kalonji

whats up, i'm about to graduate from college this june and my parents are giving me 10 g's to pool in and get a new car for myself. i was thinking about getting the nissan altima 2.5s considering all of its great reviews and whatnot. but then i just went on the honda website and saw the 2003 accord coupe and it really caught my attention. damn it looks smooth compared to the altima which looks somewhat classy but very large and tanklike.

both are around the same price when considering the accord ex standard has all the features as a 2.5s with the addtional options pacakge, which is what i want and of course it costs extra. roughly 20,500-21,000 and that's invoice price.

so whats the deal with the accord should i get that instead of the nissan? hopefully you all can give me some good objective analysis and of course the honda bias will most likely be there but i'd like to hear your opinions. thanks

strykernyc

Go for the accord if not how about the 04 maxima

kalonji

the maxima is nice but its out of my price range

aux

honestly looks come first.

Civh

I test drove the altima 2.5 before i bought my accord v6. The altima looks good on the outside but the interior is really :barf: . Styling is definitely subjective though. However I also felt that the Altima is not as smooth as the accord, it felt woefully under powered with the auto while the 4 cyc accord felt like a v6, and lastly as you mentioned the altima is more expensive with your choice of options. You can easily get the 4 cyl Accord EX for less than 20K and it is pretty loaded. To sum it up the latest accord is very refined, you will have no regrets buying it.

Cokinut

my parents had the same issue - accord vs. altima. like Civh stated, the altima's interior is a tad cheap and not as smooth as the accords. i didn't drive it tho. The accord is REALLY REALLY nice interior. Seems like a true luxury car but with not the high price tag. I would honestly get the accord over the altima, but i would choose the altima 3.5 se over the accord because of the power. You should check out the sales they have at the end of the year at the dealerships, cars are a hell of a lot cheaper at the "end of the year closeout." --> my rents got a '03 $28K maxima for $24K - pretty good savings. remember to negotiate the hell out of the price too!

kalonji

thanks for the replies, and yeah, after i saw the 2003 accord coupe my attention pretty much left the altima alltogether. but i'll still test drive both and make my final decision, although i'm biased towards the accord now. (the looks are just too incredible)

add to the fact that my family is a honda fam except my pops who drives a nissan quest. my mom has a 98 accord, my sis has a 01 accord and i have a 90 prelude! so i know hondas are damn reliable cars and thats another plus. but the looks! shieet the 03 coupe is so sweet.

are there any 03 ex coupe drivers in here that can tell me how this car runs? fun factor? spaciousness for a coupe? etc etc? if i had the money i'd get the 6 speed v6 but thats not an option. thanks again for your replies everyone


p.s. oh yeah, for the ex owners, how much did you pay for your car total after negotiations?

jschmid

Yep, get the Accord. Car and Driver did a test of midsize family sedans...they ranked the 4cyl Accord over the V6 Altima. So if the 240 hp in the Altima wasn't enough for them to like the Altima over the 160hp Accord...I'm sure the 160-170hp Altima won't be even close to the Accord.

Civh

Deals can be easily had on the accord, at least where I am at (NYC area). I paid 200 below invoice for my EX V6 sedan and there might had been still some room left. They pretty much accepted my first offer. They still made about $500 with the 3% hold back.

03accordcoupe

I paid invoice price for my 2003 accord ex v6 coupe...26360 total. It's a great car to drive...very smooth, road noise is minimal and the sound system is great. Over most of the coupes I've been in this has a TON of room...alot of trunk space too. Of course, if you want modifications its also a Honda so there will be many options, and it's just a great looking car. The interior is amazing. Good luck, you'll love it if you get it.