While my tranny in my jetta is broken I've been looking for a new car. I stumbled upon a 1994 Integra GSR with 100K for $2500. The guy is the second owner, and he bought it from his friend who was the original owner. Has most if not all of the maintenance/service records and says it's never really had a problem.

The price seems low to me, what do you all think? Any specific things to look at before buying it? Im planning on taking it to a mechanic but if there's something to look out for before even getting to that step I'd like to know.

Thanks in advance.

 

Thats a steal. unless it's a salvage title.

 

yea that's why im a little weary of this whole thing, the price is really low.

stupid trial lol:

is there a known problem with headgaskets, compression? how hard/easy are these cars to work on. How expensive are the parts? Are they reliable?

I do just about all of my own work on my 1994 2.0 Jetta, and the parts are really cheap and plentiful at the junkyard so I keep my car running.



Modified by Gibson5469 at 9:21 PM 3/6/2007

 

If possible, check compression and run a carfax. If all is well, ****** it up.

 

well parts will be a whole lot easier to find then parts for your VW. thats for sure. and as far as the easy factor, my brothers a retard and he works on them with his eyes closed. On top of that these cars are great fun to drive.

if you want to see if theres a head gasket problem just check the dip stick and see if theres any coolant in it. if not then you should be good. But over all it's best to take the car for a spin and beat the crap out of it. because some problems only occur during high RPMS and make sure the tranny doesn't grind. And if you get to do a compression test on it it should be anywhere from 180 to 220 across the the board.

 

are these reliable cars?

any known problems? common little quirks? anything specific I should tell the shop I bring it to, to look at?

 

yes, very reliable if left stock

 

that plan is to keep it stock. probably an intake, and maybe an exhaust. im going away to college in 5 months so nothing major will happen to this car.

 

The new consumer reports voted VW as one of the LEAST reliable cars for the last 10 years and HONDA the most reliable cars for the last 10 years so that should answer that.

For 2500.00 if it looks clean you could part it out for more than that so if you drive it until yours is fixed then you could still get your money out of it.

Sell the VW stick money into the GSR and you will make a wise decision.

 

let's just say my car has 145k on it....and only thing i've ever had to change was my clutch..because of the way i drive. and it sees redline on a daily basis.

 

yeah. but watch that. i baught a 95 LS for 3250 and the tranny has a hell of a grind, i was told by my mechanic that i need a new one so just make sure you give it a good going over before you commit to anything.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sauceja &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The new consumer reports voted VW as one of the LEAST reliable cars for the last 10 years and HONDA the most reliable cars for the last 10 years so that should answer that.

For 2500.00 if it looks clean you could part it out for more than that so if you drive it until yours is fixed then you could still get your money out of it.

Sell the VW stick money into the GSR and you will make a wise decision.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yea I was thinking about that too. how much is a b18c1 swap selling for these days?

can't post again because of the trial :

Yea that's what Im thinking, the price is really really low. If it needs any work really I might not be able to get it. I only have about $3k in the bank right now, and I don't want to run my account dry. Did that with my Jetta and it took a while to recover from that.

Anything specific to ask the shop to take a look at? Im about to call.


Modified by Gibson5469 at 4:35 AM 3/7/2007

 

Alot. For an engine/tranny, you can buy em from websites for $2500.00+. But yoiu can get em in forums and local sales for a good bit less than that.


I was in the same boat as you man..Wondering the same things abotu reliability and whatnot when I was looking for a new(er) car. You can't touch Honda's reliability and the GSR is an absolute blast to drive, even stock.
Plus there's so much you can do to make it look really realy nice, since you've got such a good platform to start on.

ANd for $2500.00 for a GSR w/100k? Go buy it NOW! That's an incredible steal. I paid $4200.00 for mine and it needed lots of work :S

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Gibson5469 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

yea I was thinking about that too. how much is a b18c1 swap selling for these days?

can't post again because of the trial :

Yea that's what Im thinking, the price is really really low. If it needs any work really I might not be able to get it. I only have about $3k in the bank right now, and I don't want to run my account dry. Did that with my Jetta and it took a while to recover from that.

Anything specific to ask the shop to take a look at? Im about to call.


