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M
1992 acura legend gs, 80,000 miles, $10,000
Driver's Side Air Bag; Passenger's Side Air Bag; Cruise/Speed Control; Defroster, Rear; Locks, Power Door; Seat, Power Driver; Seatbelts, Front Shoulder; Seatbelts, Rear Shoulder; Steering Wheel, Tilt; Sunroof, Power; Tire, Full Spare; Windows, Power; Anti-Lock Brakes; Air Conditioning; Alloy Wheels; Cruise Control; Rear Window Defroster; Power Seats; Power Door Locks; Power Mirrors; Power Windows; Power Steering; Sunroof/Moonroof; Theft Deterrent System; Tinted Glass; Tilt Steering Wheel;
that's the ad. now i'm fairly certain there is no such thing as a legend gs. i'm thinking it's an "l" series, judging by the options. manual, cloth seats and tape deck, too, i'll bet.
if i buy, is it due for any major repairs? anything i should look for? i can't afford to not have a car in perfect working order for at least a few more months.
love,
eor
Major maintenance - the only thing you should be aware is the timing belt / water pump replacement, which should be done @ ~90K miles (~$700-$800 when performed by the dealer).
Major repairs - check the radiator top for cracks, transmission mounts, power window master switch...
goran- thanks for the heads up. i think 10k miles is enough for me to save up for repairs.
a certain site with the words "car" and "point" in the title had this to say about the 92 legend- cany truth to this?
engine-
significant problems- A common problem on this vehicle is failure of the Vehicle Speed Sensor, and a periodic problem is failure of the Ignition Control Module. Failure of the Ignition Control Module may prevent the vehicle from starting.The cost to repair the Vehicle Speed Sensor is estimated at $270.00 for parts and $45.50 for labor.The cost to repair the Ignition Control Module is estimated at $231.00 for parts and $26.00 for labor.All prices are estimates based on $65 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax.
brakes-
moderate problem- An occasional problem on this vehicle is failure of the ABS Pressure Switch.The cost to repair the ABS Pressure Switch is estimated at $308.00 for parts and $40.00 for labor.All prices are estimates based on $65 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax
air conditioning-
moderate problem- This vehicle was originally charged with R-12 refrigerant which is no longer being manufactured. The refrigerant is still available, but it is very expensive ($25.00-$50.00 per pound, 2-5 pounds per vehicle). Conversion to the new R-134A refrigerant is possible, at an average cost of about $200-$350 parts and labor.All prices are estimates based on $65 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax.
i kinda think that carpoint don't really know what they are talking about, generally, but it's better i find out now. any help is appreciated. thanks.
love,
eor
i've seen the listed value of a 92 legend vary from as low as 7500 to close to 14000. what's the deal? (i checked kbb, edmunds, carpoint and some other used car sites)
thanks
http://forums.legend.org/Forum1/HTML/010717.html
to see what kind of problems that the 2nd generation Legends may have.
My question:
Can anyone tell me how I can disable the ABS system in my car? I also have a 90 Legend Coupe with a failing ABS system (pressure switch?) that makes a LOUD jackhammer-like noise until it fails completely and the Anti-Lock light goes on. I would rather it just stopped working permanently. I would appreciate any advice on that.
Thanks!
My ABS doesn't work, but it's because of faulty wheel speed sensor - $120 part + couple 1-2 hours labor...
Regarding your ABS problem, I just had a serious ABS problem last month. When I laughed at the dealership's recommendation to pay $2600 to replace all the ABS components, the technician advised me on the sly to disable the ABS by removing the three ABS fuses in the fuse-box at the front of the engine compartment. When I looked, the fuses were clearly shown on the fuse-box diagram, and in addition my three fuses actually said something like AL or ABS or ALB right on them. I pulled the three fuses, and my problem was cured at a cost of $0! The only time an ABS is active is during an emergency stop, so the only difference is that now I have manually controlled emergency braking instead of computer controlled emergency braking. This doesn't bother me at all. None of my other cars have had ABS, so I'm used to driving with the rule everyone knew before Antilock Braking Systems were invented: "don't lock the brakes." The ABS warning light on my dashboard is lit all the time now, but I don't mind that, either.
Thanks a ton for the info .. I hadn't checked this board since I last posted and by chance came across it today on a lark. Ironically, I took my car in for an oil change on Monday, and told my mechanic I wanted to disable the ABS. He knew about this problem being common to the Legend (he's a Legend fanatic himself) and simply took out the relay for the ALB. That's just about the same as your taking out the fuses. Of course, he didn't charge me for it, so like you I got a free fix. Great when things work out like that, huh? Anyway, the light is always on (doesn't bother me a bit) and the brakes are soft, but completely manageable.
Thanks for your advice though - I hope your overheating problem has been solved - post your fix when you have some time.
Take care.
Goral - thanks for the response too - too bad my prob would have cost $2000 plus to fix ...
Whichever you choose, you shouldn't be disappointed. The Legends seem to hold their value better (especially in GS or L/LS coupe trims).
Check out:
forums.legend.org -> Marketplace... There are several other GS available.
While driving the car I noted that the stereo was a bit disappointing, and that it seemed to have a hard time locking in on radio stations. When I read post #119, it struck a chord. I also asked the owner to play a tape that they were familiar with, and they agreed that the sound quality had degraded. The original owners had a new antenna put in last summer, but this didn't seem to help the problem much. It sounds like the pre-amp problem that has graced many posts on this forum (which I found tremendously helpful in guiding my decision to buy, so thank you).
