Two months ago, I was driving off the university parking lot when a typically careless driver made a sudden and illegal U-turn in front of me. Without any time to react, I T-boned him totaling both cars.

Thankfully, my 1998 Nissan Altima kept me safe from harm. After a few days and with the insurance money in hand, I was ready to make a car purchase. I considered getting another five year old car with about 75K miles. This would have effectively replaced my vehicle without incurring a car payment, finance charge, etc. After looking at a few cars, I decided I did not want the previous owner's problems. After all, if the car was so great, why did they trade it in?

My Needs

-A Japanese car. I had them my whole driving career and trust nothing else.
-A mid-size sedan. After getting into the car wreck, I had an appreciation for safety.
-Good fuel economy. I wish there was an accord hybrid.
-Reliability. If I'm going to budget in a car payment, I certainly cannot afford expensive repairs.

The Competition

There were only a couple of cars that I was considering--the Accord, the Toyota Camry, and the Nissan Altima. The Altima had gotten very trendy the last couple of years, thus driving up its price. As for the Camry, I saw one at a dealer with only 12K miles on it. Nice, but I did not enjoy the interior styling. It was too plain.

Finally, I saw an Accord SE model with 10K miles. What a beauty. The car was silver and in mint condition. After a test drive, I was ready to buy.

First, a few car buying tips

Buying a car always makes me a little nervous. No matter how great a deal I think I got, I always feel like maybe I could've bargained a little better. This time, however, I came prepared. Most car buyers don't do their homework and are at the mercy of the salesman. Here are a few tips I learned from my friend, the car salesman.

-When car dealers buy a used car, they use a reference called the Black Book. They don't use NADA or Kelly Blue Book--although that's what they tell you. The Black Book is what 99% percent of all dealers use. You can purchase this information online at http://www.blackbookusa.com/printproducts.asp

The information is relatively inexpensive considering you're going to save several hundred dollars if you play your cards right. Don't be surprised if a salesman doesn't want to deal with you. Most people walk onto the car lot clueless and some salesmen would be happier passing up a sale to you for the uninformed consumer that they can rip-off. A fair price is $600-$800 above the wholesale price listed for the vehicle in the Black Book. Remember, the Black Book tells the dealership th most they should pay for the car. Most dealerships probably paid less than that if they are worth their salt. By offering $600-$800 above Black Book you are assuring the dealer a reasonable profit and you a great deal.

-Try not to buy a used car with more than 25K miles on it, hopefully it will still have the manufacturers warranty on it. Stay away from extended warranties bought from the dealerships. Wait until you get home so you can price compare on the internet.

-During the negotiating process, the salesman will try to ask you about down payment and monthly payment. Under no circumstances should you tell them anything until you are satisfied with the price you've negotiated. Then you can deal with payments with the financing department.If you have any doubts about how much you can afford, go to http://www.carsdirect.com/finance/new_cars

And now, the Accord SE features

It drove very well, with a 2.3 liter engine and 150 horsepower, the 4-cylinder engine was powerful. After I took it off the lot, I opened up the engine. I did 110 mph in 10 seconds. The engine sounded solid and was very responsive. A great performance for only 4-cylinders. The car offers an average of 28 miles per gallon. I do a mix of city and highway driving a little more highway than city). Your mileage will be less if you drive into traffic jams often. Overall, it is slightly better than average for a vehicle in this class.

The interior of my silver Accord has a gray cloth upholstery. It features many compartment amenities. The driver's armrest opens up into two compartments--one on top which is smaller (for keys and and change)and a spacious larger one underneath (for tapes, CDs, maps, etc. There is a sunglasses holder in between the sun visors near the top of the windshield (nice). The Accord features plenty of cup holders, in the front in between the driver and passenger seats as well as some for the back seats. Wood grain accents are a nice, upscale touch. The stereo sound is fairly decent with six speakers. It comes with AM/FM and CD player as well as cassette. I enjoyed this since most cars now come with one or the other, but not both. There are power windows, locks, sunroof and height adjustment for the driver's seat. The trunk is extremely spacious with 14.1 cubic feet of cargo room. The entire rear seat also folds down for added room. Or you can use the fold-down rear seat center armrest/trunk pass-through for those long and thin items (like skis). The rear has plenty of child seat tethers for parents on the go. And the steering wheel has the tilt feature accommodating both shorter and taller drivers.

The exterior styling did not change until the 2003 models. Many feel that it is the boring style of a typical family sedan. I like it and enjoy the classic design. Personally, I prefer the 1998-2002 bodystyle to the newer 2003 style. The 2003 has a more gutsy design which many will enjoy; however, I do not like the new headlight design. It makes the car look like an eagle, not an animal I am accustomed to associating the Accord with. The SE comes equipped with automatic moonroof with tilt feature, and aluminum alloy wheels. Overall, the car looks like it drives--very sharp.

The SE comes with a remote entry immobilizer alarm. The remote automatically opens the trunk--good for when your arms are full of groceries.

The cons are very few. The Accords still have a compact spare tire--you know, the ones that look like toys. You would think that by now Honda would have developed a way to fit a standard size spare in the trunk. Also, the cruise control on mine did not work. No problem because it was still under warranty. However, I remember not enjoying the jerkiness of the cruise in my first Honda. They need to work on that.

Overall, this is my third Honda and I couldn't be happier. There is a reason I keep coming back. If you are considering an Accord, follow my buying advice and you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for reading my review and good luck!

Amount Paid (US$): 17100
Condition: Used
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: 4-cylinder SE automatic