It’s been about seven months since I ran out of warranty in my 2014 Accord EX-L V6 6MT. We’re now just a touch over 45,500 miles at the third anniversary of purchase, and I’ll confess I’m starting to get a little itchy about the idea of keeping a new car for this long. Only four times in my life have I kept a street-titled car past the three-year mark: my 1990 Fox stuck around 67 months, my 944 was in my possession for the better part of 10 years, and I still have two Porsches I bought during the first term of the G.W. Bush administration. Other than that, it’s been churn-and-burn, usually somewhere between the 18-month and 30-month marks.

There are sound reasons to swap the Accord out, and sound reasons to keep it, as you’ll see below. I’ve also had a few interesting incidents with the car, one of which might even be considered a legitimate blotting of the proverbial copybook.

The sensible-shoes crowd likes to think of “prestige” car buyers as spendthrift morons easily distracted by shiny things and cynical marketing, but I’m starting to see a real benefit to owning something like a late-model Audi or BMW after three years taking pretty good care of my Accord. That benefit can best be described as “touchable durability.” Pretty much everything that I put my hands or feet on in this car now has serious signs of wear, from the fragile, easy-scratch leather of the steering wheel to the shiny metal cutting through the clutch pedal pad.

I regularly clean and condition the Accord’s interior from top to bottom, but that doesn’t stop the plasticized leather from creasing or the plastic from getting shiny. And the paint … well, it doesn’t bear mentioning. The 1986 Jaguar Vanden Plas that I owned from 1995 to 1999 looked better after fourteen years and 95,000 miles than this nearly new Honda does today. The front bumper and hood are a constellation of primer-colored dots and chips. Any bird droppings not cleaned within the first hour or so end up leaving a bumpy surface in the clearcoat. Not even a quadruple application of Zaino could stop the carnage, but I’ll be stripping the paint down again in April and quad-coating it with the Jersey plastic pseudo-wax just to slow down the pace at which the finish disintegrates.

To make matters worse, last week my son and I were stopped at a train crossing when we were hit in the rear bumper by an amiable, fully-insured stoner in a Mazda 3 with evidence of multiple previous low-speed crashes. The three of us became fast friends — he’s a harmonica player who is looking to play some gigs, assuming his roommate stops harshing his buzz by stealing his rolling papers — but the Honda’s back bumper is going to need some serious refinishing. Luckily for us I light-footed the brake and let the impact roll us forward a few feet; that saved us from a complete smash-up and kept my sons’s neck from being too sore.

This is all trivial stuff, however, and if you want a car that’s painted correctly in this day and age I can only recommend that you find a Silver Spur III or one of the South African kit cars that are sprayed in an environment that doesn’t need to comply with any environmental regulations whatsoever. I’m serious about that; the Superformance I owned back in 2001 was the best-painted sports car I’ve ever seen. It was like looking into a black lake at midnight. I had plenty of time to contemplate the excellence of the paint every time I was waiting for a flatbed.

Less good: the Mystery Oil Leak. A month ago, I swapped out the front and rear brake pads because they’d finally given up the ghost at the 45,000-mile mark. This included several trackdays so I wasn’t particularly bitter about having to spend $110 on new pads with the expectation of new rotors in the spring. It was 31 degrees outside and dark to boot when I finally got around to doing the pads, but luckily for me I had a head-mounted flashlight and all of the proper tools, including the machine to twist the Accord’s rear-caliper pistons back. What a crappy system that is, by the way. There’s no way that the calipers would survive more than about three pad changes without losing the integrity of the piston seals.

Anyway, when I backed the car out the next morning, I saw there was fluid underneath. I originally thought it was brake fluid, but it was oil. And when I put the Accord in the air, I found oil on the crossmember. There was nothing above it, however, and the oil level appears normal. Nor has the Mystery Leak returned. In 45 days or so, when I put the summer tires back on, I’m going to degrease everything and then check again after a month has passed. In the meantime, I’m remaining both both confused and watchful.

There’s been one final oddity; three times now the Bluetooth media interface on the system has decided to play music from the right speakers but not the left ones. It doesn’t affect the CD player or the radio, and it doesn’t happen every time. This would point to a problem with a stereo-conductor cable except the whole point of Bluetooth is to dispense with said cable. Oh well. It’s my problem, I suppose, since the warranty on that stuff elapsed now.

The rest of the Accord is as you would expect. The engine remains strong; during a recent Focus RS test, I discovered the Accord could match Ford’s hyper-hatch in a “60 roll.” The transmission is a bit notchy in the winter but the clutch shows no real signs of wear. The wind noise that has plagued the driver’s B-pillar is, if anything, getting better.

Which leaves me with just one question: Sell or keep? I’m now down to about $12,100 on the loan, so I’m in equity. This was a condition that none of my precious German sedans and coupes ever really reached. Should I just pay it off and keep it? Or should I sell it, get my money, and take delivery of a 2018 Accord coupe EX-L 6MT? That’s supposedly the last year for this engine/powertrain combination.

Pros of swapping cars: newer, better audio interface, a few more years where I’ll be able to drive a stick-shift car to work every day, could clear-bra the new coupe the day I get it, might get the pearl white instead of the plain grey.

Cons: would rather be spending my car payment on something is not an Accord in March of 2019, new front end of 2016-and-up Accord Coupes is pretty stupid-looking, might be seized with uncontrollable desire to buy Challenger T/A six-speed instead and thus derail the one aspect of my life that makes vague economic sense.

Feel free to offer your opinions in the comments. Or if you’re interested in becoming an Accord-ian yourself, right now, then I think I’d take $19,999 for the car post-bumper repair, with brand-new tires on the factory wheels and new rotors on all four corners. It would be nice to have someone take the decision out of my hands like that. But if that doesn’t happen, I’ll see you at the 42-month mark, where we’ll answer the questions: What was that mystery leak? Is the clutch pedal pad really the same one that’s found on the ’93 Civic, as one of my Instagram followers told me? And will the V6 get even stronger in its fourth year? Tune in half a year from now and find out!

It sounds like you have the new car itch, Jack. So scratch it. What the f**k. Life’s short, y’know?

Lease an ’17, sell the current Accord privately, and bank the cash. And do the new one in San Marino Red. And be on the lookout for ’16 models. This one’s a CVT but it’s still an awesome deal: http://www.schomphonda.com/inventory/new-2016-honda-accord-coupe-ex-l-wnavi-fwd-2dr-car-1hgct1b62ga007467

No cap cost, $316/mo. Boom.

Steve Lang could of had this instead!

Sure scratch it but instead of the Accord 6 MT get the Civic Si with manual.

It’s about as big as the old Accord anyway.

