I'm looking at a 93 Honda Accord SE 2 door with a leather interior for a friend. It has 144k miles on it with the automatic transmission. The only aftermarket thing I see is a Kenwood CD player. It has new Bridgstone tires in the rear. In the front it has a off brand of tires but they have good tread.

Now the downsides it was in a wreck. Carfax says it rear ended someone. He said it had been repainted by the previous owner but he didn't know why. The other thing bad is it has two half dollar sized rust spots at each rear quarter panel.

Now he wants $1500 firm for this car. I have a friend that has very little money and needs a good car to drive around. This is about the most they can afford and this is stretching it. Is this something she should stay away from since it was wrecked? What's it worth? I'm not sure you can get much better of a car for $1500 so I think you may have to take one with some things wrong with it. On the other hand I hate to tell her to buy it then it have something wrong with it. The owner now has had it 3 years but only put 9k miles on it.

 

NADA Clean Retail $3,175*
http://www.nadaguides.com/usedcars.a...a=-1&mi=144000

without even looking im sure Kelley is close within $500, so yea its a good deal for 1500, but i would be sure to ask maintenance questions, timing belt?, maybe even compression test, check fluids for mixtures, drive it for an hour stop and go and highway, a/c full blast...and unless its been done you'll be looking at CV Joints/Axles most likely..my 2 cents

plus its a 93 accord....

 

Is it still worth $1500 even after being wrecked? To me NADA's clean price is for a non wrecked one. I've just always been told to stay away from wrecked cars but it seems like you can't find one in nice shape for that price range unless it needs something major or has been wrecked or something like this.

 

I forgot to mention the ABS light is also on. He says he had a shop check it out and they said the brakes were fine but gave him some high price to turn the light off so he just left it on.

 

Have a Honda dealership look at the car for the Pre Purchase Inspection, it's $70 and they'll just tell you everything wrong. Obviously you/friend pays. If the seller refuses then you know something is very wrong and to steer clear.

 

That high price that they gave "just to turn it off" was probably a very correct price at least. As with many 92-93 Accords, they had a problem with the ABS pumps going bad on them. Just to give you an idea as to why the price was so high, some used ABS pumps from junkyards sell upwards of $500-$600. That's just a "low" ballpark figure. However, the ABS pump failure does not affect normal braking.

Sorry for my rant.

$1500 would definately be a reasonable price for a 93 Accord. Do remember it may need some minor work but if you are mechanically inclined it shouldn't be a problem helping out a friend.

 

Ok thanks. So would it just not have ABS if the ABS pump has failed? I know another friend has a 4 door version of this car only his is a 91 or 92 or something and his has the ABS light on too and the brakes just lock up if you slam them on.

I'm just more worried about the fact that it's been in a wreck. That's what really worries me. Who knows if the frame is bent or something like that. How much would a body shop charge to check that out? I also hate to tell them not to take it and have them miss out on a good car if it's fine now.

Also how many parts from a 91 Accord are swapable? This persons brother has a 91 Accord 4dr 5speed with a smashed in front fender and broken corner light and a motor that has a bad valve. He offered it to her for $100. Totally different car since it's a 5speed and 4dr but it seems like it may be worth it for parts if most of them will fit.

I can do basic things on the car like brakes(normal break jobs never messed with abs much), ball joints, probably axles, exhausts, stuff like that. However, if it gets into tearing into the motor or something I can't really do that. Or never have before and not sure I want to do it for them either.

 

I'm confused as to what type of accident it was in.
Accident reported
in Harrisonburg
Involving rear impact
It hit another motor vehicle

that's what Carfax says. Does that mean it was wrecked in the rear or the front? It says rear impact but then says it hit another vehicle.

 

it's been in a accident but does it have a salvage title? if not then it sounds like a pretty good deal ...

 

salvage titles really dont matter on an older car that you just need to drive around...as long as it drives straight

 

I don't know. How can you tell from Carfax? It doesn't act like it does. Or do I need to see the actual title and not go by Carfax?

 

check the vehicle's front end, see if it was repaired properly with OEM parts.

if you find that it wasn't, just keep searching. also ensure that the chassis is straight and the alignment isn't tweaked.

 

Salvage | Junk | Rebuilt Guaranteed
No Problem

When talking about the title on Carfax it says that. So does that mean it doesn't have a salvage title? It also says no frame damage was reported to them. However, would that have been reported?
Also how much would a body shop charge to check the frame? I don't know how to check to make sure a frame is straight.

How do I check for OEM parts. The front end stuff all looks OEM but I can't be positive it is. Should it say Honda somewhere on it?

 

yeah def, it should have a Honda stamp somewhere.

I mean if its aftermarket, and it fits fine..cool. but if its crappy fitment then

 

Yeah I'm guessing it's OEM as most aftermarket stuff I've seen fits like crap and right now at least this thing looks like it has perfect fitment. I honestly was looking for signs in the body of it being wrecked and couldn't really find them.

 

Well, not quite as set on this as they were. I also found a 94 Mazda 626 for them and a 95 Toyota Camry forsale. The Camry is the same price and the Mazda is cheaper. So they are looking into both of them also. Out of those 3 is the Accord the best choice? I like Honda's as you can see since I have 2 I'm just not sure about a wrecked one. So I don't know what to recommend for them to do.

 

i'd rather drive a honda with over 200k than a toyota or mazda with 50k lol ... oem replicas can look just as good as oem ... in fact you cant tell them apart if the body shop knows what they're doing lol