2004-2006 Honda Accord i-Ctdi Sport/Executive 2.2D

Trojan

Despite my best efforts it looks like I may be forced to move on from the E39.

There's one of these Accord i-Ctdi Sports for sale near me, a 2.2 Diesel, and I see a lot of them on DD too.

What are they like? Do they have the famed Japanese reliability? What should I be looking out when viewing?

Atlantic Dawn

VSA light coming on and it being an expensive fix was posted here before, I think other than that they are grand...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055823353

christy02

The VSA light can be an issue, however they can be refurbished now quite cheaply so not as much of an issue. Some times it is only an abs sensor causing it also.
There was an issue with cracked inlet manifolds, probably sorted on a car of that vintage. Timing chain rattle also can be an issue. Good servicing will obviously help that.

I have a 06 face-lift model. They fixed some issues on it but I have 320k km up and still original clutch, flywheel, turbo and chain. No issues in the 4 years I have it apart from an alternator going (got it rewound and fine since) and general service items. Still drives great.

jharr100

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-acord/15779778

This one has low mileage, pity I'm in Cork, I'd be looking at it otherwise ..



https://donedeal.akamaized.net/ddimg/ZDk5NjE5MTBkMDI4YmFiNzk3NGI2MWYyNjJmOWZmMjnImsPrjOVOyHe6JpgsvIABaHR0cDovL3MzLWV1LXdlc3QtMS5hbWF6b25hd3MuY29tL2RvbmVkZWFsLmllLXBob3Rvcy9waG90b183NTQ1ODMzNnx8fDYwMHg2MDB8fHx8fHx8fA==.jpeg

Trojan

Just updating this thread... I viewed a 2005. It was pretty good, and had a refurbished VSA.

However, I got exhaust fumes pretty strongly in the cabin several times early on in the test drive (bad to the point that my passenger/co-tester was insistent I open my window when the passenger window stuck).

I checked to see if I got it from the back of the engine block. It was hard to tell in very strong winds, but there was enough of an exhaust smell there for me to decide not to risk it due to the manifold issues, so I walked away.

bazz26

Do you absolutely need a diesel?

Trojan

bazz26 wrote: »

Do you absolutely need a diesel?

Sadly, yes.

bazz26

What sort of budget do you have?

I know they don't have any street cred but the Hyundai Sonata might be worth a look at:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/stunning-hyundai-sonata-2007/15405400

Or this one has cheap tax:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/hyundai-sonata-diesel-tax-only-390-new-nct/15705475

There are a fair number of high mileage examples on donedeal so they cannot be that bad:
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/hyundai-sonata-2007/15786485
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/hyundai-sonata-2-0d-1-owner-2007/15778546

Trojan

Budget is low as this is a totally unexpected expense caused by probable head-gasket failure on my E39.

I'm well into bangernomics territory and if I only get 8-12 months out of the car so be it. 1.6 to 2L diesel.

No objection to something like the Sonata.

Atlantic Dawn

Skoda Octavia the taximans favourite could be another choice, very cheap. Spec on entry level is poor, try to get middle of the road or higher.

sgalvin

Is LPG an option on the BMW?
Will give you lower running costs than a similar diesel and you can drive something you want.

My brother has put >100,000 miles on lpg in his lex430, no issues.
Works out at 9.5 cent/km. vs 19 for petrol

€1,700 for a decent v8 conversion
€15,000 saved in fuel!

Trojan wrote: »

Sadly, yes.

christy02

Trojan wrote:

I checked to see if I got it from the back of the engine block. It was hard to tell in very strong winds, but there was enough of an exhaust smell there for me to decide not to risk it due to the manifold issues, so I walked away.

Trojan wrote:

However, I got exhaust fumes pretty strongly in the cabin several times early on in the test drive (bad to the point that my passenger/co-tester was insistent I open my window when the passenger window stuck).

That is definitely the manifold cracked. Try get a face-lift version if you can. They had resolved the issue then (2006 onwards)
As I said mileage is no issue to these if they are serviced well. I bought mine with 200k km on it as it had full history. There was lower mileage out there. 320k now and still going great.

corks finest

christy02 wrote: »

Trojan wrote:

I checked to see if I got it from the back of the engine block. It was hard to tell in very strong winds, but there was enough of an exhaust smell there for me to decide not to risk it due to the manifold issues, so I walked away.

Trojan wrote:

However, I got exhaust fumes pretty strongly in the cabin several times early on in the test drive (bad to the point that my passenger/co-tester was insistent I open my window when the passenger window stuck).

That is definitely the manifold cracked. Try get a face-lift version if you can. They had resolved the issue then (2006 onwards)
As I said mileage is no issue to these if they are serviced well. I bought mine with 200k km on it as it had full history. There was lower mileage out there. 320k now and still going great.

Good car,but tax on it is v high

christy02

Yes tax is high at 996euro. But that typifies the Irish car owners view, hence you can pick them up cheap.
In the 4 years I have had mine I have paid 4k in tax, but apart from regular servicing very little else.

How many people do you read on here driving newer cars with lower tax having huge bills for breakdowns. At least with the tax you know what you have to pay. Not an unexpected bill here and there of a grand or two.

Plus they are comfortable, pokey enough to drive and have a good level of spec. Plenty of the exec versions that have all the toys.

Too many are put off cars by the tax. That's fine by me though as it means I can pick up great cars for cheap money. Looking at a lexus is or gs for next car as don't need diesel anymore.
What fantastic cars for small money as majority prefer to drive a sh**tbox around as it's got the "cheap tax".

Trojan

I had the E39 checked out and my indy says he reckons I won't get another 3 months out of it. A bottle of K-Seal got me about 10,000 miles more than I should, I'm happy but sad to see it go.

Back to this, I'm again looking at Honda Accords, both the 2.2 diesel and 2.0 petrol. I'm doing 15,000 miles/year, which is right on the edge for fuel choice, but diesel has other advantage of being VAT reclaimable (petrol isn't, in yet another government push towards diesel). Any major advantage in going with the petrol that could outweigh the cost benefits?

bazz26

VAT was never refundable on petrol long before the recent push towards diesel.

bazz26

What about a Civic saloon? It's not too far off the size of the old 03 to 09 Accord and the 1.8 petrol engine is supposed to be very frugal.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-civic-1-8-i-vtec-ses-tax-and-test/16290075
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-civc/16156326

Trojan

Hadn't considered the Civic, wouldn't have looked at the previous model but this one doesn't seem to be as associated with the boy racer image. Will see what's out there.

colm_mcm

Trojan wrote: »

Hadn't considered the Civic, wouldn't have looked at the previous model but this one doesn't seem to be as associated with the boy racer image. Will see what's out there.

Nobody seems to have told the insurance companies. Very good car though, later ones have more spec but they're all decently equipped.