I thought he’s suppose to ask Bark about these things….

odd post for me. i typically buy used cars then keep them at least 10 years. record is 29 years. i currently own a 1992 Acura, 2008 Toyota, 2005 BMW and a 2006 Lexus. paint looks bad ? trip to body shop. leather looking worn ? indelible ink magic marker. cannot pass smog? local trusted mechanic (never the dealer!) seems to me car design is getting worse and worse since early 1970’s, until i need a complete engine rebuild i am keeping them. YMMV and of course you need to have some trusted car repair guys in your corner.

1. Sell Accord 2. Buy 6.2L Silverado 3. Commute with motorcycles & use truck for truck things and bad weather driving

In Ohio, that’s gonna be a lot of seat time in the Silverado.

He’s smack dab in the middle of Honda country and still can’t get top buck for a Accord.

Foxconn workers aren’t exactly Apple’s market either :-D

I wonder…could one fit a motorcycle in the back seat of a Fleetwood Sixty Special Talisman?

My son’s PW50 would fit, no problem.

My ZX-14R will not fit.

You traded your aircooled CB? For a (occasionally and then only barely) landlocked missile? Living in the state whose speed enforcement has killed more Cannonball attempts, than all the rest combined????

Love it! The 14R is absolutely, improbably awesome. Everytime a bikeshow or Kawi truck comes to town, that’s the one i want to testride. Improbably as this may seem from looking at them, more comfortable for my busted back than the “actively suspended” Superadventure.

But how the heck can you, out of all people, stay out of jail (not speeding tickets, jail….) for even an hour of riding that thing around???

I’ve promised myself I’ll get one, the moment/if MCCruise in Oz releases a cruise control for it, like they had for the old 14. Since absent that, I find it excruciatingly painful to abstain from even rear ending the lead rider, on those aforementioned test rides…..

I still have the CB, I’m up to 7900 miles on it. I’ve ridden it all winter.

But the ZX-14R.. It’s already caused me some trouble. I’ve been pulled over once and I’ve, ah, accidentally gone faster than the policeman of whom I was unaware behind me twice.

and I thought I was a hard-ass getting my Dyna up to 110.

that is, before realizing I was in an area where a deer darting in the road would ruin the rest of my life.

You’ve got a sweet stable. Both the CB and 14R are kind of throwbacks to an earlier era of cost-little-object, just-because-we-can bikes. Now, everybody wants to be the next FZ/MT-09/07, as that’s where the sales are.

Still surprised about the 14R. Last time you mentioned bikes, it was in the context of slowing down and getting a big-ole Indian. And then you get this thing instead! I guess you can always slow down when you’re either dead, in jail, or licenseless….

Were it me…? I’m an aesthetics guy. The 14 Coupe is so much prettier than the newer version .. Give or take ,you have 7-8 K equity . I’m thinking 2 years from now, a V6 Coupe, with a stick is going to be a very sought after vehicle. Sure , your going to see more depreciation, but you will have no problem snagging a private sale, for top bucks.

Monitor the oil leak…..Keep it. Thats what I would do.

KBB trade value is mid-$14’s. JB is not laminating about Honda residuals now, is he?

You should trade on a Silverado tow-truck for the C5. The trade value will offset your taxes and be farther ahead than selling it outright.

With Matt Farah and his CA crew able to spin Fords off at will makes the case for Accord residuals look like a shame.

I’m sure somebody, somewhere, took $14,500 for their automatic coupe at the predatory Honda dealer.

If I put this car on ebay at $16,500 it would disappear in six hours.

KBB says $16,800 is out right selling price.

If I had a Honda, it would look just like this Accord Coupe.

It does look like the owner is pretty hard on his car though…

Agreed. I’d love to see Matt’s Fox-body ex-Police ‘Stang in Jack’s hands. I’d watch that track-day footage all day.

I say get rid of it. It doesn’t sound like you really have much praise for it at this point, and the little things are bound to irritate you. If you don’t get something like a Challenger with a 6-speed, sounds like you might just lease your next car from the Germans.

I’d say keep the current Accord or buy the Challenger. I’d personally lean toward buying the Challenger but I can’t keep a car for more than a year, so I might have a little bit of a problem in that regard…

By the way Mark needs to do an updated story on his RS

I have a “14 Accord LX 4 door with the 6 speed manual. Bought new, now with just over 80,000 miles, Paint if flawless. A lot of wear on the carpet mat by the clutch. New tires this winter, no repairs! I plan on keeping mine until it’s no longer reliable, Or perhaps when they discontinue the manual on the Accord. Then I’ll get the last model with the manual. I forgot to say I really like this car.

I would say keep it, I would. But I’m not you. You seem to like change and something different after a while. So if you can afford it, get your next car.

I’ve given some thought to picking up a base Accord like yours before you can’t get one anymore. Isn’t the Accord set to be redesigned soon? I wonder if the stick shift will survive. I was under the impression that 2018 MY meant a new Accord. Might be wrong there. If ’18 does mean new style, I wouldn’t doubt the ’17s might be the last sticks, at least in the sedan.

Given some of your previous postings and your general musing on life in your articles I’d say that a rationalization of the “family fleet” is at hand.

I’d wager that there will be significant changes in your driveway overall during the next 12 months.

“Churn and burn”. Like that line. Like Jack, that is what I did for the vast majority of my life. Now I find myself in the same quandry. For the first time in my adult life I have ‘older’ vehicles. 2 paid for and 1 where I am at least break even and probably have $1k in equity. 1 at 100,000 miles and 2 at about 85,000. Previously with 1 exception never kept a vehicle that had more than 80,000.

Hold, repair and maintain or buy new. If there was one right answer, then wouldn’t we all agree on it??

Let’s face it, with cars there is rarely a monetary ‘win’. You just hope to minimize your overall costs.

…which depends on your automotive priorities. If you like keeping cars until they beg to be killed, then a buy is the best bet. But if you like a new car every couple of years, leasing just makes so much sense.

Like you say, there’s no “right answer” for everyone.

I do think the least expensive way, especially if you are paying someone to do repairs, would to buy a 2 to 3 year old compact sedan, and keep it for 7 or 8 years. That way you minimize both depreciation and repairs.

I don’t do that, I buy new and keep for 8 – 11 years, and get something more expensive than a compact sedan. My wife gets a car every 8 years, mine stick around a few years more. I like buying new, we can get what we want and it’s so much easier to shop for a new car. Undoubtedly we’re paying a few hundred more per year in depreciation than we would if we were buying used, but it’s worth it to me.

