Just registered here. I'm a pretty big car noob when it comes to modding, but I've wanted to get into it for a long time.

Long story short I'm planning to purchase a honda accord in the very immediate future. I'm not in a huge rush to buy, but I thought... why not buy something I could mod a bit if I finally wanted to get into it.

But then I had questions. I google'd around a little bit, didn't exactly find the "exact" kinds of questions/answers I'm curious about, which I thought might imply the questions are irrelevant, but being ignorant about modding, and knowing no one in my area who's into it, I decided an enthusiasts forum would be the place to go.

So, initially, I'm mostly wondering what I should be looking for in an accord that would make good for modding.

My assumptions at this point are to look for.....
Model years '94 - '02
EX trim
All stock
Manual transmission
<150k miles

Are there other things I should look for in a car worth buying to mod, or are these basic things not even that important?

Thanks in advance!

 

The most important thing to look for is a model that has been very well taken care of by the pat owner.

If you have to pay someone to take things apart to see if its a good car and it cost you $100 for a great inspection, then pay it..Isn't $100 better to pay that $600 to $2000 2 weeks down the road.? Sure it is..

WheelBrokerAng

 

One of the things about looking for a specific kind of vehicle where I live (it's a small area) is the whole.. beggars and choosers thing.

So I tend to expand my horizons beyond a 150mile range, which usually involves a drive--not a big deal, but anywhere that's not where I live has mechanics that I haven't built a rapport with, so is trusting them with that 100$ still going to be worth it in your opinion?

 

The other thing is convincing the seller to take it to a garage of your choice. Leaving it there, then picking it up again after the inspection is completed will take a day of their time.
If you do that and everything checks out, you pretty much will have to pay the asking price.
I lucked out and got my car from a small dealer, he waited at my garage until the inspection was done, garage said that it needed sway bar links, he then took it back to his mechanic to get it fixed up and state inspected.
I paid 3/4 hr labor for the pre-purchase inspection, about $68 was worth it.