buying a new car, but need some help please!

hey guys ive been looking at a few integras lately as i mainly want to own one of them especially the vti-r's. i found one that i really like but im not too sure bout it still. i went to look at it today and found a few things that worries me a bit and i need your help from experience or just knowledge as this is only going to be my 2nd car. i also need to apologise in advance for the level of noobness.

* a leak coming down by the left hand side tyre (somewhere around there). not sure what is actually called. but im pretty sure its called a sump *something* is that a bad?

* a small leak coming around the area where that hose from the radiator connects to the engine.

* sunroof seems to wobble a bit when opening it.

the car has done 176xxx kms and the body seems to be in a good nick except for a few tiny dents. hardly noticeable. only from certain angles. also according to the owner that the car has the timing belt changed and also water pump. clutch master cylinder just replaced. the car is also selling for around $6800.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Goku

* a leak coming down by the left hand side tyre (somewhere around there). not sure what is actually called. but im pretty sure its called a sump *something* is that a bad?

* a small leak coming around the area where that hose from the radiator connects to the engine.

* sunroof seems to wobble a bit when opening it.

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1)
This leak means the sump gasket is due for replacement and also check the sump plug for leaks as it may also require new washer.
- also oil cam gasket (cam gear side)

2)
This leak is common on the bseries. There are a couple if things here that could be leaking.
- vtec solenoid gasket
- dizzy gasket
- oil cam seal gaskets (dizzy side)
- rocker cover gasket

You can get a kit to replace all these gaskets/seals.

3)
Possibly the sunroof mechanical rails are loose or bent.
- possible re-tightening and lube fix?

Buying tips:

Also you may want to consider checking;
- any smoke out of exhaust pipe when warmed
- brake test - does the car steer to the left or right? Does the brake pedal heavily shrudders?
- sussy check - listen for knocking sounds and feel the bounce back from the shocks.
- steering lock test - on idle, do a full lock left to right and listen for grinding PS pump noises and feel if its hard to do.
- driveshafts/cv joint test - listen for clicking/tapping sounds wen you do a turn left or right
- Clutch - listen for noises and feel the clutch release. On stationary position, Try accelerating from 3rd or 4th gears and see if the rpm climbs or does the engine cut out?

If your happy with the car and everything else seems fine try to negotiate with the seller to drop the price for the costs of replacing those gaskets and fixing the oil leaks.

Good luck bud

thank you soo muchh!! i have checked for any signs of smoke and it seems like no smoke coming out from the exhaust. the owner told me that i need to change the brake pads soon if i do get the car. also i forgot to mention that the clutch does not make any weird noises when im stationary when i press it down and release it. another thing i forgot to check is the cv joints to check for any noises. but also i realised that i think the cv boot rubber thing is like ripped a bit and some sort of grease is coming out of it. is that bad? and also will it be expensive to replace these stuff? including the ones u mentioned above. thanks!

Is the clutch slipping? Cv boots when ripped will require changing as this destroy your uni joints and will end up replacing the entire shaft.

Approx costs for cv boot replacement is around $60-80 a boot. Replace both sides to be safe.

Also check the engine mounts and cluster srs/abs lights are switching on/off normally.

Check coolant for any leaks and check the reservoir bottle for oily residue.

Check the oil cap and look under the cap and inside the engine rocker cover for any burnt oil deposits.

If your in sydney go to hannys performance - hell fix u up a good price for all the above mentioned gasket kit and cv's.

the clutch wasnt slipping. i did the the 3rd-4th gear test and the car just died.. i wish i was in sydney. im all the way in adelaide. but im keeping an eye out for other integras as well. theres only like 3 of them for sale at the moment. :/

Ok good. Clutch is sweet.

GL with car hunting and let us knw what u ended up buying

i will!! thanks a lot mate! really helped a lot!!

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Originally Posted by Rage King

Is the clutch slipping? Cv boots when ripped will require changing as this destroy your uni joints and will end up replacing the entire shaft.

Approx costs for cv boot replacement is around $60-80 a boot. Replace both sides to be safe.

Also check the engine mounts and cluster srs/abs lights are switching on/off normally.

Check coolant for any leaks and check the reservoir bottle for oily residue.

Check the oil cap and look under the cap and inside the engine rocker cover for any burnt oil deposits.

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Good Info, repped.

Let me add.

If the oil is milky in colour the headgasket needs replacement.

Once car is warmed get someone to rev the car.
White smoke means there is coolant in the combustion chamber - headgasket needs replacing
Blue smoke - Oil is in the combustion chamber, piston rings are worn
Black smoke - Ok. Just its running very rich, it still shouldnt be though.

