$2,000 – Marlborough, MA:
“This is my wife’s daily driver so the miles on the odometer will continue to increase by about 60 miles a day until sold. It was purchased from California about 10 years ago and was totally rust free then. 10 years in New England has started to take it’s toll as you can see around the rear wheel wells in the close up pics. It has been garaged but that only protects it fully on non-commute days.
Still, this is a nice car overall- the body is straight with no dings or dents or missing trim…and you can see it has been maintained in stock condition and not fooled around with by JDM aftermarket tuners. A true time capsule.
THE GOOD-
Amazing paint with high gloss finish- note many reflections throughout pics
Nice overall condition for a 30 year old car
Drives nicely- still used daily to commute from Marlboro to Worcester at city and highway speeds
New Tires
Recent replacement manual transmission
Cool rare louvers over back window…a stock Honda accessory item
Gotta love those retractable headlights which you don’t see on newer cars
Oil changes, brakes, maintenance, etc performed regularly
30 mpgTHE BAD-
Idle rpm is varying between ~500-700 rpm so the idle control needs repair. This doesn’t affect it’s driveability.
One vacuum line was purposefully plugged by a mechanic which I believe is associated with the vacuum advance for the timing- so it has less pep under hard acceleration. It still has no problem attaining highway speeds and above but you need to be a bit more patient.
My wife says she feels a vibration when accelerating up a hill or on a right tending bend at highway speeds. Not sure if that would be a wheel bearing or wheel balancing issue or? I’d recommend you test drive it and take it to a mechanic you trust to get their thoughts on what it could be.
There is a hole in the floor carpet on the drivers side- we have the floor carpet mat to cover.
Hood release cable has stretched over time. To open the hood I am using two vice grips as you see in the image. I may work to resolve this over the weekend.NADA Guide lists retail cost between $1500-$3500 based on condition. I’m thinking with the GOOD and BAD balance of items listed above that my $2000 asking price is about right. Plus the rarity of this car in this region can’t be overlooked.
A 1988 Honda Accord rare? Not so rare in coupe and sedan…but a hatchback is harder to find. Then try to find one that is the luxury LX-i with the power windows, cruise, fuel injection, etc…and finally try to find an LX-i with the manual transmission. Usually luxury/comfort buyers of that era wanted an automatic. So that is why I consider it a fairly exclusive ride. My wife gets plenty of comments when bringing the car in for oil changes or other maintenance. The styling is unique and turns heads.
I’m really hoping this car winds up being owned by someone who can improve the idle/acceleration issues and clean up the rust which is trying to close in on the rear wheel wells before this neat car is lost to time. My wife wants to move to a more modern hybrid car where parts aren’t as hard to find. I’m guessing there are still a few die hard vintage import or Honda folks out there who are willing to put up with a delay in getting replacement parts to drive something more exclusive but I guess I’ll find out from this ad once it’s posted.
Email if interested.
NOTE- I’d like to use email for all initial correspondence (questions/comments). If we get further along to where we are scheduling a test drive and such then we can exchange phone numbers.
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1988 Honda Accord LX-i
VIN: JHMCA5380JC050761
condition: good
cylinders: 4 cylinders
drive: fwd
fuel: gas
odometer: 210000
paint color: blue
size: compact
title status: clean
transmission: manual
type: hatchback “
Source: https://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/cto/d/marlborough-1988-honda-accord-lxi/6782709926.html
