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Hi everybody!
A few days ago, somebody was offering me a 1997 Acura 2.2 CL at ~$3,000 in good mechanical shape. It just got some paint work done, and all that. The only issue is the interior. The Power Seat has some damage to its internals, a door hinge is missing (part on the way) and the seats just look like the Eric’s 2.5 TL. Before a take a decision to switch from my 2000 Hyundai Elantra, I wonder if there’s some kind of common failure, or stuff that I must be aware of, in case I buy it. So, would you recommend it? Do you have had some experience with it? Would you say it’s a good car, o a bad car?
I’m looking forward to your comments-and thanks in advice! 🙂
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Forgot to say… YES, I’ve seen the post Eric Made of the 1999-2003 CL vintage. This is a 97, so, I guess it’s out the range.
The car is 18 years old so that means the car could be prone to a lot of problems at any time unless it has been meticulously maintained. A front to back inspection should be done before committing to anything and even a thorough inspection does not mean the car will be trouble free.
There is a timing belt change which is a bit pricy and should be done now if it has not been done in the recent past and backed up with paperwork to prove it.
You did not state how many miles are on it but if it has high miles and based on paintwork which I assume would be due to a collision my feeling is that the car is overpriced; and even more so depending upon the timing belt change.
Looking at KBB, assuming the following –
250,000 miles, auto trans, in “very good” condition,it is saying $1740.
Assuming the same things with 80,000 miles – $2814.
“very good” implies most stuff is good AND service records are verifiable and present.Problems based on my 97 CL 3.0 with auto trans – Idle sometimes goes weird (IACV failure, not too bad a fix). Power seat will not go forward or back. Manually rigged by me to position. Cruise control fail due to the plastic piece holding the cruise cable in place breaking. Some dash/climate control panel lights working when they want to. My trans does shift kind of harsh between first and second. Rear calipers problems. make sure park brake works AND holds the vehicle still. If you put on the park brake and can still push the vehicle, you are either Chuck Norris or the back brakes need attention. Release park brake and you should be able to move car by pushing.
NOW – if the owner can prove the trans has been recently rebuilt (assuming auto)then it would maybe be worth the above figures. You see, the trans in these things sucks.
Who is selling it? Is it a reputable dealer, a “buy here pay here” shop, or some guy on craigslist who said, “Yar she idles a bit funny sometimes but that might be the brain. You can go to the junkyard and get one for about $25”. Of course his sister and wife (same woman) will attest to the quality of the car.
In any case, if it is missing a door hinge and has had some paint work done, it has PROBABLY been wrecked. Carfax won’t show it and the seller probably won’t admit it.
In that case do not pay more than $1,500. Unlike older GM cars, Honda doors don’t usually go missing hinges.My Acura – 1997 3.0 CL with auto. They are smooth riding cars and not too bad to work on.
[quote=”TheXDS” post=111975]Hi everybody!
A few days ago, somebody was offering me a 1997 Acura 2.2 CL at ~$3,000 in good mechanical shape. It just got some paint work done, and all that. The only issue is the interior. The Power Seat has some damage to its internals, a door hinge is missing (part on the way) and the seats just look like the Eric’s 2.5 TL. Before a take a decision to switch from my 2000 Hyundai Elantra, I wonder if there’s some kind of common failure, or stuff that I must be aware of, in case I buy it. So, would you recommend it? Do you have had some experience with it? Would you say it’s a good car, o a bad car?
I’m looking forward to your comments-and thanks in advice! :)[/quote]This 1997 vehicle has obviously been in an accident and has been repaired for resale – no doubt very cheaply.
Give it a big miss.
If your 2000 Elantra you know well is giving you good service why would you get rid of it to buy an older car you know nothing about?
If you still want to buy it then have a professional pre- purchase inspection done on the car so you know what you are getting into.
Just a quick follow-up:
No, I didn’t bought the car. A friend of a friend was offering me the car.
Altough it was in excellent mechanical condition, it was used for some racing, which turned me off, because that would indicate some abuse to the engine (which by te way, was new) and I just spend a lot of money into repairing my elantra.
you’ll never forgive me for not giving you the mileage: was ~95,000.
I didn’t bother to ask anything about the transmission, but I’ll asume he has done a good job keeping it functional at the very least.
The paint? well, he instated that it was due to some corrosion after he left it unattended for 2 years. I can’t tell if it was in a crash.Sounds like you didn’t buy the car. But for future reference, you can get the VIN and run a CARFAX, http://www.nicb.org, and http://www.vincheckpro.com, find out about title status and accident records, history and Manufacturer recalls. If it’s an Acura with an automatic, beware, they are prone to failure. My 02 TL has had the tranny rebuilt twice at 176,000 miles. The Manual trannys are generally very durable. Seats: should be able to check the bone yards and find one for a few hundred. Acura’s are generally very reliable mechanically from what I have seen and heard. The downfall of most are they are neglected and the timing belt breaks and the engine is destroyed, as it is an INTERFERENCE engine (the belt breaks and the pistons hit the valves – bye bye engine). Timely oil changes will help preserve the engine. My engine is wonderful, leaks and burns no oil. I am running synthetic and charge with filter every time @ 7,500 miles. With the exception of the transmission, my car has never let me down and is super reliable. http://www.kbb.com indicates value at about 2,060 based on the info I was able to glean from your inquiry.
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