So, yeah. I got a new car too (Update)

[JonnyBoy]

Yeah, my old buick crapped the bed and now I am excited to announce that a new JonnyMobile has been found and paid for. The lucky car is a 1999 Acura Integra GS-R, got it with the whole shebang. Leather seats, CD Player, 170 horsepower VTech engine, new tires, leather repaired, transmission fluid change, and recently passed inspection. Under is a picture. I plan on trying to get it painted soon, to...I don't know, maybe black. I'm not a big fan of the green.



What do you think?

[M3talhead]

I hope your friends dont mind riding in the trunk.....

[paigeoliver]

Never ever ever ever change the color of a car, especially to black.

Changing the color of a car severely devalues it, and only a true top notch bodyman can repaint a car black and have it look good. Its the single hardest color to do (at least according to all the car mags I used to read).

Easiest color is supposed to be bright yellow.

[Bones]

Yeah I will agree with paige on this one, not necessarily about black being any worse, but altering the colour is a major job and if not properly it looks like crap.

All the little spots like hinges and bigger places like engine bays make the job a nightmare.

Different story if the car was totalled and in pieces.

[Scott84]

Take out the orange fog lights or day time lights or whatever its called. put in white or something!

[danny_galaga]

yeah, a good paint job will cost you thousands of bucks and probably still come off after 2 years. id get used to the green. stay tuned for my 'got a new car' post (",)

[Bones]

yeah, a good paint job will cost you thousands of bucks and probably still come off after 2 years. id get used to the green. stay tuned for my 'got a new car' post (",)

Go a Kombi, you know you want to.

[danny_galaga]

Go a Kombi, you know you want to.

                             

[Stingray]

A good paint job will indeed run you somewhere in the $3000 US range to change the color. The body has to be 100% flawless for black, which adds quite a lot to the prep time. To do a color change correctly, the car will need to be almost entirely dissassembled, the paint will need to be stripped to the bare metal and you pretty much end up entirely rebuilding the car. As far as devaluing the car goes, that applies to classic collectables, a six year old Acura is probably already devalued as much as it's going to get (unless you totally rat it our or total it). However, it's not really the kind of car you want to spend the time, money and effort on something as radical and expensive as a color change.

Yes, you can go to one of those cheapie car paint shops. Remember that you do get what you pay for, and I will say I told you so.

-S

[Crazy Cooter]

Vtech is a phone.  V-Tec is what you have.

If you paint the car black, you'll not only not get your money back if you sold it, you'd get less than what it's worth unpainted.

The only thing you should do is get an alarm in it.  If you don't keep your eyes open, that car will be stolen within 6 months.  Integras topped the list last year for most often stolen.  Plus yours is a GSR with leather.  You're at the top of the top.

If you want to put money into it, leave everything the way it is externally and buy a nice turbo kit.  Have someone else install it and don't F around by "turning up the boost".  You'll blow the motor that way.

That's what I'd do.  In that order.

[SOAPboy]

Take out the orange fog lights or day time lights or whatever its called. put in white or something!

Or leave it stock and not be a ricer..

[JonnyBoy]

Yeah, after talking to a friend (who does autobody) he said just repaint it green. The poly is chipping on the back and so I'll need to repaint it regardless. Sorry for my ignorance (Vtech, V-tec). I already got the alarm thing covered. I'm hoping mine will be a bit less desireable because it's an automatic. I didn't get the car for speed, I got it because it was in my price range and had a reliable engine in it. Yeah, and I don't have many friends, no need to worry about fitting anybody in it. 

[AceTKK]

That's nice looking.  A little too small for my frame, but it should be a reliable and fun ride.  How much are those going for these days? 

-Ace-

[JonnyBoy]

I got mine with 50k for about 7k.

[Crazy Cooter]

Sorry for my ignorance (Vtech, V-tec).

Just wanted to correct you before some Hondahead skewered you.

An automatic won't make your car any less desirable (not much anyhow).  It's the motor, interior & rims that would go first.  The tranny is just usually pulled with the motor & sold as a set if it's a manual, as the motor alone if it's an auto.  With only 50k on it, a thief could have that motor sold for at least $1000 in the time it took to pull it out (about 4 hours).  Then they'd get another $1000 from other parts.  It could be stolen, stripped, and sold before you finished your work day.  That's why they get stolen so often (plus it takes all of 4 seconds to get in one).  The best alarm for that car would include a proximity sensor and an interior siren coupled with an alarm that doesn't simply "plug-in" to the stock wiring.  Every thief knows where Best Buy and other "high volume" stores like them install their alarms and how to circumvent them.  You can easily open the hoods on those things from the outside, so keep that in mind too.

