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1996 AccordAntilock brakes were optional on DX and LX, standard on EX. Two 2.2-liter 4-cylinder engines were available. Both DX and LX models featured a 130-horsepower unit, while EX buyers enjoyed a 145-horsepower engine
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71 Reviews from Epinions.com
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1996 Accord
The summer of 2004. This time goes down in my history as the best summer for my car. Why you ask? Because that July I purchased a 1996 Honda Accord LX (4 cylinder). This was my first car and it was the best car I have ever driven. You want to know why? Well I'm glad you asked. Let me start from the top.
I live in Brooklyn, my neighborhood is not a bad one but not a great one. Anyway, its an apartment building with mostly Russian tenants. One of which was a certified car dealer. He and I knew each other formally but we didn't hang out or anything. I saw him early one saturday morning warming up this black Accord. I was suddenly drawn to this machine and began asking questions. Indeed he was selling this car and gave me an offer of $4,500. I told him that I will consider. That night I began my extensive research through independent owners, car magazines, Kelly Blue Book, etc. The final verdict said that this car was a solid buy.
Before I knew it, I was knocking on his door and we negotiated offers. No more than 10 minutes of various offers, I acquired my first Honda Accord for $4,000 with 136,000 miles. Yes it was a lot of miles but my father, who is a mechanic, said this car needed nothing but to do some valve timing (the valves were ticking).
Keys, check. Gas, check. Tunes, check. And they're off! The journey began with a few laps around the block and I was smiling the whole time. I love this car! The fun ended when I came home and tried to go to sleep for I wanted to drive it again so bad. A new day arrives and more driving, mostly highway. Uh oh, I found a complaint, the jerky transmission. 1-2-3-4 shifts (it was automatic) shifted hard but my father said it was pretty common and it was nothing to get worried over. But wait, there's another complaint, the agonizingly slow window motors. Not only were they slow going up but also going down. Again, these Accords and the Accord-based TLs suffer from this problem. Other than those two, it was smooth sailing. Oh yeah, it needed a wheel balance but I was planning on new rims and tires so no big deal.
Let's talk about pros. Gas mileage was outstanding, I don't quite remember exact figures but it could go about 30 miles on the highway with the low fuel light on. My Accord didn't come with the VTEC motor but it was quick for its 130hp rating. Some people don't like manual HVAC controls but I prefer it. I like to have control over the AC and heat, I don't like AUTO modes. Some people also say the interior is not very ergonomic but I couldn't find ONE problem. Everything was where I wanted it to be.
Now the cons, not many. Slow windows and a hard-shifting transmission are the only problems.
A few months passed and the car was in its prime, specifically in December. I purchased four Eagle Alloy 17" rims which were oh so classy along with Falken tires. The combination made the ride rough but the trade off was worth it. Tinted windows were added all around at 5% light transition to compliment the black paint. The stereo system? Phenomenal. Well, aside from the Sony Xplod which was $100 and could have been better, the sound could be heard for blocks. 2 12" round Kicker Solo-Barics were installed in a bandpass box. Blacked-out Projector headlights equipped with Xenon HID lights were also installed and they looked so close to OEM Xenons. Perhaps the best part of the car was the black leather Acura CL Type-S seats installed in the front and black leather Accord seats in the back (the car was originally equipped with cloth). The valves were fixed and the ticking was eliminated. The car was absolutely pimp, there's no other way to put it. It was no rice-rocket, it was a classy Honda. Then disaster struck.
No it wasn't the tranny, nor was it the motor. Instead it was a thief from Staten Island. On the second week of December, my baby was stolen right in front of my building sometime between 2:30 AM and 7:30 AM. An alarm was armed however I could hear it during my deep sleep. So the car was stolen and was recovered two weeks later in Staten Island. To this day I don't know the person who took it.
Words could not describe my depression and regret for not trying to put a better alarm on my car. I didn't even have The Club on. I was asking for the car to be stolen, especially having it parked on the street. When I recovered the car I gave it to my cousin (by the way, I don't have theft on my insurance).
Also to this day, no car turned more heads than my Accord. Not my Q45, not my Maxima, nothing.
I can't think of anything else to say so if you are considering this car, get it and maintain it because there is one man who owned what I believe is a 94 and drove 1 million miles with it. It was in an issue of Motor Trend but I forgot which one. I never heard of a Chevy Malibu or a Ford Taurus going 1 million miles so what does that say about Honda?
