sex!
1988 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe 123k miles.
Clean, but not 64k miles clean. Yet another 'low miles' 1g
If that thing sells for $4000 like the other ones I've seen, I'm going to start scooping up all of the local ones, putting on fresh paint, tuning them up and flipping them. I swear to god a $500 + $300 in paint and materials, a good scrub inside, seat covers, and a tune up, flip for $4000 = PROFIT. Plus fixing up the cars I love the most.
Don't forget to mention the original low miles!Originally Posted by 2ndGenGuy
wow that thing's mint
whats that? drive till the odometer goes back to 0? lol
$5000!!!! thats banana's.
Jesus! That's what I was talking about! Why do these things get bid up so high on eBay? That's it, I am quitting my job and going to just start restoring 1st gen Accords...
I saw that yesterday, I like it and would be nice to find one in a garage somewhere.
there is a decent looking prelude in miami too, hard to say what that deal is though cuz it show a bunch of parts on the ground too.
haha serious!! i bought one from pick a part for 700 (the one i got my interior from) and it was in about the same original condition as this one..a/c worked, no leaks,ran awesome etc etc..the only reason it was at the junkyard was bcus of a bad clutch.. so i replaced the clutch and swapped out the int and misc chrome into my car then sold it within 2 weeks for 1400... think i should have put it on ebay!!
Last edited by 81vintyminty; 10-03-2008 at 04:38 PM.
Thats insane.
Phil
Do it, please! And post bunch of pics!
Ha! We'll be hearing from the new owner soon enough. He'll be like "I just bought this awesome car for ONLY $5,000. It's original low miles. Even came with a car cover & stereo!!!
"Only problem is that it blows blue smoke. Anyone have any suggestions?"
Dr_Snooz
"I like to take hammers, and just break stuff, just break stuff." - Beavis
1989 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe, 240k miles, MT swap, rear disc swap
Shop manual downloads available here: CLICK TO VIEW
^^ Hahaha!
Hello everyone.
I am friends with the girl who won the auction for this Accord. This will be her first car and she does not know a lot about cars. Money is not an issue for her, so it's not a huge problem that the car is overpriced -- she loves the car. HOWEVER, after finding and reading through this thread, I am worried for her. If there are actually problems with the car, then that is really not ok. My father was car scammed once before in his life and it is not enjoyable whatsoever, and I don't want this to happen to my friend.
What makes you guys think that the miles are not truly original? If they're not the original low miles, then what are they? Is there anything we should know about the car? Do you think the seller is lying about the description he put up, and that it really does not drive as if brand new, etc.? Are there any questions she should be asking the seller before she pays the rest of the money? She has paid the deposit, but can still pull out and lose $125 (which is better than paying $5000 + shipping on a car that isn't what it's supposed to be). She has to get the car shipped to her from Kentucky and therefore can't test drive it or personally inspect it. Please help. Thanks so much.
i dont think your gonna get scammed, but definatley think the car is overpriced.. dont get me wrong the car is clean but like hazwan said, its clean but not 60k miles clean.. ive seen cleaner go for cheaper on ebay and elsewhere.. but if money is not an issue i dont see what the problem is. . i dont know how good of an idea an 1981 accord is for a 1st car though.. a prestine cond 81 accord is more of a collecter or weekend car, not to mention up keeping on the running condition and maintanece on a 27 y/o car is very important and somtimes tedious.. as an example the seller just did $1300 on brake repairs? which seems a little strange and high for a low mileage car, but goes to show your going to run into issue's driving an all original 27 y/o/ car... i purchased my accord in 2003 and has been my daily driver and to tell you its been HIGH MAINTENANCE would be an understatment.. almost EVERYTHING has needed attention or repair of some sort at onetime or another i can write a lOOOOOOOOng list!!,.. if i were not a mechanic doing all the work myself i doubt i would have paid someone to do all the repairs that has been needed to keep my car in top running condtion... thats probably why most of these cars are junked and not repaired.
keep us posted on the sale of the accord... if things dont work out with this car and she still would like to purchase an 81 accord drop me an offer for mine!!!! i might even hook up the shipping=)
Last edited by 81vintyminty; 10-04-2008 at 02:42 PM.
Don't get us wrong. It's a great looking car and obviously there were other people looking to get it as well. It actually is hard trying to find one of those cars in good condition, and your friend is very lucky to get it... We're just blown away at how much people really are willing to pay. Most of us didn't pay nearly that, but we like seeing the value of our cars go up!
I don't think the car is a scam. Honestly though, I think people put too much value into what mileage on a car means. If it's low mileage, then sometimes it means that it's sat a lot, and things have had time to rot. While it usually leaves the car looking great cosmetically, mechanically it can be bad... It doesn't ALWAYS mean that though. If the car has been meticulously maintained and drives and runs great, then there's no problem. If you have any problems with the car, they will show up right away. It's not like it will be patched up and start falling apart down the road. You'll know right away if it was a rip off or not.
