Our Cars--1991 Honda Accord
Submitted by Collin Pillars for Our Cars Week
This is my 1991 Honda Accord. My dad gave it to me for my 17th birthday, and I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical at first--I had never seen a car with 225,000 (it now has 242,000) miles. It was in rough shape; the previous owner(s) were less than kind to the car, hence the slight front end damage and lack of a power steering pump.
In the summer that I first got the car, I learned most of what I know about fixing cars. After a fair bit of maintenance and repair work, the highlights being a brake job, fixing the headlights, A/C, and installing a stereo, I got the car into reasonable working order.
With time, I have grown fond of the car. I have had some problems since then: the rear tail light intermittently leaks into the trunk, the head gasket has a slow leak, and I've had to replace both CV shafts. But the car has never stranded me, and it starts every time. Driving without power steering took some getting used to, and parking is still less than fun, but now it's just a quirk and, combined with the fact that it is a manual, it is good insurance against people wanting to borrow my car.
It's a coupe and actually has a surprising amount of room. It also sports some of the best seats I've ever sat in, automotive-wise. It gets 30-33 MPG, handles predictably, and performs well--with the bonus of having a turbo (i.e. A/C) button. The only annoying characteristics it has are the intermittently functioning power seat belts and the lack of anti-lock brakes.
It's not perfect, but I love this car, and can't help but laugh a bit at my fellow college students with their brand new or nearly new cars.
--Collin Pillars
Johnny on September 16, 2009 at 02:21 PM
Why are you laughing at the folks with the newer cars?
Mochi Mochi on September 16, 2009 at 02:55 PM
Why is Collin laughing at kids with brand new cars?! Easy answer there. Because the Accord he's driving, even with 242K and a number of minor fixable problems, is still a better car than most of anything new. The 1991 Hondas are amazing in their willingness always start and to keep goingeven under the worst of conditions. Because even with 242K the design of the suspension is still better than anything with MacPhersons. Because hondas of the early 90s make more sense in their total design than anything new - and you can work on them yourself. As long as they aren't in the rust belt, they are fixable and will keep on going with regular basic maintenance. Brilliant cars! Besides the kids with the brand new cars just look like pampered dorks :)
Paul C. Perkins on September 16, 2009 at 04:41 PM
I've owned two of this particular generation of Honda Accords. Both were just fantastic and in at least one instance - if rust hadn't began to intervene - I might still have one.
These cars - particularly the two-door example - can be the basis for relatively inexpensive low cost, high performance personal sedans. There is an absolute GALAXY of aftermarket bits and pieces available that will allow you to build anything from a Q-ship to an in-your-face street burner. With a minimum of investment - you can have a vehicle that will eviscerate any 3-series BMW out there at a fraction of the cost.
Why anyone would buy what amounts to a motorized potato when they could take a two-door Honda coupe and turn it into a force to be reckoned with . . . well . . . I'm at a loss to understand.
Collin Pillars on September 16, 2009 at 10:09 PM
Mochi Mochi: I couldn't have said it better myself.
Paul: In the unlikely event that the engine goes kaput any time soon, I've considered swapping in an H22A1 from a Prelude. The transmissions are interchangeable, so I'd assume the mounts and such could be dealt with without an unreasonable amount of effort. Actually though, for being stock and 18 years old, my car is pretty fast, especially on the highway.
Jesika on September 17, 2009 at 12:40 AM
I really don understand that how could you accept a second hand car for your birthday. Don you like to have a brand new gift on your special occasions? The Honda Accord car seems to be a third hand indeed. I hope you are more sentimental.
...m... on September 17, 2009 at 08:34 AM
...many people would be delighted to have any car at all, let alone as a gift - for the truly special models which endure in our affection it doesn't matter how many previous owners have driven them...
Collin Pillars on September 17, 2009 at 08:37 AM
Jesika: I assume you're kidding? If not, I'll explain. I never expected to be given a vehicle, nor did I ever ask for one. It works just as well, if not better than anything else on the road, so I have reason only to be grateful. Gift wise, this car has given me, aside from it's virtues as a vehicle, the gift of the "quality time" spent with my father working on it. That gift alone is priceless to me. Not to mention that having a vehicle has cut out an immeasurable amount of stress (My parents are bitterly divorced. Imagine haggling over getting picked up by who when and where; it git old when I was five, let alone 17.) in my life, and has enabled me to do productive things, such as going to work, and carrying my little sister here, there, and everywhere, not to mention driving back and forth to college. There truly is a "freedom" associated with owning a vehicle. I am indeed sentimental; I'll never forget this vehicle, and will always remember it fondly, even if it were to throw a rod tomorrow. To me, there is a certain, perhaps superior, quality to a "third hand" vehicle that you just don't get with a brand-new **cough, my mother's Avenger, cough** vehicle.
