- Tue Jul 30, 2013 7:25 pm
#334925
Oil leaks are fairly common, especially from the oil pan gasket, breather box O-ring, cam, crank, valve cover, and distributor seals. I don't mind fixing these at all.
If the car shows signs of having been modified or in a significant wreck, avoid it like the plague. Body kits might as well be a total loss. Avoid carbon fiber hoods as well.
Make sure the door jams and engine bay are the same color as the outside of the car.
If the car is in a snow or ocean climate, the rear wheel wells will have rust and all the suspension bolts will be seized up. The rear strut bolts, front and rear control arm bolts will be rusted stuck. I only buy cars from desert climates. The paint will be faded but there's no rust!
Another big concern is interior condition. If it's painted, walk away. The driver's seat will always have a tear, but that's not a big issue since you can get passenger seat fabric from the junkyard and swap it. But it's getting very hard to find interior bits. Nobody is selling good Integra seats anymore and the cars in the junkyard always have greasy parts thrown in them besides almost always having been picked bare.
The seat belts never retract smoothly and the dealerships are dicks about honoring the lifetime warranty claiming that no replacements are available.
Expect to have to resolder the main relay circuit board unless it's 94 or newer. Also, the dimmer switches typically go out but are easy to find in the junkyards. Cruise control needs adjustment and maintenance or replacement. If it's older than 94, the AC is R12 and not worth keeping IMO. Expect to have to redo any aftermarket stereo harness and replace a shitty alarm install.
