New here, need an answer quickly

[oldshirley]

I'm looking at a 2000 Accord with 60,000 miles for my son. He's a freshman in college so I need something that will last 4 to 5 years. I think this Honda is that car. My only concern is that the service light is on. I'm told by this dealer as well as some other Accord owners, this light has to be reset by a Honda dealer upon oil change. This dealer told me they serviced the car, but Honda would not tell them how to reset the light. I've been told the consumer can reset the light if they can find the answer. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about this. Help. I'm thinking about buying this car on Monday for my son, but I want to make sure this is all we need to do. I'm having my mechanic look at it also on Monday.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
:bawling:

[Wardsweb]

Hey Princess looks like one for your Prince.

[oldshirley]

New developments on the Accord. My husband looked at it (we're still in the inspecting before we buy stage) and he said it looks as though the car may have been wrecked. He noted the new bolts and hoses around the transmission. When I confronted the salesman he told me yes it had a transmission overhaul or replacement. He told me his dealership has all the papers and would furnish them to the buyer. He told me he believes the new transmission is covered by a warranty and is going to check into that.
Here's the deal, this car is immaculate, is a 2000 and just turned 60,000 miles. It's leather interior with a sunroof. Looks to have been taken care of. They are asking $11,900 but said they would come down. I'm leery of buying a car that has had transmission problems. The salesman said the car has not been wrecked to his knowledge, but to me it looks as though the airbag was deployed on the passenger side, new headlight lens on passenger side and some damage underneath (minor).
I really don't want my son (18 yrs old) to buy this car because he only works part time and goes to school full time.
Any opinions on this?

[Bean]

If you're still considering the car, spring for a CarFax (http://www.carfax.com) report.

But if the feeling you're getting just ain't right, as you seem to indicate, go w/ your intuition and move on to the next car. There are plenty of them out there!

Good luck!

[princess]

To reset the service light hold the "trip reset button" while turning the key until the the light goes out.

I agree that your intuition is normally a VERY good meter!

A tranny needing to be rebuilt at 60K in a 2000 isn't that unusual, Honda extended the warranty due to a problem. If it was done at a dealer, you shouldn't have more problems. If an independent shop did it, they may not have known exactly what parts needed to be replaced.

I'd check the VIN# with a service that tracks for wrecks to make sure that it's not a "salvaged" title. The price seems low if it's an EX, especially if it's a V6.

Sorry, I wasn't online earlier.... one of the grandson's birthday.

[princess]

"In certain vehicles, a higher than normal number of
automatic transmissions may have defects in material
or workmanship that could cause premature wear or
failure. To ensure that customers have adequate
warranty coverage, American Honda is increasing the
warranty on the transmission and the torque converter
to 7 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first."

Unless it has been totalled. That voids the warranty!

[oldshirley]

Ok here's the deal with Carfax. I don't put much stock in what they report. I did a search on a car I know had 2 insurance claims for flood damage (it was my old car) and that never showed up. Also ran a check on a vehicle I knew had been wrecked and had an insurance claim for wreck, never showed up.
About the only thing Carfax does is report how many owners a vehicle has had.
That being said, I did spring for a Carfax report on this car since I was considering buying it. It said no data found before 24,000 miles, which disturbed me. After 24,000 miles there was one owner from North Carolina. And then it was traded to this dealer that I'm talking with. According to this dealer they took it to the Honda Dealership here and had the transmission serviced or replaced, not sure. They tell me they have all paperwork for the transmission replacement and that they will provide it to the buyer of the car.
I can probably get the car for $10,500 which is a good price. It's a 4 cylinder V-Tec but other than that, top of the line Accord. I'm just not sure I want to mess with something that's already had problems, but then it's always a gamble when you buy used. I'm so confused :bawling:

[princess]

If the tranny was done at a Honda dealership, then I wouldn't concider it a problem anymore. Due to the fact it would still be under warranty. So that's a non issue. I don't know anything about carfax myself. Here you can have DMV run the VIN#. Sometimes you can also take it to a dealership & they can tell you what's been done according to the computer.


If you like the car, would it matter if a fender bender caused some damage that's been repaired? It's hard to find a nearly 5 year old that's not had a bit of body repair. Does the paint match up? Does the airbag look like it's installed right? If the title's not salvaged, & you feel like they've done a good job on the repairs, & you think the price is fair....then buy it. If not then keep looking.

