1994 Acura integra Ls 5speed sedan. 500$ good buy or bad

Kelly Blue Book puts trade in at $738 and selling to private party at $1350. That is with everything in working order. Paying $500 for this thing is silly and planning to put used engine in it. You should only pay to have delivered to your house.

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I’ve been working on cars for a while now too. And I know that a classic car from the 70’s or 60’s can have a mint frame and no rust and definatly no creature features but are still loved and driven to this day. I have a 72 Jaguar XJ with the 328 small block chevy motor great conversion and is in great working order and no rust. 44 years old and still a great classic. I know that the Acura is far from a classic, but I believe that I can turn it into something great and fun to drive. Cars in my opinion were much safer back then because the body’s weren’t made with such cheap and light materials. They were heavy and they lasted. I’m not a perfect driver, but I do drive commercially and know the hazards that are the other drivers on the road. I already have a car payment on my town and country and I’m not trying to acquire a new one, I’m trying to be approved for a home loan. And as for parts goes this car is a pretty common car so parts are easy to come by. Motor wise I’m able to get parts for my jag, body wise not so much. And the Acura is half the age. I just hate newer cars nowadays. Such a pain to work on, all the computer stuff and special tools, hard for the average mechanic to work on. I can get all that fancy stuff in the Acura if I decide too.

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Look, you can do what you want, but don’t do it because of this-you couldn’t be more wrong. Cars today are about ten times safer, in deaths per mile, than in 1960.

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Agree! Uninformed persons don.t realize that car safety is partly based on letting the outer panels and structure absorb the energy of an impact while keeping the passenger cage intact to protect the driver.

In racing car crashes there is usually a spectacular show of debris while the driver walks away from the crash afterwards. All that flying debris has absorbed the energy of the impact.

There are many video clips to prove this; one of a 1959 Chevy 4 door hardtop with the infamous X frame colliding with a much smaller Chevy of recent vintage.

To understand crash safety you need to understand a little physics. We are sacrificing the car to save the driver, not the other way around!

There’s lots of legitimate staged car crash videos on the internet . . . old car built like a tank, versus new car, built out of pot metal and recycled aluminum cans

I’m exaggerating, to some degree, but you get the idea

Guess which one fares better, MUCH better, in fact

I’ll give you a hint . . . the guy in the car built like a tank would be DEAD

I’ll pile on. Skip it. BIL is not being realistic. At some point he’ll give it away.

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Boy am I GLAD I was alerted to this Acura discussion via email, as I am one of those sentimental fools who is/was thinking of fixing my car (1990 Integra, some of you know who I am and gave me sage advice on this matter!) but after reading all of the posts “may” reconsider. Especially what @Caddyman said about engine swapping, assuming that’s the same thing as putting in a used motor?
A shop owner I spoke with said if I decide to scrap her he would give me 300 for her, but I was still considering still fixing her (“new” used engine, etc due to blown head gasket among other things),
Obviously the shop owner can do the work without the labor costs, where as I would have to pay for that as well
ouch!
That being said, if the OP here can do his own work, saving on labor costs then maybe it’s a good thing? His potential car is 4 years newer than mine. However, I know all of the work that’s been done on my car, and what things are due to be fixed
does he know the same regarding his BIL’s car? Can/will the BIL supply all maintenance records on the car?

By the way, OP, mine is a manual, is a VTEC, ALWAYS ran great and has ALWAYS been fun to drive (probably why I’m the sentimental fool here)
I think it’s the manual tranny that enticed my shop owner to want my car.

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Chevy made a 328?? I don’t think so.

Perhaps OP meant to say a 327 Chevy small block . . . ?!

Yes thanks for the correction on the engine size. It was pretty sweet ride but I just couldn’t hold onto it any longer. A car club down from my house really wanted it and had some pretty sweet ideas for it. Yes #MichelleZ I will be putting in the motor myself. The current motor has knock and blown head gasket. The motor I’m getting has under 50k so it’s going to run like new. And ever since I drove my buddy’s gsr 5speed I always wanted to own one of my own. And so here I am with this opportunity to own one, so you can see why it’s hard to walk away.

In the southwest people are asking $500 to $1000 for Integra coupes that need an engine. I don’t see the same interest in sedans but condition of the body and interior determines the value of this car.

Most of the cars that I have purchased have been project cars and criticized by some who believed it was a poor value, the same people who don’t mind $2000 to $5000 depreciation per year on their own car.

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This is what I call a “project car”. Expect to have it in “being repaired” condition for an extended period of time and expect to dig deeply into your bank account.

You said you expect to replace the engine anyway
 know that if you use a boneyard motor it’ll be a crap shoot, and a rebuilt will cost you thousands. If you were planning to (and had the tools, skills, and facility to) tear the motor open and rebuild it yourself, this MIGHT make sense, but if you’re just thinking of replacing it you’re headed for a very risky and potentially expensive experience. And then once you do get that sorted out, you might be in for a surprise in the drivetrain and/or chassis. A car that cannot be test driven is fraught with risk.

In short, if this is a hobby car and you have the cash, I wish you the best. If you’re looking for a dirt-cheap daily driver, I think you’re making a mistake.

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This.

This.

A thousand times this.