Buying a car in the last year of the generation

[GeoffM]

I've heard that on here before. I'm not 100% who (toycar, Ralphie?), said it, but it's advice I've been giving out.

It's solid advice, but I've never been able to actually support it till now.
Behold! The problems seem to follow exactly along generational lines.

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Civic/

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Accord/

I don't know if those are user based though. It is quite nifty how they organize it.
Most problems for both fall off after 2000, but it's possible they just don't go back that far.

[ssondubs]

Damn that stinks, I would have imagined that the last year of the generation had the most refinement.

[Tippey764]

Damn that stinks, I would have imagined that the last year of the generation had the most refinement.

Did you read otherwise? Thats exactly what geoff and that page concluded.

[crazymikey]

your best bet is mid-generation vehicles.

First year vehicles have problems to work out, and every year after, the manufacturer starts looking for ways to save money and build them cheaper. By the end of the life cycle, the model has lost refinement and gotten cheaper/poorer build quality.

Usually by mid-gen, they'll start to add a few bells and whistles here and there, or some special models, and then by the end they get phased out and the last year of the gen is typically rental car grade.

[Accrdwgnguy]

Who cares? That is what recalls are for.

[Sordz]

Who cares? That is what recalls are for.

They are not talking about recalls, they dont issues recalls for things like this. Just imagine all the first gen honda cr-v head problems with valves going tight and burning valves, or all the 2nd gen acura tl transmission problems. Even the first year or two of the c6 corvette z06 the motors are ticking time bombs etc. If anything they might issue a service bulletin.

[ExplodingCake]

You also have to put in mind that some of the cause of these problems are from the users.

[accordztech]

I knew most of that stuff with the transmissions. Especially the 6th gen accord transmissions, as well as the 7th gens.

For brakes, id just go aftermarket. I hate OEM pads, they squeal on all the new cars...I do notice that lots of new hondas and acuras rear brakes go out first. But doesnt bother me.

[Domesticated]

your best bet is mid-generation vehicles.

First year vehicles have problems to work out, and every year after, the manufacturer starts looking for ways to save money and build them cheaper. By the end of the life cycle, the model has lost refinement and gotten cheaper/poorer build quality.

Usually by mid-gen, they'll start to add a few bells and whistles here and there, or some special models, and then by the end they get phased out and the last year of the gen is typically rental car grade.

How would you suggest they build them cheaper? They aren't going to spends hundreds of thousands to retool something that works fine. And in fact engineering even works to improve discontinued models that still have problems.

[MikeW]

The 2001 Honda Accord suffers from widespread transmission failure, subframe rust, & problems with the airbag system (SRS). We recommend avoiding this model year like the plague.

138k, had it since 94k. Not a lick of issues. Tranny shifts hard sometimes but not any harder than my CB. Haven't experienced any SRS or body rust issues.

I want a newer accord and was gonna go for 2008 but maybe not. Was thinking about 06/07 so I might go that route.

[GeoffM]

138k, had it since 94k. Not a lick of issues. Tranny shifts hard sometimes but not any harder than my CB. Haven't experienced any SRS or body rust issues.

I want a newer accord and was gonna go for 2008 but maybe not. Was thinking about 06/07 so I might go that route.

06/07 definitely.

My 01 has 190k on it and it throwing trans codes.
No subframe rust that I can see
SRS has been on since I bought the car.

[Ralphie]

I don't remember specifically suggesting to buy end of gen vehicles, but I do support and push buying CPO.

Odly, both car's I have owned were both end of gens..

My 93 SE and my 2002 SE LOL.

From my personal experience, I could support buying end of gens.

I don't believe they slack off on the end of the generation.

Buying mid gen is fine, as most problems have worked themselves out, but that is not always true.

With the 6th, the transmission problems were widespread....whether you bought early, mid, or late, the problems were there, especially for the v6....

The 4th gen was the last generation to have a flagship end model...

The 93 SE had a few goodies that seperated it from the rest of the gen. Starting with the 5th gens, the removed the SE moniker and made it Special Edition...but it wasn't as fancy as the previous SE's...

As for my 2002, I have had 0 problems. The trans does act weird sometimes(like not upshifting) but I change the fluid here and there, and so far so good. I actually just noticed a tad of rust where the fenders attach to the upper wheel well...not sure what I can do about it, but since its sparse, I may be able to fix it.


And they have cases all the way back to 1990 it seems.

[mugencivic4dr]

but the first like are cars that are first in a generation. not buying first cas in a generation makes more sense than last in a generation

[Granite CB7]

I actually just noticed a tad of rust where the fenders attach to the upper wheel well...not sure what I can do about it, but since its sparse, I may be able to fix it.

Keep oil on it, like wd40 or something just like it. I obviously won't fix it but it will stop it from getting any worse if you keep up w/ it. Works well

[Tippey764]

The 4th gen was the last generation to have a flagship end model...

The 9th gen has a high end exclusive trim level again

Go look at the touring trim level sedan.