I hate Hondas. Check out my new Honda!

My first car, back in 1991, was a 1984 Civic four door. Three speed automatic, no rear view mirror on the passenger side. Plastic hub caps. The car was utterly boring to drive but that didn't stop be from hooning around like any car crazy 16 year old and loving the freedom of having a car. It had been my mom's car, then my brothers, then handed down to me. After I drove it for a couple years it went back to my mom who drove it until the floor rusted out, and she then replaced it with a new Accord. I didn't likethe Accord she bought, again, automatic with hubcaps and absolutely no soul. I have relentlessly made fun of people who drove Hondas since then, frequently using terms such as "soul sucking" and "boring appliance." I swore I'd never own a Honda.

The cars I've loved, or at least enjoyed owning, since then:

1986 Audi Coupe GT

A couple Explorers

1985 RX7

1991 MR2

2002 WRX

1998 Yukon

1997 328i w/ sport package

1995 Legacy L wagon w/5mt

2005 Legacy GT wagon w/5mt

2011 Outback (Wife's current vehicle)

2002 Suburban

The Suburban was great, I love being able to pile a bunch of friends or even another family in the thing and head on a road trip. But, it was rusty and had far more stuff go wrong in the 26 months and 30k miles I owned it than it should have. The windshield was cracked, tires worn out, and ABS was kicking in on low speed stops when it shouldn't. Nothing that can't be fixed, but needed to either spend the money on it or move on. I have automotive ADD, so it's time to move on!

Through a long and weird rationale that would surely be torn apart if I posted it (that is what the internet is for, right?) I narrowed the replacement down to a new Mazda6 or Accord. I'll probably keep this car about three years and then go back to a full size SUV for the third row seat and ability to haul crap. It was a close call between the 6 and Accord, but the Accord won out due to:

-price

-interior feels larger

-I prefer the styling

So, I am pretty excited about the 2015 Accord Sport, with manual transmission, that I picked up last night. I think it's a crazy good value, (got $4k off sticker, 60 months at .9%), should have good resale, and it's fun to drive. I'd post pictures of the car, but why bother? Honda has put about half a million of them on the road every year, this body style is three years old, and if you want a manual transmission Accord the only choice you can make when buying is black or silver exterior. Mine is silver. No other options to debate.

Going to tint the windows and put on a trailer hitch so I can use my bike rack and tow my super awesome Harbor Freight utility trailer (Remember all the stuff I used to throw in the Suburban? The trailer is going to be utilized more often now!), then drive it and change the oil as necessary. And maybe do my first autocross since circa 2007.

Cool. Congrats.

Pics or it didn't happen....then Congrats!!!

How does it feel to be dead inside?

Congrats on the new ride! I actually like the 2013-up Accord Sport. They look nice and are pretty comfortable inside. I'd definitely consider one for a daily driver.

Those are nice cars. Congratulations!

Appleseed wrote: How does it feel to be dead inside?

I applaud OP on his determination to double-down on the boring, rather than going with a Fit or Civic which CAN be relatively sporty, he just went from "middle aged" to "golden years" in one straight shot!

My nephew has an Accord Sport 5 speed and he loves it. I have an EX-L V6. I love that too, but I actually like the Sport dash better.

The Accord is such a good car in so many ways. Get more than you pay for there for sure.

HiTempguy wrote:

Appleseed wrote: How does it feel to be dead inside?

I applaud OP on his determination to double-down on the boring, rather than going with a Fit or Civic which CAN be relatively sporty, he just went from "middle aged" to "golden years" in one straight shot!

The dead inside feeling is so freeing! I wanted something bigger than a Fit or Civic. I'm 40. I have two kids. I'm bald. If I feel crazy I may try pushing the economy button to see what it feels like.

Seriously. I'm happy to not have to think about cars for a while. One of my favorite things about my wife's Outback is that for four years and 52k miles I haven't had to think about the damn car other than oil changes. We'll put a new set of tires on before snow hits this winter and then (hopefully) not think about it again other than maybe brakes until it has over 100k on it.

I was car shopping few weeks ago. Test drove a v6 Accord, thought well this is nice but Id like it more if I was 15 years older. It felt like an awesome dad or mom car .

Good choice. I decided that I needed a comfy commuter and went with a 2015 EX-L about a month ago. Love it as it does exactly what I need: eat miles in traffic.

Enjoy. I bought a '13 Accord sport - my first ever brand new car. It has since covered 36k without incident. The Sport hits a huge sweet spot for value - has just the things you'd spend for and omits the unnecessary high-dollar stuff. Mine is a CVT. say what you will, but it's the first Honda automatic that doesn't whine, MPGs are incredible and it does a passable job of simulating a car with better torque. My only complaint after 2 years is the suspension is jiggly - like it needs better shocks - and I'd prefer less body roll. I can only take accord.net in small doses but posters there seem to get good results from an Acura roll-bar upgrade. Info about shocks/struts is contradictory and confusing but upgrades seem limited to the V6 cars. I hope Eibach or Koni will put something together for the 4-cyl cars soon as I'd like to address these items in the coming months.

In reply to conesare2seconds:

The V6 still gets a normal automatic transmission, but I drove a couple of new Accord CVTs last year when my daughter was car shopping. I've never liked CVTs, but I couldn't tell that this was one.

Per Schroeder wrote: Good choice. I decided that I needed a comfy commuter and went with a 2015 EX-L about a month ago. Love it as it does exactly what I need: eat miles in traffic.

Is yours a stick?

I have a 2014 Accord LX with the CVT. Great A to B car. Tremendous value for under 21k. 36 mpg on trips is nice too.

Woody wrote:

Per Schroeder wrote: Good choice. I decided that I needed a comfy commuter and went with a 2015 EX-L about a month ago. Love it as it does exactly what I need: eat miles in traffic.

Is yours a stick?

EX-L will not be a stick. Only the Sport trim cars have it as an option.

In reply to conesare2seconds: You may need them to custom make you a set.

I drive for sales. I deliver 500' reels of air hose and gaskets to my customers or just plain call on them. I need a car that is cheap and goes and goes. I have to have a 4-door car or truck, 5 years or newer, that stickers for $25,000 in order to get my car allowance and I'm not driving 25,000 miles a year on my dime.

I have a 2011 Accord LX 5-speed that has 106,000 miles that works. Fun? Not bad as I race through the gears. Original tires lasted 82,000 miles with careful rotation and I still have the original brake pads. It has held up well except for a blower motor that started screaming and the front drive shafts. Lots of oil and many filters. Change your tranny fluid early to keep it shifting smoothly.

I am considering the 5-speed Sport next year except the wife hates cars and would prefer I get an Equinox after I turn in my man card. The Chevrolet would be easier to haul 2-3 reels of hose.....

I've driven my old rusty Civic as a dd for the past few years. Although boring it's still more fun to drive than some much newer cars I've test driven recently, and it's saved me a bunch on fuel costs which allows me to put into my other "fun" motorized vehicles. It's an appliance that gets the job done.

That's correct. The operant term is traffic…and the CVT does that just fine. Almost bought the hybrid version, but the lack of trunk space killed it for me--coming from a hatchback, I just couldn't deal with the reduction in space back there because of the battery.

My third car is a 911, so I've got a pretty manually manual that takes care of that itch to shift.

PeterAK wrote:

Woody wrote:

Per Schroeder wrote: Good choice. I decided that I needed a comfy commuter and went with a 2015 EX-L about a month ago. Love it as it does exactly what I need: eat miles in traffic.

Is yours a stick?

EX-L will not be a stick. Only the Sport trim cars have it as an option.

Ah ok, I just checked the Honda website. You can get a four cylinder EX sedan with a stick, but not with leather (EX-L).

Woody wrote: Ah ok, I just checked the Honda website. You can get a four cylinder EX sedan with a stick, but not with leather (EX-L).

If so, that's a change for the 2016 model year. The only 2015's available with a stick are Sports. Looks like for 2016 the stick is available in LX, Sport, and EX trim. Though, the way I read the Honda web site the 2015 data makes it look like a manual is an option for those trims, but it is not.

If you are considering one of these cars I'd recommend going for it while the 2015's are still on the lot. They are dealing to get them sold--Mazda doesn't have any 2015 6's anymore, the lots are full of 2016's, with much less pricing flexibility than what is available on the Accord.

We bought our Accord last October. Honda had a huge discount and 0.9% financing. I was shocked at how good of a deal it was.

A couple weeks shy of one year of ownership, and I rolled over 10k miles on the Accord this morning. One oil change around 8k miles when the computer said it was due, no other money spent or attention needed. I did tint the windows to 35% with a windshield banner of limo 5%--I don't know why so many new cars don't have a tint banner on the windshield, must be a decision by Honda to save a couple bucks. Averaging upper 20's for MPG's. Still enjoy the car, it's nimble enough to be fun, brakes are good, acceleration is fine but not impressive. I'd definitely buy this car again. #dadlife