1989 HONDA ACCORD SEi 5 SPEED SUNROOF CALIFORNIA COUPE/LIMITED PRODUCTION/LOADED

Description for Honda Accord 1989

Hello Ebayers. ell the Christmas Season is past us. Costco is setting up the BBQ's. football is winding down ans spring is in the air. Okay maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit. But just in case Santa didn't get you what you might have hoped for. this week. I'll try my best to help with that. Things have been a bit on the slow side for my business for the last few months. so I'm letting some things go that I have had on display in my collection. Please be sure to check all my auctions as I've got vintage pressed steel toys. a large collection of vintage die cast. a large vintage slot car collection. vintage vehicle literature. a just restored vintage Italian racing bicycle and an absolutely stunning 25 year old Honda. So just in case your list did not get checked off. hopefully you will find something here to enjoy. GENERAL INFO -It's hard to believe the Honda Accord SEi you see here is now 26 model years old. And while it shows almost 159. 00 original miles. it could easily pass for 1/3 of that. In 1989. American car companies were just beginning to produce some decent cars again after a long dark period that started in the early 1970's. Meanwhile. Japanese companies. in particular Honda. had continuously been producing high quality. affordable. efficient. fun to drive cars all along. So by the late 1980's. they were really precision crafted machines. Build quality was top notch. materials and features exceeded expectations. And Americans were buying them up as fast as they could be produced. The Honda Accord has been the flagship car for Honda since the model was introduced in 1976. Each generation becoming more sophisticated. However. in my opinion. they hit their apex in 1993. as the following generations became a bit overly complicated. bloated and competition from other makes was about as good by that point. This car represents the Third Generation. 1986 - 1989. The '89 Accord represents that final year of this beloved bodystyle. As such. Honda decided to send it off with a bang. creating a highly trimmed out Special Edition (SE) version. The "i" was added to indicate the Accord's higher trim level's fuel injected engine. I don't know the production numbers of this model. but suffice it to say there were a fraction of these SE-i's produced compared to the DX. LX and Lxi versions. Add in 26 years of rust. drunk drivers. overly confident teenager. acts of God and by now. how many have survived? And of that number. how many might be in the superb condition of this example? I dare say very few. making this example. a 5 speed SEi sunroof coupe. one of the nicer and rarer ones still rolling. VEHICLE HISTORY -This Accord was purchased brand new on 4/30/89 by a couple in Fair Oaks. Calif. for the sum of $20. 48. 00 from AutoWest Roseville Honda. They kept the car for many years. Unfortunately. the husband passed away and the car then went mostly unused and unloved for a some years after. A close friend of the couple. had always admired the Accord. Not wanting to see the car deteriorate any further. he approached the widow and asked her if she'd consider selling him the car. She agreed. knowing he had not only the means. but the passion to bring the car back to it's former glory. And so in May of 2012. her friend bought the Accord and set about his path. He turned the car to the capable hands of Folsom Lake Honda and told them to "do what it needed. " Period. Fluids were changed. dried gaskets and o rings replaced. cruise control repaired. cv joints replaced. crank seals. cam seals replaced. hoses. belts and more. about $2500 in receipts. Finally it was "road ready". The next step was having the exterior of the car detailed. which was handled by Bertoluccis Body and Fender. Finally. nbsp;he took it to his upholstery guy. Award Interiors and told him the same thing. "do what it needed. " The California sun had taken a bit of a toll on the original leather. And so Award replaced complete seat upholstery. headliner and carpet. The end result is nothing short of stunning. exceeding the original leather in quality and workmanship. It is sumptuous! Sit inside and breathe in and your senses will be treated to the aroma of fine leather. You are more likely to think you are in a Mercedes. BMW or Jaguar. rather than a Honda Accord. In the end. the total bill was $5051 for the interior alone. Other work was also done. all documented with receipts. Being as he owned a couple of homes and loved Vermont. he wanted to bring the car out to his beautifully restored property in East Ryegate. Vermont. So he had it transported in an enclosed trsailer. He kept it stored inside a restored old papermill which is part of the property and houses some of his other toys. But by the summer of 2014. between his running several properties. his business and travel. he realized the little Accord was being ignored. And so he decided to sell her hoping to find the right buyer who would appreciate and enjoy the car as a collector car. not a means to get about in the snow. That's where I come in discovering the car for sale. just 2 hours away from me. still registered in California! Was this a dream? No. I called him immediately and we spoke for quite some time. I told him of my background and the cars I've owned. including several vintage Japanese cars. This was music to his ears. We struck a deal over the phone and the next day. I drove down to see it and made up my mind in seconds. It was everything he said it was. I pulled out $500 and handed him a deposit. assuring the car was now mine. The drive home the next day was perfect. sun shining. car performing flawlessly and a giant smile on my face. Now. I find myself as often happens in a financial bind and have no choice but to put her up for sale. Something I had not planned on doing. EXTERIOR- BODY AND PAINT -First and foremost. the car. while now residing in Burlington. Vermont has spent virtually it's entire life in Northern California as documented above. That said it is 100% RUST-FREE. There are no bubbles. no patched panels. no rotted floors or sheetmetal that has been replaced because of rust or rot. The underside is equally impressive. no rust. looks like it's still in California. simply amazing. The car was however involved in a front end collision in 1992. There is a receipt for 2014. 