Hey all. I am finally ready to replace my '07 Accord with 296k miles. I have owned it since '09 with about 25k. Car has been phenomenal and I'm pretty sure has never seen a shop outside of a few recalls as I have learned how to do everything it has needed to stay on the road - thanks YouTube and several of my friends!

Question 1 - does this car have value left making it worth trying to sell privately? A conversation with a dealer said he'd give me $1000 on trade-in. I thought a running vehicle had a floor of around $3k but I found an ad for my exact car with about 158k miles for sale for $3800. Plus it had good paint and my hood, roof and tailgate all has no clearcoat left and faded paint.

Question 2: we decided on a Camry and found a 2021 with only 8500 miles. Must be grandma's car. It is being sold for $22k which is comparable to other cars of its age with 50-60k miles. Is there anything I should be concerned about regarding a car being driven so little? Without hitting operating temperature regularly, would seals and other parts suffer? Would you do any particular preventive maintenance way ahead of schedule as a result?

Thanks for any and all opinions.

Silvy said:

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Priced appropriately, you'd be able to sell your car on Texags. You probably won't enjoy dealing with the type of people on FB Marketplace that are looking at cars under $3k.

Being that the car is only 4 years old, I wouldn't worry about the low mileage.

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This.

Someone here will buy your car for a gap car for themselves or a teen driver's first car.

Details on the car? I will be needing a back-up soon.

ETA: an '07 LX in good condition with that mileage shows private party of $600-1200 on KBB. The dealer offer was in range.

I wouldn't worry too much about a car that averaged 2100 miles per year. No real way of knowing whether they drove 10 miles a day, or drove 50 miles once a week. If in good condition I would buy that car in a heartbeat. Big thing would mainly be risk of carbon deposits on the valves and fuel dilution in the oil. But if they did regular oil changes (likely just once a year with that mileage) and decent fuel, less likely to be an issue.

You better hurry up and buy that Camry before one of us does

Picard said:

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You better hurry up and buy that Camry before one of us does

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No kidding. I bought a 2014 with 104k miles off this board last year and was thrilled. I'm not sure what the holdup is here.

maroon barchetta said:

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Picard said:

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You better hurry up and buy that Camry before one of us does

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No kidding. I bought a 2014 with 104k miles off this board last year and was thrilled. I'm not sure what the holdup is here.

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We found the listing on Saturday night and the dealership is closed on Sundays. I will be going by today. The listing says "pictures coming soon" so I think they just posted it. I appreciate the replies!

Rexter said:

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Details on the car? I will be needing a back-up soon.

ETA: an '07 LX in good condition with that mileage shows private party of $600-1200 on KBB. The dealer offer was in range.

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Rexter, for your reading pleasure. If really interested, I can take pics and add.

2007 Honda Accord SE
296,XXX miles
Graphite pearl (dark gray) exterior; light gray upholstery interior

THE GOOD:

• Proven to be a very reliable car. Purchased used in 2009 with ~25k miles.
• Interior is very clean given its age. Carpet has 1 wear spot in driver foot well, but is covered by floor mat. No major stains, rips, etc. Headliner is in great shape.
• New window tint 3/12/24 (by TexAgs' Dixie Tint Pros)
• All electronics function as expected…including the 6, that's right 6, disc CD player!!
• Major components replaced (can provide my full maintenance list including every oil change, trans fluid change, cabin/engine air filters, etc.):

o Four new tires installed 9/8/25 @ 290,778 mi. (Kumho Road Huggers); replaced original donut spare (totally dry-rotted) with the best of the replaced tires, so it now has a full-size spare (Michelin)
o New battery (Die Hard Gold, 3 yr. warranty) 9/6/25 @ 290,765
o New spark plugs installed 9/6/25 @ 290,765 (NGK laser iridium)
o New serpentine belt 8/9/25 @ 289,758
o Replaced original alternator 4/4/25 @ 284,248
o New front brakes 12/28/24 @ 280,383; rear brakes last replaced 5/18/19 @ 245,421
o Replaced original engine mounts (X3) 10/13/24 @ 276,778
o Replaced original starter and knock sensor 9/2/18 @ 233,876
o Replaced original struts (X4) 8/11/18 @ 231,425

THE BAD:

• Significant front-end collision in late 2009, a few months after purchasing. Required new radiator, cooling fans, front quarter panels and hood. I have obviously owned it since with no issues, so believe the body shop did a great job.
• Suspension components are all original, including boots, CV joints, half shafts, etc. Boots have never torn, but rubber mounts in numerous suspension joints show cracking. I can provide pictures. At some point these will definitely need to be replaced part of the reason that I am moving on.
• Oil leak: I thought the car had been burning oil for the last 50k or so as I never found oil on the driveway. Either it was a very slow leak or in addition to burning oil it has since begun to leak oil. I would regularly have to add between 1-2 quarts between oil changes. This increased to adding oil at least twice between oil changes. I have replaced the VTEC solenoid (definitely leaking, 11/17/24), crankshaft seal (not sure it was needed as oil may have been leaking from above, 8/9/25) and just this weekend the VTC strainer assembly (it was definitely leaking here). It is also possibly/likely leaking from the VTC oil control valve. There is one O-ring to replace which should cost $.25 if I knew the size but instead Honda sells it for $30. I have been trying to track down the size with no luck as a matter of principle. I am hoping the main culprit was the strainer and I will be monitoring moving forward.
• I believe the original A/C compressor is on its last legs. Car still blows cold air, but if sitting at idle and you turn on the A/C the engine starts to bog down and seems like it is going to stall, but it never has. From what I have researched, this is signs of a failing compressor. I read that if you replace the compressor, you should also replace the condenser. eBay has kits with both parts for $282 or can buy locally for $327 compressor and $174 condenser. All non-OEM of course.

THE UGLY:

• Paint: Roof and trunk lid have no clear coat left and significant paint fade. Hood has peeling clear coat. Plan was after all the clear coat is gone to do a DIY rattle can paint job and clear coat.
• Very minor hail damage need to catch the glare right to see it (hood, roof, trunk lid).
• Rear driver side door about a 2" long dent from a car door in Lowe's parking lot (I was on the receiving end). It removed the paint down to bare metal which now has some rust.
• Rear bumper & trunk lid has a dent or two.
• Few other small spots where the car is down to the primer, but no rust in these spots.
• Headlights show their age yellowed.

take the $1000