We bought the wife a nice, comfortable and easy riding 03 Accord LX sedan.
It's an excellent car - interior is well put together, it gets 33mpg easily (full tank 17gal I can go 500miles (last 50miles with the light on) @ 65mph.
Exterior
The paint is pretty bad - it holds up well to the 10ft and 3ft test, but when we got the car the previous owners (2 of them) never waxed or really washed the car properly. I ran two claybars over that sucker and it's now a whole lot better - it felt like 1000grit sandpaper at first.
It's the LX automatic model, so it comes with nothing fancy - 15" steelies, no spoiler and the I4 2.4L engine, still makes a decent 168hp, which can still move the fairly bulky chassis around.
Interior
It blows the pants off any equivalent year Subaru Legacy. That was the clincher for us, and the fuel efficiency in a very comfortable package with better storage pockets and overall room than an 03-04 Legacy.
Backseat space is excellent also, and the rear seats fold down (unfortunately no 60/40 split) for long loads.
The CD unit is one of those "integrated" HVAC units but I've already found a site that has conversion kits to retain the HVAC control but that will allow me to install a 1DIN unit + extra cubby space.
Apart from the FWD, this is a way better car than the 00-04 Legacies we were looking at.
Plans
Exterior
I have some ideas to get the car up to "my" specs, first of which is to install window tint. I already de-badged the trunk (Accord & LX).
I'd also like to upgrade the headlights to projector style ones - at least ones with black-housings. I've thought about installing a rear wing/decklid spoiler too, but that's not a big deal at this stage.
Eventually, we are looking at a full respray of the paint to a deep metallic red. Wife likes red.
Suspension
The next thing to do will be to replace the swaybars to help prevent some of the body roll.
H&R make some nice swaybars in 22mm front & 28mm rear flavors.
Then it's suspension work, and I might just stick with KYB GR2's and Tein H-Techs to get a mild drop to tuck the wheels just a little. The H-techs have a 340lb front spring rate with a 200lb rear.
Along with the swaybars and springs I'm going to have to upgrade the tires & wheels, so we're thinking of 17" bronze wheels & decent summer tread, but I doubt I'll upgrade the brake caliper size because 15" winter/snow tread is cheap. Good pads and solid rotors should be enough to haul it down. Having good suspension will help too.
Powertrain
Eventually when the exhaust gives up we'll upgrade that too, starting header-back, but I refuse to end up with an Accord that sounds like a bumble-bee in a can. It'll be quiet.
Engine is running Castrol full synth 5w20, transmission is running Honda ATF.
Pics to come.