[aditya.86]

Its been a while that i have been thinking to write a review on my sweetheart who has been with me for more than an year now.

A short intro, i moved to the US in Jan 2011 and being a regular driver back in India it was a nightmare for me to survive a single day without a car here. I am a student doing my masters in Mechanical engineering in Beaumont, TX.

The search began. I was looking for a good and cheap used car preferable a Honda or Toyota as they are considered to be the most reliable cars over here. My budget was close to 6k and i started searching online on sites like craigslist, sulekha and stuff. One fine day i saw this ad for an 02 Honda Accord MT which had done about 95k miles and was located in Houston. Houston is an hour drive from here and i immediately called up the owner and went straight to have a look at the car.

One look at her and she had won my heart. Took a short test drive and everything seemed perfect. Spoke to the Owner and realised she had been taken care of very well and was serviced at the dealership with all the service records. Ran the carfax to check about the vehicle history and then began negotiating on the price. He also gave me a set of brand new alloys and 4 new tyres. Finally sealed the deal the very same day and brought her home and it was on of the best days of my life.

Everything in the car worked to perfection. At 95k miles i knew there was a major service coming up and me being a student cannot afford the Honda service. Found a cheap and reliable mechanic close to where i live and he s been the one who is responsible for her still being in top shape.


Engine and transmission:
The vtec motor is a breeze to drive. Acceleration is quick, and one never realises the actual speeds. 150 hp is sufficient enough for the city drives and pretty decent on the freeways.

Interiors:
The interiors are pretty basic but good enough for me as i was used to a santro back home. The cabin is pretty roomy and can accomodate 5 ppl without any problems. Me being 6 2, a person can sit behind me without having much trouble. The factory stereo is just a normal cd player and has 4 pioneer speakers which sound really good.

Suspension and Handling:
The owner of the car had replaced the front 2 struts just before i bought the car under warranty. She does a pretty good job over small potholes and uneven surfaces. The handling is a negetive as she feels too light when u compare it with other american or german cars. At high speeds u feel a little uncomfortable as she sways a little. Thanks to the 205/65 tyres the handling is an inch better.

Pros:
Strong AC, perfect for the Texas summer.
Spacious and roomy.
Powerful Vtec motor.
Manual transmission.

Cons:
Bad brakes.
Noisy motor.
Handling.
Light steering- which i hate the most.

Things that i have done in the 45000 miles that i have had her:
Change of timing belt and water pump.
Brake pads- front and rear.
Ac refrigerant.
Lower arm replacement.
K&N stock replacement air filter.
New catalytic convertor.
Spark plug and plug wires.

Apart from the regular oil changes i guess she is good for another 100k miles. Here are some pics.

[mayankjha1806]

She is a looker and the way its going she is gonna go for good number of miles. At 1.45L Miles (not Kms) and still no work on engine, not even a sign of it speaks volumes about the engines Honda builds.

What kind of mileage it gives at the moment? That would be another indicator of how fuel efficient yet powerful Honda engines really are?

[aditya.86]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

She is a looker and the way its going she is gonna go for good number of miles. At 1.45L Miles (not Kms) and still no work on engine, not even a sign of it speaks volumes about the engines Honda builds.

What kind of mileage it gives at the moment? That would be another indicator of how fuel efficient yet powerful Honda engines really are?

I have heard Hondas going upto 300k miles without having any trouble. But wat happens in most cases is that the auto tranny gives up much before that. Thats one of the reasons i grabbed the MT as they are hard to find.

She returns an average of 28-29 mpg in the city and 30-31 mpg on the highways which is around 12-13 kmpl. Thats a combination of efficiency and power i believe.

[GTO]

These go for a song in the United States currently, and were most popular with NRIs in the 1999 - 2003 period. My ex-flat mate recently sold his MY2000 Accord (same gen as yours) for ~2,000 dollars. My sister recently sold her MY2002 Accord for ~2,500.

I'm very happy to read that you bought an MT . I did too, but after a couple of months of searching!

[infotech58]

i had one of these for over an year - bought it when it had 110k miles on it and sold it at the same price after adding 20k more miles on it. during this period, only maintenence i had to do was regular oil changes (i used royal purple, it made the engine go a bit silent and smoother).

you mentioend that you have had it for little over an year and have already added 45,000 miles - that is some crazy mileage.

[aditya.86]

Originally Posted by GTO

These go for a song in the United States currently, and were most popular with NRIs in the 1999 - 2003 period. My ex-flat mate recently sold his MY2000 Accord (same gen as yours) for ~2,000 dollars. My sister recently sold her MY2002 Accord for ~2,500.

I'm very happy to read that you bought an MT . I did too, but after a couple of months of searching!

Exactly GTO! I picked this one up for 3700 when it had 95k miles on it. And recently my friend picked up the same generation Accord with 130k miles and an automatic transmission for the same price. I guess i can still sell it for at least 3500 as she is as good as new to drive.

