recent viewing - crap short story alert

[bolognasal spray]

Still casting around for a daily shite. Went over to nr. Scunthorpe on t'bike last week. Honda accord estate:

 

53k, 2.0 pezzer

 

https://carland.com/search/used-car/honda-accord-1995-scawby/7944551

 

Seems decent and would probably run for a few years without too much intervention. Retracting aerial snapped and anyway, cassette deck. Big deal, u say. Agree - but I do often enjoy listening to cdrs esp. on motorways. Shrinks journeys quite significantly singing along to whitesnake, depeche mode and neu! etc.

 

Nice enough but just felt a bit meh. Was built in the USA apparently. Tyres very very old. Car stood for 10 years or something. Weird history. Underneath looked sound enough but who knows. Guy said he'd put it on the lift for me to have a poke and prod - which was decent.

 

Not much paperwork.

 

Never ever occurred to me to consider this model, nor even make - but the bikes of the era are amongst the best ever made, so was wondering if that rubbed off on the car side.

 

Fuck knows. Not really that bothered after an underwhelming response from rest of family. Some of whom are mildly shite curious - but not so much that they'll let me pull the trigger on proper shite.

[SierraMikeHotel]

I quite like the look of that - but it's top money for a car that old that definitely isn't a classic.

[Snipes]

Worthy, but dull. Looks like the seller thinks the 53000 miles is worth a premium as that's strong money.

[alcyonecorporation]

£795, yes.

 

£1695, no.

 

If it's anything like the other cooking Hondas of its era it'll be weirdly sporting to drive without being at all quick, use more fuel than you expect and be stymied at MoT time because it needs an unobtainium ball joint or something.

[stuboy]

fence behind has more character..

[Datsuncog]

I like the car, in an understated way, but not so much the price. I do have a soft spot for Aerodecks and that shade of red, though.

 

 

This is one of those cars that must be a nightmare to sell, as it's plainly uncommon and appears a cut above the usual dross condition-wise, but has zero image and it's hard to imagine it appealing to anyone other than an eccentric millionaire, who might snap it up to then shove into a barn for another few decades, or one of the JDMYO! crew wannabes who'll slam it onto banded Watanabes and joggle it over carpark speed bumps until something breaks, because JAP.

 

Low miles are good news if fastidiously maintained but, as my 22k Mk2 Fiesta proved, if it's been left standing for a long while then hoses, seals and bushes will all split one after the other as soon as it's returned to daily service - and they may be frustratingly tricky to track down for one of these, compared to my 1.1 CVH lump.

 

If the vendor was sensible, they'd bang that up for half that money and then knock a bit off as a sweetener, just to get shot of it. There's a fine line between 'rare' and 'unpopular' - should you take a punt on this and don't much like it, then it'll be a bugger to move on unless you're philosophical about taking a bit of a hit.

 

I'd say you could get something just as good on here for a third of the price, with a known history, if you're happy to bide your time.

 

Best of luck!

[alcyonecorporation]

Aye, as Datsuncog says, some decent tyres, hoses and exhaust rubbers will ring the till for a few hundred quid before it'll go down the road without shitting itself.

 

I wish the trade would stop getting so hung up on low mileage cars of this age; you buy on condition after 10 years, service stamps can be faked, and a tiny mile 'just gone to the shops and back on the behalf of Lord Bilious of Bilious' estate' example of a given car will break every perishable item in sight if you dared to use it.

 

Given the work it will need to actually make it, erm work, £795 is a far more realistic price.

[bolognasal spray]

So much truth in the above. Much thankings unleashed.

 

Very factual about the hose / tyres thing etc. - i.e. been stood, then suddenly pressed into service and BLAMMO - shit and piss leaking everywhere. Went through exactly this but in bike world when i bought the ninja this time last year. Sheaf of past MOT certs showed that the thing had only done a few hundred per year for best part of a decade. And whaddya know. I start twatting around on it each and every day, and fuel pipes are gushing everywhere, coolant's puddling underneath it, stranding me 15 miles from home, etc. etc.

 

Nothing expensive, but recovery is always a total PITA and you do begin to wonder if such failures are symptomatic of something more odious lurking deep within the beast. Confidence in the machinery can definitely start to ebb. Fortunately in the case of said ninja it really was just niggly shit which, once replaced, bike's been chuffed to bits that it's actually getting out and about every damn day. Hence why it's done 25k since last september.

 

Would this Accord do similar? Possibly. Probably. Can I be arsed? No - because I think almost everything that's been said above I am in, well, accord with.

 

[Snipes]

Anybody remember the SRi they had in Gran Turismo with the 2.2 VTECyo motor? This is like that, but not.

