whew, honda accord not.

[740ilsamuel]

recently i found out that a friend had bought a 09 honda accord 6cyl. i always liked how they looked and told him that i questioned why i hadn't test drove the accord before buying my 05 limited. i'd heard how great hondas were and this new change was attractive. he quickly burst my bubble, by telling me that if he could, he'd traded it right now. he claimed the brakes, steering column, and front seats were driving him crazy. later, i went to edmonds and read similar compliants. though i bought my avalon limited during the claims against toyota, after test driving it i felt this car was worthy of purchase. 2 years and all i've had to do is changed the oil. though i seemed to notice more and more avalons, hearing about the 3rd gen avalon seems to go un-mentioned. actually, it doesn't matter, for i have no need to think about resale, for i never plan on trading it.

[grandpapa]

so have you actually get a change to drive/compare your friends' honda over your limited?
I guess all cars will have some kind of problem. Go to edmonds or any review site, there will always be people compliant about certain things. Some time it just a matter of luck. For the Avalon, many people have trouble with the VVTI oil line (rubber) but most of us don't? For me, I have the 3rd brake light issue (common for some owners)

[Seneca]

That's a good point about all cars having issues. The Honda was on the list of cars I did drive when shopping for a new ride. My verdict was that it was nice but lacking in refinement compared to the '95 Avalon I was driving at the time.

The '05 I bought instead probably can't be fairly compared to the Accord because they were designed to serve different audiences. Obviously I prefer the serene detachment of the Avalon to the involvement of the Honda. That said, I think being the 2nd owner makes it easier to accept quirks that would be intolerable in a new vehicle.

I figure I bought myself one heck of a lot of automobile for $4.30 a pound.

[740ilsamuel]

hello grandpa, yes i did get a chance to driving his honda. i'm not as tall as he is. he's 6'3, i'm 5'7, so his seat compliant was as much of a problem. but, he did show me the repair cost concerning his brakes. if you felt that i was being offensive, you missed the point i was trying to make. i was trying to say that since purchasing my 05 limited, i've not had a problem. and even though toyota has been plagued with claims against it's autos, i wonder why no one is finding that this toyota hasn't been any problem for me. as mentioned, it would be nice if this auto's resale was based on true info, but as mentioned, i never plan to sale it. it will go to my grandson.

[grandpapa]

Originally Posted by 740ilsamuel

... if you felt that i was being offensive...

Not at all.

We rented an Accord not long ago and wife loved it. I am just not a Honda fan even though I used to drive a Honda Element as ccompany car and it was very good actually. I guess as I getting older, I am more into "comfort" than "sporty"

Accord is in the mid size market with Camry.

I can see recent recall, problem...from TOYOTA but just like you said, I still think they are better build and better quality over others. I owned Ford, GM, Chrysler, Mazda and other imported. 97 Camry was my first car from TOYOTA, since then, I have been driving TOYOTA even thought the look/drive are bored

They do have better resale value

[Mike Murrell]

Bought a 4 cyl Accord LX new in 1987. Drove for 20 yrs. - had over 300K on it when I passed it on to a young in-law.

Best car I ever owned.

[kraky]

I came from an '04 accord to the avy. They are so totally different. I'm 6'1"/280 and the car was just too small for me. With the front seat all the way back there was just no comfortable room for an adult in the back seat. There was lots more road noise and you have a feeling of sitting really low to the ground in the accord. Mileage wasn't as good with the accord either. Getting in and out for a bigger guy was also a negative on the Accord.
On the plus side the engine was really quiet and the car had a bit sportier feel. Overall the Avalon is a way more comfortable ride. Now we can pack up 4 people and 4 sets of golf clubs and take off for a day and come back knocking down 32-33mpg. Really hard to beat that.
I also had 2 honda pilots but just got a 2010 highlander. Much of the same applies to the HL. The HL is more passenger friendly, has much less road noise, and the mileage is leaps and bounds better. I couldn't get more than 23mpg out of the Pilots. I now get 25mpg on the freeway with the awd HL and on rural roads at 62mph get 26-27 mpg. Once again....really really happy with the switch.