1984 Honda Accord Hatchback from North America - Comments

Normal wear, battery, clutch and brakes, annoying fuel filler leak.

Door locks look bad thanks to a break-in.

Rust affecting the structure.

This is Honda doing the Austin Mini up seriously. This Accord is basically a top-of-the-line Honda Civic, and the difference is mainly in build quality. It's a functional urban go-fer, perfect for zipping over to the store, commuting to work, or running a kid to a sports practice. I've taken it on freeway outings and it seems steady up to speeds as fast as I care to travel (say 120 to 140 km/h), with maybe some power yet to use. You can still seat 4 real-size people and get excellent fuel economy. Well-built and well-engineered car.

Unluckily, I got one that had been thrashed out by the previous owners, including some (undeclared) previous body work that turned into patchwork body paint after a couple of years.

Ugly as heck, this is cubism that only a Picasso could love.

BUT it is a great technical combination of sportiness, economy and functional features. We have hauled everything from firewood logs to sheep manure in ours (sometimes there are benefits to having a car that is beyond caring about... you get to treat it like a pick-up truck). My wife's used it to cross-town commute and shop daily, and she finds it a pleasure to drive and park. It's really regretable that hatchbacks are going out of vogue over here.

I notice from other examples around that if cared-for meticulously, the bodies stay sound. If not, by now the mid-80s Hondas are looking pretty bad... poor steel in Japan just then, or what?

If I'd obtained a good clean example, I'd probably keep it, despite its chumpy looks. As I didn't, I'm fulfilling my mid-life crisis with a Golf GTI.

Prospective purchasers, watch for rust. If the bodywork is really clean, you can probably deal with the mechanical problems affordably enough. But if the metal's going, give it a pass.

I have a 84 Honda accord hatchback and I love it. It's fun to drive, but it needs more power what is the best way to get more power out of it.

Just drive it harder, it's only slow if you change gears at low rpm's; revv it to around 6 with your foot on the floor and you will notice a difference.