The car was listed on my local CL in FL. I checked it out today and it's in immaculate condition inside and out.

Here's the details:

1995 Accord Ex w/ 87k, auto, sunroof, all original, zero mods, zero rust, clear title, clean carfax.

How can a car this old have such low miles? Could it have been sitting a while? It's so clean it doesn't seem possible unless in a garage. The underbody appears showroom new. Interior has original mats and is spotless.

Seller says reason for sale is 16 year old son wants a 5 speed celica.

 

Seller is asking $4400 but KBB is $3200 in excellent condition. Still with such low miles and condition I'm not sure how much he will budge, but he does says o/bo.

 

"Seller says reason for sale is 16 year old son wants a 5 speed celica."

Is this kid on heroin?

 

No way in hell that car is going to sell at that price, low mileage and great condition or not.

Ya, it was probably just garaged while the owner used other cars.

 

Not everyone drives 100+ miles a day for a commute....

 

What's wrong with that?

 

I would say to try negotiate a little. I bought my 94 Accord with 83k miles on it in 2002, in Florida. The guy was initially asking $4400, but I got him down to $3400 due to negotiations and CV joints that needed replacing shortly. My car has been nothing short of super reliable. I now have 260k miles.

Despite the mileage being so low, there are other things that can go bad. Rubber seals will start to harden, and they may eventually leak. I would say that if you can do the 100k mile tune up, you would be able to have a ultra reliable car for a long long time.

 

Carfax should show mileage between emissions testing dates. That should tell you a little about driving habits. Ask for maintenance history. Don't just drive it around the block but drive it till it gets up to temperature and make sure everything works. Negotiate from there.

 

I don't know about TN, where this car originated, but here in FL there aren't any emissions testing to speak of.

Also, the seller has only had the car 6 months so his son didn't really have time to mess it up if he wanted something more sporty. It could have had primered panels and an ugly body kit 6 months from now, no telling.

 

If you like the car make him an offer. Then see what he says and go from there.

 

well i bought my wife a 95 Accord Ex w/ 119k, auto,perfect leather,nearly perfect paint a month ago for $3000 they are out there just hard to find, i thought i paid about $500 more than i should have but it was the best one i had seen in weeks of looking at 94-97 Accords. Make them an offer and show him the prices on CL for similar cars.

 

When I bought my 96 in '10 for $2850, i thought I got a great deal (189k, but had the timing maintenance done at 180k or so, with receipts). My mom started looking for one recently and while she was specifically looking for a wagon (seem to go for a little more) we could not find anything under $3500 up here in the pacific northwest that was in any kind of condition not needing major repairs. Finally she bought one out of Montana for $4200 with 86k on it. Price seemed a little high to me but I wouldn't have said she overpaid, except for the rebuilt title. Still she's happy with it and loves the car so how can I complain, not my money!

Anyway the point I really was trying to make is that it seems if anything the prices on these cars have gone UP in the past two years even at similar mileages compared to two years ago when I got mine. $4400 isn't too far out of reasonable with a clean title. Get maintenance records if you can, try to use it as a bargaining tool if you can't. if you don't have a record of the timing belt etc being done you'll want to do it anyway since age is a factor as much as mileage (should have been done at least every 7 years), around here that's a job that costs about $600 assuming you pay somebody for labor.

 

I did some research and saw that NADA, which he based his price on, is more for car dealerships to determine retail price. I then offered him $3k and let him know this along with the car needing a timing belt shortly. He said he'd research and compare to KBB and get back to me today. So he did and told me he felt NADA was more realistic (of course because its higher, lol), and his bottom dollar was $4k. I'm about to tell him thanks and good luck with the sale.

The only thing I will say is it's very hard to find a car in this shape and mileage for anything close to his asking price. Every Honda I find has very high miles and lots of other issues and they're asking close to or more than he is. But even high mileage non-hondas are also priced way up there. It's basically all junk in my area until you reach the $5500 or so mark.

 

From the sounds of it, his vehicle is in excellent condition. I see no issue with him asking the 'retail' price for it. Personally, I think you're lowballing him and $4k is a steal.

I paid $3.5k for my '96 Accord with 170k miles on it. *edit* And it was far from pretty.

 

I told him my max was $3500 and he said he'd get back to me after speaking with his son because he would have to pay the difference. After doing some more research and seeing your post MuffinMan, I decided to raise my offer to halfway between my max and his lowest to $3750. He spoke with his son tonight and he realized he wouldn't have enough to afford the replacement he wanted or so he told me. So deal is off. I don't have enough money available to go any higher even if I wanted to. Regardless, I think someone else will get a great deal on a super clean low mileage Honda.

 

They aren't very fast from factory, I just don't see how someone would want one over an Accord. Especially for one in nice condition. But to each his own.

 

I just bought a 95 civic ex coupe with 245k miles for $1700. Its in good condition but the only problem is they messed up the bolt thread on the valve cover. 87k is really low

 

Auto versus Manual

'Sportier' Coupe versus Sedan

I could definitely see why a kid would want it instead. And while Celica's aren't fast, I'd wager it's faster than a '96 Accord haha. The Celica GTS models aren't too shabby.

 

That's a bummer man - if I was looking for a good daily driver I would have jumped on that Accord, even at $4k. I don't blame you for wanting to knock down the price though, everyone tries to get the best deal they can.

 

Agreed on the GTS models, not to mention stock Accords are chunky. Although, I dig my Accord and I'm a "kid".

Should post a picture of your Accord, just for viewings sake, I would like to see it personally!