1993 Honda Accord or 2003 Dodge Intrepid? Which one should we buy?

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Annieme71

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I have an option to buy either one. The Accord has 109k miles and the Intrepid has 85k. Both vehicles are in decent shape, I just worry about the Intrepid's transmission-I've heard they go bad a lot. but I also worry about a 16 year old vehicle. Are Honda's that great I should get the Honda instead? Please help me make this decision!
 
I would look for a better car altogether the two cars you mentioned are decent but the Honda's have body rote and rust problems and the transmissions on those older Honda's will last about 150K before they start to give you problems and that's assuming that it was maintained. The doge has allot of miles on it for the year but its a much safer car than the Honda. I would look for something in the same year as the Intrepid but with fewer miles either way both cars are going to give you problems especially if you are not mechanically inclined.
 
You said it, a 16 year old vehicle will have issues, that is common sense. Me personally, if I was going to buy a beater car like that, I would take the Honda. I also wouldn't pay more than 2 grand in Great condition.
 
honda are very good cars but a 16 year old car will drive and run like a 16 year old car, honda or not. i like hondas and find dodges huge pieces of crap, but i'd be inclined to choose the dodge due to it being that much newer than the honda. but i wouldn't be surprised if a 5 year old dodge costs you more time and money to fix than a 16 year old honda. if you are at all mechanically inclined, hondas are easy to work on and parts are easy to come by
 
My intuition (and years of experiences with Dodge and Honda) tells me that the Honda, while older and with more miles, is cheaper to fix, is a die-hard, and may still retain resale value.

But the 2003 Dodge is newer, faster (oh yes) and much more comfortable. It will see many more problems than the Honda, I think, but it will be better looking and more comfortable.
 
Lets look at the Honda, IF (and this is a biggy) the previous owner(s) followed the maintenance schedule correctly, then the Honda MIGHT last a while longer. but being 16 years old, if something does go wrong then some replacement parts might be harder to locate. 109K miles in 16 years leads me to suspect that it saw mostly stop and go driving, Not always a good thing for cars.

Now the Dodge, plenty of them out there still running, maintenance parts should be more common to find, with 85K miles, it probably saw some highway miles, usually that's not considered too bad on a car, better then only city driving usually. I think that you should learn if that Dodge has the 2.7L V6 in it, I would watch that more then worrying about the tranny.

You could look at both vehicles, maybe test drive them AND while out and about stop in at a dealer (you did call them first, right) and have them give the car a once over to see what needs fixing.
 
As long as you know the maintenance, go with the honda. The dodge will most likely give you more trouble than just the trans, as i have seen from experience. At 109k, the Honda still is only under half it's life an din the long run will be easier and cheaper to maintain.
 
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