- Collecting Car is offering a unique 'barn find' - a 1994 Honda Accord with less than 1500km on the clock.
- The car was assembled in New Zealand and was stored away for more than 20 years after its original owner passed.
- And yes - it's even a manual...
The term "barn find" is usually associated with a classic car being found after being stored away (not always in barns, but surprisingly often) for years, often in original condition.
But they are not always exotic, rare or aggressively expensive, as this "barn find" that recently surfaced on Collecting Cars New Zealand proves.
Rather than being a Ferrari or Bugatti, this barn find is a 1994 Honda Accord LXi that was assembled in New Zealand, has had two owners and shows just 1439km on the clock, essentially making it a brand new 30 year old car!
Yes, you read that right - it is essentially a brand new 1994 car, right down to the fact it is still running on its original Firestone tyres.
According to Collecting Cars New Zealand consignment manager, Jarrod Bidulph-Wall, the car was originally sold by Southland Honda to an older lady who drove it (very sparingly, it seems) until its last WOF in 2000, when it showed a whopping 1198km on the clock
When the elderly lady was no longer able to drive, the car was stored in a garage with the rego on hold until 2012 when it was allowed to lapse.
The current owner purchased the car from the woman's son in 2023 and went about the process of getting it back on the road.
"Apparently it required almost nothing and flew through compliance now with 1423 kms on it," said Bidulph-Wall.
"It even still has the original date coded Firestone tyres on it so is a genuine as new barn find car. When the car was reregistered they were even able to keep the original number plates with the car as opposed to going to the new style and numbers, which is a nice touch.
"As much as some people probably wish they had a barn find Ferrari, for the car to still be in this condition was just too good for us not to get into the hands of a new collector."
The fifth-generation Honda Accord was launched in 1993, with the Japanese and Asia Pacific model being based on the American market Accord, as opposed to the European Accord that was developed with Rover and based on the smaller Honda Ascot Innova.
The LX was the mid-spec model, sitting above the DX, but under the top-spec EX, and as such included such 90s luxuries as a Honda-branded cassette stereo, electrically operated windows and door mirrors, air conditioning and cruise control over the basic DX model, while using the same 96kW 2.2-litre engine with either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.
The EX added a more powerful 108kW VTEC version of the 2.2, anti-lock brakes (which were an option on the LX), four wheel disc brakes, a powered moonroof, 15-inch alloy wheels, driver's powered seat height adjustment and a more powerful stereo.
This particular Accord is finished in Silver Mist, with a grey velour cloth-trimmed interior that features multi-coloured seat inserts.
It rides on a set of 14-inch steel wheels fitted with Firestone Firehawk 960 tyres and plastic hubcaps, and is powered by the 2.2-litre 16-valve inline four-cylinder petrol engine that drives the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission.
The auction for the Accord is live now at www.collectingcars.com.
