HELP to choose: 00 Accord coupe EX or 03 protege5` ES

[timmui]

Please help me decide on which car to get.. .it's for a girl in her 20's mainly driving on her own.
both Automatic(cant drive stick), given they are the same price and mileage

00 Accord EX coupe I4 in Black

Pros:
-honda reliability
-sexy with spoiler on black
-leather interior.

cons:
-bad transmission rumor?
-no warranty
-everywhere on the street


03 Protege5 in yellow

Pros:
-tiptronic
-being a 2003....
-sporty
-can haul more stuff
-low profile tires
-dealer offer some autoguard warranty on pwrtrain (garbage or not.. dont know)

Cons:
-PAINTS!! every p5 i saw got some rock chips on the hood
and this one i saw has resonable amount of them too..
-reliability unknown?

-heard rust on p5 but not sure.

will take them to our mechanic for checkup, planning to drive it up to 200k lol

please help me out with your opinions
thanks

[sunnybono]

I'm not too sure about the tranny problems in the 2000 honda's, but that year was one of their best years that they built the accords. Very reliable and cheap to maintain. Does require 91 Octane gas though. You might get away with 87 Octane!!!!!

My vote is with the Accord!!!!

sk :)

[Neb]

I have an 02 P5. Reliable so far, with 100k km on it. No issues besides regular maintenance. and NO RUST on mine. The paint is a bit thin I agree, if u drive on the highway alot, you will get alot of stone chips in the front bumper/hood. Get a bra or guard.

The accord is a good choice too, if you want a more refined ride. I think it might be alot quieter on the highway than the p5, due to better insulations, higiher profile tires etc..

Depends what your friend want comfy or sporty.

[timmui]

I have an 02 P5. Reliable so far, with 100k km on it. No issues besides regular maintenance. and NO RUST on mine. The paint is a bit thin I agree, if u drive on the highway alot, you will get alot of stone chips in the front bumper/hood. Get a bra or guard.

The accord is a good choice too, if you want a more refined ride. I think it might be alot quieter on the highway than the p5, due to better insulations, higiher profile tires etc..

Depends what your friend want comfy or sporty.

do the low profile tires help with handling? I saw a strut tower bar inside the hood too lol

I'm not too sure about the tranny problems in the 2000 honda's, but that year was one of their best years that they built the accords. Very reliable and cheap to maintain. Does require 91 Octane gas though. You might get away with 87 Octane!!!!!

My vote is with the Accord!!!!

sk :)

oh shoot, i never know an Accord needs 91 Octane, it's just a 2.4L no turbo or whatsoever....

[Neb]

The low profile helps. I put 15" snows on in teh winter, and the ride improves, but handling on ramps etc definitely changes. Yes tehre's a strut tower brace, that's standard.

The accord 2.4L does not require premium fuel

Look it up here.

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/tools/compare/compare-results.cfm

[bunga]

trans on the Accord might have a warranty extension for 7 years or 160k km, call honda canada or a dealer and have them check the vin

[timmui]

thx for the advice !!

[DISH]

It came with a 2.3 not a 2.4

[TrevorK]

The Accord is a much nicer car to me than the Protege 5 - if you could find a nice two door coupe I'd take it hands down over the Protege 5.

Remember, the Accord is a different class of car. The quality should be much better, as well as resale.

[climacus]

There is no transmission problem with the 4cyl Accord. The Protege5 does have some transmission problem. Mazda dealers go through quite a bit of warranty tranny replacement on those cars.

Accord
Pro - plush, quiet, great build quality, wonderful highway cruiser, great engine
Con - big, handles like a boat, no tiptronic transmission

Protege
Pro - still the best handling econobox out of the box. Very fun to drive, has Tiptronic option.
Con - lots of road noise, stiff suspension, not a good highway cruiser, anemic 2.0L engine

Buy the Protege if you do mostly city driving, Accord if you do mostly highway driving.

[ajin86]

both the cars r nice .... i have a 2000 accord v6 ... .the tranny is a problem and lot of other ppl r also havin a tranny issue ... if the warranty is still there on tht car .. get tht otherwise go for the mazda ...

[bunga]

never say never, the extension is there

There is no transmission problem with the 4cyl Accord. The Protege5 does have some transmission problem. Mazda dealers go through quite a bit of warranty tranny replacement on those cars.

Accord
Pro - plush, quiet, great build quality, wonderful highway cruiser, great engine
Con - big, handles like a boat, no tiptronic transmission

Protege
Pro - still the best handling econobox out of the box. Very fun to drive, has Tiptronic option.
Con - lots of road noise, stiff suspension, not a good highway cruiser, anemic 2.0L engine

Buy the Protege if you do mostly city driving, Accord if you do mostly highway driving.