This was the very first car i saw on craigslist and the moment i realised it was an MT i had decided that i am going to get it. Call it luck. Plus i did not want any problems with the transmission. This generation of Accord is notorious for transmission failures post 100k miles.

Originally Posted by infotech58

i had one of these for over an year - bought it when it had 110k miles on it and sold it at the same price after adding 20k more miles on it. during this period, only maintenence i had to do was regular oil changes (i used royal purple, it made the engine go a bit silent and smoother).

you mentioend that you have had it for little over an year and have already added 45,000 miles - that is some crazy mileage.

Will try the royal purple during my next oil change. I use the regular Pennzoil oil but make sure i change it every 3000 miles.
Being a college student i give rides to people commuting to and from work. One can call it an ILLEGAL TAXI service. But must mention its some good money. Few trips to Dallas, Austin and regular trips to Houston and my daily rides have contributed to the 45000 miles.

[VCheng]

Nice car, and well maintained. I am sure it will give you great service for along time to come.

The only thing I would suggest is using stock air filters with this engine. K&N filters are not needed.

[aditya.86]

Originally Posted by VCheng

Nice car, and well maintained. I am sure it will give you great service for along time to come.

The only thing I would suggest is using stock air filters with this engine. K&N filters are not needed.

Any specific reason that K&n should be avoided?

[condor]

@Aditya, you bring back memories. Of my 2001 V6 AT. Wish I can turn back the clock ! It was fresh off the block then.

This is a lovely car, and I do have a soft corner for this. Please post more pics of this one - esp where we can see the full car.

[VCheng]

Originally Posted by aditya.86

Any specific reason that K&n should be avoided?

An engine as small as this one one gains very little power from the reduced restriction. Regular servicing with the proper oiling kit reduces any potential savings from reusing the filter. The re-cleaning and re-oiling has to be done just right, every time. On the street, you also run the risk of reduced engine life due to the smaller dust particles allowed in by the less restrictive filter, and improper MAF sensor operation due to light coating of filter oil that inevitable builds up and attracts dirt.

I have nothing against K&N filters: they do give a small advantage on the race track, with large engines. For normal street cars, I would strongly suggest sticking with the OEM filter, or equivalent.

[d_himan]

Hi Aditya, I have a 2002 AT here in Mumbai!

Few things intriguing me!

1. The brakes are very very good. Did you replace with Honda OEM pads?

2. Noisy? At higher RPMs? Probably the VTEC... I can barely hear the engine. Almost everyone who sits in the car comments on the refinement.

3. While the car is heavy and the handling is not nimble, the steering feel is honest to goodness - a well tuned hydraulic set-up. Also I felt the steering effort in the city is a bit high at low speeds! My wife hates it!

4. The high speed ride is very good as well. Haven't experienced any swaying or pull so far.

5. Agree with VCheng. Would advice you to go for a genuine Honda Air Filter. the bobistheoilguy forum chaps don't like K&N too much. Just read this. Air Filtration Test

6. Yes, the AT is a weak-link! Wise decision. I can't live without one since I have a bumper to bumper commute and hence, as preventive maintenance, have a trans filter + lubegard additive to prolong it's life.

PS: Which model do you own? The EX comes pretty loaded with side airbags/power seats/sunroof/cruise control etc etc

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by d_himan

Hi Aditya, I have a 2002 AT here in Mumbai!

Few things intriguing me!

1. The brakes are very very good. Did you replace with Honda OEM pads?

2. Noisy? At higher RPMs? Probably the VTEC... I can barely hear the engine. Almost everyone who sits in the car comments on the refinement.

3. While the car is heavy and the handling is not nimble, the steering feel is honest to goodness - a well tuned hydraulic set-up. Also I felt the steering effort in the city is a bit high at low speeds! My wife hates it!

4. The high speed ride is very good as well. Haven't experienced any swaying or pull so far.

6. Yes, the AT is a weak-link! Wise decision. I can't live without one since I have a bumper to bumper commute and hence, as preventive maintenance, have a trans filter + lubegard additive to prolong it's life.

PS: Which model do you own? The EX comes pretty loaded with side airbags/power seats/sunroof/cruise control etc etc

Interestingly, I had some similar observations. In fact, I enjoyed driving this gen Accord more than the Galant and Camrys I test drove when in the States. Its a different thing that I ended up getting the Galant V6 over the Accord, but I personally found the handling and high speed manners of the Accord quite good.
Even in India, we had a 2001 Accord M/T, and I quite enjoyed it. The clutch was quite heavy though.
These cars are superb, and I hope you have many more happy miles. 45K in a year is quite a bit! I did 20 - 25K in 2.5 years!
I am guessing this is the LX - going by the after market alloys.