All_Honda

Hi Guys-

I just got a used 2001 4-door LX and had some questions.

I got the car incredibly cheap, but the caveat is that the car is in a "bad way" cosmetically. My cousin sold me the car for a steal because her moronic son decided to do all sorts of "modifications". To give you an idea of how much he monkeyed with it, the whole elbow compartment is full of OEM nuts/bolts/screws that he decided werent important enough to put back in after his modifications. Everythign from the dash to the doors has been tampered with and is now loose. Even things like the trunk release housing is loose.

Mechnically the car is fine. Thank god, he was smart enough to realize that engine bits was beyond his monkey skills. But everything easily modifiable has been jackassed.. stereo, lights,..ugh..

So now Im stuck with the aftermath of having to go through each section of the interior and re-fasten what I can.

Ok, thats the first part. The second part is the exterior. He essentially took a can of Krylon to 70% of the body. Im not kidding. So now Im looking at a whole paint job plus the fact that he used some type of cleaner (acetone or thinner) on the headlamps causing the plastic to cloud a nice opaque white.

Let me again say I got the car very very very cheap. I could sink 3-5 thousand and still sell it for a profit based on what I've seen it sell for on AutoTrader.

But Im cheap and this is where Im hoping you guys can help. The interior seems like something I could handle, but it sounds like a huge pain in the ***. Are there any type of shops in the San Diego, CA area that might be able to just go through it for me and refasten the bolts? I cant see this being completely inexpensive but it's something I'd like to price just to see if it's reasonable.

The second thing I would like done is the paint. I mean, professional. Im willing to spend the money on a quality job, but Im not sure what/how/where to go about it. I havent the faintest idea what constitutes a good paint job and what I should be asking for. Any assistance here would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks.

Heat

The first thing I would do if I were you would be to pick up either a Haynes manual, or a set of shop manuals for the car. Next, identify any parts that it looks like he messed with and then take those apart and put them back together. Better yet, since you know the previous owner, just bring him over (or take the car to him) and say "OK now, tell me exactly what you did to the car". If you need new fasteners, bolts, etc, they aren't too expensive at the dealer's parts window.

As for the paint... I don't know.

jeeeezy

i have parts for your vehicle that should be in better condition than the condition that kid left your car in, i have stock headlights and grills if that helps? did he tampered with the car's body? if so, just replace it with bodykits, i have bodykits for the vehicle, bodykits will set a higher value on the car since your thinking about resaling it...let me know what you need to replace, i have parts for 98-2002 accord...

BLKFLSH

Body kits will not increase the value of a car. When someone sees a car with a body kit for sale, they figure they are getting what this guy just bought (a car that's been constantly jacked with). Unless they are oem parts, they decrease the value of the car.

imjdoggie

Dude just go to a MAACO or some place like that get a $200 paint job, do all the little things then sell it for a car that has not been monkeyed with.