I was just wondering how you guys honestly take pride in driving first gen cl's. Theyre ugly, slow, shitty, and boring. The possibilities are extremely limited with them, they look like complete and utter shit. (i would like to slap whoever designed the body for these cars) and they are even slower than they are ugly! Honestly!? How the hell do you guys sit here and be happy with these shitty cars!? You put all this time and effort into making your sub $3k car look presentable or somewhat quicker, when each and every other car already looks better and is already faster compared to our pathetic cars. Lets face the truth: our cars are at the bottom of the list. They're bottom suckers in the world of cars, and thats where theyre going to stay. Just in case any of you out there are saying "Well its just YOUR car thats a piece of shit, not mine!" then think again. My car is MINT condition with 100k miles, and i had it appraised professionally. Every category that they appraised it in, it recieved a "above average for age" and "above average overall" categories including the following: engine, mechanics, interior, exterior, tires, wheels, brakes, clutch, power seats, locks, windows, and electronics. Each and every thing they looked at was "above average for age" and "above average overall" yet the car was worth a whopping $2,200 USD. Argue with me, flame with me, or say whatever the hell you wish, but i think it's time to come to the realization that our cars are shitty and hold no value to anyone except the poor souls that cant get rid of them and are stuck with them.

Discuss.

-Drew

 

i personally love my car and i get a lot of compliments about it from people at UCI and all over south cali, so i'm not sure what you're doing to your car, but you obviously have very low regard to your own possessions and have low confidence about your appearance or SOMETHING... whatever it is, it aint working, lol



does any other 1st gen CL member agree with me? lol.. i mean sure i would like an s2k or whatev, but my 1st gen is my first car and i love working on it..

oh and i dont think a professional appraiser will give you that great of a price anyway... just compare it to what the market is selling for and sell it for the same amount. i am always getting that "what year is your car? 2000?" no its only 97 hahaha

just my 2 cents, i guess u either hate it or love it

 

Yeah i guess. I'm just kinda pissed off at the moment. I dont want anyone to take offense to what i wrote, so please approach with an open mind. I paid $6k for my cl less than 4 months ago and now its worth almost a third of that. The car wasnt that great to begin with. I didnt really like it at the time either, but i really wanted my own car so i just went out one day with six g's in my hand, and came home with what i thought would be a car i could deal with, but ive hated it since the day i got it. Its just not good enough i guess. I hate the way it looks and i hate the way it drives.

 

also, sometimes i think that when i go to a camry forum and see people takling about their older generation camrys, i have the same thinking too... lol but the flame me too

 

Your car is only as valuable as you deem it be.

Obviously, your car's a piece of shit - if you think it is.

This is my first car, and to me it is the greatest car I could have right now. I'll grow out of it eventually, but for now, it is my car. And I will never forget how much fun I'm having with it right now.

Cheers.

-Alex

edit: Damn son, 16 years old with 6g's to spend on a car and you're complaining about how it's depreciated in value? Go buy a civic and call it a day man...

 

There is no reason to flame, but IMO you just bought the wrong car for the wrong reasons. This is a CL enthusiasts board. I guarantee you 96% of the majority love their CL's to death. The CL is a beautiful car, and I love it. I'd drive any CL especially an Acura over any Toyota Camry/Solara/Corolla/Celica/Tercel or Nissan Sentra/Maxima/Altima or Mazda 3/Protege 5/blah blah or whatever car in the same class (of course disregarding all natural sports cars). I agree that parts are limited, but that's what makes it unique. Like I had said before, you bought the wrong car. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.

- lnsyone

 

^

i'm having a blast modding it.. sure it doesnt have as many aftermarket parts for it, but damn everytime i see it under the amber parking light streets at night, i think its the sexiest car out of them all

peace

 

The CL's value depreciates quite significantly. But all in all, it depends on how well you maintain your car. Like what Agranado had mentioned, if your car looks a piece of shit, you will get shit. You know what I'm saying? This is such a great car for the younger crowd because it's fairly cheap for an above average semi-luxury/sporty coupe. I think my CL was worth every cent of what I had spent. I love it.

