Hi everyone,

I grew up driving Accords and Preludes, but haven't had a Honda for a few years. I've always loved the look and feel of them, but am not mechanical and have never worked on one.
I now find myself in a interesting situation: I have the opportunity to buy an extremely low km 1991 Accord EX in excellent condition. My interest is simple: to relive my teens and 20s through my car, and to hang out in what I think is a ridiculously cool car.

My concerns and questions are as follows:

1. This is an almost 30yr old car that most likely has all original fluids - does that in itself pose a threat? I plan on changing all fluids, but am worried that the lack of driving has maybe caused some damage. Does this make sense? should I be worried?

2. The car was only driven around town, never in winter, and always stored indoors. Everything is original - does the lack of driving and mileage create its own problems?

3. I know I'll have to put some money in to the car - will parts be hard to find? expensive?

and last and maybe most important question:

4. I don't anticipate owning this car too long - maybe a couple years...long enough to enjoy it, get it into as good a condition as I can afford to, then sell it to someone who appreciates them. My question is: should I expect to be able to (relatively) easily sell a '91 Accord in 2021 with 100,000km (60,000miles)? I'm afraid of being stuck with it...is there a market for mint condition Accords from the 90s? I'm willing to put the time and money in to it, but would like to have some peace of mind that there's a decent chance of me getting my money back on it. I'm thinking $2500-3000 CAD. Does this seem reasonable, or am I completely out to lunch? I've checked online and I can't seem to find any 90s Accord Groups/Clubs, and I've searched online Canada-wide for older Accords, and can't seem to find any in great shape - does this imply there's no market and no demand for them?

Long story short: is my weirdo mid-life crisis steering me into a money-trap? I'll take my chances if I have a legitimate shot at selling the car...but don't have enough (any) experience to really know what I'm getting myself in to, and would love some feedback.

thanks in advance for your help and thoughts - any and all input is more than welcome and really appreciated!!

 

My thoughts are since you are not technical, it will probably cost a couple thousand dollars to refresh all of the rubber components and fluids; the parts should be relatively easy to come by, but unless you plan on owning the car for at least four to five years, it simply wouldn't be worth the investment.

 

Thanks for the feedback Shipo. I hadn't considered the rubber components...this is the kind of insight I was hoping for, and of course, the fact that I hadn't considered it must be pretty telling.
Would the rubber components be critically important to change? Or something that can be done over time? Part of my plan/dream is to easy myself in to low-level maintenance and repairs.
Any thoughts on the likelihood and ease of reselling it?

Thanks again - much appreciated!

 

The rubber stuff, starting with the timing belt (and all associated components like tensioners and water pump) and tires will need to be dealt with first; the bet is the brake system is pretty gummed up; all new brake hoses and fluid will need to be done at the same times as well. Then there are the cooling system hoses, the heater hoses, belts, and the hydraulic components of the clutch (if a manual transmission). Personally, I wouldn't even consider driving that car without everything I listed done (along with more mundane stuff like a tune up, spark plug wires, oil change, filters, and a transmission fluid service). That said, with all of the above done, the car should be good to go for an easy ten years/160,000 km with little or no maintenance.

As for reselling it; odds on bet you will not get what you sink into it, but yes, you should be easily able to sell it.

 

Shipo - I'm thoroughly intimidated and pretty much talked out of the idea (but will probably always think about it), but this type of insight is exactly what I was hoping for.
I really, really appreciate the feedback!

 

If you are inclined to do the work yourself instead of paying someone else to do it, you could significantly cut the cost while at the same time gain some valuable wrenching experience. Might be kind of fun.

 

Wow! Terrific thread as I came by a '90 Accord DX in late June quite by fate when the 300E gave up the short block.
Bought it right with 64K on it and about ready to start filling in the blanks on nearly thirty years of service records...
Frankly startled at how drivers establish their priorities.
Fortunate enuf to have access to a friendly shop but still think dollar projections here are about spot on and thank you for all info supplied too