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Buying advice for a 2.2 CDTI 2004-2006 model, £2000

J

John9615

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Hello

I'm new here. I need a big economical estate for the least cash. narrowed it down to a Accord 2.2 CDTI, Audi A6 1.9 TDI, Maza 6 diesel.
I know forums are full of things that have gone wrong, so paranoia is perhaps evident, but I've read (on here) about both manifold cracking and timing chain woes.
How serious and widespread is this issue? My budget is only £2000 so I would like to avoid a costly mistake! :mellow:
Any other issues I should look for?
How much does a manifold/timing chain repair cost?

I like the look of the Honda, the standard spec is amazing! :D
 
Hi and welcome,

Maybe at that budget I would give it a miss. If you get a bad one, you'll probably end up having to sell it at a loss or spend more than its worth to repair.

Conversely the petrols are almost bullet proof and often a lot cheaper to buy, 2.0 litre is a good compromise. Will still do 40mpg on a cruise.

Do your sums, see if at your mileage really pays for you to have a 'tractor'.

Also consider something like a previous shape Mondeo petrol estate. Cheap as chips, fairly reliable if well maintained and not mega miles, Mazda petrol engine with a timing chain. £2k would probably get you a 2006 or 2007.

Good luck.
 
As long as the manifold isn't leaking, the timing chains aren't noisy and the clutch isn't slipping then I say go for it! Ideally, see some evidence that these things have all been replaced.
 
Hi, Yes I need a diesel as I do ~15k a year, so the difference between 30 and 45 mpg is £900/year so after 2 years I can throw away one car compared to a petrol!... tho that does ***ume the turbo doesnt go bang etc.

Whats the most important things to check and how?

Thanks a lot.
 
Turbo is pretty reliable... whining when cold is normal.

Exhaust manifold... look at rear of engine when starting from cold. Smoke rising = cracked manifold. Crack normally closes up when hot.

Engine chains... a weird rattle/clicking/rubbing noise at idle when hot. Quiet when cold and when the engine is revved.

Clutch slip... drive up a long incline at 2000RPM in a high gear and floor the throttle. Slippage will result in RPM rising out of line with speed increase, but RPM will drop instantly as the throttle is eased.
 
How common are these problems... are we talking 1 in a 10000 (but all those ones end up discussed in a forum!), or is it a very common/waiting to happen fault??

thanks alot
 
I couldn't possibly answer to that level of accuracy (!), but after 6 years / 80k miles of ownership I've had all three! But never had to actually fix any, yet.

Clutch slip... often 'fixes' itself as the pressure plate self-adjuster sorts the problem out. Mine did slip but has been OK for years.

Cracked manifold... meh, who cares? It's been noticeable since shortly after I bought it, but has never got really bad. Never gets mentioned on the MOT.

Noisy chains... again, who cares? Unless it's really noisy or the sound suddenly alters. I will be changing mine very soon.
 
Hi Jamie,

I'm new to this forum but have been told that I might have the record for owning a diesel Accord the longest - I've had mine 10 years with 99k now on the clock.

Over this time I've had the following issues but nothing I wouldn't consider wear and tear

Front bushes replaced
Rear offside bearing replaced
Front offside brake caliper replaced (it was binding)
Front offside wishbone replaced
Alloy wheels refurbished (they blistered badly)

I've had no issues with the engine. The clutch did slip for about a week a couple of years ago but, as already mentioned above, this self adjusted and is now fine.

I've never really stuck with Honda to service the car but I've made sure it always got an annual service. My mechanic recently advised that I didn't need to stick with 0w30 oil and put in cheaper oil, however after reading various threads it'll be getting changed back to the recommended oil very soon.

I've decided I'm keeping this car until it gives up and as such I've done some cosmetic work (the wheel refurb and a bumper respray, the latter of which was a scrape I caused). But other than that the car has given me relatively problem free motoring. The bodywork seems fine.

As long as the engine has been looked after with servicing and proper oil, everything else should be problem free and general wear and tear.

Good luck with whatever car you go for!
 
I know I am slated for being strictly anti-diesel on here but you could be opening a whole can of proverbial worms on a diesel accord for that money so thread carefully.

bear in mind you will have no warranty, anything that happens to it will be your own expense and that 900quid saving may not seem like such a good thing after all.

I should point out I don't care less if you get a diesel or a rolls royce, just be careful, plus 15k is borderline petrol territory. IMO you would need to be doing probably more than that to justify a diesel.

but if you do get a diesel and it works out then all power to you.
 