Four Cylinders of Fun
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Pros: Looks, Fuel efficient, Ergonomics, HVAC controls, RELIABLE!!
Cons: Lazy power windows, Hard shifts
The Bottom Line:
Buy this car. Enough said.
The summer of 2004. This time goes down in my history as the best summer for my car. Why you ask? Because that July I purchased a 1996 Honda Accord LX (4 cylinder). This was my first car and it was the best car I have ever driven. You want to know why? Well I'm glad you asked. Let me start from the top.
I live in Brooklyn, my neighborhood is not a bad one but not a great one. Anyway, its an apartment building with mostly Russian tenants. One of which was a certified car dealer. He and I knew each other formally but we didn't hang out or anything. I saw him early one saturday morning warming up this black Accord. I was suddenly drawn to this machine and began asking questions. Indeed he was selling this car and gave me an offer of $4,500. I told him that I will consider. That night I began my extensive research through independent owners, car magazines, Kelly Blue Book, etc. The final verdict said that this car was a solid buy.
Before I knew it, I was knocking on his door and we negotiated offers. No more than 10 minutes of various offers, I acquired my first Honda Accord for $4,000 with 136,000 miles. Yes it was a lot of miles but my father, who is a mechanic, said this car needed nothing but to do some valve timing (the valves were ticking).
Keys, check. Gas, check. Tunes, check. And they're off! The journey began with a few laps around the block and I was smiling the whole time. I love this car! The fun ended when I came home and tried to go to sleep for I wanted to drive it again so bad. A new day arrives and more driving, mostly highway. Uh oh, I found a complaint, the jerky transmission. 1-2-3-4 shifts (it was automatic) shifted hard but my father said it was pretty common and it was nothing to get worried over. But wait, there's another complaint, the agonizingly slow window motors. Not only were they slow going up but also going down. Again, these Accords and the Accord-based TLs suffer from this problem. Other than those two, it was smooth sailing. Oh yeah, it needed a wheel balance but I was planning on new rims and tires so no big deal.
Let's talk about pros. Gas mileage was outstanding, I don't quite remember exact figures but it could go about 30 miles on the highway with the low fuel light on. My Accord didn't come with the VTEC motor but it was quick for its 130hp rating. Some people don't like manual HVAC controls but I prefer it. I like to have control over the AC and heat, I don't like AUTO modes. Some people also say the interior is not very ergonomic but I couldn't find ONE problem. Everything was where I wanted it to be.
Now the cons, not many. Slow windows and a hard-shifting transmission are the only problems.
A few months passed and the car was in its prime, specifically in December. I purchased four Eagle Alloy 17" rims which were oh so classy along with Falken tires. The combination made the ride rough but the trade off was worth it. Tinted windows were added all around at 5% light transition to compliment the black paint. The stereo system? Phenomenal. Well, aside from the Sony Xplod which was $100 and could have been better, the sound could be heard for blocks. 2 12" round Kicker Solo-Barics were installed in a bandpass box. Blacked-out Projector headlights equipped with Xenon HID lights were also installed and they looked so close to OEM Xenons. Perhaps the best part of the car was the black leather Acura CL Type-S seats installed in the front and black leather Accord seats in the back (the car was originally equipped with cloth). The valves were fixed and the ticking was eliminated. The car was absolutely pimp, there's no other way to put it. It was no rice-rocket, it was a classy Honda. Then disaster struck.
No it wasn't the tranny, nor was it the motor. Instead it was a thief from Staten Island. On the second week of December, my baby was stolen right in front of my building sometime between 2:30 AM and 7:30 AM. An alarm was armed however I could hear it during my deep sleep. So the car was stolen and was recovered two weeks later in Staten Island. To this day I don't know the person who took it.
Words could not describe my depression and regret for not trying to put a better alarm on my car. I didn't even have The Club on. I was asking for the car to be stolen, especially having it parked on the street. When I recovered the car I gave it to my cousin (by the way, I don't have theft on my insurance).
Also to this day, no car turned more heads than my Accord. Not my Q45, not my Maxima, nothing.
I can't think of anything else to say so if you are considering this car, get it and maintain it because there is one man who owned what I believe is a 94 and drove 1 million miles with it. It was in an issue of Motor Trend but I forgot which one. I never heard of a Chevy Malibu or a Ford Taurus going 1 million miles so what does that say about Honda?
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