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To buy or not to buy?

B

Baldilocks

Members
Messages
26
Reaction score
4
Location
Birmingham
Car
Type S Tourer CW3
Hello to everyone from a newbie looking for some advice.

I currently own a Mk 1 Leon Cupra FR (2006, 1.9 Tdi 150bhp) which I've owned from almost new. It's been a fabulous car and great to drive due to its perky engine and great roadholding. After almost 11 years of ownership its time to say farewell as its getting a bit tired plus I could do with an estate car. So my big dilemma has been what to buy next and after a lot of looking around I've decided I like the look of the accords.
I took a 2012 2.2 diesel ES GT for a test drive yesterday and it was nice but lacking in the power I've been used to.
Today I drove a 2011 2.2 Diesel Type S and I loved it!, I liked the colour (pearlescent white with black 18" alloys) it drove well and the current owner appeared to be a genuine guy who bought the car 3 years ago for £11k.. It has Honda History but the last service was 2 years ago, the current owner has only done 3K miles in the last 12 months as he has another car and told me over the phone that it was overdue a service. Now the niggles I have with it are that the car has had 5 keepers and is now on 123K miles, I've checked the vosa history and there were no advisories on the last mot (Jan 2017) and the mileage checks out.

Now, I was all set to go and seal the deal tomorrow but after speaking to my brother who dabbles in cars he wasn't too keen on it and tried to steer me towards a BMW 3 series or an A4. He then phoned a friend who's in the trade who also poo poo'd the accords quoting the timing chains being a major problem. My brother also wasn't keen on the car being a manual rather than an auto.
Now i'm sitting here and wondering if I'm about to make a big mistake? Are there any Type S owners out there who can offer me some ***urance or tell me what to look for when I go and see it again tomorrow afternoon?
Another thing to add is that I'm not a high mileage driver (8-10K) I know i should on paper be going for a petrol model but I've gotten used to the grunt of a turbo diesel and If I do buy this car tomorrow I'll probably have the dpf removed.

Any advice would be gratefully received and if I do buy this car I'll be sure to frequent this forum on a regular basis.

Thanks for reading.
 
I don't think that the timing chains are "a major problem". All the petrol engines and diesel engines in the 7th and 8th gen Accords have timing chains, and yes, some owners of 7th gen diesels do report a chain rattle, and some owners have replaced the chains themselves. But I haven't heard of issues with the chains on the 8th gen diesels (note that there are several differences between the diesel in the 7th gen and in the 8th gen).

If you do buy it and have the DPF removed, it should be ok. But, the biggest issue with these engines is regular, very regular, oil changes with the correct oil. Most people double-up on the oil-change to every 6k miles or 6 months. The oil really does affect the condition of a lot of parts in these engines (to a slightly lesser extent, also on the petrol engines)
 
Trust me as someone also 'in the trade' who deals with all marques, the 8th gen idtec Accord will beat the Audi and BMW in the reliability department hands down any day of the week.

I mean no offence to him, but the guy is mixing facts and giving you a very inaccurate picture.

The Type S idtec is a very special sought after car. All the ones I've worked one have been owned by people who literally travelled the ends of the uk to find the right car.
 
Thank you Fahad and Brian for reassuring me.
I must admit after seeing the car I was all excited then my brother and his mate put a real downer on everything.
I tried to explain to him that all cars have faults but from my research the Accord is more reliable than most, also as Fahad says, the Type S is a rarity so I consider myself fortunate to having found one.
I've also had a good read about maintenance and first thing I'll do if the sale goes ahead is to have it fully serviced and from then I'll change the oil 6 monthly (with 0w-30, thanks Fahad).
Would the 5 previous owners and the 125k mileage concern you guys?

All being well I'll post some pictures of my new purchase in the coming days.
 
I have a 7th Gen Accord 2006-2008 model and have been on these forums for over 3 years now. From that time I have hardly read of any issues relating to the timing chain of an 8th gen Accord. Having said that, I have not read of any serious issues on the 8th gen diesel accord. Providing the car has full service history and evidence it has bee looked after I dont think you will be disappointed.

Apart from the DPF and a few other small minor recalls the 8th Gen Accord is a very reliable diesel car.

Speak to farad and he can remove the DPF for you and even remap it if you wanted. Many members have done this with great results

The timing chain issues that you were told were probably from the early 7th gen model 2003-2005. This was Honda's first diesel engine and they had a few issues. I think it was more related to the oil pump chain failure. This was resolved on the 2006-2008 7th gen.


Your not going to get the status with a Honda like you would do with a BMW or Audi, hence why your brother probably wants you to get them (believe me, all my colleagues at work asked me why I bought a Honda)
However it would down to your personal requirements and what you want from a car.

Good luck with whatever your decide :)
It always exciting buying a new car
 
Update.

