Honda Paint

[spielnicht]

My parents are in the market for a new car and one of the cars on the list to consider is the new Honda Accord. I remember reading many posts here about how bad the clear coat on the Accord is. Does anyone know if this has been improved with the >2008s?

Other cars on the list are the CTS, S60, and Legacy. Feedback on any of these is welcomed and appreciated.

[qballjr13]

I'm sorry I cant help you with the clear coat question.

Its seems like the CTS and the S60 are in very different price points than the Accord and the Legacy. My wife drives an 06 Accord and I couldnt be happier with it. But if I were me I would going for the new CTS. Thats's just my opionion, no real fact involved.

[spielnicht]

Thanks for the feedback, my personal vote is the CTS is well.

My dad is adamant about having a V6 and open to the 5 cylinder Volvo engine. Once we priced the Legacy with the V6 and leather, it shot up to $33K. Just as well with the Accord, it's around $28K for the V6 with leather.

[TSC17]

It depends on the color on the Honda. I've had 5 Honda vehicles...my currents are an '07 TL-S (black), and an '07 Odyssey (silver/green). My TL swirls with just a slight breeze hitting it! Our van however is just the opposite. I didn't do anything to it last year, it went through a brutal winter (neglected), my wife ran it through a few swirl-o-matics, and when I went to do a major polishing a few weeks ago, I found that it was in incredible shape. All it needed was a coat of Poliseal and it was good to go...virtually no swirl marks whatsoever.

[99blackSE]

I echo TSC17s sentiments with the black Honda paint. For a DD, it's a bit to maintain. God forbid I had a girlfriend to see as well, otherwise I'd breakdown and cry.

I think the CTS would be a really nice car though with the new redesign, I'd take it over the Accord.

[3puttjay]

We had a 99 Volvo s70 awd sedan (dark green metallic) for seven years and it was a very nice dependable car. They aren't kidding when it comes to volvo's safety. I got rear-ended by two cars and did no damage to the volvo, but their cars all had front-end damage. The paint on the volvo was not soft but by no means was it as rock hard as on my 96 chevy impala ss. It showed moderate swirls after 7 years and no polishing in that time. We traded it in for a 06 odyssey (dark blue pearl) which swirls easily. The consensus on here seems to be that dark honda paints are very soft in comparison to others. I don't think you can go wrong with any of your car choices, but if it was me I would go with the volvo.

[jswift2000]

I would vote for the Honda. We're on our 7th Honda car (honda/acura) and they have been great. Funny - our Acura MDX (2003 MBP) swirls very, very easily. However, my TL (2007 WDP) held up very well over the winter with any major protection since purchased in October. Once the winter was long gone, I did a min-full detail (Menz PO87 on a blue pad) and it responded very, very well.

[Sherri Zann]

Obviously choosing a car involves a lot more than the paint! I think Hondas are great cars for the money as far as dependability, comfort and features. Tend to have good ergonomics, too. But the safety is not up to the Volvos, in my opinion, and the clear coats are terrible. Granted, though, my data is old. My most recent Honda is a white late 2003 Civic. Even with white, the clear gets marred easily, and if you look carefully after polishing, you can still see little tiny dots/holes/pocks in the the factory clear coat.

[2002 Z06]

I wish I could help with the main question to but all I know is that I have had three Acuras and they have all had clear coat issues but they were all mid 90's cars.

[sevenrd]

Speaking only for my '07 red S2000 - the clear sucks.

[bumoftheday]

Anyone have advice on a 2006 Blue CRV? I'm doing my mom's tomorrow as a Mother's day gift.

[99blackSE]

Originally Posted by Sherri Zann

...you can still see little tiny dots/holes/pocks in the the factory clear coat.

Hmm, I have noticed a few of these as well. The rest of the car is great, the paint just seems to be... sub-par?