I'm looking for a reliable daily driver that gets good gas mileage and has more interior room for the family. I currently drive about 300 miles a week in stop and go Atlanta traffic. I have always liked the look of the 98-02 Accord coupe. I want to get a v-6 automatic, leather, power everything, sunroof and spoiler.

Is there anything that I should look out for while I am shopping around? I am seeing that most of the ones for sale have between 120k-170k miles on them. Does a car with this kind of mileage on it normally have alot of life left in it? I have seen postswhere the older Accords get between 200-400k miles on them - but what about the 98-02's? I am seeing prices between $4,500 and $7,000 from private sellers. Does that seem reasonable?

I would appreciate any feedback that you guys can give me....

 

First off, the 98-02 Accords have WEAK automatic trans.
Then the reason that the pre-98 engines run much longer is the cylinder walls are different.
The model you seek is the 'EXL'
As far as pricing.........What ever the market will bear.

Keep in mind that Kelly Blue Book bases their prices on Dealer Asking Price, not actual sale price avg.
Edmunds.com has a 'true market value' [TMV] estimation program that is more realistic.

 

Thanks for the info. I had a reply in another forum about the auto trans being notorious for slipping. I was only looking for an automatic due to the stop and go traffic in Atlanta, but if I would be better off, I could get the 5 speed version instead. Are manuals any more reliable?

 

To my knowledge they currently do not sell a 5sp manual 98-02 v6 accord out of the factory, you would have to find a person that swapped the automatic transmission for a manual. I currently own a 98 v6 accord, i have had no problems with the transmission and i have 114,000 miles on it and it runs great. I would suggest that if you drive it that often and especially if you buy an accord with high mileage you seafoam it before your first oil change. Also i would suggest if you had the money you could buy a cold air intake to increase mpg and help the car breathe better. I have done both of these and they have both worked great. If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask me or any other person on this forum.

 

Short and simple-

98-02 (6th generation) Accords were offered with:
- F23A1 150hp 4cyl w/ 4spd auto/5spd manual
- F23A4 148hp ULEV 4cyl w/ 4spd auto/5spd manual
- F23A5 135hp 4cyl w/ 5spd manual
- J30A1 200hp V6 w/ 4spd auto ONLY

If you want a manual V6, a CL-S 6spd tranny swap can be done or a 2003-2007 (7th gen) Accord was offered with a manual V6.

 

Tinkerbell, I am considering selling my auto 98 Honda Accord EX V6 Coupe, It's the Gold Edition (top of the line) and only has around 86,400 original miles. I am looking to get $7,500, if you're interested. The car is located in Utah, if you're anywhere near the area.

 

I currently own a 97 Accord, 2.2L, AT and am very pleased with it.

Considered buying a 98-00 and talked with my Honda shop mechanic, he did too mention about AT tranny problems with the V-6 engines but said the 4 cyl. were ok. Something you might want to look into.

I think Honda also gave those vehicle years a 7 year/100K mile warranty for the transmissions.

 

Thanks for the offer, but I'm in Georgia....

 

Thanks for all of the information. I think i have pretty much decided against getting an automatic, given all of the potential problems. I have actually found a few 99 V-6 manuals on craigslist, but now my question is - which would get better gas mileage, a 4 cylinder automatic, manual, or a v-6 manual? I want to stick with a 98-02 coupe, but want to get the best gas mileage possible...thanks again for the feedback.

 

The 4 cylinder manual will give you best gas mileage. In any automatic, about 20% of the power is wasted in the transmission just to keep fluid in the torque converter. A manual has a direct, solid connection to the engine when the clutch is out. And a V6 just has more cylinders, meaning more gas. If you want an idea of how good of gas mileage you can get, I just got 513 miles on a 14.5 gallon fill-up, thats 35.4 MPG on the 1999 4cyl manual with nearly 200k on the clock.

For the record, there is no such thing as a pre-2003 manual V6 Accord, unless the owner actually swapped in the Acura CL 6spd tranny.