Jack it up and inspect for any oil residue. you are looking for oil leaks. If there is an oil leak, then there will be a drop in oil pressure, if there is a drop in oil pressure then that means the engine internals wont be properly lubricated, if your going 4000rpm and something isnt lubed up properly there will be metal on metal contact. Your engine will break. And your wallet will hurt.

There shouldnt be oil residue ANYWHERE. Dont listen to whatever the seller says. Oil goes in the engine not outside it. Look at where its usually parked for oil stains.

Keep this in perspective. You will near impossible to find an awesome fault free car. And if you do it wont be cheap.
The trick to buying USED car's is to find one with the LEAST repair bills in your price range.

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Originally Posted by DakDak

Good Info, repped.

Let me add.

If the oil is milky in colour the headgasket needs replacement.

Once car is warmed get someone to rev the car.
White smoke means there is coolant in the combustion chamber - headgasket needs replacing
Blue smoke - Oil is in the combustion chamber, piston rings are worn
Black smoke - Ok. Just its running very rich, it still shouldnt be though.

Jack it up and inspect for any oil residue. you are looking for oil leaks. If there is an oil leak, then there will be a drop in oil pressure, if there is a drop in oil pressure then that means the engine internals wont be properly lubricated, if your going 4000rpm and something isnt lubed up properly there will be metal on metal contact. Your engine will break. And your wallet will hurt.

There shouldnt be oil residue ANYWHERE. Dont listen to whatever the seller says. Oil goes in the engine not outside it. Look at where its usually parked for oil stains.

Keep this in perspective. You will near impossible to find an awesome fault free car. And if you do it wont be cheap.
The trick to buying USED car's is to find one with the LEAST repair bills in your price range.

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really good info mate!! from what i remember, the oil that was dripping was not milky or anything. it was just black. the car has been parked in the same spot for like 4-5 days without being moved until i came and test drove it and when i saw the oil stains, there was like 2-3 drops of oil on the pavement. so is that considered bad? i could tell that it was definately coming from the integra cause it still looked really dark. not like a faded oil stain colour. and the seller obviously thinks that i had absolutely no knowledge on cars at all as he was tring to convince me that the leak that was coming out from around the rocker cover was not oil -.- . also i know i wont be getting a mechanically perfect car with my budget. just looking for something that doesnt has as much problems. :D

Sounds like his trying to get rid it off asap - because something is up so his talking shit to you, obviously taking you for a fool.

Did you jack it up and have a look underneath? 2-3 drops on the pavement is just the tip of the iceberg. If you jack it up and see oil everywhere RUN AWAY. Dont tell him you want to have a look underneath, sneaky bastard may do a quick clean up job on it. Ive heard of cons doing a service, cleaning the mess and leaving a car in the same spot., one bloke comes along test drives it looks over everything and thinks hey, its all good. Buys it. 2 days later realises it a lemon when the oil is milky and its blowing heaps of smoke.


Dont buy it. Keep shopping around.

well i havent jacked it up yet. but i have i might go look at it again this sat to check it out again cause i was in a rush when looking at the car cause i had to start work. i test drove it though and rev the car up to 6-7.5 revs and it didnt blow any smoke so i guess thats a fairly good sign still? clutch and gearbox felt really nice and crisp. just that leak that worries me. :)

It should worry you man. . There will be a stream of oil. An oil leak can come from anywhere. Just cause there's no smoke doesnt mean the engine is A1. If your dead set on this teg get it looked at by a qualified mechanic.

My friend bought a R32 GTR. The seller said it was oin good nick. HOwever the oil pressure gauge was BELOW average. Seller said it was malfunctioning. He had a look around the engine bay. No oil leaks. BUT WHAT HE DIDNT KNOW was a sneaky bastard had cleaned it all up.

Couple days later spun a bearing. Couldnt afford rebuild. Sold it for peanuts.

It's a jungle out there my friend. Be very very careful.

Keep searching, inspect the car & don't rush to buy!

yeah i guess you guys are right :) thanks a lot for the help though. really appreciate it. im just really keen on buying a car i suppose. walking everywhere s**ks! im hoping to look at another one tomorrow and i hope thats the one. like u said, i know i wont be able to get a mechanically a1 car with my budget. just hope that it has minimal problems.

