3 accident well maintained car -- buy?

Maintenance/Repairs
,
21

Okay, I have to defer to greater wisdom then. No more neutral rev tests. Once again, thank you for your excellent advice; reading the cartalk forum over the past 2 days has made me learn a lot about used cars . Thank you all again for your time and patience.

Since I am in the market for a used Honda accord manual, let me show everyone another car. This is an 05 Honda Accord 5 speed EX with 103K miles on it. I havent test driven it yet; this is a dealer car. It does not have any accidents reported. It also does not have much in terms of repair and maintenance history in its carfax and autocheck; the 2003 accord that was being discussed earlier had both the details. The title is clean etc. The problem is that it was driven down from WA to TX , and for most of its life was in WA. Now I havent seen the car, but I dont know why dealers move these cars down from the northern states to the south…is it because they want to reduce the rusting that would take place if the car was continually in the northern parts of the US?

Link: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=267858941&dealer_id=81682&car_year=2005&rdm=1253423054617&model=ACCORD&num_records=25&systime=&make2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1993&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&engine=4+Cylinder&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=used&distance=25&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=y&make=HONDA&keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=priceASC&seller_type=b&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceASC&address=77005&advanced=y&end_year=2005&doors=&transmission=Manual&max_price=&cardist=22&standard=false

Carfax shows that the car was driven for all its 4 years in WAshington state and then gotten to texas for the sale. It has been driven a lot, 25K miles per year, which are probably highway and thus better than a stop n go situation.

Funnily enough, the registered odometer readings are at 100 miles and then again at 78000 miles, with very little in between. The state emissions and safety inspection data from WA are also missing. Either the car was not inspected, or carfax does not have a mechanism of reporting data from these states. Autocheck is likewise.

What are your thoughts on this vehicle and advice for me?

Thank you so much again, in advance!

This is what autocheck says:

Event Date Event Location Odometer Reading Data Source Event Detail
06/14/2005 RIDGEFIELD, WA
199
Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
07/27/2006 BATTLE GROUND, WA
Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
07/11/2007 BATTLE GROUND, WA
Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
02/07/2008 LA CENTER, WA
78,528
Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #:0516507308)
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL (Lien Reported)
04/13/2009 LA CENTER, WA
Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL

If you would like the carfax details, here you go:
Date: Mileage: Source: Comments:
12/10/2004 Dick Hannah Honda & Dick Hannah Best Buys
Vancouver, WA
360-256-5000


ww.dickhannahhonda.
com Pre-delivery inspection completed
Washed/detailed
04/14/2005 Dick Hannah Honda & Dick Hannah Best Buys
Vancouver, WA
360-256-5000

ww.dickhannahhonda.
com Vehicle serviced
06/14/2005 199 Washington
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Battle Ground, WA Title issued or updated
First owner reported
Registration updated when owner moved
the vehicle to a new location
06/14/2005 Washington
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Ridgefield, WA Registered as
personal vehicle
12/01/2007 78,448 Dealer Inventory Vehicle offered for sale
12/07/2007 Dick Hannah Honda & Dick Hannah Best Buys
Vancouver, WA
360-256-5000

ww.dickhannahhonda.
com Rear brake pads replaced
Pre-delivery inspection completed
Washed/detailed
12/14/2007 78,480 Dealer Inventory
Vancouver, WA Vehicle offered for sale
01/27/2008 78,528 Dick Hannah Honda & Dick Hannah Best Buys
Vancouver, WA
360-256-5000

ww.dickhannahhonda.
com Vehicle sold
01/27/2008 SouthwestRe
www.Reinsure.com 800-634-4333
La Center, WA Service contract issued

Owner 2
Purchased: 2008
Type: Personal
Where: Washington
Est. miles/year: —
Est. length owned: 2/7/08 - present
(1 yr. 7 mo.)

Date: Mileage: Source: Comments:
02/07/2008 Washington
Motor Vehicle Dept.
La Center, WA
Title #0516507308 Title issued or updated
New owner reported
Loan or lien reported
01/06/2009 93,396 Dick Hannah Honda & Dick Hannah Best Buys
Vancouver, WA
360-256-5000


ww.dickhannahhonda.
com Maintenance inspection completed
Manufacturer’s recommended maintenance performed
04/13/2009 Washington
Motor Vehicle Dept.
La Center, WA
Title #0803832108 Registration issued or renewed
Registration updated when owner moved
the vehicle to a new location

22

I would add first off that I’m not a big fan of Carfax or other outfits like CF because much of the info they have may be incomplete or flat out wrong. When it comes to mechanical repair problems (collisions excluded) a huge amount of this will not be reported.
One could have the biggest Lemon on Earth with a clean Carfax so I don’t put much credence into things like this.
Just my opinion, but CF, AutoChek, etc. is more of a sales gimmick than anything else by leading people to believe a good CF report means a good car.
CF info helps but it should not be the final word.