Like with the brakes for instance. Why were the brakes done? Good chance that it's from sitting. But the fact that they took care of the problem is a good sign, I think!
We just get skeptical, because it's eBay, and all too often you hear the stories about how someone talks their cars up, fudges the mileage. And it looks great in the pics then when you go see it, it turns out to be a pile. Don't mind our cynicism about the milage though, we see so many Accords with under 100,000 miles, and we're pretty sure that's because the odometer resets after 99,999.9 miles.
We hope you enjoy the car, and that it proves to be a great car for you guys. Just remember to keep up the maintenance. It is a Honda, but it's not a new Honda. It will last you a long time if you keep on top of things. Keep the coolant flushed and topped up, check the oil once a week, and change it regularly. Good luck and keep us updated on how it goes!
I saw that listing and was surprised that it was actually in the midwest (Northern Kentucky). I would guess it is legit. Sam Swope is an old Honda dealer and the dealer sticker on the bumper looked original. $5000 is way too much unless you seriously LOVE the old Hondas. Then, it's just too much at $5000. If it's her first car, she will be highly disappointed unless (again) she loves the old Hondas. It has little pep compared to the 90's ish cars and it will seem "no frills". Again, if she takes it for what it is-- a groundbreaking "luxury" car 28 years ago-- then she will love it. I am going to agree with these other guys that it will take a lot of ongoing upkeep just because it is so old and the miles are so low. These cars have NO room for abuse, misuse, neglect, underfilled fluids, etc. If you baby them and keep them out of rush hour traffic, then they are a true joy. A timepiece dare I say...
EXACTLY RIGHT. Have her register at this site ASAP and we can help her out. There are not, I repeat, not a lot of people who are at all familiar with these cars. This site has a few peeps who have been there/done that and that's a few more than most cities have. A regular Honda tech. would struggle with these cars and repairing them. Now, if you find an old timer who actually remembers these cars, then you're golden. 2ndgenguy is an example of a younger fella who did it right and learned along the way. He made a couple mistakes that we all made, but he followed the advice to a "T" and took a $200 Accord to a whole other level. If he would have taken ONE shortcut, his Accord might not be anywhere near what it is today. He spent a lot of time getting it 100%, not 95%, right.
I'm just worried she'll expect too much out of the old 81, not respect it (no offense-- who really would?), and it'll end up in a pile of " to do" projects for the racetrack... in an alley... with gunshots through the glass... water damaged.
Oh for crying out loud. Me and my big mouth. Serves me right for talking trash.
We don't know anything special. We're probably just grumping because we've worked so hard on our cars and your friend is buying it off eBay with a simple mouse-click.
We are kinda jaded though by of all the ads for "low-mileage" thirty year old Hondas. The odometer lacks a sixth digit to indicate hundreds of thousands of miles. Once it rolls over, who's to say that mile 100,001 isn't mile 1? Your friend's car looks fantastic from the photos. Nor does it looks like it's been through a detail shop where a thorough cleaning and a lot of shiny spray covers a multitude of evil. It looks like it's been very well kept, but beautiful photos do not a running car make.
You never really know whether the used car you buy is a heap or not until you've driven it for a few thousand miles. You just do the best you can and hope your karma holds up for the rest. One thing you should do is get a CarFax report pronto. CarFax is careful to make sure that mileage is being reported properly, so it's worth checking out. If you want, you can post it here and we'll be happy to look it over for you too. The next step might be a little more involved, but take it to a good shop for a pre-sale inspection. It runs about $100 or so and helps to identify potential problem areas before you sign the check. If your friend wants to post that report as well, we're happy to weigh in more helpfully this time.
Anyway, keep us posted on the car. If it is what it claims to be, we'll all be stoked that an old Honda finds a good home.
Dr_Snooz
"I like to take hammers, and just break stuff, just break stuff." - Beavis
1989 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe, 240k miles, MT swap, rear disc swap
Shop manual downloads available here: CLICK TO VIEW
My friend is going to be writing this post from my account.
Basically, my older sister totaled her MINI and insurance gave our family around $21k for it. My parents let us split that money to get two used cars, so my "budget" was around $8000 for my first car. My dad wanted me to spend that on a newer model Ford Focus or something for gas efficiency and overall practicality, but I've always loved the look of old Honda Accords and am really passionate about getting a car I will genuinely love and care about. I was originally looking for a 1987-1989 accord (my boyfriend's first car was an '87 accord, and although I didn't know him while he drove it so I've personally never actually been a passenger in an old Accord, he was in love with it), but then I stumbled upon this car on eBay and fell in love.
As a little background, I'm not going to be driving the car a lot after this year. I am 18 and am currently taking a year off before heading to the east coast to study at New York University for my undergraduate degree... so I'm going to be driving the car every day until next September, and then it will stay at home for me to drive on my winter and summer breaks when I come back to LA. Once I'm done with college, it will probably become my daily car again.
