I got my "new" car!!!!

ExplEddieBauer · 09-27-04, 03:35

I got my "new" car!!! It's a '96 Acura 3.2TL. I love this thing. I bought it off an Ebay auction in Houston, TX for $10k including shipping. It did have a problem with the ABS system when it arrived so I took it to the Honda specialist shop and they said it was a bad accumulator. $750 including a few fluid changes (brake and tranny). The car now runs like brand new!! I love it sooooooooo much!!! I've already started doing little mods to it. I'm in love with Honda products again...

Here're a couple of pics:

I will be doing a major detail in a week and a half, taking out all the swirls and other imperfections. I'll be taking pics of it once I'm done.

tkr128 · 09-27-04, 05:49

Congrats on the "new" TL! It looks really good considering you haven't even detailed it yet!

A little off topic, but how was your eBay car shopping experience? The concept of buying a car online is still hard for me to imagine.

NTTG · 09-27-04, 06:10

Congrats on the new ride Billy. I agree the car looks pretty good considering you haven't worked your magic yet. Can hardly wait to see the after shots.

Don't think I'd have the guts to do the ebay thing - at least for a car. Glad everything went okay for you.

ExplEddieBauer · 09-27-04, 06:22

Thanks guys!!!! I took a huge risk. But considering there aren't any '96-'98 TL's that I like around here (too expensive, too many miles, too beat up, etc...) and the fact that this car only has 62k miles on it plus the color that I love, it was too hard to pass up. I called a company and let them inspect the car inside out and everything was good so that's why I bought the car. And also, I bought this car from a dealer so it wasn't too bad.

So since I got the car, I did the normal maintenance stuff like letting the shop change out the old brake and tranny fluids with new ones. I changed the oil to Mobil 1 5W-30 and Purolator filter, changed a burnt out bulb in the instrument panel, added Acura wheel locks, and changed out the busted speakers with an $18 pair ESA speakers from Circuit City (sound much better than stock). Just the little stuff but it's expected from an 8 year-old car.

The paint condition is very nice for a '96 and I'm very impressed but to an Autopian standard, it's far far far from perfect. I'll be spending my fall break (4-day weekend) to work out the imperfections. I'm sooo excited!!!!

NTTG · 09-27-04, 06:41

And gal!!!

ExplEddieBauer · 09-27-04, 06:45

Haha...sorry. Thanks guy and gal!!

G35stilez · 09-27-04, 07:20

Awesome!

Big congrats to ya. Even though there are problems, it's soo much fun working on a new vehicle. Just another project

andriver · 09-27-04, 09:24

Congratulations Billy! Nice car.

ExplEddieBauer · 09-27-04, 10:16

Thanks!!! I'm already going broke because I want to do some mods to it. Help me stop!!!!!

Lowejackson · 09-28-04, 05:26

Congratulations, the car looks great

Have you considered Auto-Rx to clean the engine

ExplEddieBauer · 09-28-04, 08:24

Neh. I use SeaFoam. I had a 1/3 of the can sucked through the PCV valve into the crankcase and it cleaned out a lot of built up carbon and stuff and burnt out of the exhaust. I've also added another 1/2 of the can to clean out the oil and stuff. I'll be changing that out in about 2000 miles. I guess it works like Auto-RX but you can get SeaFoam from Carquest for $4 a can. It's cheap!!

Here's the link to SeaFoam's website:

http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUp.htm

This is the crap that was in my engine:

Now, the engine runs much better. It has more response than before, a whole lot smoother, and my gas mileage picked up from 20mpg mix to 24mpg mix. It's a great product!