CJinSD on September 17, 2009 at 09:22 AM
Nice car, nice story Collin. It is hard to believe that there are still young people that don't get a new 335i for their 16th birthday. It seems like such recipients will never have the opportunity to develop into worthwhile human beings. As an adult, I meet people who had it all handed to them. Whether it happened 40 years ago or 5, you can still sense the vapidity of their existence. They usually don't have a good thing to say about their parents until they are in the ground either.
That Car Guy on September 17, 2009 at 09:36 AM
I was a teacher in a high school in the wealthiest county in America a decade ago. The kids' parking lot had much nicer cars than the teachers' parking lot did. When asked questions, many replied, "Whatever."
Now, 10 years later, reality has caught up with some of these kids. There is nobody to hand them everything any more. They are impossibly in debt with credit cards. They have to work and pay their own rent. They don't have those shiny new cars any more. And they don't have a clue as to what happened to them. Mean old world.
L'enfant terrible, if I may.
Formerly known as Skeptic on September 17, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Recently sold my daughter our 1990 Accord for $1 when she graduated from college and went off on her own. Great little car.
LJO on September 17, 2009 at 12:28 PM
When my daughter went to college, I offered to but her a car. She wanted the family 1991 Accord. She was driving it to 180,000 miles, and would be driving it still if a drunk hadn't thought 101 was the speed limit and not the highway number. The Accord was totalled (2 1/2 feet of penetration in the rear, She was shaken but pretty much unhurt. No penetration into the passenger compartment, despite being propelled into two other cars and a barrier. That Honda died to save her life.
steve on September 17, 2009 at 12:53 PM
we're still driving our 90 accord. had it for 19 years old and still running fine.
Siddeley Beaulieu Throckmorton, Esq. on September 17, 2009 at 12:56 PM
This is indeed a cool car for a refined observer. It whispers "this is not where my $$$ went" ;)
Cliff on September 17, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Two words: air bags.
Ok, two more: pretensioning seatbelts
Two more: antilock brakes
That's six.
I bought a new passat a few years ago for my son to have when he turns 16 and starts to drive his brother/sister to school.
-C
Jeff Weimer on September 17, 2009 at 12:59 PM
I had the same year and same color - Seattle Silver. Really a kind of metallic beige. I bought it on ebay in 2001, and it was sadly wrecked in 2003 - got much more from the insurance than I paid 1 1/2 years earlier! Bought a 1995 Mazda Protege ES from the proceeds, another quirky car (that's why I LOVE Car Lust!).
But I digress. That Accord was my third (all 5-speed); an '83, an '87 LXi hatch (Seattle Silver too), and the '91 EX. All bought 7 years used, I never had one more than a year and a half. '83 sold due to a move to Japan, '87 and '91 wrecked) They weren't my most reliable (1997 Escort - shocka! It was a TANK), but they didn't break so much to break the bank or my mechanical skills. That '91 let me replace the radiator all by myself, I couldn't do that with my '98 Audi A4 now (you don't want to know what it takes). That '87 allowed me to WALK AWAY from a wreck with a semi-truck on the freeway (got my money back on that one too). And they drove like far more expensive cars, without being pretentious.
I also have an '06 Pilot now - wife wanted to replace the minivan with an ur-SUV, and I wouldn't agree to anything less than the Honda.
michael on September 17, 2009 at 01:10 PM
I bought a 1991 new in 1992. It was tucked away in the back corner of the lot unloved because it had a manual transmission.
Without a doubt, it was the best car I ever bought. I drove it for 200K miles until I gave it to my son. I replaced the brakes when I gave it to him, not because it needed new brakes but I figured it would need them and didn't want to worry about it then. The clutch simply never gave out.
The car was a perfect combination of power and weight. My ex used to scare the daylights out of friends by driving at 80 mph without the car breaking a sweat. I got it up over 100 mph once and there was still some pedal left to go. Even at 100, it felt stable and went where it was pointed.
Amazing car. Replaced it with a 2005 Accord which was nowhere in the same league. I'd take the 1991 back but my son, being young and careless, totaled it.
Matt Ward on September 17, 2009 at 01:13 PM
To Jesika,
On my 17th birthday, I was convinced I was going to get my parents' 78 Buick LeSabre...a second-hand car if there ever was one. I got Trivial Pursuit instead.
