I'm looking at buying a 1993 Acura Integra DA. The car is clean with 193,000 miles. It is bone stock and unmolested. Heres what he told me about it:
-not molested or modded
-no rust
-re-painted
-power windows, locks, roof
-p/s without belt
-new control arms and ball joints
-newer timing belt/water pump
-doesn't burn or leak oil
-only mods are short shifter and lowered on front coilovers and rear springs
-tinted windows, taillights and corners

It bluebooks at about $1600 in excellent condition, and i figure it is worth maybe $18 or $1900. Tell me what you guys think. Thanks in advance

heres a few pics:

 

how much is he asking?

 

How can you say its bone stock? Anyway I wouldn't pay more then 2k.

 

X2. $2K is (my) standard rule on any good running OLD used car. All OEM.

However, it has mods, and not exactly "good" condition in appearance. It makes me think the car may have been driven hard during the senior years. So I would say $1,600 max because Hondas (integra) generally commands more in the used market. So I would pay the higher end of the book.

 

i would first lowball him at like 1300 tell him it isn't worth what he is asking then mauybe negotiate up to like 1600

 

he was asking 2700 obo on his craigslist ad and i know thats way too high. I dont want to low ball him too bad though. His words were bone stock, and i think its pretty stock myself, not that many mods. What do you mean its not in good condition based on the appearance? it seems pretty good to me. And what signs make you think it was driven hard? thanks for all the info again, it really helps

 

No rust???

Am I seeing things or is that rust at the back of the pass. side rear wheel arch, very common on G2s.

Definitely not "bone stock and unmolested, and by the look of the drivers floor mat, either the driver has steel heeled boots or there has been a lot of hard shifting and braking.

I would have a mechanic go over it before I would offer a dime for it. 94

 

I havent seen any rust, but maybe youre right and its just hard for me to tell. If thats all the rust there is, im fine with it. I mean, im only spending a little less than 2k. I will have it looked over too. What are some things i can check for my self that are fairly common? and the floor mat is 193k miles old, could it just be the age, or is it most likely hard braking and shifting?

 

Driven hard? Any car that is lowered most likely have been driven hard. Cornered hard. The fact that it's an old car, means that it's the 3rd-4th owner. Guy brought it used, so it's ok to beat it. Didn't pay much for it, so who cares.

Painted stock (alloy) wheels? That tells me it was some high school kid that didn't have the cash for gun metal rims. So rattle can paint job will do.

Stickers?? Non OEM gear shift ****?

There are a few things I would look for off the bat about appearance that tells me a lot about the car. (Just like people).

How clean on the inside and out tells me how well the car is kept. How well the owner value it. Let's not overlook the missing parts such as exhaust tip and emblem(s). "Acura" and "GS-R." (I assume it's a GS-R).

Notice I used the people analogy. I could be wrong. This car could be mechancially perfect. The owner is a gearhead and not really an appearance guy. Like people, isn't that how we judge? Appearance tells us a lot. There are the exceptions, but it's mostly right, right?

To say something good, the seats looks pretty good for a 17 year old car. Cloth seats don't normally stand up that well.

In no way am I saying not to buy this car (based on the info you presented). I would (if price is on the cheap). We are talking about your offering price here.

 

^^^yes you assume to much. What makes you think its a gs-r? Its not. Its a gs. First the interior is not gsr and the cluster redlines at 6800 rpm. The gs and gsr had the same wheels. But I would pay 300-500 more just cuz of the tail lights lol

 

You are right. But when it comes to $$$$ and used cars, it's better to assume too much.

 

^^ lol very true
My first car 8 years ago was a 93 red gs with 125K on it. Very clean. Paid 2800 for it.

 

yeah, its not a gsr. its an ls. maybe a gs but idk how to tell the difference between gs, ls and rs. but based on what this guy is saying, i dont believe it was him who modded it. i think he really believes it was unmolested, so i think he left it as he bought it. i dont think its a pile of crap, but for sure it will need some work. but back to the point... what would you offer for it? $2000 or a little less? thanks again guys

 

^rs doesnt come with sunroof,

I'd pay $1500-1700 max.

 

Cool, good info guys. Any suggestions on talking him down? (sorry for all the questions, im 17 and new to this) hes at 2700 obo right now and i think im the only one interested in it.

 

yeah, tell him it's a da integra, nearly 200k miles, and there's a metal mulitia sticker on it. that should drop it to about 1500 for you, you're welcome

 

First thing I would check is for rust, start by checking the rear wheel arches that' where it begins on G2s and 3s, reach inside the arch and pull off the edge, [lip] trim, [it comes off easy] see if there is any lip left, have a look under the car, how rusty are things under there, [suspension components and so on].
Check the engine bay, how clean is it, any mods under the hood?

A sure sign of a hard driven car is a floor mat that is well worn at the heel locations.

Although appearance can tell you a lot about a car, it is not foolproof, I have seen more then a few cars that looked "mint" but have many problems, and as mentioned, a car that looks like chit may be perfect in all other ways, good mechanics tend to be slobs, then you have the guys that are **** about how their car looks, but will skip oil changes and other maintenance items.

Do a little homework, check your area/state for prices of other 93 Integra's, and before you hand over any cash have a mechanic go over it so you can get an idea of how much you will need to spend on it right away to make it safe and reliable, [even if that is not more then $200-$300] at least you can knock the cost of that off his price, [along with the cost to the mechanic to do a good inspection, probably $100] that would be $300-$400.

Even spending $100 for the mechanic and not ending up with the car is still better then buying the car to find out you need to spend $2500 to make it "safe and reliable". 94

 

haha metal mulitia. yeah i might just print out this tread and show it to him. thanks guys. i have a mechanic that will look it over for free, he always diagnoses my families cars and looks at the new ones for free.

 

Even better, it's still worth $100 off the price, last ditch, ask him to pay for the inspection and it's a deal, he doesn't have to know it was free. 94

 

haha good thinking. im gunna say people on the forums said it was work about $1600, and that i would be willing to pay 1800. Depending on the in person condition.

 

car looks like its worth a g thats it i got a 90 da with a 92-93 front end jdm headlights hids lowered tokiko blues on neuspeed springs b & m short shifter 142k original motor clean title my highest offer was 14 hun man NO RUST gotta love cali da's jus arent worth much now days(IMO)

 

ahahaha. you old sheister!
personally, if i were selling a car, i would never deduct the cost of having the car looked over. i mean, hell, it's not my fault if the guy doesn't know what he's looking at.
but, yes. for him to be out 100$ for peace of mind is certainly worth it.
what's that saying? "a bird in the hand is worth 3 in the air"?

the thing i love is when people come in for the "post-buy inspection"

 

i payed 2700 for a da just as clean with a gsr swap and 1pcs with a recent oem rebuild. Try using that as some negotiating words lol

 

oh and as for any sort of appraisal, it's pretty hard to say without seeing it personally. i mean, rust is the determining factor, IMO. and, especially being that it has recently been panted, you'd have to get it up and have a good look underneath.

 

oh and the way to tell if it's a gs? only gs' have abs