2008 Honda Accord EX from North America - Comments

"I can imagine why. You're probably one of those who believe the myth that, "once you buy an import, you'll never have problems out of a car again. Honda, Toyota and Nissan vehicles are maintenance/problem free."

Hardly. I'm a MECHANIC. ALL my cars receive IMMACULATE attention to servicing and problem prevention. My imports received the EXACT SAME meticulous care that my domestics always have... and STILL fell apart in 100,000 miles.

My Nissan (1987) had not a speck of rust on it, even in 2008. A/C did go out, needed a new compressor. Repairs were cheap to do. The only reason I don't still have it is because damages in the wreck exceeded the value of the car by $5K. Whatever the case, she gave over 20 years of reliable service and that's all that matters to me. I will replace her next year.

"Are imports more fragile then? I cannot see any difference if it's an import or domestic buyer. I agree with high mileage imports not worth fixing at the first large mechanical repair".

No I wasn't making a domestic vs. import argument -- it applies to both. My point was that domestic parts are often cheaper and more available at "recycling yards" -- especially domestic truck parts. So ANY vehicle, foreign or domestic, that has depreciated to a suitably low value but has high priced parts is a more likely to be retired upon any even moderate failure. I suspect that this scenario is a more likely one for an import than a domestic vehicle. That's why I brought it up. I'm not sure that imports are more fragile -- just more likely to be "not worth fixin'". Hope that clears it up. A high mileage vehicle buyer should probably consider relative parts cost before they purchase an import.

"I'm a MECHANIC. ALL my cars receive IMMACULATE attention to servicing and problem prevention. My imports received the EXACT SAME meticulous care that my domestics always have... and STILL fell apart in 100,000 miles."

Your being a mechanic means nothing. I am NOT a mechanic, my cars receive IMMACULATE servicing attention when needed. In fact, I've worried more about putting high-mileage domestics that are much newer than putting an older import on the road. My imports ran so well I almost forgot they needed servicing and had to do only minor work. Domestics need too much unnecessary patch work that my imports NEVER needed. I'd have to be hard-pressed to ever own another domestic vehicle. My sister's 1995 Pontiac Bonneville simply decided to quit working on her one day 4 months ago. My brother had to do a complete overhaul on his 1995 Chevrolet Silverado pickup. They both took good care of their cars, told them both they should get a Nissan. My uncle had a wreck the last of November in his 1987 Nissan Sentra (284,400 Miles). The car was still used as a daily driver with absolutely NO RUST and NOT A SINGLE mechanical issue. No one can tell me that an import is not good as a domestic and expect me to believe it.

"No one can tell me that an import is not good as a domestic and expect me to believe it".

No problem... but you never know how an older vehicle has been taken care of--domestic or foreign--so higher foreign parts cost has to be weighed against your belief that an older foreign vehicle will be more reliable.

By the way I own 1 foreign vehicle (an 08 Nissan Altima 2.5SL) and 1 domestic (an 07 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon). But I've had older cars (2 Hondas) in the past. Parts cost and, earlier on, rust were the big problems I faced. Just keep these issues (and maintenance) in mind if you are looking to purchase an older vehicle. Cheers!

"No one can tell me that an import is not good as a domestic and expect me to believe it."

Yes, we've come to accept that nothing can get through to die-hard import fans. Over the past 30+ years my family has owned over 30 domestics and 3 imports. NO domestic ever had a mechanical problem before 100,000 miles. Only one of the imports even MADE 100,000 miles. Look at the math: 30 domestics with ZERO problems, 3 imports ALL with major problems. What are the statistical probabilities that I'd just happen to get 30 good domestics and 3 BAD imports if ALL imports are superior to domestics. Do the math.

No one can tell ME an import is as good as a domestic and expect ME to believe it because I've OWNED THE PROOF!!

14:14 I had a 1990 Bonneville, and the girl that bought it from me now has over 250,000 miles and commutes daily with great reliability. The engine in this vehicle is one of the best ever made. I also had a 1990 Pontiac 6000LE; same story, bulletproof.

Maintenance and not neglecting oil changes driving habits are also a big factor on life. My sister in law kept breaking flywheels due to her backing up throwing into drive without completely stopping. I kind of wish she should buy a Camry or a Tacoma and drive like that and report on how great her new imports are. That is an issue never fully grasped on here. Drive like an idiot and blame the car.

