The 13-17 Accord is a great car, and very easy to work on for a car so new. I'm no transverse V6 fan, and Honda still uses a timing belt on their V6, but you're going to buy one, it might as well be the Accord. The 4-cylinder Accord of this vintage is the best midsize car of the past 10 years, with lots of room under the hood, plenty of power, very good gas mileage for a car of its size, and the CVT is very reliable and seamless (and if you still don't like it, you can get a manual). It also has a timing chain instead of the belt used on the V6.
The 9th gen Accord also features indirect TPMS, so no need to buy expensive sensors when you replace the tires, and using a second set of tires for winter is absolutely no problem since those extra wheels don't need any extra sensors.
The black on the car pictures is likely dirt from snow and salt and whatever. The V6 doesn't have direct injection, only the I4. The soot would be closer to the tail pipes. The side of the car looks dirty, too.