I've been reading about the common problems of the Acura Vigor, and, well, nothing seems too major. Kinda wondering why these cars were only made for a few years, but anyway....

I came across an interesting opportunity. Met someone who used to have a '96 Civic coupe just like the one I own now. Mine does have some modifications: intake/header/exhaust/suspension stuff mostly. Well, this guy owns a 1994 Acura Vigor, completely stock, seems to be well maintained, and has about 150,000mi on it. Wants to make an even trade with me, his Vigor for my Civic. My Civic has 185,000mi on it but the engine has about 60k and the transmission has about 30k. Bought my Civic with a blown engine and put in a new one about 2.5 years ago. Been running good ever since, but I'm sorta getting tired of it.

Needless to say I do like the Vigor, a lot. Clean interior and everything works. The body looks straight for the most part and I dig the white color, never had a white car. Testdrove it today and it runs real smooth, the auto transmission shifts nice and I couldn't really find anything wrong with it except it needs some very minor body work (front lights and grille are kinda mis-aligned). Not too keen on a used car w/ an automatic transmission but it does seem like it has been well-maintained. It's a good-running car.

I do, however, know everything about my car and its condition, and seeing as it has some modifications and labor put into it, this is a very hard decision.

The main reason I am considering trading my Civic for this Vigor is because I need a reliable 4-door car and this does seem like the chance to get one. My Civic is great, but it's too small. I really know nothing about Vigors, though. Does the engine/transmission hold up pretty good for atleast 200k+? BTW I am meticulous about maintenence. When I testdrove the Vigor today, I ran it all the way up in the RPM's a couple times and it felt nice and smooth the whole time; the automatic transmission also shifted quick and firmly and seemed to have no slips.

Are there any underlying problems I should be aware of with this strange inline-5cyl engine/transmission design? The car seems good, but I can't get it and have it not be reliable.

Thanks,
Andrew

 

also does it seem like a fair trade?

 

Personally, I would get a Legend instead. I just traded my Vigor for my new project, it was nice, but it wasn't all that big for interior. It's about the size of the Accords I believe. That was actually one of the flaws of the Vigor when it was new. Take it from me, my dad's 91 Legend is ALOT nicer than my previous Vigor. And parts for Vigors aren't as attainable as Legends (not just mods, but also maintenance). So all in all, save up a little more for a 91-95 Legend, it's 3.2 V6 will blow away the 2.5 5cylinder, and the sucker chirps in 2nd gear in the auto trim (my dad's, and one I test drove), which is pretty ballsy to me. Go test drive a Legend first before the decision, you'll get what I mean.

 

I would definately NOT get the vigor, those shitboxes are a pain in the *** to work on. If you do, let me offer you one bit of advice. Dont strip out the oil pan threads...those oil pans are a bitch! The passenger side drive shaft goes right thru the oil pan and eeeesh they are a pain. I would definately second the idea to get the legend, or just stick with your civic, they are nice and simple.