Plan To Buy New Accord V-6..Need Input

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?

Second:Break-in/maintenence

I do lots of highway driving and have read that this is not good,
break-in wise,for engines and/or transmissions.Comments?

Also....am considering using synthetic oil.Good or bad idea...
apart from the cost? If good,is Mobil 1 the one to go with
or could I consider another major brand (e.g.,Quaker State,
Valvoline,Castrol). Should I go full synthetic or is a blend OK?
Should I do it at delivery or wait a few thousand miles for
the factory "break-in" oil to do its thing?

Lastly:If I do go synthetic are there garages,etc that can
do synthetic? I live in New England and crawling under a car
in Dec/Jan/Feb isn't much fun!

Ooopps...very last thing:Is the oil filter on the V-6 positioned
for easy access?

Thanks to all who reply!

 

I suggest that you compare prices on the V6 top of the line Camry and V6
top of the line Accord. Ask salesmen at both dealers to give you their
best prices. Show the Honda dealer the info. about the $1000 rebate and
see if they are willing to match it. Take the best deal. The top of the
line Camry V6 and top of the line Accord V6 are both great cars and will
fill your needs.

 

Knowledge is your best weapon. As far as pricing and getting the best deal,
use www.carsdirect.com and www.edmunds.com to compare, get invoice prices,
prices with options, etc. If one dealer won't deal, there's always another
one. If worse comes to worse, you can use the cars direct service, I have
some friends who went this route, no problem.

Josh

 

Others have made good suggestions on purchasing. As to the break in,
I've been told (and was told again when I got my 4 cyl Accord this
year) that it is sustained driving at a constant speed that's not
recommended for break in. I think even the manual suggests varying
driving speeds for the first 600 miles or so. My salesman suggested,
for example, that I not use the cruise on the highway during break in.

If you do a lot of freeway driving, I'd just be careful to try to vary
the speed a lot during those initial miles. On the other hand, take a
weekend and drive all the back roads in your state. You ought to be
able to rack up 500 miles. (Everyone also recommends avoiding the
urge to really see how fast that V6 can do 0-60! Stay away from heavy
acceleration during the break in.)

 

Don't know...sorry.

You should vary the speeds, but drive gently. Read your Owner's Manual
(OM) FIRST for specifics for break-in driving instructions re: top
speeds, top rpms, etc...

Yes, go syntheticc right after the break-in period, with a quality oil
filter (Honda, K&N, Mobil 1, etc.).

Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil = Good Idea.

Forget synthetic blends.

Even if they don't BRING your own...AND quality filter...who know what
THYE use, so bring your own oil and filter!

Don't know...your OM should show you where it is.

Good luck,

John D.

 

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.

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

 

You should be able to get a V6 Accord at invoice or so here in New
England

Do not change the oil until at least 5k miles. This is important!!!!

Speedee Oilchange has Mobl 1 and use the 0-20 which is designed for the
2003 Accord.

 

The oil change info is in the owner's manual. It's difficult to tell
from the diagram --without having been under the car-- but it does
appear that there might me something in the way to make reaching the
filter more entertaining that I would hope. <g>

Someone who actually changed the oil should answer.