2017 Annual Mileage Summary & Kai’s 1989 Honda Accord SE-i Coupe
Odometer (Legend): 557,697
Odometer (Accord): 42,757
Put on your thinking caps and pay attention, class. It’s that time once again: Let’s take a quick glance at how the mileage numbers played out for 2017. Year over year, overall miles were down by a long shot: 43,000 this year compared to 58,000 in 2016. Keep in mind, though, that 9,000 of those miles in 2016 were attributed to the Alaska trip.
The most expensive car to keep on the road was the Integra at $0.30 per mile. Looking back at my maintenance records, the work done was extensive: radiator, A/C repair, tires, windshield, and other items brought the tally to over $2,000 spent to go about 7,400 miles. Hopefully though (crossing fingers here) I’ve now addressed most of the big-ticket items and the car will be trouble free with lower operating costs going forward.
The TL, of course, is now sold but I included its mileage here since I did log about 5,000 miles on it during my 6 months of ownership. So there you have it. Microsoft Excel is a beautiful invention. Oh, and yesterday I put a few miles on my Honda lawnmower. Here in Phoenix, we get our Fall season in January.
The rest of today’s updates won’t have a lot of rhyme nor reason but will rather be a collection of pictures from recent events. It was a pretty low key holiday season for me. A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of having Hagerty’s Aaron McKenzie and his wife in my home. My guest book is now on page 18, filled with noteworthy people who have paid me a visit. Maybe some of you readers will sign in this year?
I played transporter for a couple of friends who needed a ride to Tucson from Phoenix the week before Christmas. They were big guys – and we were in the Integra! I would have selected a different car, had I known!
It seemed like my coworker Jack and I were the only ones at the office in the days leading up to that holiday weekend. If you squint your eyes and look very closely, you’ll see his RSX and my Integra tucked into a corner of the parking garage at work.
I headed out toward Utah on Friday afternoon, December 22nd and traffic was luckily pretty light.
Someone was feeling mischievous and reorganized the letters on the marquee sign at the Mobil gas station in Kingman. It used to say “DOG PARK.”
Speaking of signs, this classic at Larsen’s Frostop in my hometown of St. George, Utah has been a local landmark for many decades.
Checking out a pretty posh piece of property near my brother’s new place.
Family dinner and gift-giving activities at my brother’s place on 12/23.
Admiring some of the clever work of the Arizona Department of Transportation along Interstate 15 southbound.
My roommate James road-tested a Honda Civic Type-R for 7 days.
We took it over to the Scottsdale Pavilions car show and it drew a lot of attention. It was a truly engaging performance machine – abundant power, great gearbox, tight handling. Its demeanor makes for a perfect canyon cruiser or weekend toy, but it’s not something I could see myself driving on a daily basis. The styling is a bit of a turnoff except for the interior. It had the most amazing red bucket seats.
I celebrated my 36th birthday. It’s always fun to look back at old pics, like this one from my 5th. Stripes for days!
Here’s one taken with my dad. Was that a steering wheel in front of me? Perhaps!
Friends really spoiled me. There were plenty of references to my favorite things, like movies from the 1980s.
My niece and nephews put together a banner for me.
And I had a night out with friends.
I’ve had 2 Legendary visitors in recent weeks, including Sanjay in a 1993 Legend L.
And Mirel in a 1993 Legend LS.
My cousin Chad and his wife Miranda visited and borrowed the Vigor for 4 days to get around.
I got to drop them off at the Scottsdale airport in class & style.
This was the whole family flying out on my uncle’s company’s private jet.
It wasn’t a HondaJet, but I still thought it was pretty cool. For $13 million though. Yikes.
And the last feature of the day: This is my friend Kai who came home to Arizona for the holidays and found himself a project car.
That car is this 1989 Honda Accord, which doesn’t look like anything too special, but does have a very unique story. It was purchased new in Hawaii in May 1989 and lived there for 7 years before coming to Arizona. It has only about 42,800 miles on it and was owned by only one person before Kai picked it up from a craigslist ad in Tucson.
Here’s a short and very amateur walkaround video showing how nice of shape it’s in for being nearly 30 years old.
Kai left the car with me to take care of it since he had to fly home to Michigan. I took it out for a quick cruise on Saturday morning.
Really nice interior.
Pop-up headlights all around!
I created a display document to go on my wheelstand.
Kai even has a copy of the check written for $19,000 when the car was new.
That brings us up to speed! I hope everyone had a great weekend!
drivetofive 
January 7, 2018 at 7:56 pm
That Accord is super clean! Most of those by now are usually pretty beat up. Is the Integra now your daily driver? Or do you mix driving between all the other cars? I’ll be in Phoenix and northern AZ for a few days during the first week of March, would love to visit you and sign that guestbook!
January 8, 2018 at 7:10 am
I’m mostly driving the Integra. It’s been a fun ‘daily’ and I don’t worry too much about it. Yes – come on down in March! I have a guest room with your name on it, if you need it. Keep me posted on your schedule. Looking forward to catching up.
January 7, 2018 at 11:48 pm
Kai must be pretty happy with his purchase, the condition that the Accord is in is amazing! Happy bleated Birthday, by the way. Good to see the Legend coupe at the top of the mileage list too – what car in the fleet are you expecting to use the most in 2018?