Buying used cars is always a BIG decision! Is the lot one with a reasonably good reputation? We have one really nightmare story! Sign EACH copy, or at least look each one over! It has become common practice for the top copy to have completely different figures than the rest. Our daughter thought she was paying 2500 cash for a car & turns out the other copies had that as a down & she had to make payments totalling to 6500.

It sounds as if you're doing your best to do your homework & that's a big plus!:)

[oldshirley]

Thanks for the input. This is a Chrysler dealership I'm working with and they have won several awards for best dealership and all that. Their owner is known nationally because she was a single mom with not much education who battled breast cancer. She's a pretty great woman. I like the fact she owns the dealership and it has good marks. The salesman told me the Honda dealership here did the work and he has all the paperwork on the transmission work. He also told me as far as he knows the car was never wrecked. I'm not sure how to see if the airbag was installed properly, if in fact it ever was deployed. I don't know that part for a fact.
No, a fender bender that is repaired properly doesn't bother me in the least. If the transmission is really under warranty, I would have no problem buying this car. I'm just concerned my son is going to get screwed, it's just my nature to worry about every little thing. I guess I need some Paxil or some Wellbutrin while I'm doing this car thing with him (well, car, college etc.) :D

[princess]

If the sales person offered to get the papers from the Honda dealer, let him. Then you can relax. If they did the tranny then Honda backs the repair. The post above is directly from Honda & their technician line. If you buy a used car from a Honda dealer that's been certified they have a better warranty than the new ones! The '02 that I traded in came with 3yr/36K. It had less than 11K on it. So the new owner will get it covered to 100K. I've never understood Honda's logic there, but it's great when getting one from their dealers!

I think 90% of car buying is the trust issue of who you're dealing with. If you like this place & the car.... enjoy!

Since most dealers steam clean or pressure wash the engine compartment it's really hard to tell what kind of treatment the previous owner did for the car. Here's a tip: before starting a car up, while looking under the hood, take off the radiator cap. If there's any rusty brown in there then it has not been maintained properly. If it's green, you're usually fine. Even if the lot changed the coolant, it would still show rust if it had not been maintained before. You can't fool the car! Getting the oil changed often isn't all there is to keeping up the insides of the engine & seeing the coolant is one easy way to check!

Good luck!!:)

[adam1991]

I agree that the transmission thing is a GOOD thing. Let's face the facts: Honda blew it with their 4 speed automatic transmissions in the Accord and Odyssey lines during 1998-2001 model years. I've used one Honda dealer for the last 23 years, and I heard from my mechanic a few years ago that they were seeing 4 transmissions a week. When I went to buy a used 2000 Accord a few months ago, he said "don't buy an automatic transmission". I bought a manual.

So, you really need to find out if the transmission was repaired per Honda's recall by a Honda dealership. If so, that's a GOOD thing. You're WAY ahead of the big issue now, and you're back to normal Honda quality.

I love my 2000 Accord EX, btw. Wonderful piece. I got it back in April with 24K on the clock, certified used, and it's been great--typical Honda.

Now, from 90K through 120K you'll see a lot of maintenance items come up--timing belt, exhaust, etc.--normal things that will need work, in addition to the regular 30/60/90/120K items. Sometimes, all these things come up together and it seems like you're doing nothing but throwing money into it. Don't worry about it; as long as it's not *broken* things, you're fine. Just maintain it, and realize that the money you're putting into it at 115K is far less than the money you would have put into buying a brand new Accord.

I think $11,900 is a bit high. I paid $14,900 for my certified used with 24k on the clock; with 60k, and your car being one model year older than was mine when I bought it, it shouldn't be above $10,000. I'm thinking $9990. But hey, what do I know.

Check out autotrader.com and see what the asking price is in your area.

[Inspector1]

As far as major accident damage on Honda's it's real easy to spot.
All Hondas have panel Vin tags.... inside inner fender edges, hood, all doors, door jambs on rear doors for 1/4 fenders, deck lid and rear bumper. If they've been replaced they won't have tags or matching tags. Check Nada.com or Kelly blue book for prices in your area, I'm not sure if trans warranty is transferable to new owner. Usually if car fax doesn't show history for first 20k-30k it was probably a rental or track lease unit. Check your local Honda dealer for their prices on used.. Do some homework.... Honda Cert cars also can get you into a better interest rate also 4-5% and offer you the option of their Wrap warranty .. Bumper to Bumper 100k mile 7 years from original delivery date for under 1k additional...

Hope this helps
Good Luck
I1

[BenjiBoy650]

Okay few things to be said here. The service light depends on which one you're talking about. Theres a Maintenence Req'd light and a Check Engine light. If it's the maintenence light, it can be reset by the owner, it even tells you how in the owners manual. Don't lose sleep over that, it's set to come on even when theres no problem (I think every 6000 miles), so it's not a big deal at all. The check engine light is a different story, ask the dealer what's wrong with it if it happens to be that one.

How can you tell that the airbag had deployed? Just curious, normally you can't tell. Airbags generally are pretty ill-fitting as far as I can see, so not a big deal. As for the headlight lens, it's also pretty normal. My '99 had a new right front headlamp at 60,000 miles, and the left front is current leaking slightly at 110,000 miles.

The transmission is surely under warranty if it was done by a Honda dealer. All the Accord (auto) trannies are warranted up to 7 years and 100K assuming clean title and the maintenence schedule is followed. So I wouldn't worry about it there either.

$11,900 is a LOT of money for a car like that. I heard you say leather, and 4 cylinder VTEC. I just bought my '99 EX 5-speed with 108,000 miles for $7200 in California, where Accords are really hot. $11,900 is a lot of money, you could probably get the fresher 2001 with less miles for that money if you look around for a private seller.

In terms of maintenence, the previous owner had the timing belt replaced at 88K, but the maintenence schedule calls for even higher under normal driving conditions. As far as reliability goes, the only thing I'd worry about is the transmission, which is really nothing. Just treat it properly (aka don't put it into drive if it's still going 5 MPH in reverse), and it should be okay. If you document it, Honda may even help you out on the cost even if it is out of warranty (depending on the dealer, your SA, etc).

Good luck on your search!! It's already been said, but if you don't feel comfortable with this car, usually feelings mean something. Cars are living breathing creates, they take air in, use it to make energy and spit out the exhaust, much like humans. If they haven't been taken care of and aren't happy, you'll know it for sure.

Forgot to mention, I don't like buying out of state cars. If you don't mind, consider that North Carolina may experience snow and or hurricanes. Therefore, there might be some salt/rust on the undercarriage, paint may be a little rougher than a car that's been in your area its whole life, things like that. But then again, a friend was telling me about a huge flood in the Texas A&M College Station area....so all the cars there are more or less flood damaged, but not all of them have their titles labeled as such. Up to you, I don't know your area but I know that there's not many places that can beat SF, no snow, no hurricanes so all the cars in the area have a potential to be spotless and rustless.

By the way...better ask your son if he likes the car lol

[oldshirley]

Thanks for all the info. This has really been helpful. It is the Maint Req light that's on and I did find out about resetting that.
Also, my son loves the car, that's the problem. He can't get it out of his head and move on to something else although we looked at a really cute Civic with a rear spoiler that he liked.
I talked to Honda this a.m. They said they did in fact work on the car and it does have the 100,000 mile warranty on the transmission because it is a new transmission. Here's the deal though, he told me the 100,000 miles or 7 years is from the original purchase date--I'm confused because Honda website says original in-service date which to me is a little confusing.
Anyway, it would still have a little over 39,000 miles on the warranty. My gut tells me we should move on. There's something about this car. But, all the other Accords in this area are pretty high priced.
Also, as far as it coming from North Carolina, this is a hurricane area also so same thing as far as rust and such.
But I do appreciate everyone's input and I'll keep you posted.

[BenjiBoy650]

Being a 16 year old, I know how your son feels. He wants the car bad, he just doesn't care whats going to happen in 2 or 3 years. Don't buy it, teach him this valuable lesson now, teach him to shop for the best deal. My dad did the same thing for me, and I passed on many cars that were pretty shitty, now that I go back and think about it.

Regarding the hurricanes, okay you make a valid point but do you have snow? Snow = salt on road = major rust. Also, would you be willing to buy from a private buyer? I know it's not the most reassuring thing but it may be a better deal. If you want to do that, www.autotrader.com has both private and dealer sellers, or www.craigslist.org may have some cars in your area (they let you choose what area you're in, so you get appropriate advertisements).

I think when the Honda website said "in-service date," effectively what they were trying to say is the date that it was originally purchased as a new car. After you buy the car, it is "in service" and out of the manufacturers hands, so that's when the warranty starts.

Just curious, what is it that your son see's in this car? If you don't know, ask him. If he can't come up with an answer, it must be more excitement and want than logical reasoning for loving the car.

[oldshirley]

LOL no snow here, this is the tropics. Texas Gulf Coast, never gets below 50 in the dead of winter (well sometimes it gets in the 30's for a day or 2 in February), so no salt on roads but this is also the Gulf Coast so we have very humid salt air.
My son loves this car because it has everything he's looking for--leather, sunroof, very very clean (looks new on the interior), exterior looks pretty sharp too. I like the car too. Very comfy.
Also, it's a 4 cylinder but has some get up & go (which he really doesn't need with his track record). He needs a lawn mower engine that only goes up to 50 mphk!!!
Anyway, I contacted the actual Honda Company and was told the only warranty work done on this car was a new transmission which was done in Sept. 2003 and the warranty lasts until the car turns 100,000 miles or until May 2007, whichever occurs first.
I'm still pondering. The salesman is out of town for a week anyway so we get a break from this.

[BenjiBoy650]

There are a lot of cars with leather and sunroof, those were 2 of the things I wanted too but I had to sacrifice. Wanted a hard-to-find manual and the one nice one I found was a cloth interior but it did have a sunroof, so whatever. The 4 cylinder engine seems very weak to me, much more so in an automatic. It might be okay around town but overall, most SUV's and probably most new minivans will outaccelerate it. I believe the 6th gen Accord 4 cylinder auto does a 0-60MPH time of around 10 seconds. Compare that to a 2002 Honda Odyssey, which has been known to run 0-60 in 7.5 seconds.

Are you looking at any other choices? I was just thinking, Toyota is offering some nice discounts on the new Corolla. It has available leather, don't know about the sunroof though. Personally I love the new Corolla...whaddya think about buying that instead? :) It'd be brand new, the warranty would be less but hey it's a Toyota, they're not known for problems. The engine is only making 130HP, compared to the Accords 150HP, so that's more of what you want haha.

[princess]

Toyota???:eek:
Remember where you are!!!!:wave:

[BenjiBoy650]

I remember. Accord resale values are kinda high though, I wouldn't buy a used Accord unless I plan on driving it till 200K miles at least (which I do, actually I plan on bringing mine to 300K :))

[Inspector1]

Actually Toyota resale is up higher than Honda at present if you shop at auction...... Have you checked insurance rates... Honda tends to be high due to stolen vehicle rates at least in my region.
+ teenage driver = ouch!! :eek:
Of course you have to remember Toyota doesn't have the Forums or following that Honda has unless your talking Supra......
Toyota is not quite as sporty as Honda.:cool:
You really have to consider the support of dealer unless you DIY
and of course what you like..

I1

[princess]

Looking in the paper here, the '00 Accord EX is going for 14K. So her finding one for 11K is pretty good! There's not a big resale price difference between the V6 & I4, just a different demand.

A well treated '00 with 60K on it could go for another 200K!! Sometimes even the abused ones make it! (Our oldest daughter has a '90 Civic & an '87 Accord with over 300K right now....those as VERY abused & neglected cars!!):)

[adam1991]

Originally posted by oldshirley
Also, my son loves the car, that's the problem. He can't get it out of his head and move on to something else

Well, better he learns now that getting emotionally attached to a car is an expensive proposition. He should learn to shelve that and treat it completely as a business transaction--which it is, nothing more, nothing less. It's when people get emotionally involved that the salesmen take advantage. I say, when you're unsure you should always have a disinterested party with you when evaluating the deal.



They said they did in fact work on the car and it does have the 100,000 mile warranty on the transmission because it is a new transmission. Here's the deal though, he told me the 100,000 miles or 7 years is from the original purchase date--I'm confused because Honda website says original in-service date which to me is a little confusing.

The original purchase date *is* the in-service date of the vehicle. Honda warrants the transmission until the vehicle is 7 years old according to the original purchase date or 100K miles, whichever comes first.


Anyway, it would still have a little over 39,000 miles on the warranty. My gut tells me we should move on. There's something about this car. But, all the other Accords in this area are pretty high priced.

I'm not feeling too bad about the car itself, and it sounds like they'd come down from their original asking price.

[BenjiBoy650]

Well actually I never looked at insurance rates, because I was buying a used car. Me and my dad are VERY picky so we take what we can get. I was searching between 6 or 7 completely different cars, and it took me 6 or 8 months to find the right one in SF. Regarding resale, Toyota might be higher but Accord is still high. Also, I was talking about buying a NEW Toyota so it would be an advantage? I guess hehe. Personally I'd buy a Honda (over a Toyota, save for a 97+ Camry V6 or a Supra) if I had a choice, but like I said if I'm searching for a new car I buy the first one that appears to have been taken care of, given of course that it's a decent car.