Two basic repair options were suggested. One was replacing the pre-amp (e.g., with a Phoenix Gold unit). The other was to send the Bose unit for repair. I believe that the two listed services were www.boserepair.com and the other was www.goldtek.com. I have found additional repair outfits on the internet that charge about $350. Has anyone actually sent their unit to one of these outfits, and if so, could you let me know whether you are still happy with the repair?
Thanks.
The car that you describe sounds nice. I am very fond of the white and tan leather combination. I don't know if this will be helpful to you in terms of assessing the price, but here goes.
I just bought a '95 GS 6-speed with 39K miles. It was in very good condition and I paid $17.3K. This was in California, and prices here seem to be a bit higher than the rest of the country. The car needs to have the audio fixed, most likely a new amp. The battery needed replacement. Two of the rims have scratches; it might be possible to polish them out. The timing belt needs to be done. I may have the water pump done at the same time, and keep the used part as a spare. The driver's seat leather is ok, but will require some attention over the next year or two. There were virtually no door dings and the bumpers were in good shape. The car had been detailed on a regular basis so the paint was in really good shape. Engine was pristine, and all the regular servicing had been done (except the timing belt).
Your car is older, and has more miles. These things would bring the price down. If you have the original stereo, listen to it carefully. There are many posts on this forum regarding problems (see posts 119, 122, 139, 142, 154, 188, and 192). As others have suggested, there are radiator cracking issues that you should have checked out. You should find out whether the timing belt has been done. This is a several hundred dollar repair, and not one I would defer. There is also an issue of the condition of the seat leather. In every used Legend I looked at the left side of the drivers seat was worn and cracked. Fixing this with new leather is not cheap even if you get into a group buy.
I am happy that I got my car. I love driving it. As someone said in a much earlier post, is has all the good aspects of a Honda and a high level of luxury. The 6 speeds are rare. I had given up on finding one, and then it happened. I expect to own mine for a long time. I bought it with the idea that I would have to spend some additional money to get the car into perfect shape. If the stereo on the '94 is perfect, the timing belt has been done, and there are no other problems, I would go for it. I was able to negotiate a somewhat lower price because of the defects that I indicated.
Hope this is helpful.
I am happy to hear that you bought the car, and from your description, you got a real beauty. I bought mine from a business owner, and many of the things that characterize your car (great care, dealer maintenance) parallel the care that my car has seen.
Ironically, I will be in the San Diego area in about a week. If I see a stunning white GS during my driving, I will assume that it is yours (especially if I get a chance to peek in the window and see that it is a rare 6-speed).
Best of luck with the car. If any problems do arise, I sure would appreciate your posting them. It is a bit early in my ownership to have anything to report, but this forum would be a good place to compare experiences. I bought my car in part because of the many positive posts that appeared in this forum. I thank all the former posters for taking the time to express their opinions, and share their experiences. It was certainly one of the most positive collections of posts I read about cars, and I was looking at several (Q45, Maxima SE, etc.) before honing in on the Legend. It seems that many of the original posters are enjoying their cars too much, and not posting any more. Perhaps it is time for another group of owners to carry on the tradition, and propagate the Legend.
Tomorrow morning there is a guy coming over to look at the 87 Legend I am selling. Asking $1200, still runs great, 235,000 miles, 5 speed,4-door. It's in great shape for a 14 year old car, had it for five years too and paid $2800 for it. Point of this story... I just went through all my copies of repairs I had my local and affordable mechanic do, and it added up to almost $5000 over the past 4 years.(including AC comp.,new clutch, top half engine rebuild (timing belt broke while driving- interference design) a lot of brake work, etc. Both Legends were a lot of fun to drive and overall were still cheaper than monthly car payments, but just be prepared for high maintenance costs as you go. If I had a 3 car garage I would just keep the 87, after looking at what I've spent I probably should...
By the way, be careful of estimates from your Acura dealer. Mine here in Ft.Myers, Florida quoted me $2800 for repairs to my 87 Legend to get rid of a persistent gas smell in the cabin (that's more than book value for the car!). They wanted to replace all the injectors, etc, etc. After two tries, my local mechanic was able to reroute some of the emission hoses and the smell has not come back. Also the car was still running great while it had the smell...
Sorry for the long post, but maybe someone will get something out of it.
$2,500?!?!? Has this happened to anyone else? It's August and I live in Austin, Texas, so fixing the AC is not an option, but, fer crying out loud, $2,500? Anybody else have to replace their whole system just because the compressor dies?
The AC compressor on my '96 RL went out, but I found a used one (via www.copartfinder.com) for $120 and had it installed by my mechanic ($120 including R-134).
i have a 95 acura legend ls which i dearly love.
have had ir six years with minimum problems.
one very bad problem though is that every few months when i turn the key the starter won't turn over. the dash board lights come on and the battery is strong--it just wont start. if i turn the key dozens of times ,it will finally start.the dealer has looked at it several times and doesnt have a clue.any ideas? thanks
Any advice or suggestions? Thanks.
In general, the car ran well and was in good shape. Too bad it got "totaled" a few months ago. I miss that car!
93 Legend 94,000 miles. Car starts to overheat on occassion. Engine also then begins to occasionally surge. It revs from back and forth from 1,000 rpm to 1,500 in park. No heat comes out of the air vents when engine temp begins to climb to an overheated situation. I shut the engine down before it ever hits the red zone.
I replaced the thermostat a week ago and refilled the radiator with coolant. It ran hot again so I then bled the radiator hose from the valve on the top hose and everything was ok for a week. Then samething happens. Park the car and check a few hours later and the radiator is low. I refill and bleed again. The next day engine temp ok, heat working. After about three hours, I take the cap off of the radiator since it was not hot but cool, and there is a lot of pressure and the fluid shoots out. What is going on here? Why is this car overheating and yet no heat is produced when it does? I am at my whit's end. Any help greatly appreciated.