I'm currently looking at buying an Integra. I've narrowed my search down to two but I'm undecided on which one to get. Both guys are asking $3500 firm - Which one would you guys go with?

One is a 95 LS with only 63K original miles and is in mint condition. Mods: Form and Function Type1 Coilovers, 16" Rota GT3's





The other is a 97 GSR with 164K miles and is in pretty good condition. This only major flaw is a rip in the seat and a bad VTEC solenoid. The guy has the stock rims too. Stock suspension & stock exhaust.

 

Man that's tough. Here's how I see it.

The 95 LS clearly has the advantage on miles, however has an LS motor.
The 97 GSR clearly has the better motor (well not currently as the vtec solenoid is broken, but my understanding is that's a relatively easy fix) however has some more miles on it for sure.

Maintenance records can tell you a lot; if the guy with the gsr has a stack that says he's been keeping up with things then I wouldn't worry as much about the motor; on the flip side, if the guy with the LS doesn't have any records then 64k miles could just mean he hasn't driven it a ton, not that he necessarily took great care of it.

What are you goals? If you're just looking for a fun daily commuter that's reliable, go with the LS. Planning on a high revving vtec n/a build? gotta go with the geeser. Gonna make big power & boost it? LS is good enough. You gotta ask yourself what your plans are, and how long you're thinking about keeping the car. Also what's your ability to absorb the cost when **** breaks; more than likely the gsr is gonna break more often than the LS, being that it's got 100k more miles on it & is already showing signs of breakage (vtec solenoid).

Know this, coming from a guy that just picked up a gsr with 150k on the clock, if the suspension's still original the shocks are probably gonna need replacement soon if they're not already blown.

 

The white GSR. Even though the red one does have lesser miles, cars like that will usually have an obvious reason for the low mileage. In other words, it probably was wrecked and have been sitting in someone's backyard for years. Just because it has shitty F&F suspension and some lame ROTAs, it doesn't mean it's worth the money he's asking for. The car is worth $2500 tops, as-is.

 

gsr no question about it.<br />i'd be more concerned about replacing suspension bushings and motor mounts than shocks.<br />new shocks at 350k miles didnt make much difference to me<br />but new mounts and bushings and holy moses it's like a new car.<br />164k is a just about broken in motor lol.<br />grab that bad boy asap! 8)