Help! Should I buy the Honda Accord or Vauxhall Vectra?

[nh101]

Both cars get 5/5 stars in Parkers guide. It is the diesel estate I am going for.

The Vectra comes in about £1k cheaper on the used market (around 20,000 miles on clock)

The Honda has better reputation on reliability but the Vectra apparently has no reported problems either (says Parkers)

The choice is between a Honda Accord 2.2 CDTi Exec - £11,995 but can probably get a bit off that. 6 mths left on manufacturers warranty. That is a for sale privately so need to move fast if I want that. Drove it yesterday and it was nice.

Otherwise I could hang on for a Vectra Estate on private market, there is a 1.9CDTi (150ps), done 24,000 miles, 18 mths left on warranty on for £10,850 no offers in autotrader. That is quite a saving.

If they were both the same price I'd go for the Honda but a £1,000 saving is quite a bit.

Any advice????

[Conor]

I think the Accord has the better ride quality and comfortable seats. Also has a better image and the higher resale value will recoup the initial difference in purchase price.

[Lorian]

No brainer, buy the Accord.

I've never owned an accord, but I have a Vectra....

[nh101]

Going to drive it till the !!!! falls out of it so resale not an issue - but reliability and how long it will go on for are important. Would the Honda engine will do more miles before conking out?

[MonkeySaving?]

I would go with Honda Accord without a doubt, it is a vastly superior car to the Vectra (i have driven both). Take a look at some reviews.

Vectra
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=526&

Honda
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=665&

[MonkeySaving?]

Going to drive it till the !!!! falls out of it so resale not an issue - but reliability and how long it will go on for are important. Would the Honda engine will do more miles before conking out?

Hondas don't break down, ever ;)

[masterkay]

Going to drive it till the !!!! falls out of it so resale not an issue - but reliability and how long it will go on for are important. Would the Honda engine will do more miles before conking out?

If that is what you are going to do it has to be the honda. I have a 20yo civic that I keep (not as my main car) but because I love it and it has served me well and I still like to take her out for a spin now and then. One tip is keep up with the servicing.

[nh101]

Yes I think I am veering toward the Honda, it is a great deal as well (£11,995 for top of the range exec model that's done 23,000 miles)

[Inactive]

Honda / Vauxhall, no comparison, Honda all the way, Honda will always be worth more as well.

[balsingh]

The only positive thing I can think of with regards to the Vectra is that insurance and servicing will probably be cheaper. Otherwise, its the Honda all the way. Have you considered a slightly older 3-series estate or A4 estate???

[harveybobbles]

Accord is good, but so is the Vectra.

I sell them both. Although I find that people who come in for an Accord, buy an Accord. Where as the people who come in for a mondeo/Vectra have their heads turned by Accords. The 2.2 td engine aint the best. But then again the 1.9 Vauxhall engine is erm, a Fiat unit...

Ive just sold a 55 plate Accord Diesel Exec done 70k for around 8000.

17inch alloys look brilliabnt, but spoil the ride a little.

All in all, given the choice of an Accord or a Vectra, I'd chose a Volvo S60 D5 lol.

But going back to your question on which is best - the Accord without a shaddow of doubt!

HB

[nh101]

We really wanted something with low mileage as I will be going back and forward to my mum's (110mile round trip) plus work (60miles round trip) and we will go to France once a year in it.

[harveybobbles]

I was just using my recent Accord as an example, as my eyes popped out when you mention £11995 for a 2.5 yr old one lol.

I'vbe jujst done a search on Autotrader for Accord Diesels under 60,000 miles and its found 43 under ten grand.

[nh101]

So are you saying 11,995 is not a good deal?

[harveybobbles]

not specially...

[cajef]

Having had Vauxhall company cars and Honda private cars there is no contest.

Honda wins hands down every time.

[Jorgan]

If the price is right, I'd go for the Accord. Just check the servicing is all upto date. My brother works for Honda and has had a few of these, they are known for drinking a lot of oil. He turned up the other day wanting to know if I had any oil he could put in the engine as the oil light had been on for 40 miles, this on a car with less than 4000 miles on the clock.

[nh101]

Harveybobbles, I'll offer him £11,500. Parkers guide says £12,100 for the diesel estate exec through private sale so seems a good deal to me. And my local Honda dealer just offered me a 2006 55 reg which had done 25,000 miles for £14,250 "but we could probably get it down to £13,000".

I'd rather have one with less than 30k miles on clock as I want it to last a long time and will do 12-15k miles a year in it. So ones up to 60k miles are not much good. And would like to have one with manufacturers warranty still on it if I am buying private.

Would you recommend doing it differently?

[Jorgan]

Personally I'd consider a higher mileage car, two year old car. Chances are that its been sat in top gear cruising the motorways with little wear on the mechanicals, were as a low mileage car would probably been driven shorter journeys, so the clutch/gearbox has had a lot more work to do.

You posted earlier that you were going to drive it in to the ground, with 12-15k miles pa, it would take you 10 years to put 150k miles on the clock, nothing for this car, if its been looked after. I would be looking at 50-60k mile cars if I was in your situation. Just make sure you know when the big services are due, so you don't buy a car that needs money spent on it straight away.

