96 Accord- to buy or not to buy

  • Thread starter Thread starter hawkeye122
  • 27 comments
  • 1,738 views
hawkeye122

hawkeye122

Messages
3,915
United States
California
Messages
gdwest1
So this guy from work that my mum knows is selling his 1996 Honda Accord for $200.


The catch is it has no interior. Needs door panels, center console, seats, and carpets.

Now I do have a fully functional car of my own, but the soft top is getting old, and it gets 20 mpg.

I figured if I bought it and just watched for a decent set of seats, I could have a reasonably efficient car.

Good idea or bad idea?
 
My first question would have to be: How's the motor and other mechanical pieces? That would be the deal maker or breaker. The interior pieces can be cheap, but replace a suspension, not so much.
 
Doesnt really matter if it even runs, its worth more than that in scrap and way more in parts. Its generally a win-win for you.
 
savage388
Doesnt really matter if it even runs, its worth more than that in scrap and way more in parts. Its generally a win-win for you.
Click to expand...

This, you could make that on the engine alone and spend it on gas. Hell, you could probably get 3-500 from a junker depending on the body condition and use that extra for gas. If it is in good condition though then it may have more than that in useable value. As savage said, it's pretty much a win-win if you don't care about the hassle of selling parts or finding a buyer
 
If you got $300 for it scrapped, I don't know if I would go for it. Taking in account towing charges and all. In my area, by the way, I would only $150 -$200 for it anyways.
 
That could be a really good deal.


Don't forget any applicable taxes that you will have to pay when you transfer the title to your name. That can quickly add up if you we're planning to just scrap the car.
 
It apparently runs well and has 91,000 miles on the engine. No word on which engine, but he swears it's mechanically sound.
 
If that's the case, hawkeye, I'd jump on that deal.
 
Why does the car has no bits of interior like seats, door panels, carpets, center console ? Not saying the car is bad, but the chances of flood damage as the cause ? Having a test drive would make things a lot easier to make decision. If only for short distance daily driver, with such an old car, you will need to consider the total cost of maintenance for the 1st year, will it worth it ?
 
Ridox2JZGTE
Why does the car has no bits of interior like seats, door panels, carpets, center console ? Not saying the car is bad, but the chances of flood damage as the cause ? Having a test drive would make things a lot easier to make decision. If only for short distance daily driver, with such an old car, you will need to consider the total cost of maintenance for the 1st year, will it worth it ?
Click to expand...

It was apparently stolen and then refound with no interior.

While it is a 1996, I was under the impression that Honda's were fairly reliable.

Apparently the guy my mum knows is the father of the owner, and he wants more for it. What would be the upper ceiling on such a vehicle?
 
It really depends on the condition of the car, if you see the car has many issues, $200 would be too much, you could at least spend twice than that just to make it reliable for daily driver. Honda Accord has pretty tough built engine, but let's not forget that usually for an old age cars, the suspensions would have worn out pretty bad if haven't been replaced for years. A/C, starter motor, alternator, clutch, CV joint ( if bad, this could cost more than $200 ) , exhaust also usually needs attention.

Is the car currently daily driven ? or is it sitting in the garage or outside gathering dust ? Have you inspect the car yourself ? Getting such a cheap price for a car usually entails a lot of issues later on, but some times you could find a bargain :)

Ask him for lower price if you see the car is desirable, make an excuse that you would need to spend a lot more to make it decent for daily driver with seats, carpets, maintenance, TLC, etc.
 
Ridox2JZGTE
It really depends on the condition of the car, if you see the car has many issues, $200 would be too much, you could at least spend twice than that just to make it reliable for daily driver. Honda Accord has pretty tough built engine, but let's not forget that usually for an old age cars, the suspensions would have worn out pretty bad if haven't been replaced for years. A/C, starter motor, alternator, clutch, CV joint ( if bad, this could cost more than $200 ) , exhaust also usually needs attention.

Is the car currently daily driven ? or is it sitting in the garage or outside gathering dust ? Have you inspect the car yourself ? Getting such a cheap price for a car usually entails a lot of issues later on, but some times you could find a bargain :)

Ask him for lower price if you see the car is desirable, make an excuse that you would need to spend a lot more to make it decent for daily driver with seats, carpets, maintenance, TLC, etc.
Click to expand...

For 200 dollars if the thing has problems he can sell the engine pretty quick and junk it for a profit worse case scenario, there are tons of little ricers that need a new engine. :lol: 91,000 is actually pretty low miles for a 1996 honda. Like rotaryjunkie said 50 dollar seat and your set. I dont really see a ton of wear and tear at that mileage, plus the car is worth 10 times that easy if it had any kind of interior.
Hawkeye: Upper ceiling, 400 honestly. the pain of finding interior pieces plus its a theft recovery so its going to be worth half blue book make it a good deal for you but a bad sell for him. Get some pics someone will probably be able to give you a decent assessment.
 
hawkeye122
It apparently runs well and has 91,000 miles on the engine. No word on which engine, but he swears it's mechanically sound.
Click to expand...

