Menu
What's new
By:
Advanced search...

2.4 Auto Tourer - Buying advice

D

dionysius

Members
Messages
24
Reaction score
0
Location
SW London
Car
2.4EX tourer auto
Hi All,

I am considering buying a 2.4 auto tourer and was loking for some info/points to look at when viewing a car.

Currently running a Subaru Legacy 2.5, but have a niggly engine management problem that nobody seems able to sort out, so am considering ditching it and buying something else. Have a few Qs about the accord before I take the plunge.. (is ther e abuyers guide on this site ? I cant find one )

(A) what is general spares availability like... for the subaru I find I am constantly having to buy even service parts at the Main-dealer, as most factors don't stock many items for it and it is becomig a PITA.

(B) what is the general "serviceablity" of the car like, and how willing are independent "ordinary" garages to work on them ? With the subaru I have greeat difficulty finding anyone who wants to work on it, and for fault-finding have had several diagnostics specialists turn me down - and again, how easy is fault-finding with the accord , the legacy is a nightmare...


(C) whats the general reliability like... I need a large estate car for carrying bulky items, but also do a lot of town-driving (hence the auto item).. I would be most concefrned over the autobox reliability as it will be changing frequently for my driving needs, - is it a robust gearbox , and are ATF fluid & filter changes straightofward to carry out at regular interals ?

(D) any other general points to look at when inspecting a prospective purchase ? At my budget I am likely to be looking at a 75-100,000 mile vehicle - is this likely to bring problems...

Cheers for any advice.
 
Hi David, and welcome to the forum!

Some of the properly knowledgeable people will be along shortly, I'm sure, to answer your Honda questions. But in the meantime, which Legacy 2.5 do you have (what age)? As an ex-Subaru owner myself, just curious...
 
So far from my point of veiw .. Tis all been quite simple so far all work done by myself ,I do have advantages over and above most in that fixing vehicles is my job .. not cars but have done some car garage time as an apprentice way back , spares have been easily available and reasonably cheap .. again I have an advantage as I can get trade prices but still it's relative cheap . Can't comment on the auto I do not have one of those but the manual is easy to service .
The pluses.. The rear seat folding mech is genius , the auto boot opening which I thought a pointless gimmick has proved to be more useful than one might think, its fast , its comfy ergonomically , it looks okay and drives okay .
Downsides..It's a Honda so it is not cool , it is a bit noisy , suffers road noise , I have a bit of trim somewhere that vibrates when I go over 80 and I can't find it , slighty tinny feel compared to say a VW passat , paint is rubbish .
 
Welcome to the forums. Reliability is top notch to be honest. It's a bomb proof engine. You'll find the a second hand car with 60+K on it will likely want some bushes, compliance and ARB as well as drop links doing before you reach 100K at least. Not expensive though. Clutches can go before 100K depending on how it's been driven and there are the occasional electrical niggle. I had an O2 sensor on the exhaust go a couple years back, a faulty electric window switch and the sat nav packed up. But if you get a Type S you won't have to worry about that as there's no sat nav, only on the exec. If it's an early (2003-2005) tourer, check the motorised tailgate has been replaced. These mostly failed and were covered by a 7 year warranty. They'll now be out of warranty and if faulty will cost about £1K to fix!

In terms of parts, you can get anything from Holdcroft Honda with a Type Accord discount. When you need a part PM me and I'll give you the discount code. Alternatively, there are good quality blueprint parts for things like drop links. I've had no problems sourcing parts, OEM or otherwise. The Legacy is a great motor from what I've read, but I know the 2.4 Accord is also great. Don't worry about reliability. It's not perfect, but it's probably one of the best in it's class. In fact the American version (similar car with difference styling) was the only normal car in America's top 10 most reliable cars. All the others were simple engineering Japanese pickups like the Hilux and so on. So it's really a cracking motor.
 
thanks for the advice so far..

for those who asked my Legacy is a 2.5 (2005) which I think is a Gen4 model for the geeks out there, and has been pinking at low revs/speedand no-one seems otbe able to sort it out........ apparently this can cause the bigend and head gasket to go, which are a weak point on this legacy engine, so Id rather get shot before it costs too much (but not jump from the frying pan to the fire so to speak...)
 
ditto to the reliability for me, it still needs routine maintenance but by and large it wont let you down.

Manuals are far more fun the the autos.
 
dionysius said:
thanks for the advice so far..

for those who asked my Legacy is a 2.5 (2005) which I think is a Gen4 model for the geeks out there, and has been pinking at low revs/speedand no-one seems otbe able to sort it out........ apparently this can cause the bigend and head gasket to go, which are a weak point on this legacy engine, so Id rather get shot before it costs too much (but not jump from the frying pan to the fire so to speak...)
Click to expand...
Ah, the BL/BP (for the even geekier). Early 2.5s were notorious for eating head gaskets, which perhaps remains a problem, but the 2.0s and 3.0s were almost bullet-proof.
 
Ok, I may be one of the newest members(lol!) with a 2.4 exec tourer, auto and 76k. Going into local Honda dealers for service next week, not because anything wrong..far from it as far as I have checked. Only had it 5 days, but..

was looking at a Legacy as had a 2001 Outback H6 for 3 years. Brilliant..till the ABS played up and dealer wanted £1k to sort!! Only worth £1k then. Bye bye! Tried a few 2.5's and all sounded dodgy so bought something else.

