A settled, low-drama Accord — the calm before the turbo era, if you keep up the fluids.

The 2.4L K24 can burn oil — gradual, showing up as an oil light before an owner would normally check the dipstick, and in worse cases a quart every ~1,000 miles. Mechanics tie it to short trips and delayed oil changes more than to a hard defect. Check the level on the test drive and ask about oil-change frequency; a car with clean, on-time service history is low-risk here.

The four-cylinder pairs with a CVT that mechanics call genuinely reliable — but only if the fluid is changed on time. Early 9th-gen cars (mainly 2013) had a valve-body issue fixed under warranty with a software update; by 2016 that's history. A used CVT runs roughly $1,500–2,000, so the cheap insurance is confirming the fluid was serviced with genuine Honda CVT fluid. It won't tolerate the 'never change it' neglect a traditional automatic survives.

On the 3.5L V6, mechanics flag the VCM (variable cylinder management) solenoid leaking oil onto the alternator, and the 6-speed automatic's fluid wearing out and burning faster than owners expect — the advice is to change it every 15,000–20,000 miles rather than following the 'lifetime' assumption. A V6 with a documented shorter transmission-service interval is the one to buy; a neglected one is where problems start.

Two common nuisances: the infotainment screen freezing or going black (a battery-disconnect reset often clears it), and a steering-wheel shudder when braking that traces to warped front rotors — resurface or replace them, a routine wear item. Neither is a safety pattern; both are worth a small negotiation.