What to look for in a 2002 Accord?

[JTM]

Dont worry you'll probably end up liking the 6thgen even more.lol

It's definitely a beautiful car!

 

[manbear]

i had my syncros go out on my cord and all i did was drop it and picked one up at a junk yard with 40k for 300 bucks so i wouldnt be worried about replacing parts with our cars extremely cheap

 

[JTM]

i had my syncros go out on my cord and all i did was drop it and picked one up at a junk yard with 40k for 300 bucks so i wouldnt be worried about replacing parts with our cars extremely cheap

That seems extremely fair priced!

 

[Accordman722]

Yeah like manbear said parts for our cars are easy and are very reasonably priced.

 

[jwong512]

OP, if you do buy the car I'd opt for using Castrol GTX High Mileage vs Valvoline Maxlife anyday or even Mobil Clean High Mileage. From running Castrol and Valvoline previously Castrol gave me better mpg and wasn't dark as sh1t when changed at 4000kms.

At the end of the day though, as long as you change the oil in proper intervals(4-5000km), change the oil filter and check the level every week you should be ok.

Oil has detergents to clean out all the sludge in your motor, especially the higher mileage Valvoline oils. It has been a proven fact and I've even read it on the bobistheoilguy.com forums. There have been analysis and people have said that Valvoline is a very good oil for such as low price. Plus, even their synthetic blend has made it to the GF-4 oil which is very high ranking and that's what Mobil 1 is ranked as.

 

[FunnyVictor86]

Yea reasonably priced if you shop at autozone for poor quality parts

 

[001Stunna]

Oil has detergents to clean out all the sludge in your motor, especially the higher mileage Valvoline oils. It has been a proven fact and I've even read it on the bobistheoilguy.com forums. There have been analysis and people have said that Valvoline is a very good oil for such as low price. Plus, even their synthetic blend has made it to the GF-4 oil which is very high ranking and that's what Mobil 1 is ranked as.

That may be true but i can say that QuakerState is pretty good oil for about $8-10/4L jug too, as for that low price, hell yea its amazing.
As for what you read on bobistheoilguy.com; keep in mind i was stating something that happened to me with my 99 ACCORD(the same generation car the op is looking into), not what happened to john and jane doe with their cars. Hence possibly a bit more "close to home" if you may call it in relation to the OP. Id rather ran my Castrol for 8000km then put valvoline in my car again.
And also i was talking about normal dino oil not synthetic as neither Mobil Clean High Mileage or Castrol GTX High Mileage are synthetic.

PS. Valvoline is not the ONLY oil that has detergents to clean buildup etc

 

[jwong512]

That may be true but i can say that QuakerState is pretty good oil for about $8-10/4L jug too, as for that low price, hell yea its amazing.
As for what you read on bobistheoilguy.com; keep in mind i was stating something that happened to me with my 99 ACCORD(the same generation car the op is looking into), not what happened to john and jane doe with their cars. Hence possibly a bit more "close to home" if you may call it in relation to the OP. Id rather ran my Castrol for 8000km then put valvoline in my car again.
And also i was talking about normal dino oil not synthetic as neither Mobil Clean High Mileage or Castrol GTX High Mileage are synthetic.

PS. Valvoline is not the ONLY oil that has detergents to clean buildup etc

Yes, that is true but I'm just saying that if the OP is looking for something cheap than Valvoline can be an alternative. Their Maxlife can be a synthetic blend or a full synthetic. They don't offer it in dyno which is what makes it a super good bang for the buck IMO. Plus, I've talked to some other people with their Honda's and they said that Maxlife has stopped most of their burning/leaking. Not completely but a good majority of it. I can pickup a 5qt jug from Walmart of Valvoline Maxlife Synthetic Blend 5W-30 for $13.50 and the Purolator Pureone filter off Amazon for $5.00 and it would be a good cheap oil change for $18.50. If the OP was willingly to spend more money, then he would have other alternatives. I'm just pointing out the lower cost alternatives.

And what exactly is so bad about Valvoline? They make high quality products and I have yet to come across a bad review regarding their products.

 

[JSato]

Biggest common issues are ignition switch recall, transmission failure(mainly in v6 but also can happen in i4)

However some things to consider and possibly check up on...

-Check VIN # /CARFAX
-Check the car body for dents etc...stay in an angle and look at the body lines to see if theres been bodywork done...if you see ripples and not a straight reflection then somethings off
-Check for even gaps at all doors to see if maybe a door has been replaced
-Check for rust both underbody and upper
-Check interior for rips, stains, or water marks if the vehicle has bene flooded previously, look for moisture under the carpets
-Check all electrical stuff from A-Z , Make sure all dash lights turn on, especially CEL, SRS, ABS lights
-If you can hook up an obd2 reader to the car and scan for pending codes or Pending System Tests. This might mean the seller just reset the ecu due to a CEL Code.
-Check for leaks around gaskets
-Check the oil level, is it at the max mark or low? If low it could either means it burns oil or the Original Owner might have not taken good care of it.
-Check the tranny fluid level.
-Tranny fluid should not have a burnt smell, and should be clean and transparent
-Check A/C both Hot and Cold
-Get sum1 to start the car and see what color smoke blows out the exhaust, If blue car is burning oil
-Check for delayed engagement...With the transmission in "P" (Park) start the car. With your foot holding down the brake pedal, shift to the "R" (Reverse) position. Almost immediately the transmission should engage - it feels like the car wants to creep backward. This should happen very smoothly, without a strong jerk or jolt.
Shift to "N" (Neutral), and the transmission should disengage. Now, again holding the brakes, shift to the "D" (Drive) position. Again, the transmission should engage without a delay - you will feel the car wants to creep forward. This also should be without a strong jerk or jolt.
If there is a notable delay (more than 1 seconds) between the moment you shift and the moment the transmission engages, transmission is either too worn or has some problem. During a test-drive the transmission should shift between gears very smoothly without delays, jolts, slipping or shudder.
-Press down on each corner of the car and see if the car keeps on bouncing after you let go, if so it suspension is worn out.
-Test drive the car both in highway speeds and street speeds
-Ask to see if and when timing belt and waterpump were done
-After the test drive park the car but dont turn it off, let it run for 3-5 mins and then move the car and look in the pavement for any leaks.
-If you can and have the means of it, obv get the car raised on a hoist and check things such as balljoints, tierods, shocks/springs, endlinks, bushings etc

Yessss im having ignition issues every now and then

 

[jwong512]

Yessss im having ignition issues every now and then

Do you put a ton of keys on your car key? That might be why your ignition is constantly having problems. I barely put any keys on my keychains in order to prevent further damage to my ignition.