 

before i got my car i put it in the paper and i was getting calls on 6500 for a 97 3.0, like 3-4 calls a day to come out to see it, so don't go on some appraiser, sell it privately people want cl's

 

The CL is a GREAT car. As a former older Accord owner, I recently bought a CL because I wanted to trade up a bit to an Acura (like many loyal Honda owners) but as a property investor/owner have other priorities & goals and thereforedon't want to be 'car poor'-- basically I don't want a car payment/maintenance/repairs to be a huge line item on my budget. Good fuel economy and reasonable insurance rate are also necessary.

On the other hand, I don't want to drive around in an 'economy car'. Nothing wrong with Civics, Corollas, etc., but with my maximum car budget of $10k, that left me with a 3-5 year old economy car, or a late 90s Accord or Camry (Camry's are great but don't want a "family car"). I wanted something that was just a bit of a step up from the Accord/Camry- level and would be a somewhat luxurious, practical but cool looking car for a 20-something guy . BTW, you don't see many CLs, so they are about the cheapest car you can buy that will actually turn heads and spark conversation.

 

about gas - I just pulled 380 miles this tank. I filled her 15 gallons worth today, so thats about: 25.3 miles/gallon - And I was gunning it every now and again!

 

Obviously thats your opinion. If you don't like the car then why did you buy it?? I love my CL, never had anyone tell me that its ugly or a peice of shit, normally its good to see something differant and original. As for parts not being available all it takes is alittle looking and some modification now and again and it works great. As for retaining value you just need to find the right people .... fuck the dealerships and trading it in, they are going to rape hardcore for price. Selling privatly is the way to do it then go to the dealership to get your new ride. If i can get someone to offer me their 99 Mercedes Benz ML430 in a straight up trade for my 99 Acura 2.3CL then apparently they are worth something to some people.

just my

 

cars are not an investment. they don't behave like houses, they depreciate, its just finding someone to pay what you want

 

so, its seems everyone is approaching this open minded, so thats good....i love my car. Sure, sometimes its a pain in my ass, but it's still gives me the most head turns of any vehicle i've ever driven, and this is my 6th vehicle( and i've had some tricked out ones, and some real beaters). I'm sorry it's not what you expected/wanted, but neither was my 1st one, so live and learn i guess. I would have to agree most people love their CL, and while its not the best looking, best overall car out there, i still love mine, and i'm sure one day i will also grow out of it too. Yes, the aftermarket scene for this model is shitty, to say the least, but with that said, i like the challenge of it, and so do many of us. With that said, you either love it or hate it, thats my view of it.

Good luck to you, maybe you'll warm up to it, or maybe you'll hate it for the rest of your ownership on it. But at your age, i was driving a POS 89 corolla dx 5 speed, and it cost 800 and was worth about 500, so you're considerately better off than i was, and probably half of the people in here, so give it a chance. Hopefully everything works out good for you.


Best of luck

Duck

 

awww man, this i slame, after reading agranado's post abou this gas mileage, im getting SHIT!

i get 20MPG... 13 gallons for 260 miles -_-.... anyone know what i need to do to get better gas mileage?

 

start a new thread about gas milage and we'll talk about it there or bring up an old one

 

Yeah i see what everyone is saying. I guess a cl just isnt the car for me. I hope i can get more for it then $2200, because that really pissed me off when he said that.

