Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

Thanks all. No issues I could tell with the axles. No clicking, and the boots, etc. all checked out fine. I thing those that mentioned it usually happening because people did not pay attention to a cracked or leaking boot are on the money. I also suspect that failure rate has a correlation to beating on the car rate!

And it is an LS.

And TJC, this is all your fault, so if it does not work out, I will blame you for it all. Posting the link to the black EBAY car is what sent me down this path.

kyfdx

That's awesome... good luck with it!

nyccarguy

Awesome! We want a full report complete w/ pictures later;)

stickguy

will do. I will have to make an internet picture site account. Which ones are still in business that let you store and link to pictures for free?

and it turns out that he is even delivering the car. Just worked out better logistically.

nyccarguy

Snapfish is still free & easy. A lot of guys use photobucket too.

Good luck & when you get the car, I'll officially wish you MAZEL TOV

Sandman6472

Very cool...door to door delivery to boot! Just be careful that your son won't call dibs on it when he comes home next week! Is the TL the same year, or close to it? And what's his mileage like in his car? If this one is in better working condition, might be better for him to just swap out cars with you since you do not drive that much. But I suspect your daughter might just want it for herself actually...a cooler car than a Volvo for a teen driver.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

tjc78

I spend other people's money well! I use Snapfish to host pics, works well enough.

stickguy

His TL is also a 2000, and has a few thousand more miles (just about to click over 169K I think) and still pretty much runs like new.

I mentioned that to the daughter, but she did not bite.

One issue is neither of them really drives stick, or is going to learn at the moment. Plus my son's apartment is on a hill so steep that you practically have to walk up on hands and knees. I know from experience, not a stick friendly place!

stickguy

I just made an account for myself. Just have to get some pics to load up.

Sandman6472

My bad, forgot it's not a slush box. So looks like like you got a great little runabout to play with. Looks like y'all have the same problem as we do when all the kids are home...4 cars and only 2 garage spaces. Mine and the wife's go inside, so we constantly play move the cars game since the new neighbor moved his mailbox when they moved in a couple of years back. We used to be able to keep one in front of the house and leave the mailman plenty of room to get to the neighbors box. But these new folks up and moved their box so we can't do that anymore, as the new mailman was getting upset. Our old lady was great...she'd just work around it like I used to on my routes but this new guy is a real stickler for "rules". So "I" play the moving cars game when we're all home.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

stickguy

well, I know own it. Sitting in the driveway. Won't be able to get insurance and DMV done until Monday though. I can live with that.

going to wash and wax now.

Nice dealing with the original owner. ALl the keys (including a never unwrapped valet one), the entire service history (all from the acura dealer). Even a Haynes manual (did not even know they still made those in 2000).

a couple of extras too. A K&N style snorkel filter (that I likely would never install) and an unused rainX headlight lens polishing kit (which I will).

No guarantees of course, but at least this car was loved and taken care of. And hard to believe (being a cheap integra), I am actually younger than the guy I bought it from (a nice older Asian couple).

I made a snapfish account. Pictures to follow once I finish detailing it.

nyccarguy

Mazel-Tov & Congratulations!

stickguy

yeah, I have plenty of parking, but it always blocks someone. My daughter is quite concerned I will take the garage bay back (which I probably will!) because she leaves early in the AM, and this time of year, that often means iced up windows in this area. So the Integra may go in the road for a little while, otherwise I will be up at 7:00 scraping the Volvo!

oldfarmer50

"...here it is..."

Very nice. Knowing what Honda-based cars go for up here with similar milage plus rust, you got a good deal.

Just for fun I looked. Boy, did you get a great deal:

http://albany.craigslist.org/cto/3456990388.html

stickguy

GSR is a whole nother animal, but that seems ambitious in price regardless.

just finished washing and waxing. Usual assortment of nicks and dings, 1 dent, but no rust at all. Which is a good thing!

Interior though looks brand new. Love the seats.