It's best to go to consumeraffairs.com, read 20 or 30 reviews by actual owners, not just 1 or 2 that could be making a political statement just as much as a solo commentary. Even my comments take as one person. Do yourself a favor drive, test many makes and don't buy a label. Sometimes the last "label" was OK and then the new one is total junk. Test them all and decide. It's your money and no one elses.

"No problem... but you never know how an older vehicle has been taken care of -- domestic or foreign -- so higher foreign parts cost has to be weighed against your belief that an older foreign vehicle will be more reliable."

I've never advocated purchasing ANY older vehicle. I'm speaking from my own personal experience in owning both domestic and import vehicles new. My imports have been lots better than the domestics, hands down. I simply have yet to own a domestic vehicle that has been reliable enough for me to recommend to anyone. Also, even if I do pay more for parts, the intervals between repairs on our imports have been far longer than has been the case with our domestics.

Parts for a Nissan Altima will not me much more expensive than they would for U.S. vehicles. I believe about 55% of the contents on that car comes from the U.S. and roughly 25% are foreign materials. An Altima is essentially a domestic vehicle with a foreign name.

"Over the past 30+ years my family has owned over 30 domestics and 3 imports. NO domestic ever had a mechanical problem before 100,000 miles. Only one of the imports even MADE 100,000 miles."

I'm sorry you have had such bad luck with imports. Fortunately, our family has had very few problems with theirs! Besides, what is the need to have had 30 domestic vehicles over a 30 year period if they are such good cars. Basically you are saying you purchase an average of one car per year. I must say that something must not be going well for me if I purchased that many vehicles in 30 years.

"Look at the math: 30 domestics with ZERO problems, 3 imports ALL with major problems. What are the statistical probabilities that I'd just happen to get 30 good domestics and 3 BAD imports if ALL imports are superior to domestics. Do the math."

Your logic is flawed. You are one customer and for a good probability of imports to be considered bad, a sample could be taken from five to ten people. So I've done the math and according to your calculation, domestics suck.

No one can tell ME a domestic is as good as an import and expect ME to believe it because I've OWNED THE PROOF!!

I bought my car brand new, just before I finished college (in 1987) : a 1987 Nissan Maxima SE. The car gave me so few problems that I was NEVER forced to buy a new car due to repairs and kept driving it daily until it totaled last year. The car was worth EVERY penny I spent on it and more. I had NO regrets with this purchase and would do it all over again if I had to. People used to still complement me on how nice my car looked and sounded when they rode in it, even when it was old. I bought a truck new in 1996 (a domestic, much to my dismay!) because I was tired of borrowing every time I needed to move large items. This turned out to be a nightmare. Once the truck was seven years old it seemed to just fall apart all at once. Could not wait to send this thing to the junker! I'd take it to the service department to have one thing fixed, they'd find five other things wrong (and I maintained my vehicle meticulously), NEVER had this problem in a Nissan.

So while you've been through 30+ cars in 30 years, I had the same exact vehicle for just over 20 years. This to me supercedes your explanation and shows durability and reliability and quality. My Nissan NEVER stalled ONCE. Can't say the same for my domestic. My 2004 Sentra, bought brand new has YET to give me a single major problem and its nearly five years old!

Basically since Japanese cars are no longer imports. The quality that they once had no longer applies. Mighty Toyota and Honda are just the same as Chevy and Ford in my opinion.

"Your logic is flawed. You are one customer and for a good probability of imports to be considered bad, a sample could be taken from five to ten people. So I've done the math and according to your calculation, domestics suck"

So 30 GOOD domestics = BAD, and 3 bad imports = GOOD?? Very creative "math". I'd love to see a statistician come up with THAT conclusion. If domestics are so overwhelmingly bad, getting 30 that just happen to be good defies the laws of probability...PERIOD.

As a mechanic and car enthusiast, I love cars. We have always owned 3 or 4 at a time, which is why we had 30+ in 30+ years. Some where kept for nearly 20 years. We owned cars from all three domestic manufacturers that got well over 200,000 miles (one over 300,000) with virtually no problems. We have never replaced an engine or transmission in any Ford, GM or Chrysler product, nor even had the heads off the engine of any of them. None of the standard or automatic transmissions were ever touched.