Things that also affect paint adhesion (none are EPA related IMO): 1) Pre-treat quality of Zirconium or Phosphate stage prior to E-coat 2) Substrate quality of hood 3) Mix-matched metals (IE your hood is aluminum and the pretreat in Ohio doesn’t have multiple stages for pretreat – Phosphating machine for steel / zirconium etch for Aluminum) 4) Someone sanded off all your primer in a 2 wet application in a prime scuff booth due to quality issues and didn’t spray spot prime 5) Someone sanded off all your ecoat in a 3 wet application in an ecoat scuff booth due to quality issues and didn’t apply a phosphate wipe 6) whoever supplies Honda with Paint really really sucks 7) pipefitters in Ohio are lazy f*cks and don’t keep their process in specification 8) Honda is like Mazda somehow and totally fist f*cks their pretreatment chemistry until they steal a correct process from Ford.

Edit: So his hood isn’t aluminum but the 2016 accord is. I was wrong in that assumption

Have to admit that the paint on my Sonata seems very ‘thin’. Like Jack, mine looks pockmarked with touch up.

Whereas the paint on the Buick despite being 5 model years older and having nearly identical mileage still is unmarked by stone chips, shopping carts and wayward doors.

It likely has a better hot dipped galvanized steel panel (the buick). It also has a stronger, thicker phosphated layer. Was likely 2-wet application (an oven between Primer and Enamel/Clear application) or a single wet application where there is a cure oven and scuff booth between each spray application, primer/enamel/clear.

What I’ve seen is paint adhesion’s biggest enemy is the cheapening of the supply chain. Thin paint resembles orange peel, so I doubt it’s that. When the steel substrate is cheap, you have to rework it a lot in scuff booths to eliminate body shop sand and stone mars, galvanization defects (halos, beards, etc). When you take layers off, you cause adhesion issues long term. His hood is not Aluminum, just looked it up.

tres, while you’re here- I’ve helped a few people with the aluminum hood corrosion on a couple of their cars/SUVs (similar to my Mustang) and when I brought it up in the past you mentioned “hem sealer.” The TSB I found for it has the step “remove over-hem sealer and clean.” Is hem sealer different from an over-hem sealer?

Over-hem and hem sealer is the same thing.

Hem sealer is supposed to keep water out. The bad thing is when it ends up trapping water against the inner part of the hem. Especially if the inner hem was ‘closed’ during pretreat and ecoat and is bare aluminum.

Edit: after repair – wipe with a henkel bonderite 1455 wipe prior to Prime application

I am willing to bet Honda cheaped out on their cross linker resins, too on their clear and baseacoat. If your clear application is thin, you’re also asking for trouble on adhesion. Also, re-running the unit where the paint is too thick causes adhesion problems as well

Damn, tres…blaming lousy paint on POOR PAINT QUALITY or ASSEMBLY ISSUES versus the Big Bad Gummint?

Get back on yer meds, son!

There could be less resins / urethanes in the mix which is either cost driven or it may be due to EPA. I doubt its the latter. Your solvent usage is the only thing you gotta pay the big bucks for. Application thickness does effect how much solvents you use. I’m not saying it isn’t, but the adhesion issues I’ve seen are related to the above. Granted, the processes I have overseen are probably better than what East Liberty maintains.

Just appreciate you giving a real, detailed answer versus something that conveniently fits a certain political viewpoint.

+1. I like it when tres and other commenters who actually know what they are talking about chime in.

…which is one of the original reasons for coming to this site to begin with!

I’ve realized the biggest reason companies have bit*hed about the removal of lead etc from automotive paint is that it simply made it more expensive and more difficult to properly paint a car, not impossible as some people want to claim.

My 2004 F150 has an excellent paint job given its hard life outside and hasn’t been hand waxed in years. It’s lucky to get a trip to the car wash more than about twice a year. The wife’s old Vibe still looked good 11 years and 140,000 miles after having left the factory. She was fastidious about mechanical maintenance but never cared much about dirt.

Too early to tell on the other vehicles in the fleet.

I don’t think lead was really ever the issue in automotive paint; but the limits on solvents using volatile organic compounds (VOCs.)

All you gotta do is pay the pied piper to permit your VOC usage. It’s all calculated by weighing your coating weight and using fancy smancy formula’s that are created through environmental third party agencies in bed with politicians and the EPA so they can sell their theoretical abatement systems.

Thanks Tres. All good information.

In the GTA for our paint booths we have to calculate our usage and the VOC’s from these. Do a displacement moduling based on wind patterns. Get special permission if there are churches, daycares or schools within a certain distance. Then apply for a provincial permit and report total VOC’s each year to the Municipal government. And all applications require a professional engineer’s stamp.

In theory it allows the government to track ‘pollution’ levels in each geographic area.

We also have to file a fire plan with the local fire service so that know what and how much they may be exposed to.

And no we do not paint vehicle, just small metal parts for use in the home or office.

I’ve had my 2013 Accord detailed 2x/year at the dealer since new; unfortunately he retired after 30 years working there this past December, and the service department no longer does customer details. Between that and the ~$1,500 worth of VentureShield PPF I had installed before delivery, the car still looks almost new! (I’m also OCD about parking such that door dings aren’t as likely.)

The Zaino stuff’s about as good as anything on the market.

Inside, things look good as well; I have a temporary seat cover that I use during wet weather and winter; I’ve seen a cleaner online that takes away that “shiny” look, but damned if I recall where I saw it.

I buy waxes pre 2003 or 2004 VOC limitations. I can’t remember the EPA mandate, buy my auto wax lasts 3 months outside. The EPA DID ruin my trade secret paste wax. I used to be an auto detailer so I was a nerd about this stuff.

Now my truck is full of swirls and scratches. My younger self would be shaking his head at my disrespectful attitude. I guess life got in the way and I’m more laid back about a paint job. It’s not so special when you can walk up the process and see it happening at 70 jobs per hour. I need to spark that childhood interest and wonder again. Sigh.

Buy a used GS350 or IS350. Reliable, comfy, and convenient. Not any less fun I imagine, with AWD traction.

I’m sure the replacement will have to be a manual, so that knocks all Lexus vehicles out of the running.

Oh, then yes, yes it does.

I say jettison the Accord and get the Chally or lease a 6.2L Sierra/Silverado. I dumped my ’14 MSM Accord 6MT Sport Sedan for a Charger R/T R&T on a lark and don’t regret it. I don’t think Dodge offers its driver’s assistance package on stick-shift cars, but think FCA’s radar cruise/lane keeping assist is darn good.

If I were you, I’d keep it for a little while longer. The leather wear wouldn’t bother me (it appears it’s just wrinkled, which I thought was standard with leather.) The clutch pad can of course be trivially fixed. For the paint; a day or two with a skilled detailer and a bottle of factory touch-up should take care of the most glaring paint chips.

