Faults:

Well, I just bought the car at the end of August, 2000 from a friend for $800. Not a bad deal at all, for a running LX with only a slight dent in the back.

First what happened, is the radiator cracked and caused my car to completely over-heat on the freeway off-ramp.

I had to borrow over $200 to fix that. Took about 2 weeks to get it running again.

Then one day, a spark plug came out of the head, for no apparent reason.

Gas mileage has always suffered to about 25 mpg average (I always expected more, but it is an automatic...)

The A/C kept blowing fuses... so, I put in a slightly larger fuses and it worked.

The glove box never stayed open (I know, "so?", but I thought I might as well mention it)

The engine on this particular Accord is very hard to get to. Everything is really cramped. The only nice things were the spark plugs and the oil were nice and easy to get to. Had a hard time changing the radiator.

I was told this is true of all Hondas, but when idling in drive, the car shakes. It isn't that bad really, but annoying all the same.

The rear-view mirror died, and in an attempt to fix it, came off completely.

The back left window would roll down, but never back up.

Recently, I had to get rid of the car altogether. The car was totalled in accident when I was out of state. The car was seemingly driveable after the accident however, so I attempted to drive it back home... I was about an hour and a half from the city, when the oil pressure light came on. We had to call triple A, and eventually we left it where it was because the thing would not exceed 40mph. My father and I came back the next day and discovered a cracked head had caused a blown rod. Might have been (most likely) from the time the car over-heated.

Bye bye 1986 Accord LX. Hello '81 Mustang... ugh.

General Comments:

The car, with as many problems as it had, was a dream come true when I initially purchased it. After spending over $400+ to get it "in shape", I drove it any chance I could.

For a mid 80's car, there are very many technological advancements, such as all power; windows, brakes, locks and mirrors. A/C, which worked very fast and was very cold, was a blessing in the California heat. The design in and out was overall very attractive (for the year).

The price was VERY right. Even after what I put into it, I still paid less than the suggested Blue Book price.

The engine, although small, could really get you going if you needed it to. If you floored it, you really floored it.

The car didn't take impact very well.... but my friend and I came out of the accident COMPLETELY fine.

The trunk was big and the back seat folded down. I was able to fit a day bed in it once.

The car seemed a lot more cramped inside than the Mustang I was used to driving, but eventually I got used to it.

The car would always start. That was not a problem ever. It did, however, take a while to warm up... made me late for school a few times.

The fuses were easy to get to. The stereo-imaging was good.

The brakes were... comfortable... but needed new pads.

The steering was very tight... I sort of grew to like it, but I never really got used to it. I made very wide turns with this car.

The car always drove smoothly, no matter what speed it was at. I would find myself going 85, and not even realizing it.

The performance suffers greatly with the A/C on... but Honda had a "recycling" system, so that you could keep the already cooled air blowing if you turned the A/C off. Very helpful when coming to stop signals/lights.

That's about as much Accord info as you need.

Faults:

The head gasket blew out 5,000 miles ago, but it is still running.

The tranny is also failing.

General Comments:

This car will not fall apart! It is not as fast as it once was, and not nearly as quiet, but it has never broken down.

The radio is a piece and the clutch is hard to work. For a car of its age it is in great shape. I have friends with cars that are half as old that are ready for the scrap pile, and "The Heap" keeps on chugging. She's a great car and I'll keep her running as long as possible.

Faults:

Bad heater core.

General Comments:

30 mpg in town, 40-45 mpg on the highway, but still goes when you put the pedal down. Handles great!

Faults:

I have 230,000 K on this vehicle.

Replace transmission at 200,000 K which cost $2300 because they don't have replacement transmissions for this year of car. Otherwise the repairs have been the usual except for weak rotors which have been replaced 4 times.

General Comments:

This car is extremely comfortable to drive especially on long trips and has been a great family vehicle.