Pros- Honda reliability, history and resale, great looking car inside and out, leg room, ice cold ac, headlight range, smooth engine, safety features, very roomy...but I would of preferred more trunk room or less room/better mpg).

Cons- driver's seat, road noise, bumpy ride, steering wheel design. stereo (not bad but not great).

See bottom of this post for why this car disappoints me.

I bought the 2009 Accord LX-P yesterday and want to share my experience so far. I hope that this is not considered a blog as one member accused me of doing in the few other posts that I submitted. I am simply a consumer that was trying to gather facts on the Accord and see what members were paying.

After two weeks of not so fun shopping experience with my local dealer (giving me an OTD price on phone which jumped up two grand when the paperwork came out etc..) I tried a dealer in another state and we agreed on $21,600.00 OTD. Very nice shopping experience. In addition I would have to pay around $175.00 for local tag transfer and county tax.
I read the pros and cons at Edmunds http://www.edmunds.com/honda/accord/2009/testdrive.html and other sites. There is the brake issue that I was concerned about but since I have owned and loved Hondas since 1980, I figured the Accord would be a safe bet and got the LX-P.
I test drove the LX-P twice before the purchase. During the test I drove fast on the interstate and along some local roads. The ride on the interstate was smooth and there was a little more road noise then I would of liked but it was not a deal breaker. Driving local roads was a litle mre noisy and dealer pitch was distracting. I think I was concentrating too much on driving carefully rather then then the actual drive. During my 50 mile drive home from the dealer I was able to sit back and really notice the ride and comfort level on a variety of roads.

My displeasure with the 2009 LX-P may sound trivial to some but they are major for me.

Comfort is a must for me and this is why I am unhappy with the car. I am 6'1" and broad shoulders so the seat issue may not be a problem with smaller frame bodies. The contour of the seat curves against my shoulders/ribs and becomes a pain after 15 or 20 minutes. I adjusted the seat numerous times but could not tolerate the hard contoured seat.

Road noise is ridiculous. I checked the windows to make sure they were not opened.

Very bumpy ride. I felt bumps in the road that I could not even see. I drove my 98 Accord Ex today and it seems to ride smoother. I will admit that the new Acord's Dunlop tires have 33 lbs of pressure and the door panel says to use 30 but not sure if 33 lbs would make this rough a ride.

This will really seem minor but when I talked to a friend today about it he said he experienced a similar issue with another make of car a couple of years ago that he never got used to and sold the car a year later. When cruising down the highway I get tired of driving with hand/hands at top of steering wheel and so I will use one hand at the bottom of the steering wheel. The new steering wheel design lets me get around 3 inches in between the upside down V shape that runs down the steering wheel. If only they would of left about a 4 to 6 inch gap. image> http://www.automotive.com/2009/102/h...ing-wheel.html

I drove the car again today and confirmed to myself that with current issues this car is not for me.

So I have new car with 150 miles on it (65 by me) and not sure what my options on. My dealer called today to make appointment to remove 2 paint blemishes on the roof which I'm still not sure if they will come out w/out affecting finish. Service guy said the blemishes were under the paint and to remove them would leave unprotected metal which would require paint job. Finance manager called them fish-eyes and they could easily wet sand them out. Not sure who is right. I would lean towards the service dept. but i don't know.
Sales called right after that since I mentioned my unpleasant drive home to service dept. I am sick with worry about what I am going to do and how the dealer will handle this. I am desperate enough to spend the extra money for a 2009 Ex but from what I was told the Accord Ex has the same seat (not sure about the EX-L leather seat contour but too pricey anyway) and they also said that the steering wheel is the same, so that is a deal buster. I doubt they can find another model steering wheel that will switch out.

Does anyone know about any type of grace period for dissatisfied Honda customer.

So I have to to see what Honda dealer suggest. I called corporate and all they would say is ask my dealer. I doubt the dealer will take the car back. Since it only has 150 miles on it I would hope to try and work something out.
Talk about coincidence, GM was on the news tonight with: Buy a new General Motors car. Don't like it? Return it within 60 days and get your money back. To take advantage of the program, customers would have to be current on auto payments and the car will have to have been driven less than 4,000 miles. GM will refund the full purchase price of the car. Buyers will be able to return their cars after 31 days, but not after more than 60 days of ownership. But then again, its a GM.