 

that value must have been their trade in value.. alot of dealers go by how much they can get the car for at an auction or wholesale. which is around 2-3 g's however, they will still turn around and sell it for 7-8k. look at my cl for instance. when i went to the acura dealer to look at the tsx's the owner of the dealership came out and asked me if i was sellin it, and how many miles it had on it. he said they are in big demand. (atleast here in tampa) im sure he was lookin at the market around here bein eather old as hell people or alot of younger people who like to mod thier cars. once i told him i had over 129k on the odo. he quickly backed down. but it felt good to know that there is a market out there for them.. i get complements every where i go almost everytime i fill my car up at the gas station, and EVERY time i go out to the races. infact my car isnt even officially up for sale yet but i got someone that i work with who got a loan for 9g's for prescious and didnt try to talk me down at all... i paid almost 11 for her 2 years ago.. yea i put GOBBS of money into her, but she turned around a pretty good resale. the fact that your car has over 100k miles on it is whats kickin you in the ass. try to sell it by owner and id bet you can get atleast 6-7 for it.

 

If I got a 97 CL for my first car i wouldn't be bitchin .... my first was a 1985 Ford Escort.... you could get more than $2200 for your CL easy .... I've seen stock 92 Civics sell for more than that. That appraiser must have got his license out of a box of cereal if he thinks thats the private party resale value

 

ha, someone else who had a pos for a 1st car, and the box of cereal deal, oh yeah, thats funny as hell

 

haha

 

Must be love

 

The first car I drove around was a 1988 Plymouth grand voyager with over 200k miles. So I think you're doing pretty well.

Daniel Smith

 

just be glad you have a nice car. we hawaiians have to travel by foot with our coconut sandals.

 

I have to disagree with you alot in fact. Most cars on the road today are not as nice as the 1st gen cl ( well taken care of ). Most cars on the road are not faster than my 1st gen, 5spd for anyone who care's. 2,200 usd ? What !! you could get 7000k or more just like i could for mine and ive got 100 k miles. Stock , your right, there slow, but with some $ and effort they can be quick. It all depends on your personality when it comes to a car you like. I like keeping my car sporty looking and agressive. I hate rice with a passion and i didnt want my car to end up like a riced out pos. The cl is a nice car and if you look after it and nurture it ( i dont care of that sound's retarded ) it will treat you well. Keep your head up mang and stay pimpin.

 

I'll honestly agree: My gas mileage in the 3.0 is poop, and it's not the fastest car in the world, nor is its build quality all that great (interior in particular). At one point, I absolutely hated my car and did anything I could to rag on it.

After my accident (not related, btw), I figured that I had only a year left until I would get a new car, so I may as well work on it. First it was a cd player and speakers, then paint, then a drop, tranny cooler, blue guages, etc, and soon to be rims.

The CL is a bastard of a car in the sense that in stock form it appeals to an older/non-enthusiast crowd, but if you start to work on it, you find yourself trying to see how much you can modify it.

Sometimes the fun in modifying a car is by NOT having parts for it. Stuff like 2 piston legend calipers, or prelude rotors, or 5th gen Accord parts or 6th Accord parts. It's actually kind of fun taking good parts from other vehicles and putting them on yours.

 

the cl is only as good as you make it.

 

i agree, stock CL looks like SHIT and my friends agree as well, but after you drop it and put on some 18's and tint the windows nicely... you'll start to fall in love with it, just as i have

 

i stopped reading here and i havent read any responses

all i have to say is that i get enough compliments in a land where s classes, 350z's and m3's roam.. makes me feel ok for idiots to ask what year my car is and do when i tell them its a 97. tons of people love the 1st gen cl body style, not all people need speed, and some people dont need an entertaning car.. and obviously tons of people love what they do to thier 1st gen cl because your gonna get every1 ripping your head off on here.

 

i like my car. i just wish it was faster.

 

why are you going to come to a board that is filled with first gen cl enthusiast's and shit on the car. i dont understand much. you should have never bought the car if u think it is on the bottom of the list. like many have mentioned u make the cl what it is. i bought my cl becuase i liked it. i knew it was slow and blah blah but its ride. good luck with your "utter shit" cl.

if u dont have anything good to say, then dont say it. thats just my

 

dude its not our fault you bolt up a BLACK WIDOW NINJA FIGHTER EXTREME IV body kit 3 shades darker then the color of your car, and got a bolt up C02 nitrous kit and dont get what you want

 

