1998 Honda Accord

The Accord drives great, it's well built and reliable. Small wonder that other car makers use it as the yard-stick of family cars. The fact that they sold 414,000 in 2001 is evidence that Honda got this one right.

The 1998-2002 Accord comes as a coupe or sedan in base DX, LX, SE or top-shelf EX trim. Power comes from either a 135-hp 4cyl in the DX, a 150-hp VTEC 2.3L 4cyl, or a 200-hp V6. Tranny choices are a 5-speed manual, or 4-sp automatic. The base DX comes in sedan form only. These cars have a non-VTEC 4 banger, manual windows and....a couple of seats. LX and EX cars get ABS and Honda's VTEC engine, but the automatic was optional. The SE was basically an LX with an automatic transmission and a longer list of features. Included on the SE were 15-inch alloy wheels, moonroof, keyless entry, security system, AM/FM/CD, wood trim, power height adjustment for driver's seat and floor mats. Top-of-the-line EX cars came standard with four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes. Leather was also available, along with steering-wheel-mounted audio controls. The V6 engine was available in LX and EX trim levels and came standard with a four-speed automatic transmission, traction control and ABS. EX V-6 coupes and sedans came loaded with leather, wood trim, automatic climate control, a programmable HomeLink universal remote control, an 8-way power driver's seat and a 4-way power passenger seat. All Accords were equipped with dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags, but side-impact airbags are optional.

If you want a nice car that'll last a while, why not buy one that other cars are compared with? . YEAR TO YEAR CHANGES FOR THE HONDA ACCORD: 1999: An antitheft system was added to all Accords and LX V6 models got a power recline feature added to the power driver's seat. EX models also got a remote keyless entry system. 2000: Front side airbags were now standard on V6 models and on leather-equipped 4-cylinder EXs. All Accords got a dual-stage passenger airbag, which could deactivate if the sensors determined that the passenger was too small or out of position. 2001: V6 models got standard traction control and the passenger-side front and side airbags were now designed to automatically deactivate if seat-mounted sensors detect that a passenger is too small or out of position. All Accords got a subtle re styling, and all but the DX sedan got lighted power-window switches. Also new for 2001, EX V6s added standard automatic climate control, in-dash CD changer, and a 4-way power passenger seat. 4-cylinder EXs got in-dash changers, while LXs were upgraded to 6-speaker audio with a single-disc in-dash player. 2002: The SE model was introduced and EX cars got the steering-wheel audio controls. . COMMON PROBLEMS FOR THE HONDA ACCORD: Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Valve Passages and the EGR valve (3.0L V6 engine only) (1998-2002) – $260 Evaporative (EVAP) Canister Vent Solenoid (1999-2002) - $140 Automatic Transmission (1998-2002) - $2,500-$3,500 Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS) Module (side airbags only - TSB #06-009 Honda extended the warranty of the OPDS control unit for10 years or 150,000 miles) (2001-2002) - $300 Catalytic Converter (1999) - $500, $850 (CA models)