I do kinda like these and had the horn for a coupe in the same colour. Boring, but kinda dignified somehow.

[Broadsword]

I get really cross with traders pulling these stunts with old cars they have either paid £200-300 PX or snagged at auction and selling at premium prices on some mythical classic status and low mileage. It just isn't. I would be very nervous driving something that has stood for 10 years. The tyres should go even before a test drive, all the hoses and belts have to go. Many bushes may be ruined. Then there will be unexpected surprises. I suspect the trader is selling the car exactly in the state he received in, just washed it. Just my opinion, but that car at that price is a con.

[sierraman]

It’s been sat 10 years. As soon as you start using that anywhere like daily I can envisage the seals pissing oil out everywhere, all the suspension bushes perished etc. And by the sounds of it it wants a set of tyres. I mean I’m not after the moon on a stick but £1600 sounds nuts for that.

[bolognasal spray]

I get really cross with traders pulling these stunts with old cars they have either paid £200-300 PX or snagged at auction and selling at premium prices on some mythical classic status and low mileage. It just isn't. I would be very nervous driving something that has stood for 10 years. The tyres should go even before a test drive, all the hoses and belts have to go. Many bushes may be ruined. Then there will be unexpected surprises. I suspect the trader is selling the car exactly in the state he received in, just washed it. Just my opinion, but that car at that price is a con.

 

Firm - but fair.

 

But yeah - agree, and especially RE the tyres. It was sitting on two semi-flats even though I'd asked two days before if I could come and see it, and NB I arrived on time (five mins late, mebbe), so not early e,g, before he'd had time to put 32psi in them.

 

I mean come on. Make a bit of effort. It's not confidence inspiring is it? Then again, tyres look fucked. Tyres ARE fucked. I said wow I wonder how long those have been on it, gesturing at them in all their perished, cracked glory*. Yes I've absolutely no idea came the reply. I wanted to say if only there were some way of quickly and easily finding out - instead I said hmm I think there's a code that tells you, just there on the wall. *tumble weed blows across forecourt*

[Ian_Fearn]

All of the above are true and the price is about double its real value BUT if you got it for the right price (£600?) and threw a grand at it, you could easily have something that could last 5+ years without any major bother and have something you wouldn't be ashamed of sat on your drive.

 

You can't say that about many cars that owe you £1600.

 

If I were looking at this price range, i'd rather buy something low ownership and mileage for less than a grand, put a grand into quality rubber and a thorough servicing with cambelt, water pump, ALL fluids etc. 

[sierraman]

Only place that’s going is EMR.

 

It’s not even tested. I’d say you’d be as well chucking £1600 into the hearth than that.

[Peter C]

[Mrcento]

All Honda Aerodecks are weird things, all kitted up for the US market so loaded with stuff for the time.

 

But that one is massively overpriced IMO, i honestly wouldn't pay over £500 for it. Too much of a gamble with no test and the history of sitting, meaning seals likely go bad fast, little things like ball joint and driveshaft gaitors will all be a little brittle, bushes cracked, likely things like caliper sliders all needing attention etc. And that's just for starters.

 

I'd say run a mile.

[Broadsword]

“But yeah - agree, and especially RE the tyres. It was sitting on two semi-flats even though I'd asked two days before if I could come and see it, and NB I arrived on time (five mins late, mebbe), so not early e,g, before he'd had time to put 32psi in them.”

 

I once went to look at a Jaguar XK8. It was £3500. They guy had stock selling for tens of thousands. I rubbed my fingers on the sidewalls of the tyres and they just crumbled away. Engine had no punch and electric seat failed during test drive. I challenged him directly about putting people in danger claiming the tyres were ok. The dealer’s face went bright red. It was quite pathetic. What he was trying to sell was really only fit for spares between its problems and all the rust. Why he was trying to do so was quite beyond me.

[Ghosty]

£795, yes.

 

£1695, no.

 

If it's anything like the other cooking Hondas of its era it'll be weirdly sporting to drive without being at all quick, use more fuel than you expect and be stymied at MoT time because it needs an unobtainium ball joint or something.

 

Agree re:price. That said this will have a 2.0 F-series engine - in good fettle it should be decently quick, as a rev-happy, torquey engine: it certainly didn't hang about in my old Prelude - which I think was even the same colour, Cassis Red. Obviously a Prelude is going to be faster than an Accord Aerodeck, but I imagine performance will still be more than acceptable, and certainly it'll have a slight edge on some of its Western period counterparts (Volvo 850 et al perhaps excepted).

