Very Interesting...

[accordlx]

I was reading a thread in the technical section and figured out something very interesting about how much my 1988 Accord cost new in 2002 U.S. Dollars. I copied it and am posting it here because I thought that it was just too interesting to leave hanging at the end of that thread. Anyways, here is an edited version of my post.

My Dad (God rest his soul) bought a 1984 Honda Accord (2nd Gen) which I inherited after the got the 3G. (I now drive the 3rd gen. he drove. I bought it from the family after it was thrashed.)

The 2nd Gen Honda was about $12.500 brand new. I think it was the first car he ever owned that came with AM/FM casette.

The 3rd Gen Honda was right around $15,500 back in 1988.

If you think about how much the dollar has appreciated since 1988, our cars were not cheap. I know that the sticker for my 1985 BMW 318i was right around $18000 nicely equipped which was not much more than the Honda.

Using the CPI (consumer price index) comparing the worth of a 1988 dollar to the 2002 dollar you can figure out how much my 1988 Accord would cost you in current currency. You divide the price of the car that you paid in 1988 by .656 to get a comparible price. This is a real yardstick, not just something I made up.

If you take $15,500 and divide by .656, you get a 1988 accord that would cost you $23,628.05 in 2002 dollars. This was not a cheap car by any measure.

I tried to make a car comparable to mine on Honda's website that has comparable features to mine when it was new. The car I created was $22,398 which is over $1000 cheaper than the comparable new cost of my 1988 Accord. Sounds crazy but our old Hondas cost more new than the new Hondas cost new if that makes any sense.

If you want to figure out what your Honda would cost you in 2002 dollars for yourself, here is the chart.

CPI conversion chart

Comments??

[Jareds 89 LX-i]

Cool...that is quite interesting

Lets see...

Total (delivery and everything) for mine was $16,165.00
1989 CF was 0.6877

So mine would come out to be: $23,505.89

Wow...I never thought of it that way. I always saw the $16k and thought that was a pretty good deal for all the power options and everything you got. But then again I wasn't buying too many cars when I was 6 years old, so I guess that could explain it, lol

[TeKKnoTeKK]

very interesting info accordlx...thanks for the info. But I still have yet to see a post by you recently lass than a page :p

[seancornelis]

1982 Honda Accord LX purchased on April 5 1982 for $10,283.74 which equals (10,283.74 / 0.535) the whopping sum of $19,221.94 in 2002 money. Jesus christ, that's a lot.....then again LX was the big luxury package with A/C, Power Steering, Velour Interior and Cruise Control although they somehow forgot about it on my car. Hey it did last 20 years and go 300k miles!

[marc49]

One thing that nobody is taking into account is that a lot of honda dealerships were ripping the consumer off in the 80's.. I don't know the full details, but I do remember something about how a ton of honda dealerships got in trouble for inflating the price of the honda's and shit like that. I think it even went to court and crap.. I will have to look more into it though.

[Jareds 89 LX-i]

Originally posted by marc49
One thing that nobody is taking into account is that a lot of honda dealerships were ripping the consumer off in the 80's.. I don't know the full details, but I do remember something about how a ton of honda dealerships got in trouble for inflating the price of the honda's and shit like that. I think it even went to court and crap.. I will have to look more into it though.

You're right Marc. The Honda scandal was a very big thing back then. If you read the book "Arrogance and Accords" by Steve Lynch, it explains all about it, and it's supposed to be a really good book (I still have to get it)

[pearldrop]

Wow, my Cadillac was worth almost $59,000 back then. The new price was $47,885 and the price index was .82 back in 1994.
That is a lot of money.:pimp: