Hello all, me again.

I have had an awesome experience with my 1996 accord over the past four years; there were a few minor problems but generally everything was easy to repair and it is a great car.

My sister is graduating from college next week and she had never owned a car but has been wanting to drive for quite some time. I thought it would be really cool to get her an accord as a graduation gift and help to provide any repairs that it needed. In general this would be an around the town car, as she is not going to be commuting any time soon.

A work friend has recently saw a very nice looking 1989 accord LX 4 cly A/T with 64000 miles for sale nearby. They are asking 1200 but I think I can haggle it a bit. This is even older than mine but I am now confidant in how to do repairs on some basic items. What I am not sure about is:

-The carb ; I have heard bad things from my father about getting cars with carbs to start, esp in the cold. Is this true to a major degree? I have also never worked on a car with a carb.
-Expensive repairs ; are the internal engine components and transmissions on these vehicles fairly reliable? I don't think I could repair these items myself.
-general reliability and safety.

Overall I am looking for something to give to my sister to help her start off. I don't mind working and learning how to replace and repair many of the components on the car as long as there is no immediate safety concerns. Please give me your input if you have a chance.

Thank you for reading.

 

At 64K I would say the carburetor is the only thing to worry about. When they work correctly, they're great, when they go wonky on you...prepare to spend some money to get them sorted out. Most shops just swapped them out for rebuilt units. If you do have issues plan on several hundred dollars to address them.

 

The vehicle is low mileage, but the parts are 27 years old, so I'd consider having a mechanic look at it.

Carbs are tougher to diagnose, because there are a lot of vacuum controls on it.

You may want to shop around for newer accords that were fuel injected.

 

No love for the 3rd gen's

Yes, the carb knowledge is a dying "art" and most won't even get near them....yet the are really pretty simple things. Just those that know them are getting older and harder to find.

Yes. look around and see what is out there an weigh the options.

I will admit if it were me I'd do it on a heart beat, owned several of the 3rd gen accord - none ever left because of mechanical issues (kids crashed them, sold running fine, ect). The 30~32 MPG I got out of them still has me missing them.....even though I still have one left in the fleet

 

With low mileage that car wouldn't be a bad deal if everything works, but make sure that you're handy with a wrench. You will be replacing some of those aging 27 year old parts.

Reliability: These tend to be fairly reliable, but after so many years the electronics can get wonky.

Safety: Its a small old car, your only real safety begins with the driver and ends with having tires/brakes in decent shape. If safety is important, I'd shop for a 5th gen Accord.

 

Hey guys,

Thank you for all of the replies. I think I am going to try it. I have called them up and confirmed a visit date. As long as I can get it home (2 hour drive) to start all of the maint items, I should be ok.

On the up/downside, prepare to hear a bunch of carb-related questions posted here over the next few months.

Thanks again.

 

Look forward to the carb questions if they come. I put 428k on my 86 Accord and 317k on my 89 Accord, both manuals and both carbureted. Wish I kept the 89 as is was running over 40 mpg. I will have to live vicariously through people like yourself. Note as far as safety goes there are no air bags, TPMS, ABS, VSC which I most certainly assume you are already aware of.

 

Yeah, I'd jump on it, I don't mind rebuilding carbs, but unless you can, or know someone, I'd recommend looking fuel injection.
I like that body style though, and far and few between around here, especially with no to little rust.

 

Hi again guys, I just finalized the deal with the seller. I had my sister drive it around and she liked it great. No rust anywhere I could see on the body. Accelerated and shifted well. There was one issue that I noticed, though. On the first start that the seller did, it started right up, then stalled after 3 seconds, then he started it again and after that it was fine. Hopefully it can be an adjustment only.

I do not have the car home yet to sort out any issues, as we need to pick up plates and such at the dmv.

In the meantime, I would like to start getting a list of everything I should buy for a good tune up. The only significant maint I could get a record for from the seller was the timing belt replacement, which was done less than 5000 miles ago this year. I am guessing I should look for:

-spark plugs
-wires
-ignition coil (maybe), cap and rotor
-fuel filters
-coolent hosts and fluid
-auto trans filter and fluid
-air filter
-accessory belt
-carb cleaner (=P)

There are also of course a whole bunch of rubber hoses going to the carb. Is there any kind of kit I should look into which contains all or most of these hoses in bulk to replace? I assume that being rubber, replacing them is advisable.

Any thing else you can think of? I really appreciate all of the support and tips. My sister was very appreciative of it as well.

Thanks for reading!

 

I'd inspect the wires. The original Honda spark plug wires seem to last forever. I'd replace with OEM, NGK, or Denso brand spark plug wires, if the current insulation looks worn out or look to be an aftermarket brand.

Only use the NGK plugs recommended for your car. There should be a sticker under the hood with the spark plug part number. Do not use "upgraded" spark plugs with the platinum or iridium tip.

I'd hold off getting a coil.