Went to see the car again with my brother who thought the car was sluggish but when I drove a 150 bhp the other day then the s type the day after, I could notice the difference. Perhaps my brothers benchmark was off as he's previously owned Subaru's and Mitsubishi evo's so I think his expectations were a little unfair.

Spotted that the rear nearside caliper appears seized and there's no meat left on the pad but the other side has plenty of meat left on the pad, the car also pulls slightly to the left when braking more than likely due to the seized caliper and the tracking seems slightly out. Also the car has lots of stonechips mainly on the nearside wing and also on the bonnet and other wing due to motorway mileage no doubt, rear 2 alloys have the black peeling off in a couple of places and it needs an immediate service.
Apart from the above defects everything else seemed ok, all electrical bits work and interior is in reasonable condition.

The seller had the car advertised for £6,500 and came down to £6000 as his final price. Now I would have been happy with this price but before I went down I did a vehicle check for outstanding finance, recorded damage etc and this also included a valuation based on it's mileage. The valuation was £6500 if buying from a showroom down to £5500 for a private sale for an average condition car. Bearing in mind the above work that needs doing we offered the seller £5000, the seller said no to this and said he would do a deal no lower than £5800.

Am I being too stingy?
I know Type S's are hard to come by but I also don't want to pay over the odds.

Please help me!!!!!!
 
Just my opinion, but those sound like average defects for a 6 year old car with that mileage, and no big deal in the great scheme of things.

Why not meet him halfway.
 
As it's a private sale then you have no comeback (caveat emptor) , so screw him down on the basis that there is no service history for the last 2 years. I agree £5000 is the best price for you, £5500 seems reasonable without a seized rear caliper, but it is a known issue on the 7th and 8th gen rear brakes (independent of engine).

Note also that Honda labour and parts prices are expensive, and when a Honda reaches that age, Honda dealers are not much better at service reputation than any other dealer.

Regarding the "pull" of the car, it weighs 1.5 tons, so without a remap it won't feel that quick.
 
I'm not clued up on values but for a 6 year old type S it sounds like a fair price really mate.

Honda paint is water based and thin, so stonechips are pretty normal on these cars. Even my 16 month old Audi is now peppered with chips..

I'd go for it mate, once tuned you'll really love it
 
5 owners and 125k?
Nope, I wouldnt touch it.

Have a look on ex gt, You can find 1 or 2 owners with 60 70 k on the clock and full honda history.
Looks pretty same as type s, 150bhp
 
I didn't notice the 5 owners bit.. but a Type S has some exclusivity value remember.
 
Well the deal is done!

I'm picking it up this evening.
Mot history shows that the car did 92k in its first 3 years then 20k the following year then 7k then 3k last year.

I hope the 5 owners bit doesn't bite me in the ***!
 
The thing with a Honda is normally you know what you're getting. If it looks and drives good, it'll be fine honestly.

I would budget for a DPF solution (unless it's already done). Otherwise just enjoy!
 
I'll definitely be looking for a dpf solution, my low mileage will soon clog it up!

Any recommendations in the birmingham/midlands area? Halifax is a bit far for me to travel!

First thing on the list however is a 125k service at the stealers who quoted me £222 which is basically for oil, oil filter and pollen filter change!
This will probably be my only visit to the dealers as I want to get their stamp in the book to match the others in case I don't get on with the car for whatever reason and decide to sell it.

I'm hoping the car turns out to be a keeper like my old trusty Leon so if I do keep it i'll be doing the servicing myself, with genuine parts of course. Just out of curiosity I asked the dealers what they charged for a full service: £499 !!!
 
I know this is a bit late, but the rear caliper on my Accord seized was an easy fix at Honda £400, if i had known before i took it in for the service i could have done it myself!
 
I'll definitely be taking a look at the caliper myself, hopefully I can rejuvenate it, I already have a wind back tool so no excuse not to give it a go.
 
Spend the money on genuine honda parts and just diy. Speak to holdcroft honda in stoke and mention you're a member on TypeAccord or fahad referred you.
 
Will do.

Drove the car back home, about half an hour journey, car feels tight and smooth, very happy so far. A big thank you to everyone who helped me take the plunge.
 
Turns out the car has one owner less than on the v5, the chap I bought it off changed address but ticked the wrong box on the form so dvla put him down as a new keeper although it was only a change of address.
Does anyone know if its possible to get dvla to change this?
 
"THEY" need to know about a change of address, so why bother?? Just register it in your name and address, unless you intend running without tax and mot's.
 
Hi.

The rear callipers on the tourer do not need a wind back tool as they are normal type of calliper, the handbrake is operated via shoes in the rear drum part of the disk. So it will be easy to fit new seal, boot and piston if required. Its a common problem with near side callipers for some reason.

John
 
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