Hi: My friend is thinking about buying his '05 Accord when it's lease is over, price is $13,400 + Taxes,it will have 120,000Km's on it by the time the lease is over this May.He is hoping to get another 120,000 km's out of it with little or no problems. I have read that the transmissions in the V6 Honda's are problematic? Is this true? Are there any other area's of problems with the Honda to worry about? Also what is your opinion on the new Accord or the Pontiac G-8?Thanks as always for your help.

Don't know about the Accords. I always thought (with no really factual basis for it) that they were supposed to be good cars, but maybe that is no longer the case.

I do know that the new Pontiac G8 gets great reviews by the folks writing reviews for the 3 car magazines that I subscribe to. They seem to think that it is built well, handles great, and so on.

Honda Accords tend to win a lot of 'Best Car' awards from a myriad of automotive journalists. They are, for all intents-and-purposes, a very good car. I've never owned one (or any Honda, for that matter), but I have a couple of friends that have owned them (Civics & Accords) and they really have never had anything bad to say about them. Mostly that they just run forever.

But no matter how reliable the make & model is though, you can't ever say for sure if one particular car will be good or bad. The best way to find out info about a particular car is to seek out a forum dedicated to that model. I'm sure they exist for the Honda Accord. A few minutes of searching will probably answer your questions of specific reliability concerns.

The biggest objective difference between an Accord and a G8 is the fact that an Accord is front-wheel-drive and a G8 is rear-wheel-drive. Never mind equipment, reliability or resale value, but an Accord is going to be significantly better in inclement weather (read, I see you live in Ontario) than a G8 will be.

As Nick said, the G8 has gotten positive reviews. By most accounts, it's a good car. It is designed and manufactured by Holden, which is a GM subsidiary in Australia. The G8 has actually been around for several years in Australia (as the Commodore) and in Europe (as the Vauxhall VXR). It has enjoyed favorable reviews there as well.

My personal opinion is that a G8 would be a lot more fun to drive than an Accord. Accords are great cars, but whenever I've been one (test drive or riding in a friend's) they seem to be lacking a little bit of "chutzpah". They're a little....appliance-like. For a lot of people, a car *is* an appliance. An appliance from getting from point A to point B. That's fine for them, but I like my cars to have a little bit of personality. I would suspect that a G8 (especially a G8 GT - with the 360hp V8 from a Corvette) would be a lot more fun to drive than an V6 Accord for nearly the same money. Given $30k and a choice of a V6 Accord or a G8 GT, I'd take the G8 GT.

I'd guess that an Accord might be more reliable in the long run. But to be fair, GM has made really significant strides in quality in the past few years. By many accounts, GM and Ford quality is on par with that of Honda & Toyota these days.

The only real downsides of the G8 (V6 & V8) over an Accord is the fairly lousy fuel economy and resale value. An Accord, even the V6 (19/29), is going to get better mpg than the V6 G8 (17/25). And Hondas have always enjoyed better-than-average resale value, while Pontiacs usually fare below-average. And especially with rumors of GM axing the whole Pontiac division, one never knows.

Me, I wouldn't touch a leased car. I've owned a former rental car, and for the first few years, the repairs cost us as much as buying a BMW.

Ken, the way I read it was that it's his own lease the friend is buying out - he already knows the history of the car.

Stereoeguy, I'm the one that's had the tranny er.. transmission problems. (No wise cracks Peter)

We've owned 2 Civics and 2 Accords that were flawless. (all 4cyl & all auto) All were bought new, and sold around the 150,000Km mark. Couldn't have had a better experience.

We currently own a 99 Odyssey, and a 99 Acura TL. (Which is essentially a stretched & massaged Accord) Both were bought used, are 6cyl & auto, and have had transmission troubles.

Doing a quick search, I've found that there were far more complaints for the 2000 to 2003 model years. Honda may have fixed the design flaw by the time the 05's were released.

Two things to consider before buying it out. First, if he hasn't done the transmission service religiously by the book, I'd ditch it. Second, if he drives aggressively, or harder than the average person, I'd ditch it. I'm guilty of both.

Stereoguy, your friend might find that the buyout that was given him, likely in his lease contract, is now somewhat negotiable with the current automobile climate the way it is. I suspect he may be able to get that price down some.
Because he was the lessee, he knows the car well, and how it's been looked after, so there aren't any worries there. Honda engines are generally well known for there longevity, as long as regular maintenance is performed( a guy I used to work with had a prelude with 535,000 kms on it). I haven't heard anything about the trans on these cars, but the timing belts are one area you never take a chance on with these cars from what I've heard.
The new Accords are nice with the right package and I'm sure the G8 would be alot of fun in it's own right esp for the $$. For resale, reliability and gas mileage, I think I would be leaning towards the Honda myself all things considered.

Ah, I totally misread it. Nevermind...

Hey Stereoguy, I worked on some Hondas in my time. I was primarily an Isuzu tech, but that dealer was a Honda dealer as well, and I did replace a good share of transmissions in Accord V6s. I know they extended the warranty on the transmissions in certain Odysseys and Accords to 100k or more, I can't quite remember. If it's never been done, send me the VIN number of the car, and I'll do a search through Honda (I have a close friend who still works at Honda), and let you know if it qualifies.
I currently work at a GM dealer, and those G8s are fun. Just test drive the beejeezus out of one before you commit to it. You might score a good deal if you shop around.