[gheart008]

Also you should take into consideration cost of parts. Honda parts are cheaper compared to mazda parts so if you ever need to fix something up, the accord will be more cost effective.

and ya, I'm pretty sure the 2000 Accord I4 doesn't require 91 octane fuel.

[lumlum1013]

no comment on Accord....

but if you do decide to purchase Protege 5
plz check following:

-rust built up on the black trim @ the rear passenger/driver door windows....
(trim that splits the operative window & triangle window)
-rust on the underside of wheel well
-if rear calipers are seized....very common to protege 5
-cheap paint, you will get alot of stone chips..


luckly mine don't have the rust underside of wheel well, and siezed rear caliper, so j/ a heads up....
i actually find that OEM parts from mazda are slightly cheaper than
honda parts with a club discount that is...

[timmui]

thanks for all the input guys!

Will get a mechanic to check the cars tomorrow, and see what the result ends up..

[Action Jackson]

I didn't like the Protege5 tiptronic esp. on the highway. Didn't feel responsive at all.

Plus the Honda would probably get better gas milage.

According to the (US) National Highway Traffic Safety Association, the 2000 Accord had several Technical Service Bulletins on :
airbags, alternator/generator, Ignition system, auto/manual transmission, ABS system, power steering system, water leak at doors and floor, front stabilizer bar, and a few other problems.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/tsbsearch.cfm

The car your friend is looking at may not have any of these problems.

If she wants basic transportation, then go for the Accord. If she wants a more sporty looking car with great handling, then go for the Protege5.

[prof_frink]

As it turns out - I have experience with both - I have a 98 Accourd coupe I4, and my brother has an 03 P5...

As for the accord - it remained essentially unchanged from 98-02

Transmission problems, from what I've read are with the V6 models, not the 4 cyl. I have a manual, and as far as the clutch goes, I'm still on the original.

I have 190000 km on the car, and I haven't had a problem with it yet, just routine maintenance

One thing I like over the 99-02 accords (as opposed to mine) is that the side view mirrors are foldable...

The car takes regular gas. Even the V6 takes regular gas as far as I know.

My brother's P5 has almost 100000km on it and he hasn't had any issues. But as a direct comparison, I find my car MUCH more comfortable, and spacious (I realize they are completely different classes.) I also find the car much noiser and rougher on the road.

I really don't like the 'tiptronic' crap - I just don't understand why anyone likes that stuff, it's like manual for retards, because even if you forget to upshift, it'll do it for you... maybe I'm too old school, I dunno, but to me it just seems like one more expensive thing that can potentially break.

On the plust side the hatch is really cool to have. Again, for the price, I think the protoge is the best bang for the buck, it's packed with features at a fairly low price, but since you're directly comparing the 2, I'm being a little harsher on the P5.

so the bottom line? Personally, if I had to chose between the 2, I'd by the accord all over again - in fact when I'm ready to move on, I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy another accord. I've contemplated many times upgrading to an 02, just to have a newer car, but this one isn't giving me any hassles - so why tempt fate...

And besides - the EX is the cool accord as far as I remember - it has the nice rims, leather and sunroof correct?

I have an LX so I missed out on those snazzy features...

[timmui]

got a lot of great information here !!! thanks all ! --^

We ended up getting the 03 P5. here's the story:

after reading all the posts we were leaning toward the accord EX since it got all these nice features and is one step above the P5.

So we did a CarProof check on that car, and found out it's from QC but w/ no accident reccord! After getting our mechanic to check out this car, he found out the right side of the whole car was not its original paint!! Then, he discovered the side airbags have been disposed indicating there WAS an accident w/ this car.

He also looked under the hood and told me the car's odometer may has been roll back since the tears and wears are not what the car's mileage should have....

What surprised us is this is at a new car dealership....and when we were ready to walk away the salesperson actually told me there's must be a price error on the ad and it should worth $2000 more than we negotiated...(seeing me serious about the car by taking my mechanic I guess)

On the other hand, the P5 was in good condition, no accident found by my mechanic, Carfax report supplied by the salesman, reqularly serviced at dealer before and just did a $800 worth service, timing belt changed, recent alignment, 3 years powertrain warranty.

I am glad that we have a mechanic with us through out the whole process, and really suggest anyone who is buying a used car do the same. They really can spot the little stuff that i would never tell by myself even I am a little mechanic inclined.

Thanks everyone again who've helped and hope this car we are getting is not a lemon :D (it's a Yellow P5 though)

[Action Jackson]

Congrats. Too bad some unethical practices made up your choice.

Don't forget to check out www.toprotege.com

[timmui]

Congrats. Too bad some unethical practices made up your choice.

Don't forget to check out www.toprotege.com

Thx for the site !

[Neb]

Welcome to the club :)