I had a cdti a couple of years ago. It was an 04reg. Once I got to know more about this model via this site I too was always wondering when the usual things would go wrong giving me an enormous bill. I even started to put money in what I called the Accord account, ready for any major faults. Drove the motor from 56k miles to 106k miles and I have to say VSA modules, timing chains, exhaust manifolds etc never went wrong. Did have to fit a new clutch shortly after buying it along with a dual mass flywheel, that bill was big enough. Shame about the known weedy clutch on this model. I always wondered if and when the other faults would fail though, so I sold it and bought a petrol vehicle. Sorry guys, it happens to be a Mazda. Now complete peace of mind. My advice is, don't buy an old diesel, but go for a reliable oriental petrol. The Accord petrol is a fantastic motor. I do sometimes miss the extra mpg the diesel gave me, but I personally do 20k miles a year and am happy getting 38mpg out of a 2.0ltr petrol. I do as part of my job speak to a few BP oil and fuel research engineers and they tell me to expect diesel to go up in price quite a lot in the near future. So it might not be long before every diesel owner finds the increased price of diesel fuel far out weighs the extra miles per gallon you get.
 
I can think of no reason why diesel would increase in price disproportionally compared to petrol. Did you ask for an explanation?
 
I must admit I am a bit of a petrol convert now. The 2L has no turbo to worry about, no dual mass issues, no manifold issues, no injector issues. Its fairly nippy and still gets 40MPG,

The problem you have is if your buying a car for £2k can you really afford to repair the expensive parts that might go wrong? I bought a Mondeo TDCi years ago with 98k on the clock for £1900. 3 injectors later and a few other parts it had cost me £2k to maintain and that was in less than a year!

As far as Diesels go, the Accord is fairly reliable but if you want bullet proof then I don't think you can beat the 1.9 TDi in the Audi. After selling my Mondeo I got an A4 1.9 tdi (130BHp) with 130k on the clock. Sold it on 150k with no problems and it held its value well.
 
The biggest issue I found with buying a diesel Accord estate is that they are fairly hard to come by. There aren't many for sale because people seem to hold onto them. In the end I got a saloon.
 
Indeed, whether it's petrol or diesel, the tourers seem to be keeper cars. I've noticed that.
 
GordyC said:
Hi Jamie,

I'm new to this forum but have been told that I might have the record for owning a diesel Accord the longest - I've had mine 10 years with 99k now on the clock.

Over this time I've had the following issues but nothing I wouldn't consider wear and tear

Front bushes replaced
Rear offside bearing replaced
Front offside brake caliper replaced (it was binding)
Front offside wishbone replaced
Alloy wheels refurbished (they blistered badly)

I've had no issues with the engine. The clutch did slip for about a week a couple of years ago but, as already mentioned above, this self adjusted and is now fine.

I've never really stuck with Honda to service the car but I've made sure it always got an annual service. My mechanic recently advised that I didn't need to stick with 0w30 oil and put in cheaper oil, however after reading various threads it'll be getting changed back to the recommended oil very soon.

I've decided I'm keeping this car until it gives up and as such I've done some cosmetic work (the wheel refurb and a bumper respray, the latter of which was a scrape I caused). But other than that the car has given me relatively problem free motoring. The bodywork seems fine.

As long as the engine has been looked after with servicing and proper oil, everything else should be problem free and general wear and tear.

Good luck with whatever car you go for!
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the very helpful replies. I think reading forums is great for geberal advice like this, it’s just that so-called common problem often crop up disproportionately more than say in the general population of cars.
Although I see some logic in buying a petrol, with tax and fuel costs over 1 year that’s 1000 quid a year extra…. And that is one hell of an ‘insurance’ payment just to avoid extra servicing costs.

Besides which I am totally in love with turbo diesel torque now, I think I’d struggle to go back to weedy petrols, even tho on paper they are sometimes quicker to 60 mph etc. In the real world of overtaking, turbo torque has me hooked. But yes I do realise there are extra risks of costs.
Thanks for making clear those risks. I would like an Audi ideally, but they are usually all poverty spec, and now I’m used to cruise, leather etc I think the Honda may be the best bet. I will update if I get one.
Many thanks, J
 
I saw a couple of A4s on dealers lots when I was looking around. On average, an A4 the same age, mileage, and spec as my Accord, was a couple of grand more expensive.
 
