Damn said:
First:I've seen ads about a clearance sale but nothing like the Camry
ads ($1000 rebate).Are there fixed "rebates" or is it more vague than
that?
www.edmunds.com and www.carsdirect.com will give you an idea for what
price cars are actually selling. If you really want to know, you will
have to haggle with several dealers. You decide what your time and money
are worth to you. Accords are selling under list because it's the end of
the year. The 2004's will sell much closer to list because it's the
beginning of the model year.
If you buy Honda, check for a "President's Award" dealer on the Honda
web site. That is, the top 20% of dealers in number of cars sold , but
more importantly, customer satisfaction. (The internet has horror
stories of cars not properly prepped for delivery: wheels out of
alignment, tires with 45lbs air pressure etc.) I wouldn't go to a dealer
with a horrible service department, even if you paid me a couple of
hundred dollars. They prep the car. They will provide poor service
which will steal your time, and/or, eventually, try to get their money
back with repairs than aren't needed or are overpriced. How much is
avoiding irritation worth to you? Been there, done that. A top 20%
dealer won't want to screw up it's customer satisfaction ranking just to
screw you. My new Accord was perfectly prepped and has been care free so
far.
Second:Break-in/maintenence
I just finished break in on my 2003 Accord V6. The manual only says to
avoid hard acceleration for 600 miles (1000 km) and avoid hard braking
for 200 miles. Years ago, for several previous Hondas, I recall learning
that I should vary my speed by 10 MPH every 10 minutes on the highway.
The salesman said that I should stay under 4000 RPM which is easy with
the V6. For the 4 cylinder someone said to stay below 70 MPH.
I think the specifics don't really matter. What matters is to vary the
speed and not run high RPM's and not brake hard. So, it's not a good
idea to take the car on a 600 mile highway trip on cruise control for
the first miles. 10 minutes at 65(MPH), 10 minutes at 55, 10 minutes at
65, 10 minutes at 50, 10 minutes at 60 etc. should work. Secondary road
driving mixed in is even better.
The most difficult part is dropping your speed below the speed limit for
10 minutes while on a long highway trip. You have to sit there patiently
and have trucks and other vehicles blow by you. Avoid temptation for
600 miles and then you can stretch your legs. <g> It feels like holding
back a race horse, but it can be done.
RE: Synthetic Oil
The manual says do NOT change the oil before the first indicated change.
It says after that you can use synthetic oil, but you must still follow
the recommended change intervals. Why use synthetics?
I've had Accord engines with 140,000 and 180, 000 miles that were still
in great shape using regular oil. I just change the oil and filter
appropriately.
RE:Oil Filter
I don't recall this information being in the owner's manual. I'll have
to check again. You might need the service manual.
The 2003 V6 Accord is simply wonderful. The V6 Camry is typically much
more expensive when comparably equipped and much slower. (But, how
often are you really going to push either car to it's limits?) Both are
nice, but they are different. If your want a quieter more boat like
cruiser with heated outside mirrors, then you want a Camry.. If you want
better handling, a tad more spunk under the hood, and side curtain air
bags, then want an Accord.
One secret about the Accord V6 is that it is fun driving slower in it as
well as faster. I enjoy doing both.
A smiling 2003 Accord V6 owner