If it's all stock standard mechanically then the engine I believe would be in it is the F22B1, same as was in my old 94 Accord as the 96 is still in the CD5 era. 2.2L SOHC VTEC. Is it automatic or manual? I have heard some horror stories about the autos from late-90s Accords and Preludes.

If it runs well and the interior is the only downside, I'd jump on it.
 
My god you guys are looking way too far into this! It's a 200 dollar car, he can sell 3 parts off the thing and make his money back, or turn around and list it for a 750 if it runs
 
My mum is less than supportive about it, whereas my father thinks its a great plan.

Plus, my Tracker failed smog with a faulty EGR Valve and vacuum issues. If we can get it for a decent price, I see a new car in my future.

Now I'm looking at the price of racing seats... Foolish, I know, but I want to get into track days, and this should be my car for quite some time to come.

Anyways , the motors for the windows and locks still work, but because the door panel is gone, they can't be controlled. Surely a handful of switches from Radio Shack and a soldering iron would do the trick until I find a panel?

It's the 4-pot, vtec, but Automatic
 
VTEC... stop asking questions and just cough up the 2 bills :lol:

I paid $200 for my truck, although it was complete at time of purchase, missing only an interior trim piece. If I hadn't fallen in love with it at first sight, I could have flipped it for a $1500 gain easy. $200 is chump change when it comes to buying a vehicle. If I could find something for that I'd do it right now and part it out
 
mustangGT90210
VTEC... stop asking questions and just cough up the 2 bills :lol:
Click to expand...

It ain't a proper VTEC mate :lol: well it is if you count the fact that it makes no power unless you rev the 🤬 out of it but the power cam on a CD5 comes in at around 2600rpm rather than 10,000,000 or so like Tegs or S2Ks. Its an economy tune rather than a power tune. BUT, as CyborgGT once posted in the Sleepers thread, buy it then swap a H22A into it. Lots of fun! :D

But seriously, $200 for a CD5 with an already stripped out interior for you if you want to go racing is a bargain!
 
mustangGT90210
I paid $200 for my truck, although it was complete at time of purchase, missing only an interior trim piece. If I hadn't fallen in love with it at first sight, I could have flipped it for a $1500 gain easy. $200 is chump change when it comes to buying a vehicle. If I could find something for that I'd do it right now and part it out
Click to expand...

Is this the truck in your avatar picture? Nice looking ride if I do say so myself.

I'd think even $300 (the price we paid for the Del Sol, was 100% complete interior) is a heck of a bargain for (a) something as fuel efficient as Hondas can be, and (b) a VTEC. Even if it does have no interior, I think it's a good buy myself - if I had the money, I'd buy it. Only 91 thousand on the thing? Compared to what I've seen of Hondas from that general age (90's) it should be higher.

Go for it.
 
Now, is that something worth modifying? Like a wider exhaust, or different air filter or suspension or wheels?

Oh my gosh. 24 Hours of Lemons. Yes.
 
5th gen accords are america's most stolen cars... followed by 4th gen accords, haha!

If you want to modify it, have a look around cd5tuner.com. Being a honda, it's cheap to modify, but it will take a lot to kill the understeer in such a heavy fwd. And yes, an h22 swap,especially with your car already lightened for you,will make for one hell of a fun daily. Real vtec can only be experienced with an h or k series engine!
 
CyborgGT
5th gen accords are america's most stolen cars... followed by 4th gen accords, haha!

If you want to modify it, have a look around cd5tuner.com. Being a honda, it's cheap to modify, but it will take a lot to kill the understeer in such a heavy fwd. And yes, an h22 swap,especially with your car already lightened for you,will make for one hell of a fun daily. Real vtec can only be experienced with an h or k series engine!
Click to expand...

Could I do the swap with the same transmission? I really want fewer things for me to screw up.

Plus, what about instead of a swap, a turbocharger? That seems easier than changing a whole engine
 
All h/f (non s2000 obviously) trannies are interchangeable. Your gen accord actually came stock with an h22 in some markets/trims. Fun fact: the rhd cd accord sir (h22) sedan was ONLY made in america but not sold here. Its a straight bolt in, as direct as swaps get. Considering the price of a good used h22 (i paid 1675 shipped) you could do a decent turbo build on your f. Stock f22ax heads from 4g accords/preludes have actually been found to flow better than a lot of street ported b18c integra gsr heads, so that would be a worthwhile swap as well.
 
CyborgGT
All h/f (non s2000 obviously) trannies are interchangeable. Your gen accord actually came stock with an h22 in some markets/trims. Fun fact: the rhd cd accord sir (h22) sedan was ONLY made in america but not sold here. Its a straight bolt in, as direct as swaps get. Considering the price of a good used h22 (i paid 1675 shipped) you could do a decent turbo build on your f. Stock f22ax heads from 4g accords/preludes have actually been found to flow better than a lot of street ported b18c integra gsr heads, so that would be a worthwhile swap as well.
Click to expand...

Isn't this a cd5, not an f?

So how easy is it to change the head?
 

Latest Posts

Back