You got a good deal.  Follow the manual in regards to upkeep and that car will last you for 200k miles easy.  They last that long even in the rust belt, but they look Fugly.  Be careful wih who paints it.  If you get a Maaco job it can cause more problems than it solves.  Watch for rust behind the rear wheels where the bumper meets the metal.

In case you can't tell... I like Hondas.

[JonnyBoy]

Thanks  Crazy Cooter. Could you reccommend a specific model of alarm? Price is not an issue but if you could suggest one that works well and won't cost me a kidney then that'd be awesome. Yeah, if I get a paint job I'll get the best quality one I can find. And since you made mention of how easy it is to snag one of these if you're a thief, I'm willing to do anything it takes to keep this car in my possesion.

[Crazy Cooter]

You'll find a ton of information on www.honda-tech.com.  There's a forum for for audio/security/video.  That whole site is really rough on newcomers, so make sure you search before posting.

[AlanS17]

If you wanna spend money on the car, I'd put a new stereo and speakers in it. I like JL Audio for lows, Infiniti for highs, and PPI for amps.

[usedelectronics]

You'll find a ton of information on www.honda-tech.com.

[missioncontrol]

I agree don't paint it black.............

nice car to small for me though...........

[Crazy Cooter]

LOL.

I am a moderator at Honda-Tech.

Are you a member over there?

Yeah, I only have about 5 posts though.  The search function will answer 99% of a persons questions.  I've got a '92 EX sedan that I'm turbocharging.

[SirPoonga]

A friend of mine has a red one.  He's on honda-tech all the time.
I like it

[ChadTower]

Well, at least I know now who to ask when I have questions about my Civic.

(1999 DX, 95k miles)

[HaRuMaN]

Lol...  I have a 1999 Civic DX with 188K miles... 

[ChadTower]

Mine was stolen twice before it had 8k on it and sat in effed up Title paperwork limbo for well over a year, maybe two years.

[JonnyBoy]

After reviewing all the posts on Honda-Tech, first thing that get's done is the alarm.

[ChadTower]

Forget an alarm, just leave your baby in it.

[JonnyBoy]

Well, at 16, if I have a baby then there is much more to worry about than getting my car jacked.

[paigeoliver]

Well, at 16, if I have a baby then there is much more to worry about than getting my car jacked.

You are 16?

Man, I wish my parents would have bought me a late model Acura when I was 16.

Heck, I am an adult and I STILL can't afford a late model Acura (Ok, yes I can, but the expense isn't worth the utility to me).

[Stingray]

When he said he wanted to get it repainted, and change the color as well, I knew we were talking about a 16 year old.

-S

[JonnyBoy]

Think again, the cost came out of my pocket. I have a steady job. Sorry sorry, I didn't know that it'd be illogical to paint it another color, not much of a car guy. Like I said, the reason I went with the acura is because I need a car with a good engine and it was cheaper than all the local civics.

[paigeoliver]

Blue book retail (and that photo is from a car lot) on that car is $11,000. Were you working before you turned 16 or something, or is it being financed in your parents name? (I got a truck that way when I was 17).

[ChadTower]

I got a car when I was 17.  It was a Pontiac T2000 with about a billion miles on it.  It lasted about as long as a tray of cupcakes at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.

Top speed:  55 if I had the wind behind me and was parked on a flatbed truck going 55.

[JonnyBoy]

Nah, it was all me. I had money in an account for such a situation. I've been putting pieces of paychecks in it since I was 10.

[JonnyBoy]

Tomorrow I'll be picking it up, you guys want me to snap any pics?

[Bones]

Tomorrow I'll be picking it up, you guys want me to snap any pics?

That all depends.

Yes if you have a hot 16 year old girlfriend that will lay across the bonnet in a skimpy bikini.

[ChadTower]

Hey, maybe he has a hot 40 year old mom.  I'll go for that one.

[JonnyBoy]

She's 54, I'm afraid, sorry I can't help you out there. And the girlfriend situation is bleak as well...I can photoshop Tawny Kitaen and put whitesnake music in the background if you want me to.

[ChadTower]

The car will clear up the girlfriend situation.  At 16, if you've got a nice car, you could be Louis Anderson and still score.