I simply don't buy into the fabricated myth that imports are somehow better. The new car rating for the Fusion (which I just bought) is one notch higher than Accord and two notches higher than Camry. It has the highest overall rating of any vehicle Consumer Reports has tested. I'm also a member of two domestic car clubs (Pontiac and Mustang) and no one I know in these clubs EVER has any problems with their domestics. Past experience with both Japanese and German imports has convinced me that they are not worth my present consideration. If the quality should improve, I'll give them a look. I test drive all sorts of cars before buying to compare performance, features and overall build quality. That's why my last two car purchases have been Fords.

"So 30 GOOD domestics = BAD, and 3 bad imports = GOOD?? Very creative "math". I'd love to see a statistician come up with THAT conclusion. If domestics are so overwhelmingly bad, getting 30 that just happen to be good defies the laws of probability...PERIOD."

I was saying nicely that I'm not quite convinced by your experience.

"I simply don't buy into the fabricated myth that imports are somehow better."

I don't buy into myths either, but my experience in ownership and cost of maintenance has proven that my imports last far longer than my domestics. Before I bought my first car new at age 22, I never even considered foreign cars. However, I was infatuated by the style and performance of the '87 Maxima SE and even more infatuated with it by the fact that it cost me very little in repairs for 20+ years. Family members were buying Pontiac, Chevy, Chrysler, Dodge products and some had gone through as many as ten per person in twenty years while I still had my old Maxima. If I see the dependability improve with my own eyes, maybe I will consider domestics, until then I'll stick with something I'm comfortable and familiar with.

"The new car rating for the Fusion (which I just bought) is one notch higher than Accord and two notches higher than Camry. It has the highest overall rating of any vehicle Consumer Reports has tested."

That's good for the Fusion, but the sales numbers don't compare to that of the Accord (Honda is the only major brand in U.S. foreign or domestic actually posting a sales increase for 2008) or the Camry (which is the top seller consistently). Honda obviously is doing something right. There must be something in the imports or the sales would not reach consistently high numbers. I would not touch a Ford if it was the last car on Earth, I'd ride a bike.

"I'm also a member of two domestic car clubs (Pontiac and Mustang) and no one I know in these clubs EVER has any problems with their domestics."

Yes, I am sure you have asked each and every member what problems they have had with their cars. I know that not too many years ago, Pontiac had issues with faulty head gaskets.

"Past experience with both Japanese and German imports has convinced me that they are not worth my present consideration."

I feel the EXACT same way about American vehicles. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes of my life was purchasing a domestic vehicle.

"If the quality should improve, I'll give them a look. I test drive all sorts of cars before buying to compare performance, features and overall build quality. That's why my last two car purchases have been Fords."

I nearly went to the Chevy dealer to take a look at the new Malibu (which is sleek and beautiful inside and out) after viewing my aunt's who is a staunch American-made car owner. I decided better though and drove on to the Nissan dealer and test-drove the 2009 Maxima - which I will purchase next year. The new Accord is also very high on my list of models to consider. To me, Nissan, Honda and Toyota offer more standard equipment on their cars at no extra charge, have far better build quality, look better and handle better than domestic vehicles. When the U.S. can actually manufacture a dependable car, maybe I'll consider it, until then I'll stick with imports.

"When the U.S. can actually manufacture a dependable car, maybe I'll consider it, until then I'll stick with imports"

The Ford Fusion is rated one notch above Accord and TWO notches above the Camry in reliability.

"Parts for a Nissan Altima will not me much more expensive than they would for U.S. vehicles. I believe about 55% of the contents on that car comes from the U.S. and roughly 25% are foreign materials. An Altima is essentially a domestic vehicle with a foreign name".

*New* parts aren't much different price-wise... but for the person who talked about how many old American made trucks there are still on the road vs any imports, I was saying that used parts are easily had for these VERY common vehicles which keeps them on the road longer -- it's not that they're necessarily better vehicles. But used import buyers who are looking at cars that already have, say, 200,000 miles on them might be better served to look for something with lower parts costs because used parts are still quite a bit harder to find for them -- at least in my neck of the woods.

Another advantage that the older American made trucks have is that they are easy to work on. Not true of more modern vehicles. Again -- I like both foreign and domestic vehicles. I'm just a fan of good machinery... and yes, parts suppliers serve many makes. For example my "Made in the USA" Jeep Wrangler has an alternator "Made in Japan" by Denso - just like my old Honda Accord had.

"The Ford Fusion is rated one notch above Accord and TWO notches above the Camry in reliability."

Yes, that is why the Consumer Report magazine has the Accord rated at 79 pts, while Fusion and Accord scored 77.