Whenever you get a change to jack it up and look under... take a good look at its chassis also!! MAKE SURE it is straight! I made this mistake myself buying my first car, I didn't jack it up and the chassis wasn't straight. It wouldn't of been a problem if the car did come with rego + rwc but it didnt... kind of stupid of me but live and learn. So make sure thats another thing to check! Hah

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY dont rush to buy a car! There's plenty out there, don't settle on a car you wont love just because you can buy it. It's gotta be just right, and you dont want to settle to find out that it wasn't taken care of and it will die on yah.
NEVER SETTLE!! Your car will come in due time :)

I'd personally walk away from that car. The drama/stress is simply not worth it, and it could cost you more to fix it to drive it on the road than to buy a car thats already on the road

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Originally Posted by eLtrix

Whenever you get a change to jack it up and look under... take a good look at its chassis also!! MAKE SURE it is straight! I made this mistake myself buying my first car, I didn't jack it up and the chassis wasn't straight. It wouldn't of been a problem if the car did come with rego + rwc but it didnt... kind of stupid of me but live and learn. So make sure thats another thing to check! Hah

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY dont rush to buy a car! There's plenty out there, don't settle on a car you wont love just because you can buy it. It's gotta be just right, and you dont want to settle to find out that it wasn't taken care of and it will die on yah.
NEVER SETTLE!! Your car will come in due time :)

I'd personally walk away from that car. The drama/stress is simply not worth it, and it could cost you more to fix it to drive it on the road than to buy a car thats already on the road

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i also made a big mistake when i got my first car. i bought a eg sedan d15b4 motor and back then i really did not know anything about cars at all. so i took it for a drive and it felt nice and everything, but a few days later it started to smoke up like crazy and realised that my engine oil was getting low so it was obvious what the problem was. a few days after that, timing belt snapped on me so i had to get a new motor in and that cost me all up around $1300 plus labour. soon after, clutch was giving away after a few questions being asked here and there, so i took it to the mechanics and they checked my car out and i got told that i needed to replace my clutch, thurst bearing, all the brake pads and also did a some other stuff. anyways, i ended up paying more than what the car was worth and i finally sold it cause i was sick of it. plus the gearbox was going to need a replacement or a rebuild. :/ thanks alot on the info as well. really helped!!!

^ Exactly what happened to me. So well i sold my first car cause it had too much problems. Bought another car with rego+rwc. best decision of my life. Though im already looking for another car.. thats faster.. haha

Also a good idea in when you are dead set on a car and seems all ok, quickly do a PPSR (formerly revscheck) and do a complete report history of the car. ($37).

This is for your peace of mind that you are not buying a car with finance owning on it and this report also tells you of any accident histories, # of owners, odometer history/rewinds, market and sale value/history etc

Worth the $37 incase you find out later when the debt collector knocks at your door taking your new baby away

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rage King

Also a good idea in when you are dead set on a car and seems all ok, quickly do a PPSR (formerly revscheck) and do a complete report history of the car. ($37).

This is for your peace of mind that you are not buying a car with finance owning on it and this report also tells you of any accident histories, # of owners, odometer history/rewinds, market and sale value/history etc

Worth the $37 incase you find out later when the debt collector knocks at your door taking your new baby away

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thanks mate i did that already on carsales. bought a car today but sadly it wasnt a vti-r. just a gsi. but im still stoked about it. didnt know that the b18b2 engines actually have a really good pick up. but im planning to drop in a b18c2 soon. for now im just going to save up and keep it as the way it is. the car had really minimal problems from the previous service history. it comes with the full log book and receipts for all the service it has done until last months. so now all i need to do is take it in to the mechanics and change the timing belt. anyone know how much b18c2's cost these days? cheers a lot guys. all of yous really helped a lot!!

Congrats on your new ride.

Put a b18C or c7 ftw!

Fcuk b18c2 lol

Congrats mate. B18b are still a blast to drive. I settled on a gsi myself though I wanted a vtir.. still good but I also planning on a swap. Hah. How much did you picked yours up for if you don't mind me asking

thanks guys. i picked mine up for $5800 at the end. but the only thing that annoys me is the that the paint on the bonnet is a bit faded. :@ haha. but apart from that i love it!

B18c2 goes for around 2k market value, prob better to upgrade to b18c or b18c7 or just buy a whole vti-r with no reg with the motor thats what i did,
And gratz on your first car, I had a gsi aswell to start with however it was converted to the b20b8 engine and i now own a vti-r.

Ahhh. Not a bad pick up. Can always paint it if you really want. Or just go carbon fibre ftw!!!! How many ks does it have

It's done about 160k :) I'm pretty happy with it though.