January 8, 2018 at 7:11 am
That’s a good question, Adam. The ILX is being driven by my brother right now so I don’t know how much use it will see. I am also looking to potentially expand the fleet by 1 car, so that could mean some changes as well. As of right now it looks like the Legend coupe and the Integra will probably be 50/50 for who gets the most miles in 2018.
January 8, 2018 at 3:15 pm
My love for that SE-i cannot be overstated. Thanks so much for the great photos and video! Here’s a link to the original brochure: http://www.89accord.com/broch.htm, if Kai hasn’t seen it (I still have it hanging on my wall!). The dealer price on that car is breathtaking, being the inflation-adjusted equivalent to $47,746 today! We had family friends who bought a new LX-i 5-speed coupe in 1989, and that stickered for under $15k. If Kai changes his mind on keeping it… 😉
January 8, 2018 at 3:31 pm
Too funny, I actually came across that website with the brochure scans when Kai was at my house before he flew back to Michigan. I was showing him how we need to get on Ebay and get our hands on a brochure that can go with the car. I’m alllll about that original kind of paperwork! Yikes on that inflation dollar amount! Wish you were coming out this month for Barrett-Jackson. If I see anything good there, I’ll snag it for ya 😉
January 8, 2018 at 9:08 pm
I’d be happy to scan it in high res to tide you fellas over, if desired. That car really is the 3G holy grail, rear discs and all. 120 hp was tops!
Thanks Tyson, I haven’t heard of anyone from the office discussing plans to go, so I’m guessing Jeff may be handling everything solo this year. C’est la vie. Surely you’ll see plenty of familiar faces- have fun!
January 8, 2018 at 9:17 pm
Thanks Mark! Will do. Sorry we’ll miss you at the auctions. Let’s try and connect some other time in 2018! As for a scan of the brochure…. maybe just scan one or two pics for us! Something that could be printed up and included in Kai’s maintenance binder in an 8×10 with a sheet protector. Would be sweet.
January 8, 2018 at 10:09 pm
That Accord is getting a lot of attention. Man put the Type R and that in a room together and it would be Type what? Look at this Accord. haha That private plane though, we will never know true life of the rich and famous.
January 9, 2018 at 6:13 am
I know, it’s all about that Accord! We should have snatched up that $1,400 1989 White LX sedan last week and joined the Kool Kids Klub. Oh wait, those initials are KKK so we can’t use that. But you get the idea. Bring on the RC-F.
January 9, 2018 at 7:01 am
So much good content here. Happy New Year! Nothing like a well preserved Accord like that. Glad these are still around. I’m especially impressed with the original check copy! Congrats on the bro’s new digs. Is that the place where you parked the Teggy inside a few posts ago? lol
January 9, 2018 at 7:03 am
Yes, his living room was my parking spot! Except, it’s undergoing some renovation at the moment so our Christmas festivities were actually held in his ‘old’ house which hasn’t been listed for sale yet. Happy New Year to you as well. Let’s get our first 2018 drive on the calendar soon….
January 9, 2018 at 8:26 am
I really enjoyed the year-end post… although I had to laugh when you remarked that you drove “only” 43,000 miles this year. Really liked that Larsen’s Frostop sigh- all those bits of Americana are sadly being lost to corporate signage.
Loved that Accord. My inner 80’s child was smiling while looking at those photos!
January 9, 2018 at 8:29 am
I’ll have to dig up a photo for you. In 2003, when I returned home from my 2-year mission for the LDS/Mormon church, my mom had asked the owners of Frostop to put “WELCOME HOME ELDER HUGIE” on the marquee. They did! And I have a 15 year old photo of me standing in front of it. Haha. Looking forward to your year end post soon 🙂
January 9, 2018 at 8:50 am
That ‘89 SE-i is a beaut! Happy belated birthday 🙂
January 9, 2018 at 8:52 am
Woot woot, thanks Brad! And Kai will appreciate that comment coming from a fellow Accord coupe owner!
January 14, 2018 at 5:35 am
I’ve given this some thought and it would be very cool if you could arrange to bring the 89SE-i, the integra and I take the 93SE along to the Future Classic Car Show. But it may be too late to register and/or get Kai’s permission.
Otherwise this has started me “thinking” again of 89 SE-i 4-drs only this time with a 5-spd (last year for that)… Now look at what you’ve done!? 😉
January 14, 2018 at 6:04 am
Darn, I should have thought to register Kai’s Accord before the deadline. He could get some great visibility over there. My guess is that there will be space available for “walk-ins” – there was an announcement a few days ago that the show has taken over an entire additional floor of the parking garage. I emailed my contact at ClassicCars.com and copied you, just for the heck of it. If he says there’s a lot of room, you may still want to some. Meanwhile I’ll start keeping an eye out for an ’89 SE-i sedan 5-speed 🙂 Off to Tempe to run the Rock & Roll Half-Marathon with mom now! Wish us luck!
January 14, 2018 at 6:08 am
Thanks…
I’ll be rooting for you guys
January 14, 2018 at 12:11 pm
I still have not ever seen The Goonies movie or visited Astoria. ;-(
January 14, 2018 at 2:08 pm
It’s definitely a movie worth watching. How old are you? As a child from the 1980s it’s something I relate to on a lot of levels!
January 17, 2018 at 11:41 am
Hmmm… NSX on .06 per mile – not bad for a supercar… 😉
January 17, 2018 at 12:02 pm
Haha, I know! Economy car status. I should drive it more, I guess.