I sort of know what I'm in for in terms of getting a car this old; I know it's not going to be super powerful or flashy or anything, and I'm fine with that. I personally love the way the car looks and it would be a dream for me to drive it. However, I honestly do not want to encounter a lot of problems driving the car this year and I am guessing that might be an issue with a 27 year old car. I am not much of a mechanic (read: I have never opened the hood of a car in my life) and although I'm not adverse to learning how to take care of my car, I just would prefer it to not fail on me repeatedly. My parents would also feel pretty upset about me putting down $5000 on a car for it to break throughout this year. The reason why I am willing to pay so much when it's clearly overpriced is that I unfortunately don't have the skill or time to do all this stuff on my own. So if I can find a car that I am in love with that falls within my budget, it's worth it to me.
This is kind of scary to me because although I plan to treat my car well, I am depending on it to commute to work daily, etc. and living in Los Angeles, there is A LOT of rush hour traffic and non-ideal driving conditions. I won't abuse it, but I also can't put in a ridiculous amount of upkeep to keep it running. There will be a lot of freeway driving... will it not be able to handle that?
Thank you for your advice. I went to CarFax and got the report, and you're right, it does look like the odometer was rolled back so the miles really aren't "original." This is kind of upsetting since the seller was being dishonest about that. But once again, my number one priority is to have a car that will not die on me, and I always thought Accords (and Hondas in general) lasted forever. If I can own a beautiful '81 accord and not have to constantly worry about it not starting or something, I would be the happiest person in the world.
Here is the CarFax report:
Thank you everyone. I appreciate this so much.
Last edited by Jess; 10-05-2008 at 01:08 AM.
hey jess... i havent been that active for the last week but from what i see you are worried about the purchase of the 'mint' 1gen accord. well as what everyone here mentioned, the accords are loveable cars and it would take good care of you if you treat them right. yes maintainence has to be on the nose as what 2genguy has mentioned. however this is not too difficult, simple changes of fluids and filters would keep the accord happy. =) even my accord has had a an odometer roleback i think twice in its its life but she still starts on first crank and she has NEVER failed me. also the engine has never been rebuilt in any way. hazwan, another guy on this site has mentioned the same, stating that his car still purrs even though around 300k clocked. both our cars do not give out any sort of smoke, apart from the little cloud during morning starts. also my car still starts on first crank anytime and has never overheated in rush hour traffic. what i am trying to say is dont worry, we are all here to help you in any way. 1g accords would be amongst the best japanese luxury cars in its day. respect it and it would take u far with little hassle.
the only reason why most of us were commenting on the your car is because of the 'low mileage' comment posted by the owner. almost all the cars listed lately has this comment making it very hard to believe. also the fact that the price of the car was simply too high for a 1gee....as some of us got ours for far less than what you paid for. however most of us had to do lots of work to get ours to look pretty. u could ask 2genguy about this. since you paid a lot, i do hope you could crank her and run her crosscountry with ease...heh!
well good luck and god bless, dev......
life is only what you make of it...
my dad with our 81' accord...
Honda Accord 1981
Mercedes 190E 1988
Volkwagen 1200 1971
MSN: [email protected]
YM: [email protected]
There's a lot here that's setting off alarms and flashing lights in my head. First and foremost, the seller is verifiably untruthful in the claims he makes about the car. That's a deal breaker for me. You still haven't driven or even seen the car yet, which means all you have is the seller's word for the car. That is proven to be unreliable for even the most basic facts, so you have no good reason to buy the car now. Even the upholstery is covered in the photos. You already way overpaid for the "low-mileage" version of this car. Now you're way, way, way overpaying. This is a bad direction for things to be heading.
Second, you're making this purchase decision based on emotion. That's a real bad way to buy a used car. Don't get me wrong, it's good when you love your car, but when the emotion overrides your rational faculties, you're going to overpay (like you've already done) and continue to shovel money at it until you're out of either money or love. Again, not a good road to be on.
Third, you're a woman who knows nothing about engines. I don't mean this to sound sexist, but it is. Even with a newer car, you'd be chum in the water for every dishonest mechanic out there (which is all of them). Imagine how much worse it's going to be when you roll up in a 30 year old car that you're scared of because it's not what it was supposed to be. Trust me, you'll be putting their kids through college.
I would counsel you to walk away from this car as fast as you possibly can. These are delightful cars, but if you don't know what you're doing, they can be an absolute nightmare. I hope you paid your deposit via PayPal, because you can explain the situation to eBay/PayPal and most likely get it back. If I were you, I'd also log a complaint with eBay against the seller detailing the blatant dishonesty. I don't think you'll have any trouble getting out of this unscathed, but even if you lose your deposit, it's a small price to pay for a valuable lesson learned.
We here will try to watch when this car gets re-listed an ensure that the seller doesn't pull the same stunt again.
Anyway, let us know what you decide and good luck.
Dr_Snooz
"I like to take hammers, and just break stuff, just break stuff." - Beavis
1989 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe, 240k miles, MT swap, rear disc swap
Shop manual downloads available here: CLICK TO VIEW
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks