I am looking for advice on purchasing a used car. anyways, here goes:

2001 Acura Integra GS
111k miles, silver, from pictures its in great condition. went and saw it, a few paint chips, and the side view mirrors are starting to peel, which i hear is common on silver tegs.

he is asking $5200, but i was able to talk him down to $4500 (perhaps too quickly..)

he is the 4th owner, and presented a clean carfax report from just before he bought it in 2007 with 60k miles.
i ran a carfax on it too, no accidents or anything and he is the 4th owner.
the car started in oregon, was in arizona for a few years, and came back up to oregon in 2007 when it was sold to current owner.

he said he recently did service at ~90k miles, said he recently bought new tires and replaced brake pads.

when i went to look at the car, it looked to be completely stock. when we test drove it, shifted strong, clutch felt good, no vibrations or weird noises, all electrical stuff was in working order, and the engine looked mint (no leaks and kept clean)

has an after market head unit and its wired for a sub, but other than that and the clear markers that replaced the ambers, all stock.

i will be moving to chicago in july, looking to leave my current car (07 TL) in oregon with family and drive the integra to chicago.

good deal?

 

If it was a GS-R I'd jump on that for $4500. For a GS, not so sure.

 

thanks for the input, i appreciate it.

also forgot to mention:
5 speed (but you can tell from pics im sure) and he said it burns about 1qt oil every 3000 miles. he took it to a mechanic, said no leaks and its "common" for older acura/hondas to experience this issue.

 

I'm no mechanic but a quart every 3k sounds very high.

Was the timing belt/water pump done? $4500 isn't too bad if it's as nice as the pics look. Provided it drives just as well. I'd pay maybe $4000. that's just me.

 

It's in a great condition, but I would still get a GSR for that amount of money.

 

UMMMMMMMM, sorry to be the one but DONT DO IT!!! Just like P said, if it was a GS-R it'd be a totally different story...and even then his original asking price is too high.

I'd offer the guy $3800 tops.

 

Do I see silver lines between the odometer numbers? Doesn't that mean the odometer has been tampered with?

 

Don't get me wrong, i would love to get a white GSR, but I am having a lot of trouble finding one that hasn't been modded like crazy in my area. on top of that, ppl are asking ~7k for their GSR, which i cannot justify spending on a car that wont be driven much when i move. i want a reliable, but fun, car that wont break the bank.

patrick, you got me worried about the odometer.. can anyone fill me in about the silver lines? something to be concerned about?

thanks!

btw: great community on this forum! quick and solid replies, im gonna like it here

 

Yeah I don't know, just looks weird to me. I know pretty much all GM cars since the '60's with mechanical odometers would show silvery lines between the numbers if the odometer was ever tampered with. Not sure if Hondas are like this or not, would have to check my owners' manual later. I know my odometer is like so, notice it's all totally black between each number:

 

I've been dreaming of an Integra too. So here is my two cents. Guys would say it's no where near that much. Afterall, it's still a 10+ year old car. My old 97 Civic had 110K miles on it when I sold it, so I know how well maintained Hondas can feel like.

As a fan, I would buy it at the price. It looks good from the pics you posted. Plus, like you said, it looks unmolested, which is always a plus.

The only question I have are:

1. Timing belt (water pump)? Is there evidence that it was done as part of the 90K service?

2. 1qt of oil very 3K miles is really more like 1qt at 2K miles. People do lie. So factor that in. I would be concern if the oil need to be checked that often. Or maybe he was just being honest.

To your advantage, I would start $3800 also, and go up if the t-belt was changed.

Having lived with a (new) car with oil consumption problem, I would be fearful of another one. It's sort of like a time bomb. At anytime, all of the oil could be gone. 1 qt every 3K is too often, IMO.

Is there a reason why you want an Integra? There are other used cars out there.

Counter point: Virgin Integras are getting harder to come by. You got a TL, so I assume you must do pretty well. If you love the Integra and is a fan, maybe an engine transplant is due in the future. If you just want an used car, there are others to choose from.

 

Great input, thank you very much.

I guess the reasoning behind the integra is reliability and fun. I have always driven Hondas and they have never let me down. The integra looks affordable at this price, and like you said, hard to find in such a good condition.

i received an email from the seller:
so far, the general consensus is that it might be a good buy, but at a cheaper price? with the kbb suggestion (yes, i know just a suggestion) of around $6k, i would feel bad offering $4000 ya kno?

decisions decisions. thanks for the help everyone

 

It leaks, or burns, somewhere. Hondas over 100K don't just "tend to do that". You see the mileage on my car above, and I change my oil every 6K miles. At 6K I'm down MAYBE 1/2 a quart, if that.

I've replaced several parts causing oil leaks over the past few years. I think I finally got them all and now the car doesn't leak at all. I never have to add oil between changes even with 6K mile intervals.

 

1. Using my Civic as an example. 110K miles and never needed a drop of oil between changes. It ate less oil than my new J35 V6 engines. Are there (old) Honda engines that use oil, yes. I would question the maintance at 110K. Maybe not with owner #4, but 3-2-1. I don't think he #4 really don't know how it was taken care of from day 1.

2. There are winners and loosers to every deal. It's business. 5 years ago, people would beat down your door with cash to buy a Civic/Integra. That's how it was for me. But I think times have changed. These cars are still in demand, but not those asking prices.

As long as you know what you are getting yourself into, go for it. $3,800 + $1,500 on engine repairs. So it's like the car is really (going) to cost you $5,300.

 

Let me see, uses a lot of oil and the odometer looks fishy. Did the miles add up accurately on the Carfax?

Hmmmm. Got enough money for a rebuild or whole new engine??

 

was it a pretty daunting task to replace all of those parts?

i will admit, i have no idea how to replace any parts on the car, or fix the engine. but i do have a friend who's worked with a few civics and done a couple engine swaps who has agreed to work on the integra with me and teach me along the way.

the more advice i read from you all, the less confident i feel about purchasing this car. but i have to ask, is it likely (if i were to wait) I would even find a 10+ year old integra in better cosmetic/mechanical condition than the one above, for an affordable price?

sigh. i think i know the answer to "should i buy this car?" it just isnt the answer i wanted lol

 

sorry for not using multi quote haha

yeah, the carfax looked correct. went from 11k to 30k to 60k, and its now at 111k according to the odometer. but who knows if that is accurate..

depends, how much does a rebuild cost? lol yeah, probably not.

 

Well in most cases I'm not replacing any oil seals or gaskets specifically. It's usually a "while I'm in there" sort of thing. The valve cover gasket, distributor o-ring, and camshaft end plug are somewhat easy(er) to change so I would change those directly if I saw them leaking.

But this is coming from someone who pulled the entire engine out, by myself, in my garage, because I needed to replace the timing belt/water pump and clutch/flywheel and oil pan gasket all at the same time (270K mile service). It was just easier to do it with the engine on a stand.

I HIGHLY recommend working with someone who knows these cars and can show you the ropes, though. That's pretty much how I learned how to work on Hondas back when I was 19-20. Bought this car when I was 21, and now I'm 31, and the car has NEVER been to a mechanic for anything other than alignments and one A/C discharge/recharge service. I have no doubt that the knowledge I gained from friends and here on H-T has kept my car running as well as it does for so many years, and saved me countless thousands of dollars in labor.

 

I don't know about other states, but in California, clean title Integras are near IMPOSSIBLE to find UNmolested. Believe me, I know. I think for a clean title Integra, $4500 is a good deal if it drives well. Certainly looks clean.

I just bought a 2001 clean title Integra GS myself for $4900.00. I've had a couple problems but nothing too bad. Went to a mechanic and he told me it is in EXCELLENT running condition and that the previous owners did a great job taking care of it.

It just depends on the condition of the engine/body/interior as with any car. Take it to a mechanic and find out if you got a good deal!

Brian

PS - Beware of ESPECIALLY clean motors. This may indicate an oil leak somewhere that the seller tried to cover up by meticulously cleaning the bay. If I ever sell my car, I would probably present it with some grime on it just to show that there are no leaks that were cleaned off.

 

thanks man

yeah im in oregon so right by you, and i have trouble finding integras for sale in unmolested condition. it is what is making me so hesitant about passing up on this car!

with regard to the odometer:

i asked him to snap another picture for me. he said that the pieces between the numbers are a clear plastic, and for some reason when the camera takes a picture a reflection of light causes the silvers lines to show up.

can anyone confirm that the silver lines may indicated tampering with the odometer? thanks in advance

 

1st af all...it's not a GS-R and you really want to shop for a GS-R.

2nd. It's a buyers market.

Finally, the loan value on this 01 GS wo/auto and 111,000 miles is $4300

The loan value of the same car, but as a GS-R is $4900

You get a lot for $600

 

if you can find me a clean gs-r for $4900 that would be great, but until then, this is what i see when i search for a gs-r:

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/2194429588.html
^clean but twice the price (and sounds like it was dropped before)

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/cto/2197245215.html
^modded and twice the price

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/2202880277.html
^6 years older, modded, same price

 

btw, acura service department said "1qt loss every 1000miles is normal"... hmm

 

Sorry, that is just an excuse from poor assembly, manufacturing, and cost cutting that is now the norm.

With my Nissan (QR25DE) oil consumption. Nissan claim 1 qt every 800 miles was ok. Anymore than that, bring it in (for possibly a new engine). That was then. That was unheard of back then. Owners would say WTF.

Porsche have also stated that 1qt per 800 miles is normal.

Now Honda and every other brand (?) is saying 1 qt per 1K is normal.

For us old guys that own Hondas for a long time, that's not how it (Hondas) used to be.

I accept it now as an owner of two (new) V6 engines.

 

holy shat, if they say 1 qt every 1K miles is normal, but also say 7500 mile oil change intervals.... you'd never have to change your oil! You'd already be going through 7 quarts during that interval so no need to change the oil. Just change the filter every 7500!

I swear, newer cars these days with shoddy manufacturing. Probably comes from lazy American factory workers.

 

yeah it was about the response i expected from a dealership lol. he also offered two types of "flushing" service i should buy that might help the problem. meh.

anyway, i think i am going to offer the guy $4000 for the car, see if he bites. i have pretty much given up hope on a gsr in the condition i would like to purchase at the price id like to purchase. if it doesnt work out, i could probably sell the integra for $4000 easy.

thanks everyone for your input!