89. The hood. front bumper cover. headlight cover and some misc parts were replaced with new parts. The rear taillight panel has been damaged and repaired. but no receipt for that. The sides of the car appear to be mostly original Honda applied factory paint. As a car painter myself. I decided to paint the hood and roof. I have been a professional painter for 30 years and used PPG Two Stage for the job. The hood had numerous rock chips and the clear coat both areas was getting thin from the California sun. The body is as straight as the day it left the Marysville. Ohio factory. There are some very minor dings scattered about. They could be repaired by a paintless dent guy or just left alone as they are not that noticeable. Also a few small nicks and scratches here and there as does happen. But overall the cars finish is deep. lustrous and simply gleams. The SEi models came in just two color choices. Asturias Grey Metallic and this Brittany Blue-Green Metallic. These colors were not offered on the other Accord models. The color is quite striking and accentuates the 80's vintage body lines beautifully. INTERIOR -As mentioned. the interior was almost completely redone to a very high standard. The high quality leather seats are a bit plusher than they were new. talk about comfortable. The original dash and side panels are still exceptional. ALL OPTIONS WORK including the ice cold a/c. The SEi models featured a Bose Premium Sound System with a separate trunk mounted amp. The amp was replaced with the correct Bose replacement for $400. However the radio only works out of the front speakers. I don't know why. I have a receipt for the amp and but have yet to figure it out. Short of that all power accessories work as they should. power windows. power antenna. power mirrors. power sunroof cruise control. rear defroster. nbsp;intermittent wipers. steering wheel mounted radio controls. flip-up headlights and quartz dash clock. The center console features a leather covered armrest which opens for additional storage. It also has the cool pull-out dual cup holder. All dash lights and gauges(speedo has a slight squeaky cable when cold) work properly. It also has a tilt wheel. Note that the top of the steering wheel is a bit loose on the inner rim. You can twist it some forward and back. It does not deter driving. nor happen without really trying. just making mention of it. Both seats manually recline and driver's side had a 3 way manually adjustable lumbar support. The rear seat folds down to allow access to the cavernous trunk. All in all. it is a wonderful place to spend time in. PERFORMANCE - While the 2. 0L 4 cylinder fuel injected engine is no drag racer. it will move this 2676 lb car along smartly. It has 120hp @ 5800 rpm and 122 lb-ft of torque @4000 rpm. Acceleration is very smooth and strong and has just the slightest bit of a "racy" sound without making you feel you're in a kiddy car. I had to replace the original dual tip muffler with an aftermarket setup until and original could be found. It is slightly louder than stock. The buttery-smooth 5 speed transmission shifts crisp and precise and clutch is just right. The surprisingly flat suspension consists of independent 4 wheel double wishbones. variable-assist power rack and pinion steering. 4 wheel disc brakes and 14" SEi exclusive alloy wheels. All of which combine for an enthusiastic ride and wonderful cornering ability. This was state of the art stuff in 1989 and is still impressive all these years later. This car is tight. no rattles. no annoying noises. just a sheer joy to drive. True Honda quality. It has been running on Premium NON-ETHANOL fuel. And it is as close to driving a new 1989 Accord SEi as one could probably get today. The engine has just under 159. 00 original miles and runs flawlessly. If you do the math. for a 26 year old car. even at a conservative 10. 00 miles/year. that's pretty low miles. With the freshening it got from Folsom Lake Honda. she is ready for years of dependable and spirited driving enjoyment. FINAL THOUGHTS - It really saddens me to have to sell this car. I've had the pleasure of owning many great cars in my 55 years. mostly classic American Muscle. some British sports cars and recently some very fine vintage Japanese cars. this Accord being the nicest. Like the previous two owners. my hope is a car collector will end up with this Honda. The collector car market in recent years has finally shifted. noticed and acknowledged the fine contributions from Japan. It has been on fire of late. It was not that long ago. a Datsun 240Z. 510 or Roadster. early Toyota Supra or Celica. RX7 and many others were overlooked. But as domestic classic cars have become a playground for the wealthy. collectors are now appreciating these high quality. sporty cars from The Land of the Rising Sun. And I say. it's about time. These are fantastic cars and worthy to stand beside their domestic counterparts. I would not hesitate to get in this car and head out on a long trip. It performs and functions like a contemporary car. A true testimate to the thought. design and engineering that went into these wonderful cars. Last September I drove it to a local Cars and Coffee gathering here in South Burlington. Vermont. I was very surprised how much attention the car attracted. Most people didn't even know what it was and could not get over how nice it was. made me very proud. I am happy to answer questions of provide pictures of something specific if you do not see it. I pride myself in being honest and thorough. And my years on ebay and feedback should attest to that. Please remember this car for all it's attributes outlined here is not new. nor is it perfect. There are flaws. It is 26 years old. As such. ask. do not assume anything. If you want to speak in detail. I will provide my phone number and can do a walk-around on the phone with you. The car is stored in my climate-controlled garage here in Burlington. Vermont. I realize getting a shipper here during the winter may be a problem. Although the weather has been mild here and we currently have zero snow on the ground. that could always change. and probably will. I am willing to store the car till spring if need be at no cost for my BIN price. Otherwise. I will assist in any way I can. I have had good luck with a particular shipper. Thanks and enjoy!One last point. Vermont does not issue paper titles on cars 15 years or older. Do not confuse this with a car that has no title. It is legally registered. inspected and insured by Hagerty Collector Car Insurance in my name. You will need my current registration card. signed by me and a Bill of Sale for your DMV. That's all. I still have the previous California Title and license plates. as Vermont does not collect those. I will include them with the sale along with all receipts and documents I received when I purchased it. Cheers. rentEXTERIOR SHOTS - REAR LIGHT PANEL HAS A CRACK AT THE UPPER LEFT CORNER. ALSO IT WAS DAMAGED AND HAS SOME GLUED REPAIRS