2002 Accord EX Coupe -- coin toss for me or my daughter

armourbl

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I just got a 2002 Accord EX Coupe, silver, 180,000 miles, automatic, VTEC 2.3L. Bought it for my daughter and have been driving it for about a week now (she doesn't have her license yet), and let me tell you that I'm going to have a hard time handing over the keys to her.

The car is mostly is very good shape. It appears to be dealer maintained. Little clues like very clean engine bay, new hoses and belts, Honda brand battery, clean air filter, etc. Mechanically it is super sound. Suspension is tight, tranny shifts cleanly, no weird noises from the engine or anywhere else on the car.

The paint is starting to fail, but I think I can clean that up with a bit of detailing work. There are a couple of small dings in the bodywork. The high line on the body along the door and side of the car (leading bend edge) looks like it got dragged on something, and paint is bad there, probably can't save that.

All windows open and close smoothly including the sunroof.

I had to detail the interior which had years of grime on it, but it cleaned up very well and is fully in tact. I also had to replace the driver side mirror glass (found a replacement in junk yard for $7, score).

First tank of gas averaged 25 mpg with freeway stop and go commute and various driving.

I used to have a 1996 Civic EX sedan that I bought new back in the day. Always regretted getting rid of that car. I now may have to start shopping for another coupe for myself as I'm really enjoying this car.

ben
 

CokeZero

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The AT trannys are known to go out in this gen of accords. Hopefully since that car was dealer serviced they already had it fixed by 180k. Keep an eye on it.

Congrats on the score, I don't blame you if you keep it.
 

armourbl

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Been reading until my eyes bleed here on the forums. I'm watching the tranny closely. I'm planning on replacing the fluid here soon as a precaution, and crossing my fingers that it doesn't fail on me.

I also want to see if the dealer near me will run service history for me so I can at least tell if the water pump and timing belt were replaced recently or not. Rather not dig into it if it was already done.

ben
 

Russianred

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Don't sweat bullets over the tranny - it will last as long as you give it a full maintenance and don't romp on it. Regarding timing belt and water pump, take the upper cover off and visually inspect the belt, the whole length of it. If it looks good then don't worry about it. Regarding the water pump, look into this if you begin to have symptoms of cooling issues.. Even then rule out other things first like thermostat, etc. Good idea to get a background on the car anyways like you said, can't hurt.
 
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