Hi all! I'm looking to get myself an Accord. Done paying off the wife's '07 Focus after a couple months of initial purchase, and ready to get myself an older Accord so that I may stop using the wife's Focus.

I want a four cylinder, manual, coupe Accord. Thing is, I'd like to keep it below $2,000. Definitely not $3,000. I know this leaves me looking mainly at the generation that used the F22 engines. But I know the H22 engine is dropped into Preludes a lot, so I was wondering if it's more reliable or has cheaper parts. I'd love to get a Prelude, but those are even more rare, and four cylinder manual Accords are the most reliable cars on the planet.

Edmunds.com lists the F22 generation's reliability as poor (big red X). 94 and up is a big green check, with the H22.

Thanks all!

 

90-97 Accords had F22s. They are reliable as any car out there. My 95 has almost 200k miles on it and drives incredibly smooth.

I am unsure why edmunds would list the F22 Accords as unreliable. I can only think of one car that is more reliable, and that is the older volvos. The 3 main problems with 94-97 Accords are: slow windows, glove box light stays on, and odometer breaking.

Preludes are nice and H22s are fast, but not very reliable. Almost every H22 burns oil. If I was looking for reliability I would not get an H22.

 

Sorry...Wrong forum to post this in...

 

Move it to the correct forum Mr. Rice...Thank You Sir

 

Not sure who Mr. Rice is, but thanks!

It was a toss-up between newbies forum and General Tech, for me. Wasn't sure.

 

Alright then, next question: How many miles is worth buying?

I know it all depends on the previous owners and how I take care of it, but we all know that we rarely ever get the luxury to know the history. And what are some key things to look for?

edit: Also, a LOT of people are wanting around a thousand dollars MORE than what their Accord is worth.

 

h22 burn oil b/c of vtec. Any honda dohc vtec engine will burn a bit more oil than a economy honda engine when reved in the engines power band “vtec”.. There is give and take in the performance world. With the h22 engine you get 170ish WHP but you burn a bit of oil and the engine is no as reliable as a f22a engine. It’s all in the design. H22 is more of a "sporty engine" f22 engines are made to get good MPG with a decent amount of tq for a heavy car.
So if you want a fast car you have to give a little. From your price range I would say get a h23 NON-vtec engine. Has about 160ish hp stock with a few power adders you can make it into the 190is hp range with you budget.

 

Also any honda DOHC vtec engine can suffer from burning oil...since vtec works off oil pressure. When vtec fails oil is burnt...when a vtec engine is not warmed up to operating temp. oil is also burnt. Most times when vtec is engaged oil is burnt. Things move way to fast in honda engines for all the oil to be sealed in its proper place.....

 

Makes sense. I think I'll stick with aiming at getting an Accord coupe. Check some of these out in my area:
http://boise.craigslist.org/cto/2267716571.html <-- This one being the nicest one I've found, and EXACTLY what I want. But, really?! $2,500?!
http://boise.craigslist.org/cto/2243270217.html <-- $3,000 for an '87. Haha!
http://boise.craigslist.org/cto/2242877747.html <-- Super ricey
http://boise.craigslist.org/cto/2242223645.html <-- semi-ricey; owner may not have had enough cash to make it totally ricey OR to maintain it properly
http://boise.craigslist.org/cto/2202617051.html <-- Pretty nice for a semi-ricey one

Also, since so many older Hondas have high mileage, what should I expect to spend on the purchase and installation of a replacement F22?

 

I bought a 93 SE coupe with 184k drove it to 220k before selling. It had it's issues..
I just bought a 95 LX with 190k, drives extremely smooth. It's 5 speed, and has ZERO leaks and doesn't burn a noticeable amount of oil, no smoke or anything. Inside is crazy clean. I paid 3k for it.

It's a good car, and finding one from a private party shouldn't be hard. I got mine from a dealer and paid a bit more for it.