[harveybobbles]

Get a 2 year old one with 20k on it and park it next to one the same age but with 100k on it... the hight mileage one will look nicer - no kerbed wheels or parkin dents an it'll drive a lot lot nicer too!

My brother wanted a low mileage car and bought a 3 yr old Focus with 7000 miles on it. 4 years later its now on 18,000 miles! Yet he insisted it HAD to be low miles!

Fool!

Mileage is nothing these days. Just make sure the car is nice!
And as for spending £11000 on a private sale - be careful...!

[nh101]

I spent £11,500 on a Toyota Avensis a few years back privately. No problems. If its been HPI checked then what can go wrong if it is still under manufacturers warranty? There are no guarantees of course but how much damage can you do to a car in 25k miles?

I can't agree with you that mileage is nothing - an engine will not go on forever so an engine that has done 20k is going to last longer than one that has done 100k.

[Riq]

Accord every single day of the week!!
No contest.

[Burlesque Babe]

Honda 100%. I have a Honda (Civic) now and it is wonderful. Had a very old Vauxhall (Carlton) and whilst it died with 178,000 on the clock, I still prefer Hondas anyday.

Ensure you HPI it if you are buying it privately. You can do it by text:
text CHECK (then car registration number) to 88600. Texts cost £1.50 plus your usual network rate.

[Jorgan]

I spent £11,500 on a Toyota Avensis a few years back privately. No problems. If its been HPI checked then what can go wrong if it is still under manufacturers warranty? There are no guarantees of course but how much damage can you do to a car in 25k miles?

I can't agree with you that mileage is nothing - an engine will not go on forever so an engine that has done 20k is going to last longer than one that has done 100k.

One of my colleagues has an eight year old with 34,000 miles on the clock. Doesn't sound too bad, until you discover it had its first service when it was six months old (couple of thousand miles) and its second service at eight years old and 33,000 miles. The oil filter was just a 'can', no filtration system was left, it had all disappeared into the engine. That maybe an extreme case, but if a dodgy seller got hold of the car, they could quite easily stamp the service book to make it look like it had full service history.

Your right to say an engine won't go on for ever, a modern diesel engine with proper servicing should be able to do 250,000 miles. With the sort of mileage you are looking to do each year, its going to take 15-20 years to get to that type of mileage. Look at the price difference between a 20,000 & 60,000 mile car of the same age. What could you do with the saving?

I looked at changing one of the cars a few years back, it would have cost me about £10k to change, I decided that the £10k would buy a lot of repairs, we kept the car & have spent approx £300 servicing it and £350 in other repairs over the two years. The £300 servicing would have been spent on the new car as well so its only cost me £350 for the two years instead of about £3000.

[goldspanners]

Your right to say an engine won't go on for ever, a modern diesel engine with proper servicing should be able to do 250,000 miles.

even older diesel engines could (still are doing this mileage no problem). my dad used to have a sierra as a taxi which died in a crash with 249,000 on it without major fault,just regular servicing, if it wasnt for the crash it would have done much more no problem.
ive had vans that have done 180,000 and then been fit to sell on,so this is no modern thing,its always been there.

[jeannieblue]

I'd vote for the Accord too. Although Vauxhall parts are cheaper - they're not so reliable.

Guessing its a nice colour too........... :D

[harveybobbles]

Also, why do you want diesel if you're only going to be doing 12,000 miles per year? Sutrely it'd make sense to have petrol...?

Get a 2.4 Exec Accord. They have a 6 speed box, so motorway cruising is at tickover!

[netlang]

I have owned both and would definately say HONDA. The ride I found on the 17inch wheels is fine providing you use Michelin tyres. Lovely engine too.

I agree with harveybobbles (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/member.html?u=228491) the 2.4 petrol is a peach. And my diesel Accord only did 38mpg around locally and no more than 42mpg on a run

[harveybobbles]

Indeed! The petrol one will do mid/late 30's anyway... 2.4 gets Sat Nat too! and Xenon lights...

[cameronh]

My Accord (same spec as the one you're looking at) is 3 yrs old, has >120k on the clock and is still going strong. It is a delight to drive. It has never needed any work done, though it has been faithfully serviced.

[piggeh]

Vectras were rubbish a couple of years ago until they revamped them. Was driving a 57 reg today - great drive these days. However I'd avoid models more than 2 years old as they drove like abarge.

Honda Accords always nice and would be my choice.

[harveybobbles]

I was stood in a very cold ring today at BCA watchin an 04 plate Accord 2.2 diesel exec done 124k looking totally mint! It started at 4000 quid. But soon started to make lots. Even had sat nav...

[sillygoose]

My Honda Accord, bought new in September 06 has just passed 40k without using a drop of oil or any issues - even though I thrash it to an inch of its life every day (well its not technically mine!) ITs not as comfy as a Vectra but it is more fun and it feels like a premium product. I am still with harveybobbles though and go for a Volvo S60 as its actually a class above the Honda in quality and comfort (its what I had before) and you can get a massive spec of car for very little. Never had any faults either. Only catch is the servicing is pretty steep. With the Honda you can feel smug at the traffic lights when a diesel Audi pulls up alongside and their tractor engine drowns your own super refined engine out haha!