Modified by Gibson5469 at 4:35 AM 3/7/2007</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have a 94 gsr that I bought with 112k on the motor about 7 years ago! The car currently has 194k on it and it still runs great! Haven't had to replace anything, except for the common cam seal oil leak, which is only a $30 or less job! Ask the shop to do a compression test, and have them just do a basic look over; (axles, brakes, cleanliness of the fluids, belts, etc). I'd buy it for $2500!!!! Can't go wrong

 

that is a steal man ****. Way better then any Vee dub. The vW probably was in the garage way more than the GS-R will ever be!

 

wow if that gsr is in good shape thats a killer deal. acuras/hondas are very reliable when not modded and properly taken care of.

 

I have a 95 with over 202k miles on it, and it still runs great. There haven't been any problems with the drivetrain at all (knock on wood), but there were a few items that I needed to fix/replace somewhere after 100k. Also, the car has had basic bolt on mods and cam gears since 1996.

oem radiator end cap started leaking a bit. car didn't overheat or anything, but put in a new radiator for about $110.

new tie rod ends, about $25-$30 a side. had it done when I went to get an alignment.

new brake master cylinder - $85 + core, did it myself

new clutch master cylinder (look for goop in the drivers footwell) - $70 plus core, did it myself.

cam plug leaked. I just got an aluminum one for $10 and put it in, and its been fine since.

Oilpump main seal - did it when the timing belt was done.

thermostat - did it when the timing belt was done.


This time around, I need to finally replace the oem axles (at 202k miles), and the upper and lower radiator hoses, since the upper one shows signs of dripping on the trans case.

 

Sounds like a great deal. I'd pick it up if I ran across something like that.

 

own and love both like i doo

 

What is the sellers number. I will call him and go take a look at it for you. (as I count how much cash I have) lol

I paid 1800.00 for a mint longblock with wire harness but only needed the shortblock and after parting I have a mint shortblock for less than 550.00.

So if you look around.

Seriously though if you have to replace the motor. H2B is the way to go.
Or you could go ls/vtec as an option or CR-VTEC is another one.

There are so many possibilites with hondas that you can damn near put anything in em and make it work.

I wouldn't buy anything else for reliability or tinkering.

 

had to make a new account, trial period suckssss and I posted 5 times today.

I got a real good look at the car today, there is some bad rust around the rear wheel wells and some starting on the doors . Also noticed an oil leak, and it was quite a bit and fresh oil.

Took it for a drive too, wow, I was blown away. I guess coming from a 100hp VW Jetta this is like a race car but even my friend who owns a 1998 Integra LS was in awe.

Pictures:
Oil leak on passenger side of head (common cam seal failure?)



Rest of the car, and it's rust Im bringing it to a shop on friday and we'll go from there. I really don't want to pay $2500 with all of this rust.




Modified by brokevw at 5:27 PM 3/7/2007

 

any word on the leak? opinions on the price vs. rust and oil leak?

 

that looks like your typical cam seal leak..20 dollar fix :-D

 

yeah it looks like cam seal leaking down.


here is a quick search for the the item. I havent had a problem with my cam seal yet, but people have said that golden eagle cam seal works great.

http://www.modacar.com/Merchan...tegra

 

That is the notorious cam seal leak. You should do it yourself, probably $10 at the dealer. Remove the plug wires, valve cover, and the end cam cap. Bam. Install in reverse.

Things to look for:
At 100k, the timing belt, water pump and tensioner should all have been replaced, or should be very soon. The motors are interference design. Broken belt = Bent valves or worse.

When you drove it, did you really rev it high? Most people who've never driven a Vtec engined car only rev it to 4-5000 rpm, just out of instinct. I guess what I'm getting at, is make sure to rev it to redline before you buy. It should pull hard all the way there, and should not run out of steam before 8k. It also should not throw any CEL's.

Parts are readily available for these cars, however it will not be as easy as bone yard shoppingn for your vw. The parts on these cars are fairly desirable, and easily retrofitted to lower trim level Integras and Civics. While that is all good and well, most boneyard chassis are rapidly picked clean. That also tends to make these cars a bit of a theft magnet.

The rust on that rear wheel well looks bad, but still repairable. I would try to talk him down some, especially if the timing belt etc. has not been serviced. While I wouldn' t hesitate to do it myself, that can be rather expensive to pay someone to do.

All in all, I don't think It is bad at all. The rust sucks, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy it if I saw it somewhere at that price. Good luck with it.

Cliff notes: Once upon a time... I asked basic questions at Vortex, and got answers.