE has BOSE audio.

Bose in a Honda in 1997 .

i seriously have my doubts on this one.



I too recently bought a car for myself. Thanks to home ministry ended up buying a new Toyota Yaris. However, as some suggested earlier, you'd be better off with a "lower" mileage civic or corolla or altima.

I understand that the lure of a "bigger" car at such prices is there. But resist the temptation and you'll be happy in the long run.

my 2 cents
rev_hard

[chetanhanda]

Originally Posted by Rock 'n' rollz

Checked carfax reports... more or less the reports are clean & similar for both the cars.

Current owners are 2nd owners. Both owners claim that the first owner has been a lady. (not sure if its the same as doctor/lawyer owned car in India).

Yes I personally have liked Accord much.

Like I said the only doubt I had in my mind was coz of some friends throwing their weight behind Camry. So thought of having an expert third party opinion.

Accord guy is ready to take it to the Firestone outlet. Camry guy is busy with other moving activities. Not very keen on getting his car inspected.

Well can I safely say that 70-80k cars don't exist in the current MI market. There are some available with dealerships that would invariably charge $800-$1000 more. I don't have that big a budget. I want this car to serve me for a year or so. Then I'll sell it off (135-140k) and go for a CRV.

ok..firestone will do
dude ..just forget the camry if the owner wont get it inspected...

what 85K cars in other segments lower than accord and camry ? sentra,altima,civic,corolla,hyundai etc ?
otherwise increase your budget to atleast 7K..

Are u looking for more chances of reliability or for a bigger car ?
smaller car for the same price will be better off , anyways dude its your call..

BTW check the Auto transmission properly , how it shifts, accelarates etc etc.. its one of the most expensive things to repair if the car is a lemon..

[dipen]

Go for the Accord SE. Only thing it lacks is the Vtec. Else its fully loaded with Spoiler, Alloys, sunroof, superior audio (not sure), better fabric (not sure). Just make sure there are abnormalities in the transmission. Since the timing belt and tyres are replaced, it should be maintainance free for a long time. These cars easily do 200k miles without a rebuilt if fluilds have been changed regularly on time. Only thing known to coz trouble if at all is the transmission. Just check that and plan a road trip. Also make sure all electricals are fully functional.

[chetanhanda]

Originally Posted by Rock 'n' rollz

OK. just had a cursory look @ the records.

Aug07 maintenance:
Auto transmission flush, timing belt (No water pump change ), both front door regulators, tires, brakes....45 point check (Honda dealer)... reduced him by around $1600.

Water pump ... as usual !!
man u know how much this is going to cost you... want to guess ? the labour charges are 5 times the cost of the actual pump.
What abt drums at rear ? , The drums are more expensive than front discs in terms of servicing

[Nitin]

I'd say go for the Accord. Why?Here's why:

My brother had been looking for a car for his wife. We looked at 2000 & later models.Mostly Honda/Toyota/Nissan/Mazda. The Altimas weren't good,the 2001 Corolla wasn't well maintained,and the Mazda Protege wasn't easy to drive. We looked at a 2001 Honda Accord LX,with 104K on the odo,and it turned out to be a pretty well maintained car. Clean interiors,and overall in good condition. Got it for $7K,and the car will stay with my brother for about 3 years,until my S-I-L finishes her studies.

I'm not at all a Honda fan,but I really think the Accords are built to last. My roomie in Ohio had a 1993 Accord,with 185K miles on it,and it ran as good as any other car.

Your best bet is to get the Accord inspected,and see if everything's ok.If yes,I'd say go with it. You really can't go wrong with Jap cars,and the Accord sure won't let you down.

Good luck!

[chetanhanda]

Originally Posted by dipen

Go for the Accord SE. Only thing it lacks is the Vtec. Else its fully loaded with Spoiler, Alloys, sunroof, superior audio (not sure), better fabric (not sure). Just make sure there are abnormalities in the transmission. Since the timing belt and tyres are replaced, it should be maintainance free for a long time. These cars easily do 200k miles without a rebuilt if fluilds have been changed regularly on time. Only thing known to coz trouble if at all is the transmission. Just check that and plan a road trip. Also make sure all electricals are fully functional.

..then the budget should be increased if u want all that + reliability

And getting 200k + is also possible but we dont know how the previous owners have kept it depends a lot on how it was driven 117K miles till now

[carCrazy25]

Originally Posted by revtech

just as the topic says..... i need info for buying used cars in the US particularly California.

i need to know what budget i should keep.the lower the better.im going to need the car for a period of about 6 months and therefore dont want anything too expensive.

i also need info on the procedure with insurance and all out there.should i go to dealers or check up in mags.

basically all the info i could get.will be really help ful.


thanx
Rev

Hey Rev, i have been in the US for the past 2 years and have bought and sold 3 cars, so i guess my 2 cents could help you out here.
Since you're gonna be here for only 6 months, i'd say do not exceed a budget of 5k. stretch it to a max of 5.5K no more than that.
Visit craigslist.com to check out cars in your area. Here individuals sell their cars and are reasonably prices.
And since ur in Cali, u'll find a lot of desi's with carolla's, accords on craigslist.
use New Car Prices | Used Car Values - Official Kelley Blue Book Site to see wat is the recommended price you need to pay for the car.
Stick to Honda, Toyota or a Nissan, it wont be difficult to sell them off within a week, and since ur in Cali, some desi will find you, once u post ur ad in craigslist or any desi grocery store.
If the mileage of the car is more than 100k, check for the drivetrain , when it was changed, shouldnt matter but it will help you.
use carfax.com to check the history of the car, this will tell you if the car had any accident in the past, or was it used as a rental car etc...this affects the price of the car.
There are a lot of Desi's in cali, so shouldnt be a prob finding a desi used car. Stay away from Dealers, they'll charge u a lot.

