Jonathan Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 Hi everyone, new member here introducing you to my '98 Accord coupe. It's great to read the posts and see the photos and you seem to enjoy a story, so here's mine. My Mk5 Golf died suddenly last February breaking my heart not mention my wallet having just put a new clutch in. Traumatised by the loss of three Golfs in a row, my plan was to pick up something Japanese for £2-3k and the first advert I saw late one night was this charming motor priced at £1500. Leather interior, automatic, low mileage, quirky, what more could I ask for? Called the number the next day and he'd sold it already. I was gutted and ended up buying a 2015 Toyota Auris, but kept browsing Facebook for anything interesting. Fast forward to August and the Honda appeared for sale again here in Belfast. The seller listed it for £1800 which was cheeky but I went to have a look. He was a young Chinese guy now working in London and with the car not being ULEZ friendly he was looking rid. The paperwork revealed she is originally from Chelmsford, has had 8 owners and a comprehensive service history including, to my delight, a timing belt, water pump and a few other items to the tune of £600 in December '22. I knew I had to have her and after a few days of negotiations the deal was done at £1500. She has been my daily driver since then. In October I drove down to County Kerry to see a friend. It's a 700 mile round trip and I was pretty nervous, it's a long drive in any car. On the motorway she was a delight with fuel economy to dream of compared to the urban mpg which one shouldn't dwell on in polite company ... She developed a metallic scraping sound on that trip which turned out to be brake shoes which I had seen to, followed by £500 for a caliper and other brake bits. I had an oil change done around the same time and a few weeks ago she sailed through the MOT test, which is more rigorous over here in government-run testing centres. I get admiring or curious looks every few days and fend off any potentially hostile enquiries about driving "such an old car" by pointing out that I reached the stage in life where I wanted a luxury coupe and I have one. It just happens to be 26 years old. PS Not sure if this pic is loaded or not, will check later and add more if so. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founding Member Retro Rich Posted March 28 Founding Member Report Share Posted March 28 Welcome to the forum. These are beautiful motors as many owners will testify. Having owned two myself, I feel qualified to make that judgement. You are in the right place for all advice concerning maintenance and looking after this lovely car. People that turn their noses up at the age of a car are those that secretly realise their own rubbish cars will never mature. The coupe is like a fine wine, that if looked after grows better with age. Look after it, be proud and enjoy it! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founding Member PaulS Posted March 28 Founding Member Report Share Posted March 28 Welcome to the club. Yes, you are in the right place to share your trials and tribulations and there is plenty of support & advice for these motors on this forum. Long may your new joy run smoothly and cheaply!! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PTR200S Posted March 28 Moderators Report Share Posted March 28 Welcome from over the water here, too ! That looks great ! Brilliant journey story to ownership 😃 Look forward to more adventures in your new steed ! Did you have a long wait to get an mot ????? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Site Subscriber’s Josh98 Posted March 28 Site Subscriber’s Report Share Posted March 28 Welcome mate! Your coupe looks in fantastic condition 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry93 Posted March 29 Report Share Posted March 29 Welcome to the forum. Nice to know these coupes are still of interest to people who can appreciate them for what they are. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators hughezee Posted March 29 Administrators Report Share Posted March 29 Welcome to the club, looks a nice motor 😃 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted March 31 Author Report Share Posted March 31 On 3/28/2024 at 3:36 PM, PTR200S said: Welcome from over the water here, too ! That looks great ! Brilliant journey story to ownership 😃 Look forward to more adventures in your new steed ! Did you have a long wait to get an mot ????? I got a cancellation at short notice, booked on a Sunday and it was on the Tuesday afternoon, although it was in Larne which is about an hour from here. They're talking about making the test every two years as they may never get a handle on the backlog. For those interested, the MOT testing centres were turned into covid testing facilities causing an initial backlog, then separately cracks were discovered in some of the lifts in the centres which are being replaced, causing more delays. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PTR200S Posted April 1 Moderators Report Share Posted April 1 I didn't realise the mot centres were turned into CV19 testing facilities !! Read about the lifts being a problem though, was that cracked mountings or the actually lift cracked ?? Well, at least you got the engine hot on the drive there !!! No probs with emissions 😂😂 Are the mot centres government run operations or are they licensed out to private operators ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Laird_Scooby Posted April 3 Moderators Report Share Posted April 3 Welcome aboard Jonathan! Nice to see another one saved! It's the NCT over there i believe? More rigorous than our MoT and only available through govt places? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted April 3 Report Share Posted April 3 Welcome to the Forum Jonathan ! What a beauty you have found yourself and at a cracking price ! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted April 3 Author Report Share Posted April 3 On 4/1/2024 at 6:53 AM, PTR200S said: I didn't realise the mot centres were turned into CV19 testing facilities !! Read about the lifts being a problem though, was that cracked mountings or the actually lift cracked ?? Well, at least you got the engine hot on the drive there !!! No probs with emissions 😂😂 Are the mot centres government run operations or are they licensed out to private operators ? Government run naturally! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted April 3 Author Report Share Posted April 3 10 hours ago, Laird_Scooby said: Welcome aboard Jonathan! Nice to see another one saved! It's the NCT over there i believe? More rigorous than our MoT and only available through govt places? NCT is Republic of Ireland not Norn Ireland 🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Laird_Scooby Posted April 3 Moderators Report Share Posted April 3 5 minutes ago, Jonathan said: NCT is Republic of Ireland not Norn Ireland Hmmmm, interesting......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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