honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Mon 11 Feb 2013 10:40
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - sra

hi

i'm bit new on buying cars by private sellers and this is my first time buying diesel always drove petrol passed on by family so need a lot of help from you motor heads and any honda accord ctdi owners..

car i'm planning to buy is Accord 2004 CTDI with 125k on the clock with service history till 105k

and MOT expires in few month have drove it drives ok with one previous owner, i'm mainly buying for the purpose as i do a lot of motorway mileage so help me out

-what to watch out for?

-what to check to see its worth not buying?

-how to check / find common faults?

-is mileage too much?

anything else you guys can add please do here.

and many thanks in advance

cheers

sra

I have read the following thread with great info - appreciate if any existing Honda accord owners can shed light on my purchase choice?:

"good example" indicators when buying a used car

Edited by sra on 11/02/2013 at 10:52

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2013 10:52
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - gordonbennet

Not familiar with these but i check the present seller as much as the car.

Is he the sort of bloke to have slipped in a couple of oil changes himself between 105 and 125k, or could he have been mini cabbing it for 12 months with the speedo disconnected?

If at a dealer does he warrant the car himself or give you a sheet A4 bog roll with Worthless Weasel Words Warranty Ltd heading?

As you approach the car have a good look at the tyres, are they reasonable quality and in good order and do the discs and pads look decent through the wheels, if the tyres/brakes (two most important items) are carp i assume the rest of the car to be similarly neglected.

Have you looked at HJ's reviews above first of all? secondly do lots of research on the Honda forums.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2013 10:54
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - pd

Rattly timing chain would be the main thing I'd watch out for on these.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2013 10:57
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - sra

thanks - pd

bit of a idiot question not familiar what to hear out from normal engine sound ?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=38OswCZORFs

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ2DShsf5mc

think both have same issue of timing chaing rattling?

thanks again.

Edited by sra on 11/02/2013 at 11:00

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2013 10:54
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - sra

thank you for your response - gordonbennet


i have spoken to the seller he is home trader and giving no warranty as his argument is he got the car as part ex and not worth for him to give warranty.

thoughts?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2013 11:00
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - gordonbennet

Home trader offering sold as seen which is technically wrong? unless its a giveaway price such as you have £2k or so in hand for any problems i'd find another.

Worst of all worlds IMO, no trader protection offered voluntarily so you know before you start that any subsequent problems will be met with indifference or obstinacy, and no opportunity to judge the car owner/user.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2013 12:17
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - Jase

I'd recommend navigating to http://typeaccord.co.uk/forum/.

You'll be able to find out everything you need to know about the Accord diesel there.

The CDTi is more troublesome than the bombproof 2.0i or 2.4i petrol engines, so depending on your annual mileage you might want to consider a petrol.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2013 12:25
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - madf

thank you for your response - gordonbennet


i have spoken to the seller he is home trader and giving no warranty as his argument is he got the car as part ex and not worth for him to give warranty.

thoughts?

He is a lying torag whom you should never deal with.

The law is clear that dealers cannot avoid repsonsibility for selling used cars.

So he's basically trying to con you.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2013 12:49
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - pd

On a 125k mile 9 year old car a seller can pretty much argue anything is simply worn out and reached the end of its expected life so private or trade is a bit of a moot point. All a trader has to really "guarentee" is that it starts, stops and goes for a few weeks. If it does that making a few strange noises and the odd light on as long as it is roadworthy they have pretty much done all they need to do.

With the timing chain listen ot the engine - IIRC the chain on these is on the driver's side - have a listen to it - it will make some noise as normal but if it sounds like a bag of spanners rattling around and is louder than the actual engine it may well be on the way out.

As high mileage old diesels go as long as the chain is OK they are generally pretty decent things and as reliable as anything else out there (and more so than most). If you're buying high mileage cars you have to accept that you might buy at 125k and get to 175k with no problems. Alternatively it might go badly wrong at 130k and deliver a £2k bill. This is why they are cheap in the first place. If you can't accept that risk buy something else.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2013 14:53
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - sra

Thank you all for your responses, does anyone drives honda accord diesel high mileage i.e. 130k+ and what they had to deal with in that time.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2013 17:12
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - Fernando P

Given the extent of your knowledge of diesel cars and mechanics, you clearly need to get some practical help, when considering the purchase of this well used vehicle, from someone who has the appropriate skills. Otherwise you are simply taking unnecessary risks with your money and wasting your time. Regarding your last question, it could apply to someone who has just driven the vehicle for a short time and has had no problems so far, which tells you very little!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2013 17:32
honda accord ctdi - Buying diesel car - Collos25

I had a CDti diesel estate with all the trimings at 130k its getting round to wanting a new timing chain,a new clutch both very expensive items,they are not as economical as you think they should be but very well equiped make sure the sat nav works and has the latest maps. Also make sure all the warning lights come on and go off when they should people have been known to tamper with the dashboard as cheap cure for a faulty ABS unit.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link