Coming to insurance, insurance laws are different in each state, and it really depends on which part of the country you drive usually. Since ur in cali, i am guessing insurance cost would be a bit high.

i could give you more information, but i need some specifications on what ur looking for.

Hope this helps!!

[chetanhanda]

Originally Posted by rev_hard

Bose in a Honda in 1997 .
However, as some suggested earlier, you'd be better off with a "lower" mileage civic or corolla or altima.

I understand that the lure of a "bigger" car at such prices is there. But resist the temptation and you'll be happy in the long run.

my 2 cents
rev_hard

exactly
I too searched for preludes, acura gsr etc etc in CA
All the cars in "real" good condition were not less then 12K, all the cheap ones had their engines rebult,gearboxes screwed up, etc etc

[rev_hard]

Originally Posted by carCrazy25

Hey Rev, i have been in the US for the past 2 years and have bought and sold 3 cars, so i guess my 2 cents could help you out here.i could give you more information, but i need some specifications on what ur looking for.

Hope this helps!!

Buddy!!! He's already bought himself a car, a Mitsu at that!! Rev's original post was in April'07

[carCrazy25]

Originally Posted by rev_hard

Buddy!!! He's already bought himself a car, a Mitsu at that!! Rev's original post was in April'07

[rev_hard]

Originally Posted by chetanhanda

exactly
I too searched for preludes, acura gsr etc etc in CA
All the cars in "real" good condition were not less then 12K, all the cheap ones had their engines rebult,gearboxes screwed up, etc etc

I myself was sooo tempted for about a month or so to go for a accord/camry/maxima. Its just the sight of these "mostly re-built" mid class sedans sitting smugly shining away with those neon price tags.

Even a saint would be tempted..

[Rock 'n' rollz]

Originally Posted by rev_hard

However, as some suggested earlier, you'd be better off with a "lower" mileage civic or corolla or altima.

I understand that the lure of a "bigger" car at such prices is there. But resist the temptation and you'll be happy in the long run.

Well I started looking specifically for low mileage Altima/Civic/corolla. Didn't find any good deals. I am yet to find a good (low mileage, automatic transmission, 4Dr) used civic up for sale. Here in Detroit good used jap cars are really hard to come by. Try a quick search on detroit metro craigslist. you'll get tonnes of ford, dodge, chevy, chrysler etc. The jap cars if at all you find would be screwed up, bad carfax, rebuilt titles, accidents, odometer tampering etc. Also going for test drive after office hours is a pain when u don't have your own ride.

The next option is sites like autotrader.com where you don't find individual sellers that often. Dealers charge b*mb for a decent car. I tried Altima/Civic/Mitsubishi Galant/Mazda 626/Protege/Corolla. Ummm Corolla...OK I took a test drive of a decent corolla only to find out it had a serious suspension problem. The mechanic gave a rough estimate of $700 to fix that up. + $400 for new rubber.

I have my family of 3 members including my 1 yr old daughter with me. So mobility is becoming a critical issue. None of my friends can always occupy all of us in their cars (most of them are married.) With the temperature consistently below 0 C its difficult to visit even a grocery shop across the road. Also keeping my daughter's health and her possible emergency requirements I need a car and I need it right now. Hence I decided to relax some of my car selection criteria. Thats when I found out that I can get a good choice of vehicles around 100-120K.

As mentioned in my earlier post I can't extend by budget beyond 5k. There are other things in life to take care of.

Regarding the low mileage thingy...my 2 cents.

The first car I test drove was a 1999 Honda Accord EX, Single owner, 78K, Clean carfax, excellent exterior, no rust... doesn't that sound like the "Strong" Indian batting lineup? Well it does but only on paper... During my test drive I figured out the single owner was a chain smoker, he had screwed up the interior of the car. torn seats. broken/cracked switches. dark yellow stains on seats. Power windows not working...rust in the engine bay and what not. Add to it 0 service records. Dhakka-start sun roof.

So it happens even with the low mileage cars. Low mileage need not mean a maintenance free car. Used car is a jackpot at the end of the day. Like every used car buyer I just hope I'll get the best "like 2008" car and it'll serve me for a year's time at least.

I don't know if the reason to opt for a >100k accord/camry is a lure of bigger cars or not, but i certainly know that my needs for own transportation far outweigh all other factors like low mileage, high resale value etc. and these are the only decent used cars that are available "right now".

Lets see what Firestone guys have to say about the accord and most probably that car would bring down curtains on my used car search in US for now.

[cheap_deal]

whats your budget rock n rollz? $2000 usd?