My old neighbor who lives about an hour away now has a 94 touring with a wing Montego Blue 5speed with 69k miles. She just got married and is wanting to sell it. She needs a fourdoor. The car has a few door dings and a place on the nose about
000000000 < that long and tall with the paint flaking off there, a litttle on the passenger A-Piller and low to the ground behind the passenger door. She does not drive it hard because I know her and the car. She said her father was thinking around $16k for it. I offered $14.5k. What do you you guys think it is worth? Since it has been babied, how long do you think the engine will last? How much would a good paint job cost?

Thanks,

Harold

2001 Acura CL Type S

 

depends on your area.... check www.autotrader.com and see what similar cars are going for. 14.5K would be a good price for L.A. but maybe not where you are.

The engine will more than likely last anywhere from 80K - 110K miles. How the person drives it really has no bearing on how long it will last. How they maintained it is much more important. You can whomp on it every day if you choose as long as you keep up on service. Figure on spending between $2K and $3K if/when you need a rebuild.

A good paint job can cost a lot. I would figure on spending over $1,000 on something worth spending money on, but it will more likely be in the neighborhood of $2K+ depending on how fancy you get.

Whatever you do, get a pre-purchase inspection that includes a compression test - this is very important. Low compression is a sign of a bad engine - especially on the rotary - they often don't go out gracefully.

Good Luck!

 

What's blue book on the car? I forget...anyhow, 14.5 is probably a decent deal if it's in good mechanical shape. See if you can run the VIN through carfax, call the dealershit and see if it's had all of the TSB's done.

As far as the paint, you'll want to get it painted pretty soon if it's peeling on anything but fiberglass or plastic. My FD's nose is peeling and since it's on fiberglass I'm not terribly worried (though it really sucks when someone compliments you on your car and then sees that ).

Have it checked out by a reputable rotary mechanic, and if it's in good mechanical shape, you should be good to go. Maybe check the blue book and offer around low book. No need to pay any more than necessary, and given that the car is 7 years old, 14.5 is pretty steep (considering that the price on them originally was like $35k)...also, any mods? If there's no mods, then it's all virgin for you to deal with.

 

It is a virgin car. I don't know of anyone in the Memphis area qualified to check this car out.

 

Check one of the area specific forums for hints on a mechanic in that area. That or you can take the car for a drive to have it checked out in another area.

 

The price you offered appears to be right on the money.
Given that you're an old neighbor, we're in a recession, and you're going to have to shell out money for a re-paint, they should accept your generous offer. (Your offer is a little above the Kelley Blue Book private party price for that car.)

 

I'd rather buy one not soo banged up. Try ebay! They have lots of good 3rd gen stock.

 

I have to agree that maintinece is much more important than how "easy" it was driven. I see women come into my shop all the time with thier brake pads down to nothing and thier rotors all groved to hell because they ignored the tattletale making that noise. Thier answer " I didnt think it was a problem because the car still stopped fine". Or how about this. Rotate the tires? Why would I do that? Or how about this one.. Alignment? Dont you already do that when you put new tires on? Or, My tires are aligned I dont need to pay for that. Or how about this. My car vibrates when i hit the brakes. I think I need new tires. Dude if I could help it I would never buy anything mechanical from a woman. They run it till it breaks and then blame the car. I would beware. Unless you see her Dad under the car every few months to change the oil I would tell them to go ahead and sell it to someone else and you will check out the Autotrader.