Yes, for the same money I would be looking at 2002 models rather than 2004/5 Accords, and no heated seats! :wacko:
 
2.4 petrols got ample torque... And reliability. What was said about repair costs you should keep in mind. It may be a 2k car (now). Petrol or diesel but it will still be a 20k car to fix.
 
toffee_pie said:
2.4 petrols got ample torque... And reliability. What was said about repair costs you should keep in mind. It may be a 2k car (now). Petrol or diesel but it will still be a 20k car to fix.
Click to expand...
This makes little sense to me. Using the manufacturer stats, at 15 000 miles a year the costs (inc tax) are:
2.2 diesel - £2213 :)
2.0 petrol - £2975 :unsure:
2.4 petrol - £3662 :(

So I save £1400 a year over a 2.4 petrol and £750 over the 2.0 petrol. Yes, I could spend more on repairs, but spending a grand or so a year extra, just on the off chance something goes spectacularly wrong seems daft to me. :ph34r:

And as I say, the diesel has so much more torque (251 lb-ft) compared to the 2.4's 164 lb-ft.... much more relaxing and in the real world, faster. :)
 
Go for it! The petrol is far more refined than the diesel but that's done to death here. The repair costs for any accord are dear.keep that in mind. Don't come back moaning :p
 
The petrols are definitely not more refined - you have to really wring their necks to make them deliver their potential. Fun, yes... but for most journeys that's not what you want to be doing.

The Accords with the really high mileages are diesels, as mentioned by Fahad in a recent thread. On the Civinfo forum there is a 2.2 i-CTDi that has racked up over 300,000 miles. In general, the diesel Accords will have a much higher mileage and so will therefore be expected to require more repairs.

I do not understand why some believe that petrol engines are better suited to short journeys. They aren't.

For balance, I should add that I own a petrol Toyota as well as the diesel Honda.
 
Like others have said, the diesels are fine if you service them regularly. As for torque, you really need Fahad to tune it - trust me, it transforms the car.
 
My 2.4 is fine for Short trips. Economy is crap but hey ho. Would rather drive this and have bad economy than drive 70% of the cars I see daily for 'improved' economy
 
Jon_G said:
So - despite the OP being clear he wants a diesel - yet another thread becomes diesel Vs petrol...
Click to expand...
Indeed! Please Eric, the Petrol Vs Diesel has been done to death. It's getting a little old. If people want diesel, that's fine. If they have a problem with their diesel, help them out.

Just soap-boxxing about the marvels of the 2.4 in diesel threads only serves to winds people up and give them a negative view of 2.4 owners...
 
Jon_G said:
The petrols are definitely not more refined - you have to really wring their necks to make them deliver their potential. Fun, yes... but for most journeys that's not what you want to be doing.

The Accords with the really high mileages are diesels, as mentioned by Fahad in a recent thread. On the Civinfo forum there is a 2.2 i-CTDi that has racked up over 300,000 miles. In general, the diesel Accords will have a much higher mileage and so will therefore be expected to require more repairs.

I do not understand why some believe that petrol engines are better suited to short journeys. They aren't.

For balance, I should add that I own a petrol Toyota as well as the diesel Honda.
Click to expand...

Don't get diesel fanboys even arguing that a diesel is more refined than a petrol ffs.

Put two cars 10 feet between each other. A diesel and a petrol. Open the bonnet. Fire it up.

Now tell me which is more refined :p
 
I'll try to be the voice of reason here - taking fuel out of the equation completely.

The Accord Tourer is a great car - it looks good, has a nice base spec, it's huge and regardless of the engine it goes pretty well. However, if I was you and I had a reasonably low budget then the safe option might not be an Accord (sorry guys :eek:). I've had to fix quite a few (non Engine) things on my car after getting what I considered a bargain price. Suspension, brake calipers, washer bottle motors etc.

Now maybe i'm just unlucky, but ultimately you get what you pay for and at £2000 you'll get a decent condition Mondeo Estate with reasonable milage. You'll lose out on toys, looks and 'Oomph' (IIRC the Mondeo is a 1.9 TDCI) but it doesn't have so many these potential nightmares hanging over you. It's also plenty big in comparison to the other models you cited as possibles.

Anyway - my attempt to add balance to the debate, if you get an Accord you'll love it and if you get the right one it'll be more loyal than an old Labrador. Just tread carefully and make sure you pick a good 'un.

Good luck,
Tom


P.S. - We all know petrol is the one true fuel, what's a Honda without VTEC??
 
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