I would have killed for a second- or third-hand car when I was 17. My parents finally gave me their 84 Accord when I graduated from college. Great car...never said die. Surprising power and great gas mileage, which was important even when gas was 75 cents a gallon about 15 years ago. I finally gave it to my brother when I "traded up" but I knew I was saying goodbye to a sweet car.
Trouble on September 17, 2009 at 01:17 PM
Three cheers and a tiger, Collin! I had a '92 EX 5-speed sedan - I wish I'd never traded it off - the (now ex-)wife and I got caught up in the SUV boom.
From perusing used car ads I see that a '92 Accord 5-speed with decent miles (<200K) can still fetch about $3000. Not bad at all for a 17-year-old car.
Sgt. Mom on September 17, 2009 at 01:17 PM
I actually just bought a single-owner, beautiful, totally rustless 1991 Honda Accura, in all but mint-condition and with all the bells and whistles for that model year, as a replacement for my dearly beloved but not-very reliable 1975 Volvo 242. (OK, so I am trading from a 35 year old car up to an 18 year old car - a considerable step, actually, as I had driven the Volvo ever since 1982) I really couldn't be happier with a zippy, economical and comfortable little sedan - and how everyone just sings the praises of 90's Accords and Accuras.
I don't think that I will ever, ever buy a new car, straight off the dealer's lot. Not even when I manage to become a rich and famous author.
Joe on September 17, 2009 at 01:21 PM
In a slight tangent, the first car I bought entirely by myself was a 1979 Civic CVCC. Like many here, I'd trade my 1999 Civic for it in a heartbeat (except the CVCC used leaded gas.) The Accords from that era were amazing workhorses as well (and I preferred the styling to the generation 4 Accords of 1991.)
When I bought my current Civic, I considered and Accord, but thought it felt more cramped than the Civic! Of course, the new Civics ARE as big, or bigger, than the older Accords.
Doc on September 17, 2009 at 01:24 PM
I had the 91 maroon coupe which was second hand. At the time I purchased it there was 150K miles but boy did this car drive great. It drove too great though and it seems like I was driving 80 everywhere. I've driven a few 'sports' cars and none drove like that accord. I would probably still have mine, but when I got it off the used lot I didn't realize it had been wrecked. The driver's door got stuck in the closed position and Honda wanted $800 to fix it. I took it around to body shops but noone could figure out how to open the door. The problem is that the door panel locks in when the door is closed. After about 6mths of crawling over the passenger seat and the 5speed shift knob, I decided to trade it in. Later when I got married and we were looking for the wife a car, we went and looked at the new 2000 accords. They felt like an aluminum can compared to my old one. Oh, and it saved my life too from a rear collision. I was at a full stop in traffic when this chick smashed into me doing around 80. She was driving a Hyundai and rode a tow truck home... I drove the accord for a long time afterward. Barely a scratch (to the eye) on the bumper... little bulging at the rear 1/4 panels, but nothing ugly. Too bad they don't go back and make cars like this one again. All Hondas now just feel cheap and light to me now.
Johnny on September 17, 2009 at 01:26 PM
Mochi Mochi, it sounds like you're saying that he's laughing at them because his car is better[citation needed] than their car, which makes him a bit of a meanie.
Matt on September 17, 2009 at 01:51 PM
What is all this "were good cars" stuff? I still drive mine. Every day. Runs like a top
Mom on September 17, 2009 at 01:59 PM
Our 1989 gold Honda Accord, manual: finally gave it to oldest daughter after college in 2006; she gave it back this year when she moved in city and didn't need a car. Got a new clutch and alternator and now it's used by youngest daughter in college. Have a picture the salesman took of our family the day we bought the car; she was the baby in my arms!
Both daughters learned stick shift with this car. 36mpg.
Used to be, I'd come out of the grocery store and be confused every time by at least one other gold Honda Accord in the parking lot. And this is still true more often than not!
James B on September 17, 2009 at 02:00 PM
I'm going to assume that the power steering pump was "missing" instead of "broken"? If so, odds are that the car was raced by a previous owner. On 4-cylinder cars modified for performance, power steering pumps are often modified with an under-drive pulley (to reduce its drag on the engine) or removed entirely (eliminating its drag on the engine, and saving the marginal weight). But that's actually the second clue that this car was raced, the first was that it has a lightweight hood (off-color, held on by retaining clips). Not that some of the racing fanboys don't buy a CF hood for the looks, but racing hood + yanked power steering pump = racecar. Or as you jokingly referred to it having a turbo by turning off the AC :-) as racecar as a '91 Accord can get.