Of course, there’s no law that says you have to keep it until the wheels fall off; if the features of a new chariot are compelling to you, by all means upgrade. But you don’t strike me as the sort that buys a new car because of new infotainment gew-gaws or the latest and greatest in Safety Nannies.

New clutch pedal pads: http://ebay.to/2lvlbu6

Do you keep the black plastic dealer frame on your license plate intentionally, to advertise the dealership you got it from?

That’s a metal frame, from a boutique dealer in Miami.

It’s an inside joke — I’ve spent a lot of money with that dude, just not on an Accord.

http://www.kesslerautogroup.com/index

Those Arnages are just exquisite.

Regarding the frame, I figured as much. When I saw Miami, I knew it wasn’t Miami, OH.

“Touchable durability” is a legit point, and I was surprised by it when I test drove an E60 535i last weekend. The interior was tight like prom night and whatever was holding the steering wheel in place felt like granite. Suspension bits and bobs? Not so much…. but we can’t have it all lol.

If you don’t want an automatic you might as well keep the Accord. Personally I would probably gamble on a well equipped used 335i 6MT

This thread is trying really really hard to avoid this conclusion.

I don’t know what the issue is with Honda paint. My wife had a 2006 Odyssey, and the paint was indifferent at best, even though the car was garaged probably 22 hours per day. The bumpers were especially bad, if someone rubbed a bike tire on one of them the paint would come off. By the time we traded it after seven and a half years, the bumpers were shabby and the rest of the car looked kinda sorta OK inside and out. She replaced it with an Explorer, which surprised me since she’s always been a Honda gal, and the paint on the Explorer looks almost new after three and a half years. She has one small stone chip on one of the fenders, but that’s it.

I’m a buy and hold kind of guy, my last two cars were kept for 10 and 12 years. 10 years was fine and 12 years was about a year too long. The obvious advantage of keeping one for a long time is financial. I can’t get too excited about buying something newer because my day to day driving is not exciting, so I plan on keeping the one I have for about 11 years, it’s three years old now.

I’m guessing you have at least one motorcycle available to you. If I were in your situation I’d keep the Accord and ride the motorcycle more. I had one, a Honda Hawk GT, but I bounced it off of the side of a pickup truck that turned in front of me and I promised my wife I wouldn’t get another one until my daughters were self supporting, which is a freakingly long time, I’m finding out.

I’ve found that I need different cars at different stages of life. Right now I’m driving a PHEV Fusion, because both of my daughters are now teenagers and I needed something with enough room for the three of us to ride in regularly but not so big as to be intimidating for them to learn to drive. Now that the eldest is driving on her own, I think I drive with her in the car maybe once a week, and for that we could take my wife’s car. The younger one is now learning to drive, and I ride with her while she’s driving on the average of five or six days per week. She’s developed quite a preference for the Fusion, thinks her mom’s Explorer is too big and doesn’t like the accelerator pedal response of her sister’s Jeep. She’s rather spoiled by the EV smoothness of the Fusion. She’ll be getting her license in about a year, at which time most of my driving will be solo and won’t really need a family car any longer. I’ll keep it anyway, it’s been nearly flawless and there’s a lot of financial advantage in hanging onto it.

How much longer will you need a family car? That may very well answer the question whether the Accord should stay or go. (Cue up The Clash!)

I’ve averaged 9k a year on motorcycles for the past three years. I rode to work today, even.

Don’t be. There was standing water on the freeway. I had a thirty-foot locked-front-wheel slide on the off-ramp when I hit something that was under the water.

“O to be in April, now that February is here!”

Toledo hit the 60s again today. What is it, 70 degrees at least in Buckeye-Town?

“a few more years where I’ll be able to drive a stick-shift car to work every day”

Not gonna happen. By trading one Accord for another (especially on such flimsy pretexts) your new-car itch will be satiated for about ten minutes. You’ll quickly find yourself right back where you started, having accomplished nothing aside from an extra trip on the depreciation merry-go-round.

Best choice: Clean up the Accord and fall in love for another 2 years #2 choice: Trade it for something meaningfully different

Agree with don1967. If you were attached to your Accord like a 50-year marriage, buying another near-identical one might make sense. But you’re obviously not that attached. If you decide to absorb a depreciation hit, try something totally different. Maybe now is the time to see if you’re a pickup guy. Or get that Challenger, which is like your Accord but RWD, more macho, and with even worse build and finish quality.

I’m old enough to remember when getting 45,000 miles on a set of brake linings (in normal usage!) was a pipe dream. My SRT-4 would have probably seen 100,000 on the originals had one of the calipers not seized.

My Ranger, on the other hand, eats brake pads for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

If your Ranger is eating brake pads like crazy then you need to buy better pads or you just abuse your brakes. I’d say 60-75K is what it take for the OE pads to wear out on average and a decent set of aftermarket pads should be able to match or exceed that. On the other end of the scale there are pads out there that are lucky to make 15K even with moderate usage.

“…if you want a car that’s painted correctly in this day and age I can only recommend that you find a Silver Spur III”

Or perhaps a MkV Jetta Sportwagen. Mine was 7 years old and had 85K miles on it and the paint looked brand new and resisted scratches and hood chips pretty well. I didn’t wax it even once. Contrast that to the crap paint on my 4Runner that will be scratched by the gentle caress of falling autumn leaves and I truly hope that all the money saved by lousy Toyota and Honda paint was spent on long term mechanical durability.

The interior of that VW looked just about new as well, I was impressed. For $21K they provided quite a bit of “touchable durability”, which makes me wonder if they robbed mechanical durability to achieve it.

Me too. Reading his article with my five-year-old Golf in mind, my reaction was, “really?? I haven’t had half those issues in 90k miles. I’m supposed to have the unreliable brand!”. I feel deceived when I read that guy who’s always mocking VW.

I really think we should do more to teach probability and statistics in high school. or even grade school.

To be honest, TDI, my VW was very reliable, but it was the anvil 5-cylinder engine that generated red dots on the CR reliability surveys in a way that probably hasn’t been seen before or since. They did a good job with that car, especially over the probable duration of the first owner, but I wouldn’t assume it translates to a Touareg or even GTI, and I have no idea if it would make it to 150K miles without beginning to melt down. Still, for a first-time VW owner I was very pleased with the car.

Yeah, exactly on both counts: my dad was a statistician, and my Golf could obviously-probably make a million km if well taken care of. I’ve been told by other owners that the key is to meticulously follow the manual for services. Probably. I’m thinking R or gtI next but I keep making the mistake of reading forums and talking to dealers. Ugh, VW dealers.

We bought our car about the same time and have similar miles and the paint still has a nice deep shine to it. Ours i snot a Honda though.

I would sell it and get a used M235i. . .

Unless they fixed it that is a great strategy your fuel injectors every ~50k mi on the N54. Also a lot of suspension mounts and bushings which will be dead by that time.

You are going to have a mighty hard time buying an M235i with an N54 in it. Since the last cars BMW made with that engine were the 2011 335is and 1M. The M235i has the N55, an entirely different engine, and the M240i has the even newer B series engine.

Suspension bushings are a wear part if you want a car that rides and handles like a BMW. If you want a car that rides and handles like a Camry they can be lifetime parts (and even then, not really but who can tell?). And don’t give me any BS about Camry SE’s, they ride harshly and don’t handle any better than any other FWD beigebox.

Ultimately, I LOVED my M235i, but the GTI that replaced it is hugely better value, just as much fun, and way more practical on this side of the pond. On the autobahn (and autostrada) though, that M235i just ruled…

“And don’t give me any BS about Camry SE’s, they ride harshly and don’t handle any better than any other FWD beigebox.”

Wasn’t going to, but you asked for it:

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/05/review-toyota-camry-se-2-5l-track-tested/

If Jack bought, say a C-Class coupe 6mt for its “Touchable Durability” he’d be in a major loss position. Thankfully he has a Honda, where he can probably get about $16-17k easy for his car right now private sale (provided he gets the bumper fixed and does some recon for the little bits). Honda puts its magic where it matters most…the engine and drive train. Honda reminds us, they are an engine company after all. And when they do get it wrong (ex…8th gen 1.8L crack blocked Civics) they take care of it long after the warranty. Try that with the Germans. They’ll retort, “its a German, over-engineered crack block. Vee do nothing vith you.”

Also, Jack, I believe the ’18 MY of Accord is a clean sheet redesign going into its 10th Generation. I believe you meant to say maybe get a ’17? I don’t believe the V6 coupe will live past the 9th gen…at least if one believes trends and rumors.

So does Acura give someone “touchable durability”?

Does Mini give someone “touchable durability”? I can play the strawman game too.

It was a legitimate question. If someone wants the good points of Honda with the good points of Mercedes, does Acura offer that? Does Lexus? Does anyone?

Lexus is about the closest you’ll get. Acura materials were once meaningfully different from Honda materials, but not anymore. But Mercedes reliability seems to be getting significantly better in the last few years, so maybe Mercedes is the answer.

I never wax my vehicles and wash them in a drive-thru car wash a) maybe 2x a month if they’re a darker color, or b) maybe 1.5 x per month if they’re a lighter color.

And I’m in the salt-mine and salt brine capital of the Midwest, being Michigan (metro Detroit tri-county area yo).

I really can’t be bothered too much, yet, have not had many issues with paint.

If I had a truly rare vehicle that I wanted to marry, I’d keep in a climate controlled space and rarely drive it, like so many wankers do.

If I had a more common vehicle yet one that I loved and wanted to drive for as long as reasonably possible, I’d only drive it in 3 seasons, and wax it, clay bar it, etc.

but f*ck it. I AIN’T GONNA STRESS OVER SWIRLS, ROCK CHIPS, SCUFFS & OTHER SUCH TRIVIA BECAUSE THIS LIFE IS TOO MUCH STRESS AS IT IS AND SOMEONE NEEDS TO GET THESE MOTHERF*CKING SNAKES OFF THIS MOTHERF*CKING PLANE!

I just booked a week long vacay for mid-March to a genuine 5-star/5-diamond resort (not those bullsh*t expedia, apple, funjet, hotwire ratings, either) in the Caribbean, as I had to 86 the trip to St.Thomas I was supposed to be leaving for next week.

AND WHAT THE F*CK IS UP WITH THE PRICE OF AIRFARE? THESE A$$HOLE MOTHERF*CKER AIRLINES ARE CHARGING 2X THE TICKET PRICE AS THEY WERE 6 YEARS AGO WHEN JET FUEL WAS TWICE AS MUCH – F*CK THEM!

I’m going to talk to my homeboy, MCGLASSES BIG BRAIN, in Chicago, and see if there’s a case to be made that there’s some price-fixing SH*T going down, for real.

The airlines are profitable now. 6 years ago, they were at the end of a decade of pretty much constant losses.

The buzzword in the industry is “capacity discipline.” In layman’s terms… without colluding, we all independently come to the conclusion that it’s important to keep supply low, so that no one needs to launch a price war to fill seats. Independently. With no collusion. We promise.

Airfare keeps us in driving distance for vacations. I could afford 2 months of lodging in Italy if it weren’t for the $1600/person coach class misery tickets. Wretched way to travel, if only it weren’t necessary to reach so many nice places.

I’ve washed my 2013 Truck 3 times since I’ve bought it. It gets itself clean from prepping for new paint to fix it’s vandalization or abuse. Why wash the paint when you’re gonna be laying down another quick application?

You’re right. Life is too short. I used to be meticulous about my vehicles. Now I just mechanically maintain them and use them well.

Airfare is not a problem if you hit them where they aren’t. Round trip to Montana from NY, $400. Presidents/MLK weekend, $850. Fly to Spain off peak/off time ? $550 RT. Go to Florida on Spring Break, $1200. The trick is to fly Tuesday Wednesday Thursday, if you can do it. It’s ALL Surge pricing now……but if you can avoid it can be super cheap.

….If I had a truly rare vehicle that I wanted to marry, I’d keep in a climate controlled space and rarely drive it, like so many wankers do…

What’s wrong with having a special ride that you only use occasionally? That heated garage also doubles as a year round repair facility…feels nice to have warm concrete under your work blanket…

@DW:AND WHAT THE F*CK IS UP WITH THE PRICE OF AIRFARE?

Some of the foreign airlines like Norwegian and WOW are offering airfares from Boston to Europe for less than $100. Boston to Cork is going to be $69.

http://www.irishcentral.com/travel/travel-tips/69-us-to-cork-flights-on-norwegian-air-are-cleared-for-take-off

http://www.irishcentral.com/travel/norwegian-air-plans-69-transatlantic-flights-from-cork-by-march-2017

Holy crap $69, even if they operate with the RyanAir model that still may only end up being 300 round trip.

“Norwegian Air operates flights out of London to Boston for $157 each way, alongside other transatlantic routes. It was previously rumored that flights from Cork to Boston would cost a similar price.”

These cheap to inexpensive airfares are generally not available flying out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport, for whatever reason.

I catch one of those cheap but weird “last minute” flights advertised for like $109 from Detroit to Camden, New Jersey or some place like that, usually with a weird departure and return date and time, on one of those cattle feedlot torture tube airliners, where you sit on a wooden, splintered stick, with 0.2″ of legroom, a $50 charge for any bag weighing more than 3.7 lbs, and a free prostrate exam through a mile-deep TSA security checkpoint.

