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Trying to find a 1990-93 Honda Accord

C

compguy786

Platinum Member

Hey guys,
i just graduated from high school and now need a car, the car i want is a 1990-93 Accord EX. It has been amazingly hard to find a good one here in Charlotte,NC. I test drove one the other day, great power for a old car, i like the handling alot, and especially the features and the speedometer/dash. I test drove a 92 with 195k miles on it, car was good, went fast and had great acceleration, but shook at idle points at stop signs etc. guy was asking $3487 for it which i think is nuts. The car's rear view mirror was broken too !
what other sites besides cars.com. craigslist, and autotrader are good ?
im trying to get one around $2500-3000 , Accord EX, with 150K or less.
 
I was going to say that is kind of a high mileage.

Have you tired

Craigslist
Cars.com
Google car search to searches a lot of other pages.

Use the advance search options.

I imagine you could get a honda accord that old for like 1 - 3K. 3K being high.
 
Jeez 4 grand for a 15 year old car with nearly 200k on the clock?
That guy needs to lay off whatever it is he is smoking.
If you could get him to drop 1.5-2k off the price it probably wouldn't be a bad deal.
The shaking you experienced at idle on the test drive was probably a broken motor mount(s). Not to expensive to replace, but can be a real pain the the arse to get to and work on.
Have you tried your local newspaper's website?

My only question to you is why look at a car that old? I am sure you could find something newer and probably just as relaible in that same price range.
 
Looking at 14-17 year old cars, you have to expect that they will have some issues...unless you find the proverbial "granny only drove it to the grocery and church" one.

No way I'd pay 4k for one, either. 1500 max for a nice one.

Remember this: Those era Hondas were the best they ever made. They lasted a long, long time....they are mostly responsible for the reputation that Honda enjoys now, and the perception that Hondas are far and away better than domestics. (which isn't the case now)

HOWEVER....also remember that those cars are now reaching the end of their long lives. They have lasted a long time, and in many cases they are about to or have already started to become repair nightmares for their owners....keep that in mind while you're looking.
 
i bought a 92 accord w/169K on it before i went to school for 2100$, all i had to put on it was a new muffler, did the timing belt @ 220K (this is a must for high mileage cars i think.) and i did one brake job as well.

i wouldn't give more than 2500 for that car, even though hondas go for a long time.
 
Yeah I dunno that guy needs to look at the blue book value for his car and get a reality check. Heck my '94 Integra GSR with only 120K miles on it was only worth $1800(got $2500 out of it for the stereo and a few mods) a few years ago when I sold it and it was in tip top mechanical condition. That car was more expensive than an Accord when new and Acura's tend to hold their value slightly better.
 
yeah its hard to find em and people are ripping people off !
i just called about a 93 accord ex i found on craigslist, 212k miles ! and $4000
but it has a new engine with 65k on it, but still !
 
Any particular reason for choosing an accord?

Honda has crazy resale everywhere. To me it isn't even worth looking at. Maybe look at something from nissan.
 
Originally posted by: Tyrant222
Any particular reason for choosing an accord?

Honda has crazy resale everywhere. To me it isn't even worth looking at. Maybe look at something from nissan.
Click to expand...

I like the accords style, power and design, especially from that year, the car has a sporty feel to it, yet its a family sedan, something that camry really is. The accord just is a great car, i drove one for the first time and i liked it.
 
Well, that accord was already sold when i called
i found another 93 5-spd, black EX
164k miles, $2400
sound good ?
im just trying to get the VIN checked out to see if it is not salvage etc
 
i asked, the guy apparently both the car 2 months ago from some dude, who took well care of the car, so he doesnt know, but he said the clutch runs good
and he also said the guy got into some sort of wreck before...so i wanna make sure
anyone have a carfax membership that could help me out ?? i have the VIN number for the car
 
Selling the car after only having it two months kinda throws up a red flag to me.
Something is wrong with the car that is expensive to fix that he is hiding.
 
Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
Selling the car after only having it two months kinda throws up a red flag to me.
Something is wrong with the car that is expensive to fix that he is hiding.
Click to expand...

the guy said he has to move to washington state, thats why he cant take the car...so thats what he told me lol
 
The facts (as you've presented them are: you are right out of HS and can't afford a newer/better car. You are set of an almost ancient Accord (I've driven them and they were good cars in their day). If this is true and you are dead set on buying one then check Craigslist. I see them all the time in your price range. Unfortunately you are not alone as their are a LOT of peeps trying just as hard as you are to buy these cars. Remember, a car this old with a lot of miles is going to have issues/problems. Budget for them.