Accord owners advertise at very high prices, but most of them don't sell. I don't know if the difference between an LX and EX make a big difference to you, but it doesn't matter to me. The difference in price though, is normally pretty large obviously because owners are trying to make as much back as possible. $14,000 is outrageous (not to bash you but really those people must be idiots), I've seen 2002 Accord LX's with less than 40K for $13,900.

Regarding the distance a '99 EX could travel, I very highly doubt that it could go 260K without having to replace an engine or transmission. If you had to replace a transmission at 45K, I'd expect a repeat round at 90K if not sooner. In fact, the 99-01 Odyssey 4-speed transmissions are not doing well. There have been vans that have had the tranny replaced 2 times in under 20,000 miles. The Honda 4-speed auto is a botched tranny, it won't last. I've seen some of the '99 3.2TL's get new trannies as soon at 10K miles. If you really wanted to bulletproof it, you can buy a Level 10 tranny kit but it would cost major money for no real gain in performance, and untested durability gains. I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from buying an Accord auto but honestly I think the way to go is a manual. My dad's 1986 Accord 5-speed went to 250K and is still going under a new owner, if he hadn't had sold it, I would have been more than happy to bring it to 500K. I feel that that car had better quality and was overall a tighter build, especially considering the mileage on it.

[oldshirley]

My son is at the Honda dealership right now checking out their used Hondas. This Accord, compared to others in my area, is priced fairly reasonable. We're undecided right now, but I do believe, from what I've read, Honda stands behind their product.
And yes, the insurance is expensive, but he's 18, almost 19. From what I'm told by my State Farm Agent we don't get a break until he turns 21 or gets married. I guess I could marry him off :D
I'd like him to find something soon before I go crazier than I already am :bawling:

[BenjiBoy650]

I heard you get 35% off at 19 if you have a clean record and you've been driving since 16. I don't know, I'd shop around for it. Are ya stuck on Honda? Other alternatives (I'm going to get flamed for this):

1) VW Passat - nice car but going to need a timing belt at 60K. Also, if not taken care of, engine will need replacement under 100K. The best part: sometimes they catch fire :)
2) Audi A4. Little more expensive but nice car, real solid. I've never heard anything on their reliability except that Car and Driver grenaded the tranny at 30K, but I think it can go much longer if it's properly taken care of. Similar to VW Passat.
3) Toyota Camry - Leather is available on both the I4 and V6. V6 is much nicer to drive, but the I4 is gutless, just what you want. Probably hard to find the leather but you'll get it if you look. My dad's '97 Camry has 130K on it with no problems, it will go very far. I know it's an Accord forum, don't let that get to your head :)
4) Volvo S40 - some of them are down near $10,000 now with only about 60K miles. Nicely equipped with more power. And it's a Volvo, they build safety :)
5) Mercedes C220/C230/C280 - older models are down in the $10000 range too, and it's a Mercedes.

[oldshirley]

We were supposed to go look at a 1998 Camry with 41,000 miles, but it sold before we got there.
I'm stuck on Honda because of the research I've done. I like what Honda has to offer and how they back up their cars.
Not many companies do that now. We still might get this one Accord that we've looked at.

[BenjiBoy650]

Up to you, I think your son would love a Nissan Maxima hehe. Toyota likes to back up their cars too, they handled the sludging V6's pretty well.

[princess]

I'd stick with the Accord you found, if it's still available. It's not high mileage for a Honda, it;s price is fair for your area, the kid LOVES it & that usually means he'll take good care of it. The tranny is a non issue. I don't see anything wrong with this picture! Go For it!!:D

[Inspector1]

2000 Honda EX w/leather 60k clean 12k trade value 13.5k
Resale Nada.com kelly Blue book 14k retail
Like princess said it's a good deal BUY IT!!!!

I1

[princess]

Hey Shirley, did you ever buy the car?? What happened???:confused:

[oldshirley]

Don't laugh--he bought a Saturn last night.
I found another Accord and I tried to talk him into it, but he picked the Saturn.
I hope we didn't make a mistake.
:sorry:

[BenjiBoy650]

He picked a Saturn over an Accord? Pinch me...this has to be a dream...:D

[princess]

I thought those were disposable!

Just kidding. I don't know anything about Saturns. I know one person that owns one & has traded in for another. The couple of times she's been stranded it was a simple fix. She holds them in high regard.

I actually was stranded in an Accord ('82 sedan) once. The main fuse went out on my way to a baby shower. A helpful person & I pushed it off the road & I called the Prince, who was at work & couldn't come to me. I put a piece of foil to mend it & went home. He brought home a new fuse. End of story!