[JonnyBoy]

Yeah but you know, if I'm not a meathead with a letterman's jacket the car doesn't mean a thing.

[ChadTower]

It does if she doesn't have her own license and car yet.

[JonnyBoy]

True...

[ChadTower]

Wait, when did kids start wearing letterman jackets again?  No one would be caught dead with them in the early 90s.

[SirPoonga]

Ummmmm, my school it seemed everyone who was in sports, no matter the talent, wore letter jackets (mid90s).

[Stingray]

Late '80, all the jocks at my school wore letter jackets. However, I work in a high school now, nobody wears them here. I never really thought about that until now.

-S

[ChadTower]

I had one, and like 10 letters by the time I graduated, but not sure I ever wore the thing.

[Crazy Cooter]

I wasn't in High School enough to notice.

My '92 hasn't turned 100k yet.  I bought it from a Dr. that had all the receipts & oil change tags still in the glove box.  It has a touch of rust, but I can take care of that this winter (hopefully).  My first mission is 3rd gear rubber so it's actually worth fixing the rust.

Take that Acura to the drag strips.  You'll either get it stolen or pick up a girlfriend.  Maybe both.  You'll never know until you throw the dice.  Whatever you do, stay away from any street races.  In my experience, there's a bigger "thief ratio" on the streets than the track.  YMMV, but at 16, you'll likely get bit by the racing bug.  You have a good platform for either "relatively" cheap dragging or some autocross stuff.  It's best to just choose one or the other for $ sake.

[AlanS17]

I came from a pretty poor area of the U.S. At my high school, it wasn't a matter of who had the nicest car. It was just a matter of who had a car at all.

I inhereted a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra S (never figured out what the "S" stood for) when I turned 16. It was 9 years old when I got it, but the seats were like Lazy Boys and it had power everything. We called it "the tank" and "the blue bomber". We bragged, "it won't beat a Camaro in a race, but it'll sure roll over one."

Yeah, that was a great car... all the way up until the day it caught fire on the way to school due to an electrical malfunction. 

[paigeoliver]

Same thing when I was in high school, just having A car pretty much assured you a girlfriend. I was a total loser in high school.  But then I turned 16 and got an old Buick Regal, and from that moment on I had all the dates I wanted with sophmores and freshman.

I wish it was still that easy.

Come to think of it, I was 21 before I ever had a girlfriend who actually owned a car (not counting a 26 year old that I only went out with twice when I was 20).

[Bones]

We can't drive here at 16. 17 is the minimum for a provisional licence. Out of 200 guys in my year at school aged 17, maybe 10 had cars. This ratio was normal.

My first car was a 1973 orange Toyota Corolla which I brought for $200 and rebuilt with my grandfather.

With the exception of a diff (which was my fault after dropping the clutch in dirt and then hitting the road at full wheelspin), I drove it for 3 years troublefree. It did great hand-brakeys.

[Stingray]

...I had all the dates I wanted with sophmores and freshman.

I wish it was still that easy.

Actually, it is still that easy to get dates with 14 and 15 year olds.

-S

[paigeoliver]

...I had all the dates I wanted with sophmores and freshman.

I wish it was still that easy.

Actually, it is still that easy to get dates with 14 and 15 year olds.

-S

Yeah, only I am pretty sure you can't date any more high school girls after you are old enough to get into a bar, at least that was always the way I understood the rule. 

[ChadTower]

At our high school, we had a couple of levels.  There were the regular kids, no cash for a car.  We had the kids who worked 50 hours on top of school, had a car.  Then we had a couple of kids with rich parents, who would be driving a good car.  Then we had the dealers, coming to school in a $150,000 Mercedes.

[Stingray]

By the time I was 16 I had a very nice truck that I had entirely rebuilt (with the help of my dad). I got it when I was 14 and it was a complete PoS at the time. Spent two years dedicating most of my free time to rebuilding it. I had one of the nicer cars in my high school.

-S

[ChadTower]

One of the biggest events of our teenage years was when my best friend inherited a beaten up Oldsmobile.  Dead clyinder, so top speed was 50.  Bad electrical, so we often had to swear at it for a half hour to get it started.  Eventually, we were out at the beach, and the brakes died electrically and we couldn't get them working again.  It was a sad day when we no longer had that car.

[Stingray]

My best friend had a Mustang with no reverse. We always had to remember to park it where you didn't have to back it out. Sometimes we'd forget and look like a couple of super-losers when we had to get out & push the car out of the parking space.

