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Ultimate Accord Find in Tucson AZ - 1989 Accord SEi Coupe

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    Ultimate Accord Find in Tucson AZ - 1989 Accord SEi Coupe

    So, I thought I would share the events of the past 24 hours with everyone. I was browsing for a cheap car to use while here in AZ on vacation from MI for the next 3 weeks and came across this gem the day it was listed on Craigslist.

    Guy posted up a 1989 Honda Accord SE-i Coupe. Its a ONE owner, All Original, 42k mile pristine example of the top of the line 3rd Gen. model. I thought, no way in hell its still available. I call him up and sure enough, an older gentleman answered and said it is! Gears were immediately going in my head. How do I get it home, can my parent's 2003 Toyota Sienna w/ 267k miles tow this amount of weight with a 3500lb tow package rating, where the closest U-Haul dealer was, etc.

    I schedule a time to meet him at 2pm in Tucson, AZ. I'm visiting in Chandler, so about 115 miles away. I make sure the U-haul near him has tow dollys available and get that squared away and reserved. I go to the bank, pull out the money and stick it in an envelope. Check, check check.

    So I get there, and everything is as expected. I can't believe how clean everything is on this nearly 29 year old Honda. There are a few things wrong with it, but what do you expect, the owner of the car is an old lady who's now 99 years old and can no longer drive. It was shown by either a family friend or the guy storing the car in his garage.

    The car started out life in Hawaii, 29 years ago. It was purchased by check on May 29, 1989 for $19,000, $5k below the retail sticker, which I have a copy of in the documentation the guy gave me. It was kept there and driven about 37k miles until 1996 where it was then relocated to Green Valley, AZ...basically southwest Tucson. The place is more like a retirement community for older folk. so it was driven only 5k miles in the past 22 years!

    I'm racking my head as to what I should do with this car, especially with the limited time I have here in AZ before I have to go back to work in MI on Jan 3rd. I'm definitely going to get it in roadworthy condition. By the way, it does run and drive but leaks coolant from some rubber lines and fuel in the middle two injectors and has the original, never touched timing belt and water pump in it. But I was able to get it onto the dolly under its own power.

    Should I post it up for sale on Bring a Trailer? Keep it in the family and ship it back to MI and drive it in the summertime? Keep it in AZ and drive it when I visit family? Contact Honda to see if they're interested? Sell it to a Honda museum? So many options.

    But here are some photos of the find:































    Last edited by Losiracer2; 12-17-2017, 11:40 PM.

    member's ride thread
    93' EX Coupe H22A w/ P2T4 Sir 5spd 191whp 155 wtq
    99' Lexus LS400 157k VVTi V8 gets up & goes...new DD
    91 Accord SE 176k
    97' Honda Odyssey 199k miles...$485 spare van for my parents

    #2














    Last edited by Losiracer2; 12-17-2017, 11:26 PM.

    member's ride thread
    93' EX Coupe H22A w/ P2T4 Sir 5spd 191whp 155 wtq
    99' Lexus LS400 157k VVTi V8 gets up & goes...new DD
    91 Accord SE 176k
    97' Honda Odyssey 199k miles...$485 spare van for my parents

    Comment


      #3
      How I towed it home and accessories I found inside along with documentation provided

















      This is amazing, after 29 years, they were able to provide me with this:

















      Last edited by Losiracer2; 12-17-2017, 11:35 PM.

      member's ride thread
      93' EX Coupe H22A w/ P2T4 Sir 5spd 191whp 155 wtq
      99' Lexus LS400 157k VVTi V8 gets up & goes...new DD
      91 Accord SE 176k
      97' Honda Odyssey 199k miles...$485 spare van for my parents

      Comment


        #4
        dude that is just wow!!!!! super nice, and the color combination is very pleasing to the eye. what a combination, and what condition!

        with some detailing this could be a museum or display piece in the future. you could flip it (sell it to me! like, for real... hit me up) but unless you're strapped for cash or really don't want to deal with it, it may not be worthwhile to get rid of so fast. don't bring it back to Michigan, unless you can keep it in a garage. Any garage space at your parents? Paying for storage would kinda suck. Driving it around would be a bit of a shame IMO.

        If I were you, I would spend time cleaning it up and getting it detailed and hang onto it for a while. If it were clean enough, you could probably get it placed in one of the Honda museums for safekeeping... I guess they buy them, too, so that could be a good option to explore. Otherwise, putting it on a more visible niche auction site (bringatrailer) would do well for you (and the car), instead of just a local craigslist. It doesn't deserve to get ruined by some derp... it would be a bit of a shame if somebody modified it all, really. Besides getting some OEM maintenance love (timing belt, seals, belts, hoses).

        Type up a quick word document listing the auction details and everything you remember regarding the backstory of the car, and even more details if you can still get in touch with the original owner. Like when, and how, it was brought over to the mainland, what kind of trips did they use the car for? Etc. Print it out and stick it with the other paperwork.

        orrrrrrr just sell it to me, lmao.

        Super score no matter what you do! congrats on the find!!
        Last edited by cp[mike]; 12-18-2017, 09:44 PM.