Sandman6472

$2700.00? Seems like a killer deal actually. How are the sneakers and what size are they? Look like 15" but could be wrong. Hopefully they had put a good brand of tire on it but bet they did as they seem to have kept up with the maintenance quite nicely. Always a good thing to buy used from someone who keeps up with their car as do most of us in this thread...the person who ends up with my Civic eventually will be getting a well pampered car which still feels like new according to my mechanic...drives as tight as when I drove it off the lot.
The wife just told me that her car drives great since we fixed those motor mounts...she says it feels like it did when she first got it. he only potential problem is her a/c...only seems to work on fan speed 3 & 4 now...occasionally on 1 & 2. Not the news I wanted to hear right now but since our small amount of winter will be here soon, not gonna worry about it until it actually dies. But I make it a point to never drive her car since I don't want it to crap out when I'm behind the wheel. And she also said that we'll fix it unless the price is too outrageous.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

roadburner

Congrats, Stick!

stickguy

it is from the quaint old days. 195/55-15 tires. And they are good ones. Michelin Pilot Exaltos (sp?) with a lot of tread left. Not cheap tires, even in that size.

tjc78

Congrats! Glad it all worked out! Is this #3 this year or did the Volvo come last year?

fezo

Great deal, stick! Congrats.

stever

Fun seeing y'all punch tickets. I just ordered a new keyboard, lol ($20).

fintail

Congrats. Now you should modify it, Seattle style (this is my observation of local surviving Integras)

Exhaust tip the diameter of a basketball, maybe cut into bumper, along with a fart can.

Lowered too low, cut down suspension that doesn't give a mm no matter how hard you press on the fender, so the car will bounce around wildly on the slightest bump.

If it has thicker spoke wheels, rattle can them white, but don't use paint that deals with wheels or brake dust, cheapest Wally World special will do.

Park bench sheet metal spoiler at rear is encouraged, but optional. Suddenly it's 2002!

Bonus points if the car is an automatic :shades:

But seriously, those things seem to last forever. Sounds like a bargain. I remember when I was in high school, a spoiled kid was gifted a then-new bugeye Integra. Resentment followed.

Sandman6472

Nothing new here and probably won't be for awhile. The next one up for replacement is the '05 Mazda3s and as long as the a/c holds up, or isn't too expensive to fix, I can see us getting it up to 200k at this point. We just spent a whole bunch on fixing the motor mounts and it seems to drive like new. So a late 2014 or 2015 model is probably where we're headed. I am really surprised that the wife hasn't traded it in by now as she knows she can do whatever she wants to in regards to buying a new car. I give her a lot of credit here but I do worry about her breaking down, which thank g-d, hasn't ever happened. Mazda does make a damn fine automobile I must say! That 2.3 engine can really kick some serious butt and my only objection is it is on the thirsty side.
My daughter with the '08 Accent doesn't drive that much, think it's got like just over 12k by now and the other daughter's '09 Versa just ticked over 41k, even surpassing my car's mileage, so they are good for the next few years. After tax season, I plan to get the wife out to really test drive some models so when the time comes, she'll know exactly which make & model she wants with Hyundai being the front runner right now. We shall see what finally happens but I am ready to start test driving right now!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

stickguy

Hope this works. Tried with my camera and that seemed to foul up the PC, so my kid took some on the iphone. If I did this correctly this should get you to the album.

Oh, I through in a picture of the last silver honda, and for fun, my Miata I had in 2004.

Looks OK all shined up. spent some time with the bug and tar remover, which made a big difference. In the spring, could use a clay and touch up paint session. if I get ambitious. Most likely not. And may look to see if dent doctor and fix the LF fender dent.

and man, back then, Honda used some really nice materials. Door panels are the same fabric as the seats. And the seats look almost unused. I guess having tiny little owners helped there. But the interior for age/miles is mint.

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=8128503025/a=1333528502- 5_13335285025/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

qbrozen

seems to want me to join to view. oh well.
congrats anyway.

stickguy

that is odd. Nor really a big deal, since I am pretty sure you can sign up with a bogus email and they would not know. Always good to have a spare hotmail type email account just for stuff like this.



from the CL ad. Taken in the shade, before my wash and wax.