Recently looked at Leg Spec B. Found one, but for the same age as my 55 reg Accord, it was £1500 more expensive. Love the Leg but if you find a good Accord, you won't regret it. I love it and has brought me back to Jap cars after a few Volvo mishaps!! No, the build is not as good as the Sub, but the engine is in a different league. Fantastic and far more responsive than the 2.5 leg, but not the 3.0.

I checked all the electrics..sat nav, boot, sunroof, heated seats, etc all worked. Service history all Honda main(lucky). Type S has less.

To pay less tax, has to be a 55 reg or earlier. It's £475 06 on :blink: ,

Should find a good one £3k-£4k with 60-90k miles. Mind, I looked at Trader today and not many 2.4 execs, Tourer, about!

Go for it!

Jon
 
have you driven a 3.0R legacy? always wonder how it would be to drive. rare also like the 2.4s
 
toffee_pie said:
have you driven a 3.0R legacy? always wonder how it would be to drive. rare also like the 2.4s
Click to expand...
I've driven a few. I found the 3.0R auto a little short on performance - it had to be pushed to get anywhere, and revved a lot to make anything like rapid progress, which wasn't really the nature of the car. It felt like it needed about another 30-40bhp, and without it was having to hunt round the 'box to get the performance I was demanding of it. This opinion would have been coloured by the fact that at the time I was driving a 280bhp Legacy GTB, which had stump-pulling torque. The manual Spec B was far better than the auto. Even though it had no more power, it felt much more like a performance car, and much more rewarding to drive. I very seriously considered one of those, on more than one occasion.
 
Yes, the 3.0R is nice and smooth but doesn't have the punch or handling of the manual spec B. There is an auto spec B that has tiptronic and that's what I was looking at.

It's a known fact on UKLegacy forum that Bob Rawle does remaps on the n/a cars and has decent results..270-280 bhp.

Alternatively, it's the jap spec twinscroll turbo pushing 280 bhp. 2003-2004 years but can still be expensive. Litchfield are the guvnor's. Forester STI with 330 BHP!!!
 
Interesting thread, I was also looking for a Legacy estate before deciding on the Accord. Main reasons being the Legacy are older for more money and from what I had found the running cost would've been more than the 2.4 Accord. I was looking at the 2.5 but they are known for headgasket issues so was also looking at the 3.0L but they are even more thirsty than the Accord, plus parts seem to be alot more expensive. For a while I did look at the GTBs as well but knew I couldn't really afford it what with the car having to run on super unleaded as well.
 
It was the insurance cost that helped kill the GTB for me, along with back problems from the seats. About £1200 a year insurance, when the Saab 9-5 Aero was about £400 for me. It's virtually only a Legacy that could tempt me out of my Accord now. I didn't know there were decent remaps available for the 3.0, so a remapped Spec B manual with LPG could be tempting. 90% of the GTB with a much lower running cost. It still wouldn't feel right not having a bonnet scoop, though, and the interiors aren't as good as other brands. If I could afford a late model twin-scroll turbo with a six-speed manual box, I'd be in heaven. The ride-handling combination of the Legacy in adverse conditions is better than anything else I've ever driven.

One Spec B I test drove gave me 9mpg :blink:. The 3.0R autos gave me about 25mpg, which was better but, no, the 3.0 H6 is not the most economical car available. Might have been pressing on a little on those test drives, mind...
 
Ah yes that's a big deciding factor as well. When I first looked at the GTB I was getting quotes of £1k, about a year or so later when I looked again it went down to £500. I had only just renewed my insurance when I bought the Accord and got a partial refund making it about £250 a year!! The problem is cos they are imports so everything costs alot more.

I'm really enjoying the Accord I bought though, I would say it's probably the best car I've had to date and the OP won't be disappointed with their future purchase :) Being the auto it is a little thirstier (I average 24mpg) but I can live with it and may end up getting it LPG'd as I can see me keeping the car for as long as possible.
 
9mpg, :eek:

I am just seeing what is there to upgrade to, I was quite honest when i said a while back that about 70% of cars on the road i could see daily are just meh (I could stick a camera on my head and record my daily trip :p). Its the other 30% i would be somewhat interested in. A lexus, Legend, even that Legacy all propped up but the running costs would be, well prohibitive.

At this stage I am probably against any German cars, An Audi A4 220hp would be nice but would not trust it for reliability, turbo and all.

So back to the Accord, I would echo what Rich said, I have driven loads of cars (mostly useless ones), the Honda's I have driven always stand out and this one is the best by a long shot.
 
Spec B best apart from costs and if you have to change plugs on the H6 engine...it's interesting!! On mine it was!

Latest Legs are awful, bit like the Impreza's. Most of the turbo's Leg or Preza's need super lead.

Looking at Volvo's as I had the V70, performance-wise the T5 is very quick, but the S60R is rapid and good handling and build quality. Engine can be fragile!!

Jon
 
latest legends awful, that's news to me?

apart from the rear legroom (not suitable for 10+), and amazing economy.. (sic), i don't think there's much wrong with a legend?
 
Legacy. Legacy.


Edit: Just popped over to the Subaru website, and the Legacy isn't even listed, just the Outback. Do they not import the Leggy any more? :(
 
even the accord is not listed in top gear magazine now on the back pages ffs.

well hardly surprising since no one buys it.

nuts
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top