I feel your pain. It is nearly impossible to fly anywhere you want to fly when you want to fly there for less than $500 per person.

I am asked to visit DC once a year to lobby for a professional organization I belong to and it doesn’t seem to matter far in advance I book it will be right around $500.

Last March my grandmother passed. Bereavement fare from NM to OH? Roughly $500.

Yes. My 11 year old mini has 135k miles on it and the paint and interior look like new. It lives outside and gets washed maybe once every year or so. The pleather that bmw uses is also incredibly resilient. I’ve never had a car that has held up this well cosmetically. Mechanically, on the other hand…

I think MINI “touchable durability” is pretty good.

I’ve currently got both a MINI Cooper S and a Subaru Forester in my fleet. Both currently have around the same mileage as Jack’s Accord. Both are kept reasonably clean, and usually parked indoors in poor weather.

The paint and chrome on the Subaru doesn’t seem to hold up quite as well as on the MINI, and the interior materials don’t seem quite as robust – for example, the leather on the manual shift knob in the Subaru is already showing some wear.

I like Subarus, and will probably buy another, but it’s easy to see where they didn’t spend the money. Most mainstream Japanese cars I’ve seen seem to be similar in this regard, and Jack’s Accord sounds no different.

Does Infiniti give someone “touchable durability”?

Looks like we found the Honda fanboy.

yes, I had a g37s 4 yrs. definitely better than honda/subaru/acura/ etc. , but Leather is not as supple as the Germans. Paint is slightly above avg., G37s supposedly had a protective coating, but was no less scratch resistant than a German car.

That’s why you lease the Mercedes. The car’s more affordable, and the depreciation in Month 37 is Mercedes’ cross to bear.

I would do this too if I wasn’t in love with the 6MT. Instead I get to have a love/hate relationship with my car. I love driving it when it runs well, but I hate knowing that every piece of plastic and rubber under the hood is waiting to sabotage me.

Toyota kept the V6 for the next Camry, so there’s hope there!

Coupe with a 6-6, OTOH…anyone’s guess at this point. The 10th-Gen should be out this fall, but last time, Honda showed an Accord concept at the 2012 NAIAS, but not this year! Don’t know what to make of that.

My old ’01 black Accord was losing it’s clear coat on the roof and along the edges of the hood. It made it look older and more ragged on then the years/mileage should have. I was happy to get rid of it (that auto transmission was lousy).

A number of manufacturers had really bad quality failure prone black paint in the late 90s-mid 2000s, Honda and Mitsubishi come to mind in particular.

Is there any cost effective way to repair a peeling clearcoat? Does it have to be repainted?

Not clear. The cosmetic aspects will make this car less satisfying as time goes on but the powertrain and slower depreciation beg you to keep it.

I know someone who traded in a blue 2013 CVT Accord Sport on a new 2017 blue CVT Accord Sport. Cannot, for the life of me, figure out why he did it. Its the same car but with worse styling and trading it in after 4 years doesn’t take advantage of the Honda reliability and you’ve suffered the worst of the depreciation so it is expensive as well.

Unless you are truly in love enough with the motor + 6spd and just want your odometer to reset to “0”, I would keep the car another 2-3 years and then buy something completely different for the sake of variety.

Sell the Accord, get the Silverado, and DRIVE YOUR PORSCHES!

Challengers are reliable daily drivers and very practical 2 door sedans, and they have a bigger trunk than Accord coupes. Even the base V6 has a mean grunt to it. I love mine, and I’m sure I’d like the hot rod edition you’re likely to buy even more. Go for it.

Challenger! I loved the one I rented for a 1000-mile road trip.

A few downsides: cheap base model interior, weird but subtle surge behavior as the transmission cycled through the top 4 of its 8 speeds on the highway (did I mention I drove fast?), 16 mpg as soon as you exit the freeway, and you’re driving the car from the Dukes of Hazzard.

Many upsides: ample power even with the Pentastar, comfy, easy to see out of (that came as a surprise), insanely good highway MPG (likewise!), as quiet and rock-solid as a tomb, excellent ride, decent handling (RWD is a bonus in the dry, not so much in the wet), spacious interior and huge trunk, really nice sounding stereo even in the base model and UConnect works great. The LED exterior lighting looks cool. And it’s a freaking steal.

It’s not sophisticated and delicate like the Accord 6MT, but it gobbles up the miles with serenity and confidence. It’s like if someone built a Mercedes E-Class coupe for people who inexplicably want to look like douchebags with testosterone poisoning.

But I think Jack really digs having that image, god love him. So he should do it!

Get a Ford Transit van with the EB motor…or that Dodge.

Sounds like you want to get something else, so that’s what I would recommend, mostly because of YOLO (I like to switch out cars fairly often).

However, if you really like the Accord, and it serves your family well, then keep it. Cars rarely have that much equity in it, and I don’t think that’ll change anytime soon.

That is why I love owning Hondas (I sold my ’07 Civic LX Coupe with 104K miles for $6,100 last May).

Get the Challenger T/A!

Or a lime green Civic Type R.

You’re old. Burn the Accord with fire (all they are good for). move to Florida and buy a Buick.

I’ll never buy a Buick as long as they have gormless creepers working in PR like the dude they’ve got now.

Ha! I just googled “gormless creepers” and clicked on images…JB atbhis finest sort of blends in.:).

A gormless creeper at Buick? I thought Ray Wert was at Chevrolet. :)

Jack, I’ve never bought a new car in my life. Bought a motorcycle new once in 1977; a ’78 Honda Hawk 400. I ran that into the ground after some years in Texas, burning 100LL gas on hot summer days in thick Houston traffic. *shrug*

Let’s see, the Honda is an OK winter car; is the Challenger? That’s about the only thing I can think of for you to consider. I have historically hated Japanese cars, so I can’t recommend buying yet another one. I know you don’t suffer from that same malaise, but perhaps you truly need something that will push you into the seat when you so desire. And your wife prolly won’t let you take the Vette as your commuter (even if it were street legal) so get the Challenger and a spare set of wheels/tires for winter driving.

Ditch it and get something decent, grab a Charger or 300C. If it holds up better it’ll make for some interesting discussion s “What? A Chrysler held up better than a Honda?!!”.

The Mazda love tapping your car only re affirms my belief of crazy Mazda driver’s, thankfully nothing too bad happened and your Honda can take a tap.

Still, I’d sell it. IIRC You liked your Town Car up until an accident, you might like another V8 READ.

Just trade it for a 2500 Ram with the cummins and manual transmission.

Of course you’ll have to delete the cat and get it tuned to roll coal, and don’t forgot the huge offset rims that stick out a good 8 inches from each fender. Also gotta have the massive tow mirrors for that ghost trailer.