Sandman6472

Didn't realize your driveway is so large...ours can probably just fit 4 cars in front of the garage doors...barely. Had priced out extending it on one side with rocks and gravel last year when all the kids came back home to live, but nixed the idea. Our new neighbors on the other hand, did an expensive larger driveway with fancy pavers and all and it does look quite nice except for the shape...it's just too big for the house, but they did add lots of extra space. Our lots aren't as big as yours so there's only so much room one has to work with. Since we're on a cul de sac and out lot isn't perfectly square, a circular drive was out of the question when we first bought which is what I really wanted as I knew we'd have multiple cars years down the line with 3 kids.
The car does look nice all cleaned up though. You seem to like silver cars also...same here but titanium is still our favorite.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

stickguy

fitting 4 in the driveway is easy, they just get in the way! I should have asked the concrete guy about extending a parking spot to the outside, but not sure how feasible it was with the slope, sprinklers, etc. Plus it would be expensive! But I may have to revisit, because parking on our street is a bit of a hassle.

akangl

Congrats Stick!! Looks like you got a gem! I love older cars....really missing the Escort, I hear from its new owner it's doing great.

If we didn't have the Yaris I'd be on the hunt once again. Although, if spending other people's money around here counts that I'm at punch 5 for the year. Hubby's friend picked up the Malibu last night, nice clean GM CPO '11 Malibu LT1 with 26k miles for $14.5k, lot of car for the $$$. He was looking at a '11 Malibu with 39k that was at an independant used car lot, no CPO, no warranty, for $14.9k.

Back to finding someone else's money to spend......or maybe my own

corvette

Sounds like the blower motor resistor is going out on your wife's Mazda. I don't know where it's located on that car. They're usually an inexpensive part, but the labor to replace them can be high if they're in a difficult location.

oldfarmer50

Spotted one of my old guilty pleasure cars along the road near home. Early 90s Chrysler New Yorker 5th Ave. Similar to this:

http://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/chrysler/new-yorker/1991/oem/1991_chrysler_new- -yorker_sedan_salon_fq_oem_1_500.jpg

I don't need any more cars but with salt season coming I cry about thinking of driving my good cars. I convinced myself I could put the Eclipse in the garage and switch the plates to this winter beater.

I stopped to look at it briefly and it had a nice interior but some rust on the right rocker. If it wasn't for that rust I probably would be making offers today. Don't know milage or mechanical condition. Edmunds says $1100.

Maybe I'll call and the guy will want the moon or it'll have 200k miles and the urge will fade. I hate having this monkey on my back. :sick:

nyccarguy

Nice deal on a nice ride! Congrats my Man! Looks sweet. Enjoy it! I'll bet you cannot wait to get a set of plates on it.

ronsteve

Nice looking Integra there. That's one thing that struck me about the Japanese-built Hondas of that age... could hardly tell you were looking at a 12 year old car with 166k on it.

I'm having to sink just enough into the V70 here that I may be committed to at least 2-3 more years with it. Hope we can get my wife's new ride soon in order to keep the big miles off the Volvo.

stickguy

Thanks. After sitting in it and reading the whole owners manual, it is amazing how much has changed in just those 12 years. So much simpler in the "old days" really. basic, straightforward. And probably a whole lot easier to work on (not to mention less stuff to break!)

manual seats that adjust fully (no dumb 1 lever "dump ratchet"), manual climate controls (a slider lever and buttons to decide what you want). And a normal radio anyone can understand.

quite the retro old school!

mark156

Well, I couldn't get the deal done before I left on a planned trip (1 week).....the Honda store computers were down last Saturday when I thought everything was going to be completed. So, we put it off until tomorrow morning as I got back late tonight.

Odd thing, we have tentatively agreed on a price but it's not concrete. I have asked the young guy to get me a firm price but we get side-tracked somehow. They even brought this car in about 130 miles away without a deposit or 'concrete' agreement on price.

I might be driving the old Honda a little longer if there are any weird games being played. :sick:

Mark156

stickguy

there are a bazillion CRVs out there. And a lot of Honda dealers. And since there are only a few basic configurations, there have to be more out there that fit your needs. So unlikely they will try to play games, knowing you will get up and walk out.

stickguy

Well, today's project was to use the rain-x headlight cleaning kit that came with the Integra. I was skeptical, but man, it worked great. All 4 bug eyes were all yellowed and opaque (as in could not see the bulbs through the lenses). 15 minutes with the little pads and bottles (this one was all elbow grease) and the yellow is all gone, lenses are clear and shiny smooth, and you can see the bulbs nicely. Really do look like new. Hopefully they stay that way for a while.

next up is air in the tires, since for some reason, they are all low (but uniform). Maybe he liked a soft ride?

