Are Hondas Good Cars? How To Make The Right Purchasing Decision
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Honda has been a household name in the automotive industry for the longest time now. The Japanese automaker has a long history of incredible quality, reliability, and longevity. Even with the growing competition within the industry, Honda continues to churn out best-selling vehicles like the Civic, CR-V, and Accord.
For these reasons and more, Honda’s brand loyalty is among the highest with new car buyers.
Despite Honda’s track record of building popular and reliable vehicles, many anxious consumers are still asking the question: are Hondas good cars?
For today’s brand highlight, we’ll take a look at the venerable Honda. What’s the build quality like? Are Hondas reliable vehicles? Do they offer good value for the money? Let’s find out below!
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Build Quality
Hondas are known for their reliability and longevity, but what about their build quality? To be clear, build quality differs from reliability, as the former refers to how well the vehicle was constructed and how the parts fit together. In that regard, we have to say that Honda has good build quality in general.
The main thing with Honda is that the company tends to keep its construction simple, so many of its vehicles are considered practical but not exactly premium. For example, Honda interiors have the reputation of having excellent space management and ergonomics, but they suffer from various quality control problems. With that said, Honda still over-engineers their vehicles to make sure that they last a lifetime.
However, in the past two to three years, Honda has been running into several build quality issues such as poor paint job, flimsy panels, etc. Also, many owners have complained about Honda’s electronics systems that tend to fail. As a result, many people have expressed their opinion that Honda has fallen from grace when it comes to build quality.
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Reliability
Are Hondas good cars in terms of reliability? Although Honda isn’t the most reliable brand these days, its excellent track record with previous models props it up in the reliability race. According to RepairPal, Honda has a reliability score of 4.0 out of 5.0 – not only a high-reliability rating, but it ranked 1st out of 32 for all car brands.
Another one of Honda’s strong suits is the relatively low cost of ownership. Overall, the average repair cost for Honda owners is $428, much lower than the general average, which is $652 across all models. Therefore, owning a Honda means fewer out-of-pocket costs for scheduled maintenance and unscheduled repairs.
In terms of frequency, the average Honda owner will visit the shop 0.3 times per year, which is also lower than the general average of 0.4 times each year. Moreover, only 10% of Honda repairs are considered severe, in contrast to 12% for all models.
Common Issues with Honda Vehicles
Are Hondas good cars? Let’s take a look at some of the most common issues that you can expect with a Honda vehicle:
- Faulty Takata airbags - The Takata airbag recall is one of the most prominent automotive scandals, with millions of vehicles recalled. Models that were flagged to be the highest risk were the 2001 to 2003 Honda and Acura models – both had the so-called “alpha airbags.” The defective airbags were known to explode and shoot out debris, resulting in many deaths and injuries.
- Transmission failure - The 1999 to 2004 Civic, Accord, Pilot, and Odyssey models reportedly were plagued with transmission issues. The automatic transmission failure originated from a defective torque converter and prevented the car from properly shifting and burning transmission fluid.
- Denso fuel pump recalls - Thousands of Honda vehicles had an issue with their installed low-pressure fuel pumps. Apparently, the Denso fuel pumps have low-density impellers that are prone to cracking. This issue may cause the engine to stall out while driving. Once again, Honda had to issue a recall which affected over 700,000 vehicles.
- Cracking engine blocks - Owners of 2006 to 2009 Civics have complained about their vehicle’s broken engine blocks. According to the reports, the cracking was due to a casting problem during the manufacturing process. Honda sent out an extended warranty notice, but it’s now expired.
- Excessive oil consumption - Honda models with V6 engines are more likely to suffer from excessive oil consumption. The company tried its best to blame the excessive oil usage on driver habits, but it was clear that there was something wrong. A class-action lawsuit was filed, and Honda had to settle in 2013.
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Affordability and Value
Are Hondas good cars when it comes to value?
Honda vehicles aren’t the most affordable in the mass market. But with their reputation for dependability and longevity, many consumers believe that Honda offers a tremendous value proposition. Hondas not only come at competitive prices, but the cost of ownership is also one of the lowest. Basically, you’re getting high-quality and reliable vehicles at reasonable prices.
If we look at customer satisfaction, Honda is a clear winner considering it’s one of the top brands with the highest customer loyalty. It’s safe to say that the Japanese automaker knows how to build cars that people want.
In addition, Honda vehicles also tend to retain their value over time. They’re not that great at maintaining value, similar to the likes of the Toyota Tacoma and 4Runner, but they’re still commanding high resell prices.
Should You Buy a Honda?
There are many reasons to buy a Honda. They’re practical, award-winning, have cheap repairs, are long-lasting, and boast high reliability – just about everything you want from a daily driver. Honda also offers some of the most reliable vehicles in the market, including the Civic, Fit, and Accord. Even their least reliable models like the CR-V, Civic Hybrid and CR-Z are still more reliable than most cars.
In addition, Honda also has an excellent VTEC engine known for its power and high rev range. Having said that, outside of practicality and reliability, Honda models such as the Civic Si and Type-R also deliver blazing performance.
It might sound like an exaggeration, but it’s hard to go wrong when buying a Honda.
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