Is this a decent, reliable car? Has 84000 miles and runs well but wonder if you “know anything”. Thanks!
They have Good track record, but that is just opinion, I go by reviews which aren’t always reliable. It’s always best to take it to a reputable shop and have a prepurchase inspection.
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Do I know anything ? If you mean about the vehicle you are looking at , then the answer is No. Every used vehicle has to evaluated on it’s own merit because there is no stock answer.
+1 !! There is NO way for us to know how the car was treated over that 84K miles. It should go to your mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection … THAT is the stock answer!
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which engine? 2.4 L 4 banger, or 3.5 L V6?
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Definitely reliable. I’ve owned two Accords and both have been solid rides for 200,000+ miles. My 2009 Accord EX-V6 has just over 230,000 on it and has been great. I’ve done regular mainteance and tried to keep up with service intervals. It and my old 97 model have been the most reliable cars I’ve owned in over 30 years of driving.
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@George_San_Jose1, you might wonder if the 4-cyl uses a CVT. The 2012 does not. That started in the next generation, beginning in 2013.
That is your experience . That does not mean the one this person is looking at is worth buying or not. Blanket statements about any brand are pretty much going to be wrong to someone.
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As usual, original poster receives a mixed bag of forum’s usual responses 
The guy was asking “hey, is this type of the vehicle reliable??”
He receives two types of answers
- No used car can be judged without looking deep into it, go to mechanic, etc…
GOOD SOLID ADVICE, but not necessarily what he asked
- Yes, great car!
MISLEADING, but also good…
… as the car is indeed of “reliable kind”, but sure enough it may be beaten to the ground and nobody here would be able to assess the mechanical condition of this particular car and to give a specific BUY / NO-BUY advise
I could only contribute next link for OP entertainment:
But not knowing the specifics, would it be at fair to say that if you’re buying a car with higher mileage (like I’ve had to do every time lol) that you may have better success with certain brands?
My Ranger had over 200K miles on it before I bought it, and I drove it for years without any major repairs. But finally when my clutch went out I decided it was better just to sell it at that point. It looked like it was going to need even more repairs after the expensive clutch repair, but it served it’s purpose as a reliable work truck longer than I expected. I will note that while the Ranger was reliable, it never seemed to shift correctly, but I knew it wasn’t going to be perfect. Also, I’m not suggesting that Fords are more reliable than other makes, but maybe some trucks can last longer than cars, and I have heard Ranger (or Mazda) 4 cyl was known for it’s reliability.
So, after I said goodbye to the the Ranger, and we were using the bus, my gf got enough money to put a down payment for a car, but we knew it was going to have to be another older vehicle. So I suggested she purchase a Honda or Toyota. We ended up buying an 06 Corolla with 140K miles. The body was pretty rough and we didn’t get the money to fix it. The code was showing it might need a new catalytic converter, so maybe we got lucky again, and we should have had a mechanic inspect it. But it ran pretty well long enough to pay it off and get us around. We only had to replace the battery and starter.
I second this statement, but it brings the need for all other warnings/disclaimers, boiling down to “even if you select from the statistically less troublesome used cars pool, the final judgement on a particular car has to be from the competent mechanic doing an inspection”
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As the others have said, the only real answer is that the Accord was a very well-made vehicle and if taken care of should last a good long time.
Beyond that, who can say. The previous owner might have gone 20,000 miles between oil changes, and he might have held it at redline to warm the engine up faster in the winter, or he might have been a dope and put washer fluid in the transmission. You just don’t know. Get it looked at by an independent mechanic before you buy.
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After the Corolla had that code for the catalytic converter we decided to have a mechanic check the Scion before we bought it, and I felt better knowing that he checked it out. But only time will tell how reliable it will be. lol
Here is a quick guideline created just for your type of “Should I buy this car” question. We get many. Most of what is in this story came from the top contributors here at CarTalk. You may also be interested in this guide to how to tell if a car you are buying has had the major engine service done or not.
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That is a model that performs well if and when it is maintained properly, but you need to have it thoroughly inspected by your mechanic (with you paying so there is no conflict of interest) before you buy it. The make and model don’t matter nearly as much as how well it was maintained.
Here we go…
I disagree, IMHO, at high mileage make and model are very important, but only given that car was properly maintained. Not even most reliable car will be able to sustain abuse, so proper maintenance is given and it is something mechanics inspection has to estimate.
To back my statement, selecting between Corolla with 100K miles and Neon with 100K miles, would you tell they have equal chances to last to 200K ? Even if both were very carefully maintained, I would put my bet on the first one.
Back to OP, 2012 Accord is well ahead of the pack, reliability-wise, but careful examination is still needed before purchase.
Actually, I re-read @Whitey message, and it looks like we are talking about the same thing…
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Is the margin (difference) in build quality between a 2012 Accord and a 2012 Neon rally that large? Being ahead of the pack in 2012 doesn’t mean nearly as much as it did in 1992, when the difference in build quality between manufacturers was a lot bigger. All of the manufacturers have improved so much in build quality that the gap between the head of the pack and those trailing is a lot smaller than it used to be.
That’s why I consider maintenance the bigger factor.
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and that’s where I consider it so important, that I do not even think it is a part of selection, if I see it was not well maintain, I simply walk away, it is a clear indication that car likely has a lot of “unseen unknowns”
“not my car”
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It’s a 17 year old used car. There is not one person on Earth or even in Heaven above who can tell you whether or not it’s going to be reliable.
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