We’ve seen many Honda Civic wagons here on Barn Finds, but this is the first Accord Wagon shown here. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not, but here we go. The seller has this 1996 Honda Accord EX Wagon listed here on craigslist in Bellevue, Washington, and they’re asking $6,900. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Curvette for the tip!
I know, it’s just a 1990s Honda wagon, big deal, THIS ISN’T A BARN FIND!!!!!!!!! Hey, it’s 30 years old now, and they’re rare to see today, having only been offered for a few years in the U.S., at least as a Honda. You may have seen a few Acura TSX Sport Wagons, which is an odd name in that a sporty manual transmission wasn’t available, nor was AWD, which instantly doomed it from the start. At least the Honda Accord wagon could be had with Honda’s great manual transmission. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a Honda Accord wagon in the wild, years if not a decade or two.
For anyone into unusual 1990s cars, this Accord wagon would be one to have. The seller’s asking price seems reasonable for such a rarely seen car; they were only made for the 1991 to 1997 model years, at least for the U.S. market. And being a Pacific Northwest car, while rust isn’t mentioned, I have to believe that this car is as solid as it looks. Here’s what the rear cargo compartment looks like: nice and clean as expected. The Bordeaux Red color is striking, and here’s a 1996 Honda Accord brochure to check out; the wagon is shown on pages 14 and 15.
With a four-speed automatic rather than a 5-speed manual, this car loses points for Cars & Coffee duties, along with dulling some of the driving fun. But it’ll make up for that with general all-around good commuting or road trip use. The interior looks as close to new as I can imagine. Again, as a Pacific Northwest vehicle, the interior doesn’t appear to be cracked and blown out like many Southwest vehicles are by this point. Three decades is a long time for skin or interior materials when trying to ward off the relentless sun. The back seat looks new for the most part, and appears to have a decent amount of legroom, at least for a mid-sized Honda.
The engine is Honda’s F22B1, according to the VIN. The seller included an engine photo and a VIN report! 2026 is looking up again! This is a 2.2-liter SOHC inline-four with 145 horsepower and 147 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent through that four-speed automatic transmission to the front wheels, and they say this car has been well-maintained, is in excellent condition, and has cold AC. It sure looks like it. 30,000 miles ago (it has 123,355 now), it received a new timing belt, water pump, valve adjustment, spark plugs, drive belts, transmission fluid service, and a 90,000-mile maintenance. This looks like a winner to me, unless you’re looking for a 1970 Chevelle with a 454. Some of us just like to see a weird variety of somewhat old vehicles here. Would any of you daily drive this Accord wagon?
My only reservation about driving it daily would be the rare factor. I wouldn’t want to over use it and wear it out on my commutes, about 104 miles a day. I’d certainly prefer it to have the 5-speed for the joy of it.