It is manual, however - the autoboxes are quite short geared, and suit the engines a lot more than the manuals which make them a little too long and gutless unless you drive everywhere with a foot to the floor.

[New POD]

Bloke I work with is looking at 2 different 02 plate 535 and 530 BMW saloons.

One with 56k and one with 114k

So 10 miles a day in 2 x 5 mile journeys or 20 miles a day in 2 × 10.mile trips?

 

I suggested at 1/5 the price my mates 180k E320 from the 90's all nicely run in.

[Lacquer Peel]

Ask Supanaught about trying to get an Mot on a Honda estate that had been sitting for a couple of years...

I think he had an even worse experience with an American Honda Accord coupé.

 

I'm not sure why the automatic response to any non sporting Japanese car is "boring" when if this was a 405 or Mondeo estate that wouldn't be the case.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I like these, they are both handsome and completely anonymous at the same time.

 

Once up to standard it should last forever with routine maintenance but yeah this one will likely empty your wallet in the first 6-12 months until you've caught up with ten years worth of consumables

 

My da always looks horrified when I announce the mileage of whatever heap I've recently bought, as he's of the generation where a 100k car would be absolutely kippered. But it's just not the case anymore

 

Sent from my F3211 using Tapatalk

[lesapandre]

Any old estate car is cool and useful. They tend to be the cars you notice and the ones that get used up - quite often as light vans in the end. There is one of these near me - it really stands out in a sea of dross - it does look quite 'American' in a Seattle dot-com kind of way.

 

Don't take my word for it - here is Curbsideclassic's view - Seattle based. They rate them quite high :

 

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-asian/curbside-classic-1992-honda-accord-ex-simply-the-best/

 

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-asian/curbside-classic-1996-honda-accord-lx/

 

Downside will be spares - obtainable but you will have to wait - bound to be available in the US.

 

Price has been mentioned - I had a mint Legend similar era - was hell to sell for peanuts. So at that price expect a service, detailed check over and new tyres. Maybe some kind of warrenty - say 14 days? Take it for a test run see if you gel?

 

Cool car and technically more interesting than it looks. Honda's of this era have little following or image tho...zzzzzz. But I bet there is a buyer out there who has driven his existing one into the ground and will buy this to replace it. Honda dont seem to promote their 'heritage'much: well not as I have seen anyway.

[lesapandre]

Carsurvey.org also have a lot of owner reviews. I find the site useful when considering a buy. Lots of old owner reviews - its saved me from a few terrible cars...

 

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/honda/accord/1995/single-page/

[jollysmart]

Living quite locally to this trader I can say that they are quite creative with their prices for older vehicles. Odd times they have something interesting but mainly they are like this one and vastly overpriced. It's a classic mate, be worth double in a year.

[lesapandre]

If they pass a lot of cars thorough they may just let it sit. May drive a bit of trade - when people chat about 'the nice old car' they sell them something else. I went to look at a (knackered) Citroen AX - guy tried to see me a newish Mondeo - he was very persuasive lol. 

[sierraman]

Warranty? Whose going to warrant a 20 year old car with no test that’s been sat.

[loserone]

Some who's charged a grand for it?

[sierraman]

If you are going to do that you might as well sell it for £600 sold as seen.

[Ghosty]

 

 

Downside will be spares - obtainable but you will have to wait - bound to be available in the US.

 

 

Not as bad as you'd expect really. It's hard to get parts in the UK yes, but Rock Auto will have everything for it, as will quite a few of the European sites like Autodoc, Mister-Auto and so on. You can get most things for them in a week or less.

[Supernaut]

Ask Supanaught about trying to get an Mot on a Honda estate that had been sitting for a couple of years...

I think he had an even worse experience with an American Honda Accord coupé.

Yeah, that Accord Coupe in Manchester was a fucking dog. Seller said "yeah mate clutch is fine" but the bloody thing was slipping at 20mph on the flat and level. It wouldn't have even got me to the border, let alone up to Aberdeen. Then there was the seller's attempt to fit a radio. Instead of going down the sensible route and getting a harness adapter, I turn up and the guy is busily hacking the wiring to bits. He completely killed any chance of it having a working radio ever again.

 

However, the Civic Aerodeck (formerly owned by 17-Coffees) had been sitting a couple of years. After getting the windscreen washers working and a few other odds and ends, it was discovered that it needed work on suspension balljoints, the left rear door wouldn't open, the rear middle seatbelt was completely absent (I don't know how that happened either) and it was burning oil at a catastrophic rate.

How catastrophic? Topped it up, then drove it about 25 miles, and the dipstick showed half.

Weirdly, the smoke coming out of the exhaust wasn't noticeably blue.