If you think buying an older Accord is tough, I just got back from the Honda dealer after shopping for a civic. My wife and I test drove an '07 LX and loved it. It drives/handles much better than any other car in it's class ... but it is very much more expensive to boot. Here are some new car prices to put things in perspective: Hyundai Elantra: $15,000 out the door. Hyundai Sonata: $16,500 OTD, Nissan Sentra: $16,500 OTD, Toyota Corolla: $18,500 OTD and last but not least Honda Civic: $19,000 OTD. These prices are all for basically an econobox.

After checking out all of these cars I am most surprised by two things: first, Hyundai is giving everone else a run for their money. If they would just incorporate better styling they would be much more competitive. Second, I cannot believe that anyone would buy a Corolla for that price!
 
i sold my 91 wagon with a destroyed clear coat, 224K on the odometer, and a leaking rear main seal (which I disclosed) for $2000. if you want a clean, lower mileage example, expect to pay more for it, and expect to have the cash RIGHT NOW and be able to buy it within 24 hours of the car going on sale. a non-riced or trashed 4th/5th gen accord is a pretty hot commodity.

and yes, they are great cars! pretty fun to drive, reliable, excellent ergonomics, good seats. one of the best cars made in that era, IMO.
 
accords sell llike hotcakes, like it is hard, one listing pops up, and that car is gone in the matter of minutes !!!
i like the car because of its design and drive, and its very timeless, and a car ive always liked,
the fam used to own a 89 accord lx, we had to sell it because of the growing family,
and i want to get one back.
 
I have two cars, one of them is a 93 honda accord. Bought it a couple years ago for 1k, has been running great for the most part. Right now it has an oil leak that I need to get fixed, oil in the sparkpulg holes, and it needs some front end work (hear popping when turning). Has 164k on it right now, but I still think it is a great car.
 
with 150k+ miles, you should be able to grab one for less than $2k. I picked one up for $1k, but it needed a little work.

Totally great cars, love the power and economy of it. Easy to work on. Too bad they all rust behind the wheel wells.
 
yeah, the accords are great, and i was about to look at a nice black ex,93 and 5-spd with spoiler
but found out it has been in a wreck
totally broke my heart, because i was about to buy it =(
 
i found one..but its in GA, and im gonna go get it
its a 93 accord EX
black, 170k, fully loaded
EXTRA CLEAN, serviced ONLY by honda
$3500..tryin to get it down to $26-2700
 
I had a 90 Honda Accord years ago (1998-2001) and it was the biggest piece of crap I ever owned.

Purchased with 93,000 miles, sold at 114,000 miles

List of things that went wrong:
starter switch
vehicle speed sensor unit (VSU, these fail like clockwork between 107k and 109k)
2 fuel injectors about 10,000 miles apart
A/C compressor
sway bar link pins
two ball joints, one on each side, about 10,000 miles apart as well
inner tie rod
rotors (which are pressed on and take hours or hundreds of dollars to change out)
rear wheel cylinder (drum brake)
front axle boots both ripped during me owning the car, axles cost $100/ea and take an hour each minimum to install
various electrical problems related to bad grounds or faulty wiring

It goes on. I knew the original owner, and it didn't give them as much trouble as it did me, but then again they gave me the car for $1000 as I was starting school and needed something. I have never had such an undependable vehicle. This thing stranged me twice, and broke down on me almost killing me once (the nail in the coffin, sold it the next week) when a ball joint failed while cruising about 35mph causing the front of the car to collapse to the street almost causing an accident. The entire steering knuckle assembly came apart and it cost $400 in parts to get the vehicle drivable again.

DO NOT BUY A 90-93 HONDA ACCORD. BUY A TOYOTA OR A MAZDA IF YOU NEED A DEPENDABLE JAPANESE CAR.

 
Samus, although you had a poor experience, that generation Accord is famous for its reliability, and as Pacfan mentioned, it's one of the reasons all Hondas have the highest resale versus other Japanese makes.

Arguably, the most reliable brands are Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, and Mazda... in that order. I'm a Nissan fanboy, and that why my past three vehicles have been used Infinitis. All of the Infinitis I've purchased had close to 100k... I put 30K - 40K on them and then resold them for close to what I paid. I've had to replace two alternators, some brakes, and tires but besides that they have been rock solid. That doesn't mean Nissan is more reliable than Toyota or Honda in the big picture, it means I've had good luck with them. Just like you had bad luck with your Accord.
 
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