Just kidding. Back to seriousness, I sure wish the manual transmission option didn’t require the diesel because I’d like to have a 6.4 with the manual. Without the stupid rims, stupid mirrors or obnoxious clouds of smoke the heavy duty Ram trucks are pretty cool.

Any chance the oil is from a quart in the trunk?

Negative, it was on the front crossmember.

Jack – is it possible that you disturbed some risidual oil, (that had collected from a previous oil change), when you lifted the car to service the brakes? I do not recall where the J35 oil filter is located but have had this happen to me on other makes.

With regard to the rear calipers – I recently serviced rear brakes on a late model CRV and was surprised to not encounter these “screw” type calipers. HATE THEM! My car has screw types and 230k miles + on them, as long as you take care to not bind the boot when servicing; they last a good while.

With regard to the pedal pads – they’re inexpensive! Transfer the brake pedal pad onto the clutch pedal & vice versa as a temporary fix. Should last another 45k miles.

I vote to keep the Accord!

It’s very possible. The filter is visible when you pull the right front wheel.

I thought I remember seeing a TSB regarding V6 oil leaks, but towards the firewall.

Clean things up, then check the area again, then check with the dealer if need be. (My Touring automatic used a half-quart or so during break-in, probably because of the cylinder deactivation stuff breaking-in, but since then, no usage whatsoever.)

Those twist to retract rear-caliper are seriously stupid. Whose idea was that? What is the purpose of that design? I assume it has something to do with the how the parking brake works.

Wife’s previous Volvo and my brothers Golf R have the screw system and requires a special tool… seems crazy. My Z has a normal piston rear disc brake with a large brake rotor “hat” that holds an inner shoe drum brake like setup for the parking brake. Since I track my Z I change brakes like most people change socks, thus easy pad swaps are important feature to me.

Now Jack you know I’m a shameless ricer so take what I’m about to suggest with a grain of salt….

But why not modify the Accord? A set of Koni Yellows + some very mild lowering springs (like Eibach Pro Kits) will tighten up the handling and IMPROVE ride quality, and an intake + mild exhaust will give it some throat without giving you a headache in the process. It will still be the same car, but different enough to make interesting again. You can keep all the old stuff to put back when you do sell (though IMO that’s a PITA) and probably get another 2-3 years of intrigue out of it. You’re out of warranty so you kind of have nothing to lose.

Will this fix the worn out interior bits?

I was thinking about the J pipe and whatnot — but we have a LOT of modified cars in the driveway. One nice thing about the Accord is that it’s quiet (by Honda standards) and low drama.

The Accord’s suspension must be poorly designed if lowering it could improve ride quality!

Removing an intake resonator is often the most practical way to get some engine sound at full throttle without affecting the noise level during cruising and calm driving. No cost, no inferior cotton gauze filter, no drone, and no obnoxious exhaust noise.

If you are thinking German, BMW leases on anything m sport are about to get much more expensive. The window to take advantage of their failed push for volume is closing fast.

Dump the accord, get a Challenger. My causal ad browsing leads me to think Hemi Challengers hold their value quite well.

What in the hell are you doing to that clutch pedal? The one in my G8, which certainly didn’t have better material quality than your Accord, had just the tiniest, barely noticeable bit of wear after 37,000 miles.

How fancy are your lawyerin’ shoes compared to his AE collection?

I wear the worst shoes of any lawyer anywhere. Bark M would punch me if he saw my day-to-day shoes. I walk to/from work more than half the time in all weather conditions, 3 very hilly miles each way, so nice shoes wouldn’t hold up.

People expect lawyers in my specialty to be badly dressed, socially awkward nerds, though, so it’s all good.

It’s true that I wear leather soles fairly often. That has something to do with it, I’m sure.

Back when I was a Fed I dressed like a “Matrix” agent and drove around in Buicks and Dodge Diplomats.

Now that I’m private sector I wear Hawaiian shirts and boat shoes.

I think it’s a Honda thing. I bought a Civic with 30k that had a clutch pedal which looked almost as bad, and got rid of it at 100k with the pedal cover nearly gone.

I wear Vans with holes in them, or Chippewa boots. I don’t think it’s the fancy shoes.

I don’t know, my Honda is well past a hundred grand and the clutch pedal is fine. Of course, being an Element, it doesn’t get a lot of track time, I imagine Jack’s a bit harder on his rides than my wife and me.

I bought an 86 Jaguar in 1999, the paint was really bad. (but I got a great deal on it…stop laughing!) I suppose sitting in the SoCal sun a mile from the beach didn’t do it any favors.

You missed the piece earlier about the worn out floor mat.

The carpet and standard floormats in any Honda post-2011 or so is useless; best to cover it up front and back with WeatherTech/Husky FloorLiners/whatever the Husky equivalent is.

All-Weather mats from Honda or WeatherTech are another option, but not necessarily in snowy areas.

FWIW as a point of reference, my ’12 Civic LX’s clutch pedal cover looked like new after 4 years and 53k miles. I wore generic dress shoes with a rubber sole most of the time when I commuted in that car.

You were granny shifting, not double-clutching like you should.

I’d blame driving style with that clutch pedal wear pattern. That is sliding the foot off the pedal and letting the return spring take up the free travel.

So, WRT Honda’s infamous paint issues, PERHAPS there’s hope? I know nothing about this, but it reads impressive: “Honda’s New $210 Million Vehicle Paint System Will Significantly Reduce Environmental Impacts”

http://news.honda.com/newsandviews/article.aspx?id=8673-en

As you have other cars and obviously are “looking elsewhere”, unless you revert to trading in I’d suggest you sell it now and see what you can get. Then AFTER its gone, think what you might do some more for a few weeks, and THEN start a new topic here. Just clarifies things and makes it easier to go for something that comes up.

Accords a nice car but you don’t really seem too enthused by it so I wouldn’t get another.

Challenger 6mt all the way. As a bonus you can get it with Green Go paint.

You won’t get the fuel economy of the Accord but it will endear itself to you in other ways.

“…but the clutch shows no real signs of wear.”

that is exactly what it wants you to think…

Now, paint is one of those things I haven’t had a problem with.

BMW ? 2003 and there’s serious rust in places, but I blame the highway department for that…the paint didn’t fail. My GM ? No issues with paint. Both cars had “up charge” paint but I’m going with that’s marketing, not anything else.

My Acura truck, for whatever stupid stuff it does, has good paint with one error from the factory….

I’ve seen Hondas, Toyotas, and occasional cheap GM cars with paint discoloring….

Wondering if it’s residual oil from the last oil filter change that drained out of some crevice when the car was jacked up at an angle to change the brake pads?

Oil changed recently? Where is the oil filter on those?

My guess as well. I recently had an infuriating experience with my first DIY oil change on my ES300’s 1MZ V6. Did everything like usual, even ponied up for a Denso filter. Filter access is inconvenient to put it mildly (front of block, behind exhaust header), and forces you to spill oil all over the place as you unscrew the filter and contort your hand. My 4Runner is just as bad, with access through the front driver’s side wheel well, and spillage everywhere. Anyways after the filter replacement I see all this oil pooling under the car, coming from the area near the filter, but sort of near the upper oil pan gasket if you look at it. Anyways after a day’s worth of internet searching and teeth gnashing, I realized what had happened. All that spilled oil accumulates in a cup-like void formed by the front motor mount bracket and engine block, which is right under the filter. It’s quite a resevoir, easily 1/4 cup oil or so oozes out over time, getting on the exhaust and causing burning smells, etc. Now I know, but it was quite a scare there for a bit.

The paint on our ’14 and ’16 Civics does not impress. I’ve tried to keep alternating treatments of Collinite, Tech Wax, and Gold Class wax on them several times a year. You’re right, though, Jack…even treated thus, every single bird poop and sap stain eats right in despite my efforts. The tiniest cinders chip the hood and bumper easily.

It’s not just a Honda thing. The paint on our recent Jetta was crap as well. As was mentioned, unless your car was painted in some locale where eco considerations are a non issue, auto paint just ain’t what it used to be. Well, it’s better than it was when a red car meant your paint turned to pinkish chalk in a few years, and when a white or sky blue Chevy meant the coating just randomly fell off in sheets after a while. But for sure, paint is pretty sketch these days.

I’d keep the Accord and get more life out of it since it’s only 3 years old. But that’s me, a practical and cheap TDI driver.

It sounds like you’re bored with the Accord it and annoyed by its problems that mostly shouldn’t exist at 3 years old.

So go buy something in either Lime Green or Molten Orange and treat yo’ self.

I just bought a ’17 Accord V6 sedan four months ago. It’s a great daily driver and I plan to keep it till it dies. Like you, I also have two “fun” cars in the garage. I say keep the Accord as a daily driver and when you want the rush of something else, drive one of the toys. Cycling from one car to another keeps the other cars in your fleet feeling fresh. Two of the other three cars in my fleet have more power than the Accord and handle better as well, so I get a much different driving perspective.

I looked, and my V6 Honda doesn’t even have a clutch pedal left.

My opinion? Get one of the new 2018 Accord V6 6MT’s, and in three more years you’ll still be able to buy a new Challenger R/T, Scat Pack, or T/A with the 6MT in its current form.

1. Buy a new clutch pedal pad if it bothers you 2. Not sure there is much you can do about the paint, this does seem to be an effect of cost saving. 3. Mystery Oil Leak – is it possible it had pooled somewhere and drained when you jacked it up to change the pads? And, if it does not return, maybe it was simply due to a clumsy oil fill? 4. Google “2014 accord bluetooth module” and start by checking the connections 5. How did you manage to make your brake pads last 45k miles and several track days? 45k miles OK, but several track days is impressive in a Honda. 6. Change the MTF if you have not already. 7. On “touchable durability”, you have a point, but my guess is that you would have (quite sensibly) parted out that “prestige” car the day its warranty expired, or otherwise spent the premium to extend said warranty. Now you can blame the accord for not giving you a legitimate reason to go get a new car :-)

My vote would be to keep it and enjoy the low combined cost of depreciation and maintenance until 100k or you come across a truly desirable replacement (in the meantime spend your hobby $$$s on race cars, karts, porsches & bikes).

Jack, what other vehicle would be better for you and your son? If I remember correctly, you bought the Accord Coupe because it had both a manual transmission and a space for a child seat in the back. I’d keep the Accord Coupe as long as your son needs to sit in the child safety seat. Once you don’t need the bulky child safety seat, a BMW 2 Series with a manual would be a step up in luxury and performance.

I’m surprised by the paint issues. I’ve owned 5 Hondas over the last 19 years. The first 3 were churn and burn in 3 years or less, so I won’t count those, but I had my 2006 Element for 5 years and my current 2011 Fit for 6 years. I half joke that the Pearl(?) White Fit never needs washing; driving in the modest rainfall we get in NM takes care of it. It sits outside all the time and has picked up a few dings over 67,000 miles, but the paint and clearcoat is only slightly duller than new. With white, of course, it’s harder to identify fading.

I had it in to the dealer for service a few weeks ago and noticed that all the cars on the showroom floor had a dealer-installed transparent wrap over the front 2/3 or so of the hoods. Supplemental window stickers wanted $300 for that and a couple of other “protection-package” items. It was probably just additional-dealer-profit gouging and highly negotiable, but if I were buying I would not want it at all, given the unknown potential for clouding or yellowing after a couple of years, or fraying where the edge of the wrap met the upper part of the hood. Or maybe there’s a known problem with newer Hondas’ paint that it’s meant to forestall?

In my experience, cars and bikes that spend much time on the track have horrible paint on the front. Getting pelted from being around other vehicles with sticky tires and high speed seems to have something to do with it.

Having owned multiple Japanese and German cars, I am honestly surprised you are finding more interior wear in a Honda than in a BMW or Audi. Very surprised. I have found that the German paint holds up better.

You are bored of it, a newer version of the same thing won’t fix it.

If you want to continue commuting in a manual paired to an engine with character, your options are: – keep what you have – endure the compromises of a muscle car (too big, more expensive) – BMW’s I6 turbo (even more expensive than the muscle cars)

Hey Jack, regarding the oil leak, have you considered inspecting your engine mounts? Most new cars have fluid filled engine mounts. The rubber on these mounts can crack and leak fluid. Judging by the rubber quality on the clutch pedal cover, inspecting the mount might be worth the time.

Adding to this hypothesis; when you jacked up the car to replace the brake rotors you may have stretched and cracked the rubber engine mount causing the fluid inside the mount to leak out.

Or some component in the steering rack is starting to fail and you are leaking ps fluid. (I didn’t research if the 2014 Accord was electric or hydraulic.)

Or when you uncompressed the calipers when installing the new pads caused overflow in the brake reservoir.

Those photographs indicate abnormal wear and tear. I’ll sell the car and lease a new Accord(If I have to drive an Accord). If the new one wears the same way turn it in lease end. Any better and I wish to keep it, I would buy it out.

Honda has ‘CVT Accord’ lease promotions on it’s website but I’m sure any one of their fine dealers can customize an attractive lease on a V6 MT for you. Good luck!

Maybe in Ohio that’s possible. SF Bay dealers don’t stock V6 6MTs, nevermind customize attractive leases on them. I would have to go to Los Angeles to drive one.

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