My Accord lived through another Buffalo winter

[Corey Bit Spank]

This car is getting ancient. 1997 Accord. 133,000 miles. I`ve managed to keep my mileage/year low by riding my bike nearly everywhere from late March to mid November.



5OCT2007:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2230/1492297914_529f7535e5.jpg

Clay barred, fresh coat of Klasse All-In-One cleaner/Sealant Glaze (1:3). Ready for winter.



coping (7FEB2008):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2242/2247031921_e52bb7a61a.jpg





Seven months later. I`ve never gone this long without waxing my car. I had a really busy semester, and then it got warm enough to bike and I just didn`t care about having a clean car (well, if I can bike, I actually don`t care about having a car). Surprisingly the sealant was still there somewhat, and the paint was in good condition. Smooth, but dry feeling. It wasn`t too scratched up, although there were some scuffs from snowboard bags being on the trunk. I took it through the LASER WASH OMG LAAAAAASER WASH 4 or 5 times. This proved to be a stupid idea, as the pressurized water seems to have increased the rate at which my car disintegrates into Buffalo even faster. Poor chap.



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The rust. This is actually on the side of the car that Carruba Collision so delicately replaced the doors after an accident. They didn`t replace them with doors of similar condition. They actually applied some sort of caulk which they later painted over on top of the rusted seam. This proved to be adequate before I started taking the car to the Laser Wash and the pressurized water entered the seams. The other rear door has some rust in this section, but the front door is original and has zero rust. The rear quarter panels are still rust free for now. Yay Honda.



http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2402/2488448310_a16104d733.jpg



After a little clay bar, which didn`t prove to be effective and was actually quite harsh on the delicate paint at this edge (not really the best place to get aggressive with anything), I hand polished this section with some Pinnacle Advanced Swirl remover. It`s a hot oily mess of a polish, just what I needed to polish the rust off without harming the paint underneath too much.



http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2323/2488449218_58ca88b0c8.jpg



So then I detailed the rest of the car.



NXT wash, microfiber chenille wash mit



Wheels cleaned, generic cleaner, various brushes, wash mitt



Clay bar, Mothers



Polish, Cyclo Polisher, yellow pads. Menzerna FP II (I had some more serious scratches and scuffs that FPII couldn`t take out, but I decided it was not worth it to keep polishing my paint the way I did when I was young and ignorant)



Klasse AIO/SG (1:4), Cyclo Polisher, white pads. This combo works really well for me, and it`s the most durable combination I`ve put on my paint. I like the look of a carnauba, but durability is more important. Especially since I plan to bike my summer away. The only time I plan to drive my car is when I have to run errands for Journey`s End, so at least the refugees will have a shiny car to go places in. :P



Meguiars #40 on the tires, trim. I like #40.



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I think I may be getting a new car at the end of the summer. I don`t love this car, and it`s certainly not anything special. That`s the problem. It`s too sensible.

[Jscort98]

car looks really good. nice job fixing that rust too.

[Bigpoppa3346]

Not bad at all for an 11 year old car. :)



Funny you should mention Carruba Collision, I just detailed a car that had work done by them at some pount, and the bottom of the doors that they worked on had rust just like that. The other doors were fine.

[Corey Bit Spank]

Do you post on nyspeed.com? You can problem get a lot of customers there if you`re good. :)



That`s how I used to do it.

[Corey Bit Spank]

and another.



before (OCT 2008):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2045/2953086708_4bbba6f51c.jpg



coping (DEC 2008)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/3128823918_fc6ec8b619.jpg



after (June 2009)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2431/3550354028_66b7aa4172.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3580/3549553713_a04b197f5d.jpg



Still tight. Still getting good gas mileage. Still enjoyable to drive.



#16 goodness.

[Scottwax]

Still looking good. :)



Loved my `90 Accord and my son loves his `97 Accord coupe.

[Setec Astronomy]

Corey! Great to see you, man.

[Bostonsfavson]

Got some Buffalonians in here, I like it! Car looks good Corey.

[Corey Bit Spank]

Corey! Great to see you, man.



There are so many more acronyms. And people foam gunning. And acronyms...



I`ve been busy graduating/planning for grad school. Hopefully will be working with a battery scientist toward a Ph.D.



Scott, I remember your Accord!



And yes, Buffalo!

[Setec Astronomy]

Cool, we need more battery scientists!

[jibnayman]

nice car looks great if i didn`t know about cars i wouldn`t think its a 97 :xyxthumbs how many mpgs it get?

[ohiostate]

For an 11 year old car looks good..



If I was you I would just keep it, if you love to bike so much why waste money buying something new when it is just going to sit there...



Maybe use the money to buy a new bike ;)

[gamby]

There are so many more acronyms. And people foam gunning. And acronyms...







As a n00b, that was a real shocker for me. I`ve never seen that many acronyms in my life (and I`ve been on Honda messageboards for over 10 years).



Anyway--you should be proud of how that car looks after being pounded by all of those winters. without being garaged.

[Corey Bit Spank]

nice car looks great if i didn`t know about cars i wouldn`t think its a 97 :xyxthumbs how many mpgs it get?



I average 25mpg mixed. I also leave the roof rack on my car.



I get about 30mpg when I drive to NYC and back.



http://farm1.static.flickr.com/56/147877972_4c63de08b9.jpg

[Corey Bit Spank]

For an 11 year old car looks good..



If I was you I would just keep it, if you love to bike so much why waste money buying something new when it is just going to sit there...



Maybe use the money to buy a new bike ;)



I`ll have a bike worth more than my car! I`m surprised how well 2003+ Accords are holding their value.



I`ll likely just save up so I can purchase a used WRX with cash/without selling the Accord, then sell the Accord. This is probably going to take a year or two.