Have time since I can't get it registered until tomorrow, so it is sitting in the garage without plates (wife is a bit annoyed that I took her side for now, but it had the space to do the lights).

corvette

Glad it worked for you. The headlights on my BMW had a haze. I tried the cleaning kit I bought at the auto parts store, but couldn't get it to look right. Took them to a professional and now they're as perfect as 10 year old headlights can get!

There's always some project to be done with an older car, even with something more reliable like an Acura! :P

stickguy

I must have done a good job. My wife noticed on the way in the house before how much different they looked. And she does not notice things car related.

tjc78

I did the headlights in my Stepdad's 03 Camry. They came out great, but unfortunately after about 2 years are starting to get cloudy again.

I was going to get some aftermarket housings on Ebay, but looked up the procedure to R&R them and it requires dropping the bumper cover. Never mind!

stickguy

2 years? I'll probably be 3-4 cars down the road by then. If not, i can always do them again.

hey, once you get back on the old car train, the urge to start flipping gets strong!

I still don't know what will happen in the spring when my son graduates. Entirely possible I inherit the TL back too, and there are only so many old, high mileage Acuras any one guy needs.

michaellno

So would you keep the Integra for the fun value or the T for the lux factor?

stickguy

depends on how they were both doing, and what mood I was in.

I would not likely keep the TL for myself for any length of time. I never really cared for driving it, but my son likes it (it has always been his car).

fintail

The lights on my E55 have stayed clear after 10 years - probably because the car is garaged, and I clean the lights with the same synthetic wax used on the car. I did notice that one light on my mom's Camry started getting haze after about 3 years - I cleaned it off with some Meguiars scratch remover, and then added a coat of "cleaner wax" for protection.

I browsed Craigslist yesterday, found nothing that tempted me to get a newer car and sell the E55. Not a bad position to be in.

nyccarguy

Your car is in fantastic shape & I'm sure (more importantly) is an absolute blast to drive. Don't think there is much out there that will lure you away from your E55;)

steine13

Good luck with the Integra.
Sounds like a very solid deal.
I also predict you'll find some niggling things to bother you, but so what. You can ditch it in the spring for what you've got in it, worst case.

In the long run, unless you put a lot of time and effort into finding good deals, or are buying Lincolns :P I'm convinced that new is cheap & easy ... but used is kind of fun, and sometimes new is overkill if one is just bridging a gap.

If I'm buying used, I'm going the beater route. What you see is what you get, and worst case, you bail.

I think you're doing it right.

Cheers -Mathias

stickguy

I spent some time with it today. basic stuff like checking the oil (spot on) and pumping up the tires (as expected, and along with probably 90% of the cars on the road, the donut was almost flat!). But that is a good way to look for little issues.

Discovered that one of the 6 rubber bump stops on the hatch is missing. That I can probably find and pop in myself. Only problem I discovered is that I don't think the rear hatch latch works right. It should open with a lever back there when the doors are unlocked, but it does not seem to work (the lever). But you can open it with the key.

Not a big deal really, since I don't expect to be opening it much, and using the key won't kill me. Certainly not a big enough deal to spend a lot of $ on replacing or repairing the latch gizmo.

Old cars all have their quirks, and unless you had it new when everything worked, you don't always realize how it is supposed to!

mark156

Well, everything went 'OK'..... a little game playing and I stood my ground. They didn't want to take anything off the MSRP. I said I'm not paying list and I didn't. :sick:

It took 2 hours to get'r done and now she is quietly parked in the driveway.

Mark156

corvette

Sheesh, I can almost understand them not giving discounts when there are a ton of 2012s still left on the lot, but I think those are all gone now. :mad:

xwesx

The interior on that Integra is unbelievable. That was a really great find! I hope you end up enjoying it, stick!