Several previous cars of mine had erroneous CF reports. One was a rebuilder from a wreck that was in my name under an OK Salage Title for about 8 years. Good car, but CF showed it as being a “clean” title which of course it wasn’t.
The other was even more laughable. CF showed that car as being “currently stolen”, which was a huge surprise to me, the DMV, and the guy I bought it from.

Cars routinely get shuffled all over the country so moving one from WA to TX is not always an indicator of funny business going on. If the car was from Minnesota, Ohio, etc. then I’d really be worried about a rust issue.

A 103k miles car would not bother me in the least and I would take a 25k miles per year highway car over a 10k miles per year city driven car every time.

Like any used car it should be inspected. If not inspected, one should preferably take along someone who is mechanically minded for a thorough test drive. A test drive does not mean 2 miles but 40 miles. This gets everything up to operating temperatures and a lengthy drive will give one time to notice any glitches that may not be apparent during a 5 minute test.

Hope some of that helps anyway.

23

OK4450 ,

Thank you so much for your detailed reply to my query. This has been really helpful. I agree that CF and Autocheck are more superficial than anything else. They do give some reliable data, in the case that the car is wrecked, or has been maintained at a dealership that updates carfax.

If all works out well with the 2005 accord’s inspection, mechanical issues , tranny, maintenance, wrecks and filler materials, cosmetics, etc. I would buy it because it has been driven a large number of highway miles, stick shift, hence less tranny issues, late model 2005.

This is my used car checklist from msn auto:
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:ny3MFmBD10sJ:autos.msn.com/advice/articles/aischecklist.aspx+used+car+buying+checklist+msn+auto&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

I also have another checklist from Samarins.com which is really good.

Some things from the above that come to my mind are:
I’m going to check for rust damage on the underside, leaks etc. see if everything on the underside is in place or not. Magnet use to gauge for filler material. Checking the lines to see if it has been repaired or not.
Other issues from the Samarins checklist and my mechanic.

For reference, dealer is asking for 9800, kbb is 9300 from Private Party (Dealer quoting private party value…nice…!!!)

I told the salesman that I am a college student and am looking for a car without much trouble. I did give him some details that showed my extensive theoretical knowledge about the accords, for eg. V6’s , I wouldnt touch, 2003-04 models especially.
Again, deep plaid has given very good tips:
I’m going to see the car on the 26th, and probably go again on the 29th or 30th to make the purchase if all is right. Get a little last day discount this way.
People I know usually quote half of what the dealer says and I shall do the same, start from around 4000 cash, and then my max shall be around 7000 for this car.

Thank you all for your help, in advance.

BTW, I’m a scientist at Rice University who likes his manual cars, because I was born and brought up in India. I have driven a Hyundai Elantra , Maruti Zen, and Maruti 800 before, and a plethora of 2 stroke scooters, 200 cc motorcycles etc.

Thanks again kind Sirs!! I truly am grateful for your advice earlier to not buy the accidented car.

Some of my and related science can be seen here:

google " paper battery company"

24

Another car to consider is the Ford Fusion, it also has a manual version, and should be a little cheaper compared to it’s Japanese rivals(does Toyota have a mid-sized stick shift car?). Only problem with the Fusion is that 06 is when they first came out

25

Thanks a lot for that suggestion!

The Ford Fusion 2006, is withing bargaining range, and is a fun little manual with exactly 160 hp, the same as the honda accord that I was planning on buying. For a similiar price, I could get a later model, with excellent reliability (till 2006 models…no older ones yet), repairs should be cheaper on average than the Honda Accord.

Excellent suggestion.

Would you like to comment on the previous post of mine, which suggests a way to go about with the dealer possesing the 2005 , 103,000 miles Honda Accord EX coupe V4 ? Thanks!

26

You’re putting too much faith in the Carfax reports. They’ll only tell you what is in the public records and, obviously, much that happens to a car doesn’t show up there. The best way to evaluate the condition of the car is to have it checked over by an independent mechanic. It’s the best $100 you’ll ever spend. You need to evaluate the actual car, not rely on printed reports by third parties, and that includes people on the forum who have never driven the car. We can give general advice but are in no position to judge the condition of a specific car sight unseen.

27

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!! :slight_smile:

28

I’m not sure if the Accord’s 4cyl engines have belts or chains, but at that mileage, it’d be due for a timing belt and water pump replacement, so haggle "Accord"ingly if it hasn’t been done.

29

Toyota Corolla 2003 value package with 175,000 miles, single owner
How much should I pay for it?