        - 1993 Accord LX - White sedan (sold)
        - 1993 Accord EX - White sedan (wrecked)
        - 1991 Accord EX - White sedan (sold)
        - 1990 Accord EX - Grey sedan (sold)
        - 1993 Accord EX - White sedan (sold)
        - 1992 Accord EX - White coupe (sold)
        - 1993 Accord EX - Grey coupe (stolen)
        - 1993 Accord SE - Gold coupe (sold)
        Current cars:
        - 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon - Daily driver
        - 2004 Chevrolet Express AWD - Camper conversion

        Comment


          #5
          That's awesome! What a great find, looks like it's been really well taken care of over the years. I'd love to film a video on it!

          Comment


            #6
            Pretty slick good tooth brush detail will do it justice.

            02 Crv
            02 silverado Ex cab Z71, 2011 TRD 17" wheels, 245/80/17, ls1 cam, AFE intake, 3" catback, tuned by Larry at LSXperformance&pcm tuning driven daily.
            92 Acura Legend colbalt blue LS Coupe, custom intake, custom vibrant 2.5 cat back, led cluster and high beams, 2016 Coyote GT 18x8 wheels 235/40/18.
            Coming Soon Tein TSX coilovers.

            Comment


              #7
              Wow! Why can't I ever find those?
              90 LX 4dr 5 spd 396,014 (sold 1/1/2022) - MRT: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=201450
              08 Element LX FWD AT 229,000 - MRT: fleetw00d : 2008 Honda Element LX - CB7Tuner Forums

              Comment


                #8
                it even has bronze glass. super clean find!
                COUPE K24

                Comment


                  #9
                  Kai,

                  What Mike said. Clean it up and those leaks are minor for a car with only 42k original miles. Lucky find though..I bet the peeps over at 3geez forum would go nuts haha
                  Henry R
                  Koni/Neuspeed
                  1992 Accord LX R.I.P
                  1993 Accord EX OG since 'o3
                  Legend FSM

                  'You see we human beings are not born with prejudices, always they are made for us,
                  made by someone who wants something' -1943 US War Department video

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Man oh man what an amazing find! Thank you for sharing pictures with us too. It's really cool to have all that paperwork. I love reading those old documents.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Good find!!! This looks really well cared for, I am sure you will continue that trend.
                      http://www.hondanews.com/releases/19...d-introduction

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Just ordered every single molded coolant hose I could through Oriellys, all 10 of them, this afternoon as well as tracked down an 88 LXi in the JY with the fuel injected engine and took the injectors and seals so that should take care of the odd fuel leak.

                        Also, the only thing I was able to order at Honda today was the pop up headlight clip for the arm that moves it up and down. I was amazed that I couldn't order a single molded hose for this car at all... nothing was available. I wanted to also get a Honda T stat and Rad. Cap but the dealer was pretty pricey at $35 each....I remember paying $17 or $20 for my CB7 T stat a few years ago. Going to check a different dealer tomorrow.

                        But the Gates hoses should be here at 930 this morning...in a few hours lol.

                        I also need to get tires, a weird 195/60/14 size, replace the T belt and Water pump and something with the hazards and turn signals aren't functioning. The Bose amp is also not functioning, I can't even play the radio, all I hear is a weird high pitched frequency, but I'm not going to touch that...too expensive to fix a 30 yr old amp.

                        I'm excited to get this car running and possibly a historic AZ copper plate for it....something I was waiting to do in my 93 coupe but couldn't yet.
                        Last edited by Losiracer2; 12-19-2017, 04:53 AM.

                        member's ride thread
                        93' EX Coupe H22A w/ P2T4 Sir 5spd 191whp 155 wtq
                        99' Lexus LS400 157k VVTi V8 gets up & goes...new DD
                        91 Accord SE 176k
                        97' Honda Odyssey 199k miles...$485 spare van for my parents

                        Comment


                          #13
                          This car is amazing. Hard to say what you should do with it, but I'm not sure storing it away is the right move, but then again Michigan salt is the perfect way to destroy an otherwise perfect car.

                          Still though - great buy!
                          14 Ford Focus ST - stock(ish) - E30 Tune + Green Filter =

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Everything about that car is nice. Phenomenal find. Take it to a Honda dealer and see if they want to put it on their showroom floor. Free storage lol.
                            5 studded & leather clad - Praise The Lowered

                            ~Mark~

                            Comment


                              #15
                              So I'm running into some problems with the metal coolant pipes corroding away. You wouldn't believe how many more heater and bypass hoses this third gen has vs. our CB7s.

                              Our CB7s are so much easier to work on. Not only that, the connectors and plugs on this generation were far inferior than those used in the 4th gens. I've got to be really careful when undoing any connections since they're super brittle and I've only been able to find a total of 3 cars in AZ salvage yards that post up on Row52.com

                              I was able to fix the D/S popup headlight today as well as removing about 90% of the coolant hoses other than the IACV and ones under the intake manifold.

                              This car is much more complex than our CB7s...I'm kinda happy my first car was a 93 and not this 89 model.

                              member's ride thread
                              93' EX Coupe H22A w/ P2T4 Sir 5spd 191whp 155 wtq
                              99' Lexus LS400 157k VVTi V8 gets up & goes...new DD
                              91 Accord SE 176k
                              97' Honda Odyssey 199k miles...$485 spare van for my parents

                              Comment

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