1st off: i take pride in my car. I like how it looks.. but thats not what im going to argue.
My argument..
Stock Cls are slow..
WHO THE FUCK NEEDS 300 HORSEPOWER??!?!! Im sorry but on ur daily driver.. so u can get more and more speeding tickets? I dont care if my car i slow. I like it how it is.. It has a lil bit of everything: luxury (the leather, road vibrations, standard features) its a lil sporty (with a few mods) and its economic for an acura. Its a well balanced car, and honesty there arent a lot of cars that are. I LOVE my car. im on acurazine a few hours a day because im OBSSESED with my baby. i worked my ass off, got a car I wanted and now im molding it to a car that im happier with.

 

your only sayin that cause you dont have 300 hp. and its pretty expensive to get our cars to 300hp. i wish prescious had 300hp...

 

a 300whp daily-driven street car would be very nice. and im sure most car enthusiasts would love to have that.

 

^ i know i would

anyways, the CL is a damn car stock or done up and if you dont like it then leave

 

" Theyre ugly, slow, shitty, and boring"

All relative terms, But cmon, it's better than a mercedes 230c that has a face only a mother could love.

If you want a experience on what a slow ugly shitty car is, come over here and I'll let you drive my 1974 vw type 181. I had a 85 mercury marquis too, talk about shitty the tranny died at 45k miles and it have a 3. somting v6, yet was still a dog in every performance catagory. Mabee I can intrest you in a Kia. I think the cl is far from the bottom of the pile.

I used to think that the cl was a craptacular vehichle, but my 2.2 atleast is verry economical, amazingly reliable, a good for 90 on the highway still getting good millage, looks modern compared to a 96 accord 2 door, and has the colder ac than my pop's 98 bmw 740.

 

I bought my 99 3.0CL because I thought it was very good looking, in very good shape and had a lot of options that I wanted. A 16 year old kid will have different tastes than me of course, but EVERYONE that sees my car tells me how good looking it is, I've had several young kids tell me they want to buy my car (16-20 Y/O) My son (21) was incredibly jealous when I bought my CL, he has a 98 Prelude SH that's faster but not as good to look at IMO.
If you didn't like the look of it why did you buy it? If you had $6000 to spend you could have bought many good cars more to your tastes (ricer civic, etc)
I am considering buying a MB SLK350 and when I went to test drive one the dealer offered my $8000 as a trade in for my car (first offer of the bargaining game) , I could sell it today for about $10,000. Granted yours is a 97 but it must be in pretty bad shape to be only worth $2200 or so. Or as was said already, the appraiser is an idiot.
Look around the forum, you'll find there are quite a few things you can do to make your CL much nicer. Good luck and I suggest you sell your CL and buy a ricer, it'll make you much happier.

 

I went from owning a 96 Civic to the CL, so it was a BIG step up for me. I knew going in that the CL was not a fast car. BUT, it was the most rare car in my area. I never ever seen anyone in a CL. When the CL first came out in 97-98, I was only 17 and had no car. I liked it since then and always wanted one. Thankfully, the car depreciated so much that in 2001, I was able to get one in decent shape for a pretty good price. I said I was just gonna do rims and tint and thats it. Yeah ok. What happened? I found this goddam place and next thing I know, I was lowered, had intake, headers, radio, rims & tires, all kinds of crap and I was in love with the car all over again. I dont care what else is out there, but theres no denying that the CL is still a rarity in the car scene. I went to an all Honda (not Acura) meet with my boy and I got a lot of looks and convo about the car. Its slow, its not woth a dam, but its different and looks pretty dam sweet when hooked up nicely. You want a faster, more mod-able car? Get one. Thats all we can say. I had the CL and got rid of it already because of money issues, but I would get another one if the right one came along at a good price. The first gen CL. A different car for different people.

Oh, and dont be mad cuz your CL cant do this ==============>

 

UTSMOKEY......... STFU!!!!! Stop smoking whatever that got you on that trip and damn son get your first piece of ass so you can feel better about yourself and your car....