1995 Honda Accord DX

Summary:

Reliable but boring

Faults:

The speedo went out early, so the miles are approximate. I believe it has another 50 to 70 thousand on top of what it has. I was able to buy a used part because it was $650 for a new one.

I also have small rattles and squeaks here and there.

The AC computer was replaced at 100K.

Other than that, all is great.

General Comments:

The car is very economical, and it's a get in and drive type of car. The braking and acceleration is what you would expect from a small car.

Generally the car is great for transportation from A to B. It gets 33 miles per gallon in the winter, and 38 in the summer. I am 6'3" and I can drive it for hours with little discomfort.

As far as reliability, it is number one and never left me stranded.

It is very plain and boring to look at, but it is a Honda and not a Lexus.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th March, 2006

1995 Honda Accord Wagon LX 4 cylinder

Summary:

Average car, lousy Honda

Faults:

The exhaust system was replaced three times during the car's life, and it was still loud.

The radiator blew leaving us stranded.

The oil pan rusted away, leaking all the oil out of the engine, also leaving us stranded.

The A/C compressor went, and would cost over $800 to fix it. We opted to not fix it.

The fuel gauge does not work.

The paint (white) is oxidizing and has very little shine left, however the car has never been garaged.

One of the taillights continues to burn out over time.

The transmission (automatic) doesn't always shift at the appropriate times and is slow to change from reverse to drive on cold mornings.

General Comments:

Overall, my wife and I were less than impressed with this car. Although Hondas share a reputation of being reliable, ours wasn't very dependable and was expensive to maintain. We experienced a lot of problems within the first 100,000 miles that I would not have expected, and did not encounter on my Chevy. Additionally, the Chevy is relatively cheap to fix and this Honda is not.

The car is comfortable and uses its interior space well. It handles well in the snow. The radio sounds decent and has excellent reception. The driving position is good and all the gauges are legible, although the fuel gauge has been dead since purchase.

The fuel mileage has been good for a reasonably sized vehicle.

However, the transmission doesn't seem well-suited to the engine and makes the engine work hard to move this car around. The car has ALWAYS been loud, even with a fully functional exhaust system. I've noticed this with other Hondas as well.

It seems that others have been more lucky with their Hondas, but we won't be purchasing one again. They carry a price premium that did not pay off in the end with this car. After the fifth year, my wife and I decided that we would trade it in and get something that we would enjoy driving. We purchased a Saturn L300 which has been perfectly reliable and a joy to drive--and it didn't carry the premium of the Accord.

Overall, we would rate this as an OK car, but a lousy Honda.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 20th December, 2005

21st Dec 2005, 14:35

I drive a 1995 Honda Accord with 284,000km (177,500miles) and have not experienced the loud exhaust that you mentioned, nor have I noticed it on other Accords from that generation (1994-1996), so I'm not quite sure what you are talking about. The other thing I'd like to mention is the rusted oil pan that lost all of its oil. There is no way that all oil will simply pour out at once, even if it's rusted, unless you damage it, and the rust hole becomes bigger. If that didn't happen, all I can see is that you have not checked your oil level periodically. Therefore, you should not blame the car for that.