-S

[paigeoliver]

My best friend had a Mustang with no reverse. We always had to remember to park it where you didn't have to back it out. Sometimes we'd forget and look like a couple of super-losers when we had to get out & push the car out of the parking space.

-S

Seems like A LOT of high school kids end up with those cars that have no reverse, or won't shift into the final gear, etc. I have never known an adult that drove a car like that, but I remember 3 different kids at school without reverse, and one who had an automatic that wouldn't shift into the final gear!!

[Stingray]

That's because most adults can afford to have their car fixed. Sad thing about this car was that he had about three grand tied up in the engine and then bolted it to a tranny with no reverse. Yes, I told him often that he was a moron. Shut up and push was the usual response.

-s

[AceTKK]

in HS I had a 1981 Datsun 280zx, made the same year I was.  It was an awesome car, in mint condition.  The chicks never really appreciated it the way I did though; they tended to go for the guys with the SS camaros.  My parents still have the Datsun.  My sister ran it into a ditch so it's a little beat up now.  I really should see about getting it back and restoring it.

-Ace-

[Buddabing]

My first car was a "Le Car" with no A/C and no radio. It was NOT a chick magnet.

I think my parents got me that car on purpose.

But it had four wheels and got me from place to place, so I didn't complain, especially since I didn't pay for it or the insurance. It also took regular (leaded) gas, which was cheaper than unleaded.

[JackTucky]

My first car was a "Le Car" with no A/C and no radio. It was NOT a chick magnet.

Some loser who lived in the downstairs apartment of our beach house one year drove a LeCar.  He was constantly parking it in our spot.

One day, me and 3 of my drunken buddies lifted it and moved it out of the way.

it was VERY light.   

He was mad, blamed me for messing up his bumper.

Art

[Stingray]

My Dad had a LeCar for a very short time. I remember that was the car I used to teach my sister to drive a stick. Man we thrashed that little sucker.

-S

[Crazy Cooter]

My first car was a wagon.  It was great for the Drive-in.  It had a V8 & a shift kit so it was pretty quick too.  I miss that car, it rode better than any car I've owned since.  Plus the girls liked that the back seat folded down and made a nice area to mess around in  .

[missioncontrol]

my first car was a 73 Dodge Duster had it 3 weeks before I rolled it...........

[JonnyBoy]

Well, I've had the car for a few days now and it seems that the previous owner was a a**hole and installed an aftermarket stereo incorrectly, resulting in nearly a grand of electrical damage. Luckily, the dealership we bought it from is paying for the repair bill. But still, I don't have a car for the next 5 days because some jerk was too lazy or cheap to buy a wiring harness.

[Stingray]

At least the dealership is taking responsibility for it. I'd never buy a used Acura, 99% of them end up in the hands of teenage ricer wannabees who really don't know the first thing about cars.

-S

[JonnyBoy]

Well considering I am a teenager I take offense! (No, not really). As I stated earlier the only reason for taking the plunge for the Acura is because it was cheaper than most all the Honda civics in the area. I just wanted something with the reliability of a Honda engine so I could drive it well into college. Looks like the joke's on me.

[dogg0]

At least the dealership is taking responsibility for it. I'd never buy a used Acura, 99% of them end up in the hands of teenage ricer wannabees who really don't know the first thing about cars.

-S

haha, stingray spends way too much time at highschool

[Stingray]

At least the dealership is taking responsibility for it. I'd never buy a used Acura, 99% of them end up in the hands of teenage ricer wannabees who really don't know the first thing about cars.

-S

haha, stingray spends way too much time at highschool

Sad but true. And for what it's worth, no offense was intended.

I'm going back to my rocking chair so I can shake my fist at the damn kids some more.

-S

[JonnyBoy]

No offense was taken. I'm going to go play some MAME to ease my troubled mind.

[Stingray]

Good for you. That's what's wrong with kids today. They spend too much time in school, and not enough time playing video games.

-S

[SirPoonga]

In HS I either borrowed my dad's '82 tercel or used my '74 suzuki ts185 dual purpose bike.

http://www.suzukicycles.org/photos/TS/TS185-brochures/1974_TS185L_brochure_800.jpg

[Jabba]

Heh, my first car was shared between me an my bro, it was a green dodge dart (1975) with 2 bazillion miles on it. It was so old the bottom was all rusted out to hell on the back seat and when idling gas would come in through the rear. Put heh, it got back and forth to work OK...